1986 VF500F Interceptor, sitting for 16 years! Need help.

Hi all,

Back in July, I acquired a 1986 VF500F Interceptor that had been sitting in a garage for 16 years! I soon learned that it was actually my late father's bike (not just the same model -- the same exact bike), so I made it a project to learn about the bike (especially since I lacked prior mechanical experience), and a sentimental project to get her running again. Unfortunately, the bike is on the East Coast and I'm currently on the West Coast, but I'll be heading back east in the coming weeks to continue working on her.

She was in surprising condition for being left for 16 years (she has fairings, just not pictured).


As soon as we pulled out the bike, we did the following:

• New oil filter, oil change
• Gas tank flush, cleaned out rust
• Pulled carbs, cleaned carbs thoroughly (or so we thought)
• Cleaned air filter, was still in good condition
• Bypassed gas tank for testing (petcock assembly issue)
• Cleaned front and rear brake assemblies, topped off fluid in brake and clutch
• New front & rear tires

Then, we used copious amounts of starting fluid to get her running. She would run, but only while having starting fluid injected directly into the carb intake (later, we learned this was a bad idea). We thought that a deep clean of the carbs was necessary, so I bought a carb rebuild kit from Billy Car (awesome guy, willing to troubleshoot via phone) which included new gaskets, new jets (main & slow), etc. We thoroughly cleaned the carbs and used the carb rebuild kit, but ran into an issue where the carb rebuild kit had the same slow jets as were previously on the bike, but the main jets supplied in the kit were much smaller than the main jets in the carbs. We decided to thoroughly clean the main jets that were previously on the bike and keep those. Could this be an issue? Unfortunately I don't have the jet numbers in front of me. ALSO, when we removed the main jets to clean them, two of the four jets had different hole patterns in the side. I was rushing and didn't realize this until they were disassembled and in one place. Do the different jets have to be placed in certain carbs?

We then tapped the pilot screw plugs and replaced them with the new ones in the kit, and set them to factory (2.5 turns out). Before replacing them (on a suggestion), we sprayed carb cleaner in the pilot screw port until we could see the carb cleaner coming out the throat of the carb. I did this for each carb and verified that the carb cleaner was coming out the carb throat. We tried to clean the carbs extremely thoroughly after reading several posts on these forums.

We used the bench sync (paper sync) procedure on the carbs, and mounted them back on the bike.

After some coaxing with more starting fluid, we finally got her idling on her own! She'd only idle with the choke on, but she would idle and rev like a real bike! This is when I took her for the first ride around the block and it felt as if all the hard work paid off. When she was revved, she was slow to return to idle, which Billy told me could be the seals going bad between the carb/engine.

Then, we decided to fine-tune the bike with a vacuum sync procedure (hoping this would fix the only idles on choke issue). We messed around with the fittings and after adjusting the throttle screws on the carb units, we decided to leave it for another time, but she wouldn't start.

We messed around trying to get her running again but had limited time before I left.
So, now that I'm heading back east, I'd like to get the community opinion on the next steps to take.

• I have new seals coming for the carbs, which will hopefully eliminate the slow to return to idle issue
• We made a major mistake using starting fluid, could this mean I need new carb diaphragms? (16111-MF2-711) I'm unsure about this because we had her running after using the starting fluid and now she won't start/run on her own. Thoughts?

Anything that I'm missing? I really appreciate your thoughts. I have several more detailed photos of the carbs if needed.
Thanks again.

 

Beauty. I love it. I have the exact same bike have fun it's a blast to ride


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The five minutes I spent on it were AWESOME. I was honestly astounded by how smooth it was after sitting for 16 years. Crazy! Really looking forward to getting her up and running. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

I get more complements than any bike I've ever owned. A guy actually sat in his car at Walmart for 45 min to talk to me about it when I came out.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The biggest problem I find is you don't feel like your going as fast as you are. Especially into the corners.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

It sounds like your idle circuit is clogged, and possible the choke circuit. Have you seen the thread on this site about 'cleaning carbs' do a search. Did you check and verify that all fuel and air circuits were open at the correct diameters? You may need a small steel wire such as a #11 guitar string to probe and push the crud out of the tiny pilot port. Take the pilot screws out and flush and clean between the pilot jet and the pilot port, etc, after 16 years the gas turns to jelly then concrete.

 

Kenny -- thanks for your reply. I'll add this to the main post since I forgot to mention it: I was told to remove the pilot screws and spray carb cleaner in the screw port until I could see the carb cleaner coming out the throat of the carb. I did this for each carb and verified that the carb cleaner was making it through to the throat of the carbs. We tried to clean the carbs extremely thoroughly after reading several posts on these forums.

I didn't go as far as using a guitar string and I didn't verify that fuel and air circuits are open to the correct diameters. I'll have to find a guide and do this when I get back to the bike. I'm also planning on bench-syncing the carbs again since I probably messed that up when I was trying to figure out the vacuum sync.

I'm assuming that setting the float levels will also be necessary?

Furthermore, when we removed the main jets to clean them, two of the four jets had different hole patterns in the side. I was rushing and didn't realize this until they were disassembled and in one place. Do the different jets have to be placed in certain carbs?

 

Do you have a downloadable manual. I can find u the link. All the ones I found on this site where no longer working.

Yes there are different sized jets for diff carbs.

Find a torch tip cleaner. It's like indexed wires they work great. And there cheap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I do have a PDF manual that I downloaded. Are the jet sizes for each carb listed? I didn't see it - I'll have another look. Thanks!

 

Yes there is.

Also here's a pic of torch tip cleaner.
There only 3-5$





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That was good advice to clean the pilot screw, but they forgot about the passage from the pilot jet TO the pilot screw.

When it was running on choke, was it a fast idle, e.g. 3-4k rpm, or slower? If just at normal idle, then the choke circuit is clogged. You will need the guitar string to rotorouter the choke jet to get it clean--the choke jet does not come out.

Bench sync is sufficient--no need to horse around trying to tweak it on the bike until you have it starting like a normal bike should. For bench sync i use 1/8 or 1/4" drill bits or drill rod stock, get 4 identical round steel rods and use those as your reference.

The emulsion tubes for the main jets are intended to be different between the front/rear carbs along with the main jets and needles, but none of that would keep your bike from starting.

Lay off the starting fluid--if it doesn't start with a little bit of choke then something is wrong and it won't run right anyway even if you get it started on that stuff. That stuff is for scammers trying to sell a bike with problems in order to start it up and close the deal.

If you want it to run right you have to check and verify everything that could have been clogged, check out some carb porn to see what i mean:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthre...-Fuel-and-Air-Circuit-Identification-and-Porn

 

I wish that starting fluid had never been sold. My neighbor loved the stuff. He brought a lawn mower over to me that was leaking oil in a big way. I removed the oily grass clipping around the engine and found the center engine gasket blown out from the inside. He used starting fluid and it ignited in the crankcase. He is lucky the damn thing didn't blow up and kill him. DON'T USE STARTING FLUID. It's designed for cold starts in big diesels and even then you just give it a whiff of the stuff.

 

Wands434, thanks for the info about the jets. I will fix this when I get back to the bike.

Kenny, when it was running it would ONLY run on choke, and wouldn't even start otherwise (starting it on choke and then easing off was a no go as well). It wasn't a fast idle, it was a normal idle, but I believe we were playing around with the idle adjustment screw at the same time.

I'm not familiar with that method of bench sync -- I followed Billy Carr's paper method. Does the drill bit method provide a better sync?

Additionally, How can I tell the difference between the jets? I've attached a photo from before we cleaned the carbs: I was under the impression that the long jet was the main. Is this correct? Is the stem (top tube) removable? We didn't mess with it.

Will measuring and setting the floats have a noticeable effect on causing the motorcycle to run? We haven't done this but may need to, but then again it was running while on choke.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Finally, I'll only be out east for a short time. Not enough time to look at the diaphragms and order replacements if they're damaged. Do these symptoms indicate possibly damaged diaphragms?

 

When are u bringing the bike home.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm torn - I have family on the East Coast and part of me wants to have a set of wheels for when I visit (relatively frequently)...
Plus, I'm directly on the West Coast and the weather here isn't always conducive for a ride.

 

Well I would suspect it would take a fair amount of work to make it reliable. All those years of sitting. I would bring it home and work on it then ride it back east.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

i think you better re-take Cleaning Carbs 101 and take the exam again...

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/22449-Cleaning-carbs

Get a plastic bin large enough to hold the carb rack and put them in it with the bowl covers off, pour a few bottle of pine sol in there, add some water to raise the level, let them soak overnight. Get your toothbrush or a small paintbrush and scrub on any stubborn dirty spots, shake and slosh the fluid around to get into every area. Take them out and hose em off, then shake or blow the excess water out and get one of your mom's bath towels and wipe them dry.

Now that the outsides are clean and shiny and smell good, you can put them in a cardboard box and carry them home with you, or ship them to your self. When you get home you will have time to clean the insides, then take them back East and install and it will start up first crank and run like new.

 

My 83 sat in my garage for the same time and to make it run was 90% carbs and 10% all new rubber parts.

 

Agreed, and not a bad idea.