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

On the cold test should I be looking for something like 150-170ish? I gotta download that damn manual.

Also, do I turn the motor over for the compression test with the starter or do I manually turn it over with say a breaker bar on the countershaft nut with the bike on centerstand?

edit: Well after reading various threads about parts availability (valve springs/valves + other head components) I am feeling pretty sick to my stomach right now... I really hope I didn't get screwed and bought a vf500 with dropped valve, and a spare motor with the same thing going on. Sounds like regardless I need to take off the valve covers and see what's going on even if the compression test heeds good results. Somehow I doubt my chances are any good that the spare motor is in working condition but who knows. I might be in luck, or I might be starting a parting out thread here in the near future.

 

Step one before you spend any more money on a battery is to pull the valve covers and have a peak. You don't want to run the starter to do the compression test and risk further damage if they are. Re. compression - you will probably get in the 125-140 range, which is ok if all cylinders are fairly close. Keep us posted.

 

+1

If I could add, if you are really considering keeping this bike Step One is to purchase a used copy of Factory Service Manual.

I would also suggest a quick check to see if the engine turns freely. This can be easily accomplished by placing the bike on its centerstand, removing the spark plugs, engaging first gear and turning the rear wheel.

The VF500F is a great bike - don't be discouraged by the negative radio chatter.

 

another way that works well is to heat up the boots up (with a head gun) and soak them in a jar of wintergreen oil.

 

Good news everyone!

I am only partially relieved, but I feel 2000% better than I did about this bike 2 days ago.

Today I pulled the old sparkplugs out. They were definitely old but they had a nice tan color on the electrode so we at least know that when it DID run, it had a decent A/F ratio. Added a little bit of oil into each spark plug hole optimistic that this motor WILL turn damnit. Threw it in 1st gear, prayed to God a few times, and then turned the rear wheel with the bike on centerstand. YES! It turns! Turned the wheel a good dozen times to get that oil moved around in the cylinder. I did not hear anything whatsoever making any contact with the pistons while I did this so I decided to put in the new battery and try the starter. Starter sounds VERY very healthy everything in the bottom end is turning nicely. I had purchased an 18mm spark plug socket from autozone but the walls are too thick and I couldn't get it to fit in the spark plug wells on the heads. I am going to see if the spark plug socket that came in my FZ1 tool kit will do the job on Sunday. She's almost ready to fire up. Still a lot of stuff to take apart and go over but i'm definitely gonna hear this baby run before we take it all apart again.

One more thing, I need someone please to let me know which leads go where on the 2 ignition coils. Someone disconnected all 4 leads for some reason and I don't know which color wires go where on both coils. If someone could tell me or take a picture that would be greatly appreciated.

She's gonna need new fork seals unfortunately also, springs are very soft and I did have a little bit of oil on the tubes above the wipers. One more thing too, the right side engine case has 2 fill holes. I opened up the one up front right by the starter and didn't see anything inside there except the little gears. Is there supposed to be gear oil or anything in there? It looks pretty darn empty.

Thanks guys

 

Well, that's a good start! Keep in mind that there could still be dropped valves that aren't hitting the piston and that a look under the valve covers is still a good idea. My latest 500 was running on three cylinders when I bought it and had no noise and it turned out that a valve was dropped and two were on their way. You will have the carbs pulled for cleaning our the float bowls and jets anyway (assuming you are doing that). Are you?

Here is a link re. coil wires. I had the same question several months ago:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/1st-2nd-generation-1983-1989/30868-coil-wire-colours.html

 

Good news !

After you get sparks, as suggested above your next issue will be dirty carbs, but you can try to get it firing by using a bit of starting fluid or dribbling a discreet amount of fresh fuel down the carb throats......after removing the top of the airbox and the filter.

 

Thanks for the link. Yes carbs will definitely be coming off and taken apart for a good thorough cleaning. I know how easily those jet passageways can get clogged. I am a firm believer and cleaning the shit out of them so I don't have to take them off again for a long time. Check float levels, float valve o-rings, etc. Going through them completely. I had a fun experience with clogged pilot jets on a friends bike. Valve covers will definitely be coming off as well, but I really want to hear that bike fire up even if its for 2 minutes. If a valve is dropped I can't do anything about it anyway since they are no longer in stock right?

 

Like you I had a parts motor. I took the four heads and took the best parts from them to make the two best possible heads then lapped the valves, etc.

 

...and how did you total the RM250? I've never heard totalled and MX'er together!

 

What a horrible story with that rm250.. Hadn't been on a dirtbike for a few years and I wanted one again. This is back in 05 also so i bought it brand spankin new from dealership. Decided it would be a good idea and start jumping it right away. Thought that jumping was just gonna come right back to me like I had done it yesterday. WRONG. I ended up hitting a tree so hard that I taco'd the front rim, the forks were mangled and I bent the steering head. $4,500 bike wrecked 2 hours after I signed papers for it.

 

Wow! That hurts. Lesson learned. I used to race very seriously and I often wonder how I would do on one now, almost 20 years later, lol.

 

You have to be in such fantastic shape to race one of those suckers. I couldn't believe what an hour and a half of trail riding at a semi-aggressive pace did to my body lol. I would say definitely a young man's sport but look at Kevin Windam.. He still gets podiums every now and then

 

Well I can tell you this, the bikes have changed QUITE a bit in 20 years lol. My first dirtbike I ever had was a 1974 penton 250. Next one was a 97 rm125... talk about a difference. The handlebars were a full 12 inches shorter in width and what's this?!?! a suspension?!!

 

Next question:

Using the 2 feeler gauge method, what is the correct clearance I should be shooting for between the tappets and valve stems? I've read some different clearances to use. The Clymer says .12mm intake and .13mm for the exhaust valves. Is this correct? Also what liquid gasket should I buy since I see there are no more alternator gaskets available. Would this be a good time to rebuild the clutch slave cylinder while we are doing the valves with alternator cover off? Which parts of the slave assembly from the micofiche on bikebandit do I need to order to rebuild it. Never had to rebuild a slave personally and I don't know what fails on them..

Another question:

While working on the bike last night I noticed that the fuel pump has no hose going into it, and no hose coming out of it. When I turned the key on the bike to the on position, I did not hear the fuel pump activate and "try to fill the carburetor bowls" as it does with my Yamaha, and same with cars or trucks. No buzz, no clicking, no nothing. Can anyone guess why this would all be disconnected? I believe I read somewhere that this bike is designed to deliver fuel by vacuum as well as by fuel pump. Can I go without the fuel pump as it sits? The thing that really bothers me about it is that there is no fuel filter, and I had an experience with another vacuum fed bike that when we tried to put an in line filter on, it would slow down the vacuum too much to the point of fuel starvation in the carbs. I know the petcock has a sock inside the gas tank and the fuel inlet float valves on the carburetors probably have little screens on them as well. Are these 2 safety points good enough to run without an inline fuel filter?

One more since i'm on a roll here..

Last night I noticed something I have never seen on a bike before. The rear sprocket has a chain guide on the left side.. a rolled lip that sticks up and pretty much covers up the left chain sideplates. I can only assume that this is probably the same rear sprocket that the bike rolled out of the factory with. This is turn tells me it's a safe bet that the chain as well as the countershaft sprocket could be original also. Time for a new chain and sprockets (chain looks pretty rough anyway and rule of thumb for me is new chain - new sprockets) What brand chain/sprocket kit do you guys go with? Since most of the driving will be city and country back roads is it okay to drop a tooth in the front and go up a couple on rear? I have no idea what rpms she pulls on the highway so not sure if it's okay to change gearing. Being an older bike I assume the speedo cable runs off the front tire so no speedo healer is needed?

 

I believe that the consensus is .13 for both. There is a service bulletin posted here somewhere where Honda specs a looser .13 all around. Keep searching here.

Your local dealer should be able to source alternator gaskets for you. Mine had not problem doing so. Your most economical gasket kit if you want to go that route would be the Athena available from Part-n-more.

The PO has gone gravity feed and was too lazy to remove the pump, etc. I believe that the filter at the petcock and at the float inlet should be enough insurance, as well as buying gas at a good station. You could put a simple in-line filter in if you like as others have. I was always concerned about restricting the flow too much because the system was designed for pump pressure. When Honda went to gravity on the 500 in 1986 they enlarged the petcock and hose passageways.

At 20k it is very well possible that the sprockets and chain are original. I assume the sprocket teeth look good? I would put in a new chain only or to simply give the old one a real good cleaning and wait until you really get a sense on how the bike runs. I caution spending money on these old bikes if not needed. They can become a real money trap. BTW - on a newer bike I always do chain and sprocket as a set too.

 

If I could make a suggestion.

Pulling the carburetors to clean all the circuits is a good idea. Remember to keep the throttle bodies on the mounting plate unless you have logged a decent amount of time working on VF carburetors.

While there, remove the cam covers and check on the valves.

I would do this before starting the bike.

 

Thanks guys, appreciate the help.

Invisible, I have a pretty good amount of experience overhauling and tuning CV Mikuni carburetors, but I have never had to split carb banks or plenum as you call it for this v4 engine. If there is no need to split the carbs on this bike I sure as hell won't you can quote me on that one.

It's going to be hard to resist, but I will take your advice and not start the bike up without making sure the valves are proper, and clean the carbs. Did I mention I can be impatient?

Oh, and what is the likelyhood that the valve cover gaskets are re-useable?

 

I think that there is a good chance that they are reusable.

 

About carb cleaning.........I went ahead and separated the carbs on my 500. It did require a great deal of patience and determination to get everything back together correctly, but I'm glad I did it. For one thing, the O-rings on the fuel tubes connecting the carbs, although not leaking, were brittle and cracked and I'm sure that at some point would fail and start leaking, most likely somewhere out in the middle of East Peckerhead. It was good experience for me and gives me more confidence in the bike to know that the carbs are not something I have to worry about. On valve adjustment........I tried both the Dodge method and the 2 feeler method, I found that the 2 feeler method works best for me.