Brother graduates from OSU in 4 more days bought him an 84 VF500

Sorry for the crappy pics they were from the craigslist add. Bike is an 84 with 20,040 miles on the clock. Brand new tires. Needs new battery and plugs. Also came with a spare motor. Can anyone say gocart? We are picking him up on Sunday and he has no clue what's sitting in the garage at home waiting for him. Can't wait. We will start another thread with progress on the maintenance and im sure, questions galore.

As it stands the bike is in pretty good shape as far as looks go. There are just a few small blemishes. The bike hasn't been ran in 3 years unfortunately. So far the list looks like this, chime in if I am missing anything.

-Change motor oil *make sure to put a little bit of oil into the sparkplug holes so it doesn't seize
-Change fork oil, check seals
-Lubricate swingarm bushings
-New sparkplugs
-New battery
-New clutch and brake fluid, possible rebuild on slave
-Check steering head bearings
-Check wheel bearings
-Carbs thorough cleaning, possible o-ring rebuild kit
-Check all fuel lines+filter
-Check tank petcock
-New air filter
-Brake pads and tires are new

 

I haven't had a chance to look at the service manual, what interval in mileage is valve lash check?

I am not familiar with the valvetrain on a v4, are the shims over the bucket, or do you have to remove the cams to swap shims?

 

Next question..

I didn't have any luck with search and I fear that I already know that the answer is no..

Are there any radial tires that will fit these stock rims? Is there a rim conversion that I don't know about that will take radials on this bike?

 

Welcome to the forum. The valve adjustment is not bad, adjustable rocker arms, it does take some time and patience. If you can , procure a Honda service manual. Look at the stickys, there is a Clymer manual download, better than nothing. If the carbs need cleaning/resealed (probalby will) it is a PITA to remove and replace the carb assembly. I'm sure you will be getting the same excellent advice from members of this forum that I got to help me get my 500 on the road.

 

I read your troubleshooting thread the other day, very happy to see that these forums have some good knowledge and friendly people here. These forums actually helped in my decision to buy this bike and not something else. Reminds me alot of how helpful the FZ1 forums have been to me.

I haven't looked yet but I assume the carb boots are rubber like most and I am also going to assume they are rock hard and not plyable at all, or they have cracks in them. When I bought my current bike it was in bone stock form just as this is, and the boots were cracked pretty good and it was only 9 years old. I can't imagine the shape they are in on this 26 year old bike. How much are new boots?

 

The boots on my 500 were very hard and inflexible, but not cracked. I soaked them in a silicone solution that is used for waterproofing tents and awnings for a few days. They came out very flexible, probably not as flexible as new ones, but plenty good enough to use. I have read that soaking them in auto transmission stop leak works well too, I haven't tried that.

 

I believe that bias-ply tires are currently your only option for the stock rims.

Here is a great article on top rated bias-ply tires:









If you are considering a 17" rim conversion both CBR600F and CBR600F2 rims are top picks.

It is important, before diving into a wheel conversion, to decide what you would like to get out of the build.

In terms of tire size, the 'F' rims allow you to mount 110F/140R tires. The 'F2' rims allow you to mount 120F/150R (155mm max actual width) tires.

The 'F2' rims are a great choice as they land you square in the middle of radial country. The caveat is that they are a bit of a force fit on the VF500F. There is a good deal of intel here on this topic and more info can be found with a quick search.

The 'F' rims are a good match but given the rim width there are not as many radial tire options currently available.

I decided on 'F' rims for my project bike based on what I wanted to get out of the build. If interested here is a link to a thread:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/1st-2nd-generation-1983-1989/30852-vf500f-cbr600f-wheel-conversion.html

All this said - welcome aboard!

First and foremost have fun with your new steed.

VF500Fs require a fair amount of mechanical skill and diligent upkeep but given this they will reward their owner with excellent handling and an amazingly smooth running engine.

 

I can tell you the better/best tires are the Conti Go's. I was always a Dunlop guy. I got the 501 rear first. Nice tire. Then got the front. My bike never handled so vague on turn in and weaved all over on steel grate type bridge surfaces and lined concrete roads. I knew any tire with a center groove all around sucked. The 501 front sucks as far as I'm concerned. Never get near tar strips in the rain!! Especially at speed! The first 5-15 degress of turn in are a little scary, the bike just falls over then grabs. They do work in the rain as well as most. Just watch that first part of your lean.
Went with the Conti's and love them. It's hard to find a good bias ply tire. I'll stay with the Conti's for all speeds and conditions. They work great and have a very positive feed back on my 1st gen 750.

 

How cool is that, getting a bike for graduation. What a cool brother. Of all the V4 sites, this is the place for 500 advice. It will be great to ride and wrench with your brother. Looking forward to following the project.

 

How do the bias/crossply's work on lean angle? Looking at how tall the sidewalls are I would be scared shitless to try and achieve any sort of lean angle that I can on my Pilot Power 2CT's. I have no performance riding experience with anything other than radials. My cruiser had bias tires (Dunlop D404's) but I never really tried to lean that bike over hard.

 

I might get more enjoyment out of being able to ride with my little bro versus the enjoyment he's going to get from experiencing what all of us here know is some of the most fun they will ever have in their life. Like I said, new thread will go up when the wrenches start to turn

 

Damn this thread went detailed fast. Tell your bro congrats on his ride and welcome to the world. Nice Gen 1 in the avatar.

 

Welcome to the forum youve come to the right place for 500 advice. Good luck

 

Thanks, here's a better picture. Absolutely love this bike. I can't wait till my buddy pics up his gen 6 vfr. I've been dying to ride one of those. The gen 6 is IMHO one of the sexiest bikes out there I see you have a GEN 1 too, nice stable of bikes you have there.

 

CB forgot to tell you nice looking bike. Wish I had a brother like you. Nice college grad present. There's plenty of people here willing to help you guys. Good luck.

Don't be scaret. You can roll a bias tire bike just as fast and almost as far as the radials. Seems the radials will have about 5+ degree more lean angle though. I remember when the VF750F came out in 83. They advertised nothing would scrape when leaned over. We proved different at Nelson Ledges. That may tell how bias ply works. Today's bias tire is better than what we had. Remember all the AMA Super bikes ran on bias ply. So don't be scaret.

 

+1

 

A vf500 as a gift? What have you got against your brother? (just kidding!)

You came to the right place and you seem to have some experience and a good attitude to deal with what is likely ahead for the two of you. There is a lot of info here on any subject related to these bikes and a lot of folks around to help. Great idea to post a project thread. It's a great approach to get help along the way. Just make sure you post lots of pictures! Good luck and welcome to the board.

 

I just had another look at your list and here are a couple more things to check out or consider with the 500:

Rear shock - there is a real good chance that it is shot or working poorly. There are a number of replacement options that you can read about on this site. This will likely be the weak link in the bike's handling. I wouldn't even think about tires until the shock is straightened out.

Carbs - avoid separating them from the plenum plate at all costs. They are a real *&^% to deal with. You should be able to do what you need to do without separating them. The o-rings are probably ok.

Valvetrain - spend a lot of time inspecting everything. Dropped valves due to fatigued springs and running above 10,000 RPM are very common. Inspect the valve tips for signs of wear like mushrooming that is a step away from loosing the retainers (been there). Make sure that your brother keeps the bike below 10k, even 9k if he want to make the motor last.

Parts - KEEP THE SPARE MOTOR!! Most parts are not available and the spare will come in handy. Boots are still available, by the way. I think they are about $8 each.

 

:behindsofa:

Since when is mechanical aggravation a "gift "??? Let's hope he graduated as a mechanical engineer.

Did you hear the engine run before purchase ? Even if the engine won't fire up (dirty carbs or bad CDI) you can learn alot by listening as it cranks over on starter.

If not, good luck with the spare motor, but odds are slim that it's a good one either, since good motors are seldom spares.

I wouldn't advise spending another dime on this bike unless it passes a (cold) compression test FIRST !!

 

Funny you should say that I just asked my buddy if I could use his compression gauge this weekend. Unfortunately I never heard the bike run it didnt have a battery. A compression check is in order as well as a new battery, some plugs, and some gas this weekend.

Lucky for both of us, the bike is at our father's house who does happen to be a mechanical engineer lol. Compression tool will be in my hand tomorrow so I can test it after I get off work Friday morning. I'm gonna grab a new battery from battery wholesale also so I can see if she sounds normal when turning over. I definately have my fingers crossed and I know that I took a risk on a bike that hasn't been ran in 3 years. I could have a sick feeling in my stomach or I will be doing a tiger woods arm pump Friday.