1984 vf500f about to buy, should I do it?

Mk, about to leave to go snap a few pics and see the bike again one more time before I buy it!

anyone else have any tips for this visit?

 

Kind of...but not really

 

there not stock that for sure

 

With any luck it should be printed on the rim, right?

 

doubt it! the 500F2 wheels where only made for the euro market IF they are then somone has brought them over here most of the 500 wheels i've seen look like the front wheel on my bike just a different color.

 

did you get this bike? if so, are you looking for the stock wheels? i might have a rear available for a song if so.

 

Well guys, I got the bike.


And it is, for lack of a better word, beautiful.

Stay tuned for my eventual "how do I fix problem X" threads!

 

Well.
It looks like a pile of crap.
I am hoping that you enjoy your mistake.

 

NAAAA! Just kiddin brother.
Welcome to the fun!

I had a gen 1 about a year ago, and I loved the hell out of it.
I had none of the problems that are common with them, and I hope you dont either.
Sounds like you had a "connection" to the bike, so even if it isnt the last one you ever get, at least it will be a good starter bike.... or hell, maybe you will keep it forever.
anyways, welcome, be safe, and have fun.

 

Congratulations on purchasing this '84 - the 'blue on top' with the tri-color Honda Wing is a favorite of mine. Out of curiosity, were you able to do some detective work on the rims?

On the soap box for a minute – I am not sure if this was a quick photo of you taking the bike around the block and I don't mean to be overly critical but please consider switching out your footwear. Riding with loose fitting sneakers in combination with shoes that have laces (these tend to get caught on things that they shouldn't) is asking for trouble. Consider a quality set of motorcycle boots - they are well worth the investment. Okay - off the soap box now

 

Awh cundalini you scared me!

Thanks for the info in the PM, I'm sure it'll be helpful soon!

I have a question, and I hope it's just something dumb that I overlooked.

I've put about 800 miles on the bike so far, and holy crap, I don't know why I didn't own a bike before?

I took it to a friends house, she ran strong the whole way there, then I got off to say hi and, not wasting a minute of riding time, I hopped back on and hit the start button.

But it never started.

It cranks, the killswitch is in the run position, it has 3/4 tank fuel, the ignition fuse isnt the problem, the battery isn't the problem (tried jump starting with aaa truck, and the battery got charged when I got home).

Where do I begin diagnosing this :[

Like I said, it ran fine up until I hit the kill switch, and then tried to start it all of 30 seconds later.

 

So the factory manual is pretty helpful so far. I'm going to go check compression on the cylinders and I'll be back shortly with the results :[

Wish me luck!!

 

Start with the basics - spark and fuel. Sounds to me like you lost spark. Start with checking the connections to your ignitor boxes, then to the coils. Then pull one plug, attach the plug wire, ground the body of the plug to the frame, and crank a few times. If you don't have spark then that's a good start. If you do have spark then move to the troubleshooting the fuel system.

Probably not a compression issue since you just rode it and the bike was warm when you tried starting it.

 

That was indeed the problem.

No spark on front left or back left plugs.

But on a brighter note, those two same cylinders are getting about 8kpa compression, which is lower than spec, but still not 0, indicating the valve issue that I'm so paranoid of. at least not on those cylinders. I'm assuming that the bad compression is due to the cold weather and subsequently cold engine block.

 

On a side note, one of the plugs DID produce a spark, but just one out of many cranks

 

I tightened all the connections and put the plugs/wires back in.

Then it started right up.

No more long trips with this bad boy until it sees a nice tune up, eh?

Thank god for AAA

 

These older bikes sometimes require a little extra attention. If it happened once then it may happen again, in the same place or somewhere else. Ever had your headlight fail while riding at night? Not fun. Might be a good idea to strip the bodywork and go through each electrical connection and clean and inspect them. A little preventive maintenance goes a long way.