VF500 "barn find"

good luck they are out there

I got my wheels, forks, tripples, 3 calipers, 3 caliper brackets, clip-ons, stock brake lines & f/r brake masters for.... wait for it .........









$200

 

Good deal. That's some smart shopping!

Again, kudos on the build. Well done!

 

Don't forget, the forks will flex back under heavy braking. It's actually more than you think! If you've got 25mm of clearance in the static condition I would say you are just fine!

 

Thanks for the post JD.

IIRC an earlier post, in this thread, shows 25mm of clearance.

With this in mind it looks to me like the F2 fork upgrade will work on the 500. Do you agree?

Not putting you on the spot here, more looking to get your stamp of approval as in past threads you have written that you thought this upgrade was a non-flyer.

 

When I've measured it up it wouldn't work. Others have come to the same conclusions and only a small few have shown sucess. Not sure why, but I'd be VERY careful when attempting it. I won't knock someone else's sucess, I'm just not going to say "Yes" until I can prove it for myself.

 

Thanks for the post.

Certainly understand your wanting to try this in the shop before giving the thumbs-up.

I wonder if another option would be to mount the clip-ons below the top clamp. This would allow the tubes to be slid down a bit to get to back to the stock length/clearance.

The clip-ons may need to be custom made, or adjustable to clear the fairing, but I think you would come out ahead with the F2s being 41mm diameter and sans TRAC.

Thoughts?

 

Little Update

I think these will work .... sound pretty good also

 

I'm loving the black frame!

 

same here I think it makes the Enging stand out & makes the "body" POP!

 

Thanks for posting the progress photos. I'd say you are about ready for a road test! Looking forward to hearing your impressions on the differences in handling.

Going back a few steps, if I could ask about the fuse panel. Could you please go into a bit more detail on this? What you upgraded to and how you relocated it. Thanks again.

 

I haz chubby...

 

If I could ask a favor, could you please post the thickness of the top clamp on the triple tree?

Many thanks!

 

Resurrecting a dead thread to get some insight and answers about fork swaps, as I recently picked up a 500 in need of new forks and would like to upgrade rather than just replace them.

I understand checking lock-to-lock clearance with the springs removed as a "worst case scenario" but it seems a little excessive as if you are anywhere above idle you probably aren't near lock, and it takes quite a bit to bottom the suspension. My personal opinion on this is that if you find youself bottoming the suspension with the wheel anything but straight, you probably have other problems to worry about.

Seems to me it would be sufficient to check clearance bottomed/close to straight (taking vf off jumps scenario) , and approximately 1/2 compressed and lock to lock (pothole in parking lot scenario).

 

I always subscribe to the "If it can happen, it will happen' theory. Maybe because for me it's not a theory at all - I've seen it happen. It is your own safety you are risking, and each person's tolerance for that risk is different. I consider it to be unacceptable to get hurt because I cut a corner.

 

new updates coming soon

 

op2:......................