1984 Interceptor in Vermont

Nicely done Mike.

 

Your carbs and engine are at the heart of this 500- thank you!

 

The title laws in NY are a little strikter than they are in VT it seems. Getting a title would be extremely difficult and expensive exclaimed the DMV attendant before she shouted that buying a motorcycle without a title was stupid of me. I was more surprised than angered that a clerk was yelling at me like I was a child, but I shrugged it off. I began to explain the situation and she let out an "Ooooh, that's different." at which point I wanted to scream "You're God damn right that's different!!!" but I'm too nice in person. She told me I should apply for a homebuilt vehicle title, and that didn't appeal to me at all. I think I'm going to buy a frame with title and rebuild the rebuild. At this point it wont take me longer than a full weekend to do a complete swap, and I'll have an opportunity to polish and paint all the nuts and bolts that are rusted or marked up that I didn't the first time around.

I've found one on eBay for $200 shipped and the pain on it looks really good. Nobody else has a titled frame lying around do they?

Also, when I have an inspection done on the bike in NY does anyone know if they check to see if the vin on the registration and the vin on the frame match? I was just going to put the new frame plates on my old frame until I got the time and energy to actually do the swap, and figured that thats the only time someone would physically check.

And again- thanks for the information and support everyone!

 

Good for you. However, I am thinking about an earlier time - maybe it's only in my imagination - when a guy hung out at the bike shop and learned from other bikers and mechanics and maybe his big brother about bikes and making them work properly. Is that era gone and done? If so, why? Is it just my imagination?

 

I'm near Albany. When I have my inspections done they only look at lights, horn, tires, and brakes. YMMV, though.

 

IN NY they COULD check numbers but in practice never do, so good luck. You've really earned yopur stripes with this project !!

Next, take the MSF rider's course.

 

Lindsey came up for the weekend and we took time ofr a photo op and a once around the block:

 

good job! bike looks good, chick looks great!

 

where's your helmet?

 

For "once around the block" ok. If this is the way he gears himself - and his girlfriend! - for a ride, we need to talk.


Tell us you gear up for rides, ferraone.

 

The only gear I own is the 1984 simpson helmet I found in a dumpster while out running. I'm working on the rest. Without plates or a license I dont get far from my block, which is in a near silent neighborhood in the suburbs.

 

Ok. Try craigs list and ebay for cheap used gear. You gonna need a fresh helmet, armored jacket, armored pants, gloves, and boots that protect your ankles. For you and for Lindsey. Not kidding, brother. Take it from a guy who has crashed at speed without gear - 37 years ago, but I can still see the scars and I can remember the pain. It's not a joke . . . .

Remember - you ride an Interceptor! You aren't a squid. You belong to the Brotherhood!

 

Ferrarone, before you even reply to Alaskan's post saying you don't have enough money or whatever excuse you use to not wear gear, give this a watch. It is a foreign advertisement for wearing motorcycle gear. Be forewarned, THIS IS GRAPHIC, but it is NOT REAL. Still you will not feel much like eating afterwards and it will burn in your mind for quite a while. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

 

Nice find on the dumpster dive!

Seriously though - it is very important to 'suit-up' even when going around the block for a lap or two.

Keep up the good work and let us know how you make out with the title and licensing in NYS.

 

Some updates:

I've gotten the electrical system/headlight worked out, turns out it was a melted connection on the start button. Painted the engine black again, as well as bondo and painted the gas tank. I took pictures to make a guide for others that I will get on here soon. I tried doing a valve tappet adjustment with 2 feeler gauges and when I was finished I couldn't even get the bike to start. I redid them all but bent the feeler gauges into an L shape, the gauges dragging against the head made it feel like the tappets were dragging. Now it runs, but barely. Here's what's going on:

The engine needs choke to start (even though it was 96 F) and a bit of throttle. Sometimes I can get it to stay on for a minute with the choke off, but even a little throttle gooses the engine to very high rpms, and it comes down very slowly. There is a more apparent tick in the head, so I'm going to redo the valve clearances- even though I made sure to do a fantastic job on them the second time around. Throttle cable was replaced while repairing the melted start button, but I don't believe it to be the problem*. The engine responds little if at all to the idle control knob.

This entire project has been plagued with carburetor related issues. I'm willing to bet it's one of the nicest, cleanest vf500 carbs left on the planet, it's still shit, and the root of all evil. fragile, hard to install, difficult to adjust, with a million springs that are willing to, and have, just hopped right out of their throttle control points at the slightest nudge. I am fully and completely fed up with the entire god forsaken thing. I'm thinking of buying another, more recent carb off eBay of same diameter and like engine size. swapping out the jets, and seeing where the chips fall. A much newer carb, with replacement parts cheaply and readily available, and without temperamental fitting and operating issues are easily found online for far less than another piece of crap vf500 carb. I've never put another carb on a bike- or even physically seen another carb, but if it's possible then I can do it. Looking for thoughts and advice, or a direction in carb selection.

On a happier note, I just got the tittle for the frame today. Will be getting plates for my bike soon, even though it doesn't move.

 

Good deal on the title - glad you were able to work this out with the DMV.

On V-Four carburetors - I'd recommend Mike Nixon's primer 'Cleaning the Honda V4 Carburetor'. This manual covers a complete rebuild along with design theory and installation tips & tricks. Mike was a factory trained Honda tech back in the day and currently writes instructional manuals for the motorcycle and automotive industry. His books are clearly written with plenty of reference photos.

Welcome to The Motorcycle Project

Hope this is of help and keep us posted!

 

Update:

The ignition coils were off of their brackets when I bought them, so I put them back together. The wrong way. The entire time the bike has been firing #4 when it should have been firing #1, and #3 when it should have been firing #2 and so on. I'm a little surprised that it ran, well in fact. I've fixed the problem, the engine has quieted down a bit, but now have either a new issue, or one that I had never noticed.

Also redid the valve clearances and an exhaust valve seemed to have gotten off its clearance as well as an intake, that fixed the not running problem recently encountered.

The bike rides great, but cannot seem to idle warm. When it's cold it seems to idle fairly well, but it will die when the engine warms up. Any stopping at a stop light will kill it, and the warmer it gets the harder it is to start. I took it out for a 15minute ride and it died in the garage as soon as I let off the throttle, and it will not start up again. It also seems to idle better when it's on the kickstand, and dies when I right the bike, or am on a forward decline. I tried syncing the carbs but can only get them reasonably close to each other. The 3 adjustable carbs cannot be adjust enough to sync with the one non adjustable carb. It is past their adjustment screw range. They are fairly close though, it rides smooth as far as I can tell.

So any ideas on the idle issue? I was thinking MAYBE float levels as I never adjusted them. I've also got it running on 10w30. I don't know what I was thinking, I was being absentminded.

And for safety, I ordered some riding gear and it should be here next week. I got:

$150 Joe Rocket Sonic 2.0


$120 AGV K-3 Helmet


$23 Joe Rocket Crew Gloves

 

Update:

The problem is weak/no spark only when fully warmed up. It will will struggle to idle when warm, but the radiator fan turning on kills it. It is not able to start again until it cools.

 

Perhaps a gremlin has taken up residence in the pulse generators?

 

I always appreciate your insight invisible. In fact I just tested the pulse generators and both showed a little continuity when hot. I am waiting for the bike to cool down so that I can test them cold, as the manual says I should. Is a little continuity to be expected when the bike is warm? I can't find any posts that cover that.