vf 500F2 . to buy or not to buy?

Hey folks!

So I'm looking at a 1984 Vf500f2 with 19,000 miles on it for 2200. New tires, carb work, some other stuff, from a dealer.

I paid extra to have the head taken off and they took a photo for me, you can see some cam pitting in the picture above. Is this bad?

I rode the bike on a good 20 minute test ride and it rode fine. But worried about longevity as this will be a daily driver, commuter bike. Plan on lots of road trips. Plan on maintaining the bike well and using Bell Ethanol Defense in the gas.

I am not a mechanic myself, and am not looking for a project bike. Hoping to get at least 20,000 of my own miles out of it, or more.

Should I pay the last amount owed and ride the bike away, or should I walk away?

 

Hard to tell from that photo but you must have have done your homework to know to look. I am no judge of US prices but I suspect it would need to be in tiptop condition if they are asking USD2200 for it. The VF500 is a great bike but I can't recommend it for your predicted use. I would buy something more modern and therefore reliable. I have a VF500 and I really like it but they need lots of TLC.

 

Very p
oo
r bike ch
o
i
ce
as a dail
y ride ! You'll go
bro
k
e if u cant fix it yo
ursel
f.

P
i
tt
ed cam
s ju
st
get wo
rse an
d damage a su
cessio
n

of


fo
l
l
owers.

co
l
l





F
i
nf an
o
ther
,
m
o
re rel
i
abl
e bi
k
e
mi
l
l
io
ns o
ut there.

:eagerness:

y
es,
my keybaord is sho
t. Ro
dents ate the wires.




P
ri
ce i
s too
hi
gh
al
so.
i
'm
certai
n that VF
50
0
s were great new bi
k
es but p
o
o
rl
y
mai
ntained bu
y
heedl
ess &
you
ng.

Few are sti
l
l
i
n goo
d co
ndi
ti
o
n
no
w.

 

Holy FArK, If i didnt know and love you, I would not have read that jibberish!

Get a damn Ninja 500R and be done with it, you dont want a mini-ceptor, not a good investment in money/emotions/mechanical effert.

 

Are you guys sure? Coulda swore I've read comments saying the vf500 engine is very reliable and can attain 40,000 miles and higher? This bike started well, and ran strong during my test run, which included a few miles on the highway. The price is a bit higher because clutch work was done, carb work, brakes, and brand new Metzler Lasertechs.

 

Can be reliable, not is reliable. Yes we are sure. VF500 valve train is fragile. I have the pictures from multiple grenaded engines to prove it. There are many high mileage examples floating around too. Your decision. Knowing what I now know I would not rely on a VF500 as my only bike. Very rewarding bike to own and maintain though.

 

Is it crazy that I still want it? How can I make sure mine reaches 50K? Luck? Or something else?

 

No not luck. JUst be prepared to check valve clearances very regularly and change the oil frequently. If you do that you should be OK as long as the cam/followers/valves are OK now. The cams you have checked and from the photo you posted kind of look OK but the valves tend to be what fail and really you have no way of knowing if these are OK or not. The recommendation on here is keep thre RPM below 9000RPM but there is no evidence either way that this makes a difference. I have two spare engines for my VF500 and really this is the only way you can have any guarantee of keeping the bike running. There it is I'm afraid.

 

Well. I'm buying the bike from a highly reputed Honda dealer, not a private seller. So I will trust the mechanics recommendations.

I have to admit I used to borrow a friend's vf 500 ages ago for even long road trips and I absolutely loved that bike. I'm willing to take some hits, if that's what you're telling me. I'm not willing to suffer, but I'm willing to give this bike what it needs. Parts don't seem tgat expensive, from what I've seen on ebay, just rare.

 

Maybe wait for some other opinions on here who have a better handle on US prices. Even with the new stuff it still feels expensive to me. 19K miles is pretty low and I bought mine with similar mileage, for the same money, but mine was a 1986 in standard trim in VGC. UK prices are quite a bit higher than US too.

Did the stuff the dealer do arise from the bike being stood a long time or wear and tear?

 

I really like the 500 and would love to find a cherry one but as a daily driver ......no......never.....wear comfy shoes for the walk to work.

 

Several things here..

The line between a reputable dealer and a disreputable dealer is fine indeed.

Give or take for the same amount of pesos, and from a private party you may be able to find a 1990-1993 VFR that according to worldwide press was and is one of the best bikes ever built. Yep I am biased..

Being asked to pay extra for a little wrenching on a for sale by a dealer bike, tells me they are taking you to the cleaners. Ask them about parts and ten bucks says they will tell you that is "no problem"

Many dealerships have lot boys or contract detailers to make some of those sows ears look like silk purses. The deal there is when you open the purse it's full of pig shit.

Let this thread run for a few days before saying adios to your pesos. Copy and print the thread and take it to the dealer's sales guy and hand it to him or her. IMO the response will be that we are about ten different kinds of things including abusers of hamsters all delivered like one of those ad tags on the radio concerning investing in Edsel futures at 9000 wpm.

 

Big yes, crystal no. See any thread..

 

I got a killer swarski chandelier from some milliionaires that is currently sailing around the world, (true-story.) For all the pervs, she is a friend of the family...

Maybe you need to get a millionairess of your own if you buy that stupid bike, all the doodes on this here site tell you "NO" but you persist, I went to college with someone that had a 500 miniceptor that he bought new and he basically rode it into the ground by 15,000 miles, was running on two cylinders, compared to my crappy zL600 turd. Anyway, follow your heart, its like you fell in love with some girl that has genital worts or worse. Be prepared for the fun future, when you tongue falls off or worse :wacko: speeling is not my strong suit either.

 

Strange my original 500 I bagged the hell out of for 5 years and never had a problem with it. Bought it used with almost 7000 miles on it and sold it with just under 35,000. Friend bought an 86 New and drove it for 10 years and put almost 60,000 on it and only thing that failed was the R/R and a CDI box the engine never had a problem. Another friend picked up an 84 because he liked mine and kept it till a few years ago when he gave it to his son to ride as a first bike. granted that bike was abused by him (he was 19 when he bought it) and his son.It was a little rough by that time he never had any engine or tranny problems with it. all of us did the standard tune up, oil and adjustments.

 

yeh there are always exceptions to the rules! maybe it was a mid-week bike instead of the dreaded "monday morning/friday night" ones. For over 2000 dollars there are many bikes oot there that can get you from one glorious coast to the other with out much luck, that 5-hun ceptor your thinking of will have you hitchhiking dollars to donuts

:vtr2:

 

There's a belt conversion VF500 that has done 100K miles out there. Google it if interested. High mileage is possible. Most of the UK bikes I see on Ebay have done +40K miles. I assume these are the well maintained survivors. LIke I said before, I have collected posted images from blown VF500 engines from this site and others over the years. Nearly all fail from dropped valves. No obvious discernible pattern to it either. Adds a certain frisson to riding the bike it has to be said.

 

I would pass. $2200 is a lot of money to spend on a huge question mark. I owned a 86 model VF500F. I loved my bike and it had the added advantage of having many fixes for things like the oiling issues on the 84 and 85 models. That said, the bike is still a 500 that need high revs to get any power out of it. The valve train is weak. It might not be if you could replace the valves and springs but they just aren't available. In fact most parts for the VF are unobtainable. I got rid of mine in favor of more modern bikes. I suggest that you save your money and get a higher mileage 4th or 5th generation if a VFR is what you really want. A 600 or 1200 Bandit is a good choice too. They are cheap and reliable as bricks. I would not have a VF500F as my only ride.