It's official. I'm a VF500 addict.

Right then - 'starter' is a bit of misnomer - this toggle switch is referred to as the 'kill switch' or 'engine stop switch' and is not related to the starter motor though you need to have it on for the engine to start ;-)

 

The engine stop switch is what I was referring to in my previous posts. Voltage is delivered to the stop switch from the ignition switch through a 15 amp fuse. When the stop switch is in the "run" position with the key on, voltage is delivered to the igniters and the coils. If the key is turned on and off or the stop switch is flipped off and on with the key on, a momentary signal is sent to the fuel cut relay which causes the fuel pump to pulse. If there is a poor electrical connection in the ignition switch, the fuse receptacle , or the engine stop switch or a combination of those, it could be causing the intermittant no spark condition.

 

Finally got this fixed. Removed the rocker run/off switch. Cleaned it up. Put it back in, and now it starts every time, and the tach jumps every time I flip the run/off switch back & forth. This would have been fixed a lot faster/easier, but the broken starter button held me up for a bit. All I can say is if you guys have to R&R the RH module, be very careful and go slow when taking everything apart. If you break one of the posts on the starter button, you're screwed, and finding someone with JUST the button is rare ( and the new entire pod is $75!). If anyone has to clean/R&R their Rh pod, drop me a line first and I'll walk you thru it so you can learn from my mistakes.

 

I never posted photos of the 84 once I found/shined up/sandblasted/installed the Yosh slip-ons. Also found & recovered a Corbin rider + passenger seat as well for it. So...here's the final project as it sits...







before...


and after...

 

That is one..great...looking....bike! I am absolutely green with envy over the Corbin seat...sure wish I could find one.

 

Well done!

 

Great looking bike. You don't see too many in that kind of shape. Nice work.

 

Wow this post made me double take when I read it. Some of these things are exactly what I am experiencing. Smoking with the choke on, the engine reving up and down by itself with the choke on, dying if you hit the throttle too early, very fast idle, bike dies when you turn the choke off.

And then the best part. I have this long plume of exhaust cloud (from what I think is the remains of seafoam) drifting into neighborhood everytime I work on it. One evening I actually had this old crotchety man come screming down his driveway in his big ass navigator, saying that i got him out of bed with the smell of gasoline. He lives like 4.5 acres away from me. :lol: It was only 8:58pm and the old fuck was mad I had to get him out of bed.

I am almost at breaking point with this thing, but something tells me I'm so close to getting it right. I'm just so bummed I cant ride with my friends yet.....

 

Just awesome you've got one sweet looking bike.

 

Very, very nice!

 

Thanks. I search craigslist nationwide from time to time. Found the seat (in true 80s colors...red, white and blue) in NH I think on a bike a guy was parting out. Found a total stranger (from this list, I think) that I have never known/met go by and buy it, and send it to me.

I found another one too, except it was a solo gunfighter Corbin for my 85 model. I had an upholstery shop cut the hump down a bit so I could still use my solo plastic seat cowl on it. I went by 2x for a dry fit to confirm I liked it and it fit well before I gave them the green light to wrap it in new black material. Came out nice.

Getting a Corbin is the cheapest and best suspension mod I've made for either of these bikes!

Thanks for the kind words all. It was a learning experience for sure. Not being in any sort of hurry helped a lot too. Had time to explore other ideas/options before doing anything drastic/expensive.

 

As far as the Yosh slip-ons, I bought them from a lister here, and tried everything in the world to find/make/steal new AL cans for it, even going over to Yosh HQ (near where I work) and having them try and track down any replacements or their supplier. No dice on either front. The V&H cans (on my other 500) are simple open/ended AL sleeves and are super easy & cheap to buy new and polish. Nothing special about them.

These Yosh cans though, are different b/c of the small lip on each end of them. Good news is the great guys @ Yosh HQ offered to open them up (no easy task), replace the screws, repack them, polish them, found me an employee who had some new nameplates for them which they installed, and...would not take a single dime for any of it. Astounding customer service. I highly recommend them. Great folks. They really didn't have to do any of that.

The rest of it was just a little sandblasting and some high-temp BBQ paint and a little polish on all of it.