VF500F with multiple problems

Hey people,

I bought a vf500f '85 a while ago for cheap. It was 100 euros and completely in parts. So after two afternoons reassembling and some scavenging at the scrappers I pretty much got it back together. See pic.

Now I still have a small list with problems I need to tackle and some questions I need to ask here to clear things up for me.

Questions:

First of all I have had some issues with the bike overheating. After a careful inspection I found that the t-stat was toast, so I got that replaced with a Honda car t-stat... original bike one was to expensive (45 euro :crazy
The overheating on the highway has stopped since and it keeps steady at the halfway mark, but when I pull off the highway and drive in slower traffic, it quickly heats till the 3/4 mark (the fan does turn on). Is this normal or should I check my radiator cap etc?

Also the engine bogs between approx. 5.5k and 7.5k after that it pulls it swiftly off the rev counter till 13.5k (extrapolated :smile. The bog is not horrible, but noticeable none the least. Also in 5th and 6th gear the bike wont rev passed 7k, it feels like it doesn't have the power to pull through the bogging range. So this is most likely a problem that is caused by my carbs? I tried opening the choke while driving in the bogging rev range and in 5th gear opening the choke did seems to make it rev through the bogging rev range a bit faster, but did not stop the bogging.
I did clean the carbs before I put them on the bike, but I reckon Ill pull them again this weekend and check the diaphragms as suggested in another thread.

Then my next problem is the front brakes, they are horrible. I can pull the lever only halfway and I can just feel the brake pads not doing their job. They must be soaked in oil or something. I read on the forums that EBC brakepads are good replacements, but which ones are you guys talking about. Does anyone have a product number or something? I will also replace the brakelines with ss-lines that i got for 5 euro at the scrappers, so hopefully that will solve my problems.

Then last but not least the needle from my speedometer is broken in half, so ill have to get another one. My current one shows mph and kmph, can I just replace it with a kmph only one, from a euro bike?

To-do list:
- pull the engine this weekend and measure compression, adjust valve clearance, change oil filter and clean the carbs and sync them, and replace the air filter.
- check coolant circuit if not working as intended.
- fix a hole in the collector box
- replace brakepads and install ss-lines

Hopefully you guys can shed some light on my questions and ill keep updating this thread as I move along fixing the bike and bringing it up to speed, so I can use it as a daily driver.

 

3/4 is normal for the 500's . cleaning the carbs should help out with the bog. replace the pads and bleed the brakes.make sure that the forks are not leaking down onto the pads and rotors.
try these guys for the lines Brake Lines & Fittings for Motorcycles and Sportbikes

 

sound like a hand full but nice ride!

 

Pretty typical, I wouldn't worry about that at all.


I agree, a good carb clean is probably in order. I'd also check the condition of the diaphragms as well.

 

and dont forget to greese your muffler bearings:biggrin:

 

I'm not familiar with this expression, what does it mean?

 

He's just messing around. In fact, he's messing with me I think. Matt, get back to work!

 

my job is hard enough dealing with you ound:

 

Dealing with me, or keeping up with me?

 

Ohhh snap!!!!:biggrin:



heating up to 3/4 mark is normal. Trust me....took me awhile to get use to it.

Oh, and thanks Jamie for the carb seals...I'll be putting them in Saturday....

Any tips that I should know?? I usually ask this, but I willingly know its straight foreword.

Cheers,
-LL

 

hehe, alright... I was already starting to feel quiet stupid for asking. :redface:

Anyways thanks for the heads up on the heating up, guys. :thumbsup:

Today I decided to do my front brakes. So I removed the old rubber lines and replaced them with my genuine Goodrich ss-lines. They're a tad to long, but I can't complain for 5 bucks. I'll snap a pic of them tomorrow.

I rubbed up the rotors with a scotchbrite pad and they cleaned up nice. The worst part were the brake pads though. All four of them were actually cracked in half through the middle and 2 half's of the pads I could pull of the metal backplate with my bare hands. These were just an accident waiting to happen. I'm glad I pulled them off to check and didn't drive the bike another inch with those pads on.

Now for the new pads. Should I go sintered or organic on this bike. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good pad?

 

dont make me, spank your ass in front of everyone then put it on youtube:biggrin:

 

So I ended up going for these Ferodo Sintered Pads brake pads and installed them today.
Combined with my new brake lines it's an amazing improvement over the old brakes. Even pulled off a nice stoppie, so that means they are up to the task now.

I also checked all the carbs today and all the diaphragms were intact. Just to be sure I gave the carbs another good rinse. After that I synced the carbs , which were way off and defenitely causing the bogging down in midrange.
I think I have spend most time making 2 tools to turn the sync screws... these are a PITA to get to on these bikes! I ended up using fondue forks I had laying around bent them at a 90 degree angle and ground the tips off. Worked like a charm and cost me nothing at all :thumbsup:

The bike rides like a charm now, pulls strong through the revs on all gears. I did notice a new problem though, the rubber grommet at the top of the coolant overflow bottle is torn and causing coolant to leak down on the collector, so ill have to order a new one tomorrow. One problem at the time, im really getting to enjoy these great bikes! :smile: