Honda VF700F Interceptor Tech Tips
The VF700 is a nice bike. It's fast, complex, and has a terrible and somewhat deserved reputation for being rather fragile. Here's some tips I learned the hard way.Carbs
If you have one of these bikes, DO NOT disassemble the brackets and linkages that hold the carbs together in one block. To do so is madness. Just take the float bowls and jets out and check the diaphragms out from the other side.
Suspension
Suspensions on bikes this old and this complex will need work. When filling the air bladders, use a hand pump or a quick stroke from your compressor. Too much pressure will damage these bladders and blow out the suspension units. When acquiring one of these bikes, you will probably have to do some maintenance on the rear shock and linkages, the anti-dive mechanism and the front fork seals.
Ignition boxes
20 year old ignition boxes are not a good thing. This is one of the worst parts of these early V4 bikes. The ignitor units are located above the rear wheel. If they fail, they’re spendy and hard to acquire. Plan on blowing about $250.00 each. If your Tachometer is goofy, it is the box that controls cylinders 1 and 3.
General Warning
Don’t ever let an idiot work on this bike. You WILL be sorry. This bike is far too complex to let your buddy who "knows a lot about bikes" work on. Unless someone has worked on this bike before, or knows about all the web-based information about this bike, or is a reputable mechanic, forget it.
Cooling System
Replace the thermostatic switch on the lower radiator with a new one. It will have a more appropriate heat range and will be easier on your bike. Honda changed these parts so that the bike will run cooler. Make sure when you get one from the dealer, they use the superceded number for the part.
Cam Oiling Problems
Buy an oiling kit to get more oil to your cams. Check the VF pages on the internet.
