Matt Tries – 1984 VF500F Overhaul

Suggest if your clearing everything, you prep/scuff/wet sand the panels before you apply the decals (for those where you haven't already applied them). Just be careful you don't burn through the colour coat. Then apply the clear once the decals are on.

 

looking good dude!!

 

Very nice man! One of the best ones I've seen here.
Are the braided brake lines stock sizing as well? Stock calipers?

I could not find the lines you purchased but I found these:
https://www.carpimoto.it/en-US/1715...gal-Brake-Line-Kit-Type-2-Honda-VF-500-F2.htm

I reckon these would fit?

 

Do you have the stock master cylinder up front? I haven't heard of that brand, but I would imagine they will fit just fine. I would email the company regardless and just get verification. They'll point you in the right direction on what to order.

From the link you sent it, I wasn't clear if you were getting what they call their "direct" kit or not. From my understanding, "direct" (for the front) would be a 2-piece kit with the two lines connecting directly from a double banjo at the master cylinder to each caliper. A 3-piece kit would utilize the splitter piece that's tucked in by the horn. The 3-piece kit mimics stock and is a "cleaner" look. The 2-piece kit is to me is more simple and easy to bleed.

*edit--I see in the picture you attached this is actually a 3-piece.

 

I am getting a Brembo Radial master cylinder from them. So getting rid of the factory axial mc.
https://www.carpimoto.it/en-US/40599_110A26330-Radial-Brake-Master-Cylinder-Brembo-15RCS-.htm

They are able to modify the master cylinder banjo to fit the Brembo mc. Was just concerned with brake hose length since it says "F2".
But all my research on this forum points that the VF500F and F2 are almost identical bikes with a few differences.

 

Can you let me (us) know your experiences with that? Part of the reason I haven't gone to another master on my VF yet is because of not knowing how the brake line setup is going to work. I have a CBR (if I remember right) master that I'd like to install.

*edit--I've never been certain of the differences between the VF500F and FII/F2 either.

 

Should just need to make sure there is clearance thru the steering range for a banjo & hose to clear that is now mounted on the end of the master, instead of the front (going from memory here). Should be no prob. Another thing would be how the fittings were "clocked" for the application. I've had no problem twisting a bit to meet an angle, and sometimes it actually helped with a slight curl into the hose to naturally go around something.

F vs FII is full fairings (like a mini VF1000R). They are essentially the same bike mechanically. Bars on the FII might be slightly shorter, but I really don't think so.

 

how did you final paint etc work out Matt ?

 

It's still sitting there waiting. This weekend is getting the final front fairing and tank decals. Then a flurry of clear coat--likely Sunday. I was out of town both past two weekends and was going to try to get the decals on before last weekend, but I was still smelling solvent from the topcoat, and our discussion spooked me about rushing it and screwing it all up.

I've been keeping busy with bikes though. Last weekend was race weekend #3 of 5 for me this year. It was the first time I didn't feel like a chaser but more like a racer. There's so many levels to this shit and I'm just getting a first hand seat to all of the learning. I'm at the top end of the amateur lightweight classes (many, many seconds off the experts), but just because I can catch someone doesn't mean I can pass them. Learning how to put a pass on and make it stick is going to be a lot of trial and error. Came home with two P2's and a P3 in the GTL 25 minute race. Lost the supersport (amateur) race by 0.26sec.

The 25 minute race was wild. The guy that beats me every time and I swapped P2 back and forth several times. I could see he was starting to fatigue about 15 mins in after riding right on him for 10 laps. Saw him get lazy into the bus stop, went inside, he's aggressive as hell (in a predictable way) and came back for the hole I shouldn't have left, we touched, I knocked his rear facing goPro off with my clutch lever guard, he wiggles but stays up, I head out into the grass toward the wall, I scream "OH SHIT" but keep it up, regain myself, got about 5 seconds to make up, and I threw 2 laps down over 1s faster each than I'd ever run before. I crossed the line just behind him at the 25min mark. Man it was fun. I hustled for that one.

Interestingly... I got back to my tent after the 25 min race and found something wild. My Pirelli SC2 had started delaminating in two different spots. Glad that race ended when it did because I didn't feel this at all. Brought it over to the Pirelli dealer and they took the tire to send in for analysis and hooked me up with a new one.



And to bring this back to Interceptor related... it's got me thinking. I'm really curious how I'd be able to get the VF500F around the track. The majority of the AHRMA next gen lightweight superbikes were running around 1:26+. I'm going to try to get out to the AHRMA races in August there just to get the wheels spinning in my brain. I'm putting the cart way in front of the horse, but if I try out a track day and I'm anywhere under 1:30s... it might be fun.

 

I'm not thrilled, but I'm satisfied as "adequate" for the installation of the decals. The tank came out well. The front fairing with those extremely thin decals took all the patience I had. I should have laid a clear coat down on top of the dual layer topcoat (before decals) to make the seam from yellow to black (under the white decal) less obvious. Rookie mistake. Live and learn I guess.



This white one on the tank is 2-piece that comes together in the center. This was the area I was most worried about completely botching since it'd be so obvious. You can clearly see it in person once you're within 4-5ft. But at a distance I don't think I could have asked for better.


This was before the clear went on. When I pulled the backing off of the Honda Wing decal I just yelled "fuck yes!". I think it looks pretty awesome on the black. I moved the wing logo up from the stock location slightly so as to not have the "H" or the "A" (other side) overlapping with the other decal.


Might be able to start getting this thing roadworthy next week assuming I don't find anything that I bungled too bad. *knocks on wood*

 

Lookin good racer X.
I wonder if your tire pressures were too high and you started to delam. Was it an old tire?

 

I'm not sure what caused it--maybe I'll find out from Jason Farrell later this year since he's sending it in. I run on the upper end of the Pirelli pressure envelope at Blackhawk (35F/27.5R). We checked the tire pressure as soon as we saw the issue (maybe 4-5 mins off track) and it was 27PSI. Everyone else I talk to is running around 26PSI rear so maybe I need to lower it a bit--but I almost always check pressure as soon as I get off track and it never spiked high.

The tire wasn't that old. I bought it this year before Pittsburgh. It had 1 Pitt track day (I was slow--didn't know where I was going), 4 Blackhawk sprint races, 2 25 min races, and 1 Blackhawk track day. It sounds like a lot, but it barely looks like I'm too far into the wear bars. I'm not a great judge yet of grip, but I certainly wasn't feeling it slipping at all. I think I can make the front last the full year. Famous last words. Pirelli SC2.

 

A tire within 5+ lbs in either direction is likely to do nothing to the tire. You may see some odd wear, but nothing like delamination or chunking. It was either defective or exposed to something like a chemical or hot storage.

 

^^^ I agree with bmart on the chunking and delam unless you are running pro pace. I run 22-24 rear during the summer months. 80*+.25-26 up front. I push the front end much harder than I power the rear. I am a timid throttle guy.

 

looking good Matt

 

Not as planned--but all's well that ends well. I applied the ceremonial final decal (windshield) Saturday morning and planned to ride out to the AHRMA races as a spectator on Saturday at Blackhawk Farms. The previous night I ran the bike 20 mins to cycle the fan and verify no leaks. All good. I put the tank on and all the fairings and was ready to roll. Saturday morning I was running the bike to verify the fuel pump was working, and it was all good. Then I noticed the tail light out. Brake light worked fine. I probably burned through like 10 fuses trying to find the short before I just gave up and took the Suzuki VStrom.

I'm pretty sure the tail light issue was just poor terminal connections which I cleaned up. I took the VF500 out for the first ride in quite some time that Saturday evening, and it just sounds so damn good. It's so damn smooth. But I'm taking it over bumpy roads in my neighborhood and something feels absolutely terrible in the front end. So I'm afraid to go over 30mph. I keep running through my head trying to think of everything I've changed over the winter. The main thing I'm thinking is that I have less than zero preload and what I'm feeling in the front end is the springs literally jumping around. I've felt something similar on track when I forgot to place preload back on my SV650 after changing fork fluid. I pull in, crank some preload.... still feels appalling. It's fine when everything is flat, but on bumps and coming to stops.. it's bad.

So I had resigned myself that I'm taking the forks apart again to figure out what I've screwed up during the emulator installation. But before I do that, I'm going to grab a few pictures during the sunset because who knows when it's going to be a full bike again.





I took the front fairing off and was going to start pulling the forks but decided to sleep on it. Glad I did. My dumb ass forgot to re-tighten the top triple tree nut (months ago) when I was trying to align the forks. That was all the rattling I was feeling. I tightened it and gave it a go this morning. Oh yea. That was the problem. Crisis averted.

The engine and bike is so smooth. I love it. I was actually surprised a bit because I remembered it being a bit faster, hah. But I suppose I've just gotten very used to the SV650, and in my head the VF and the SV are equivalents. But it's so damn much more fun to ride than the SV on public roads. Mainly because of the engine note.

The suspension feels much more planted compared to the stock setup I was so used to. I wouldn't say it's earth-shattering, but it feels properly sorted. Like the thing that's going to hold this bike back is me as the rider--not the bike.

I've held off on sanding, polishing, and buffing out the clear. I decided I wanted to actually ride the thing this year, and if I keep trying to make it perfect, it'll be snowing first. The clear coat is already on it. If I care enough about the finish on it come January, I'll do it then when I've had more time to research how to do it correctly.

And here's a picture of the color difference from the previous yellow. I haven't done anything with the lower yet. Partially because in my head I still may want to see this bike stretch it's legs again on track. And for that I'll need a belly pan with the ability to hold 3-4L of fluid.


Annnnd I got to see a VFR on track this weekend. What more could you ask for?

 

That paint job just rocks !


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Wow Matt...really fantastic job you did there. Congratulations!

 

Thanks guys--I appreciate it. It's a 10 footer type of paint job, so don't get too close or you'll see it wasn't done by a professional. But I'm pretty damn stoked about it right now.

 

I hear you about the clear coat....I painted my NT650 Hawk tank and clear coated it, It is about a 2 footer and I want better. Our weather is an inverse of yours. It is too hot to go outside now so I am sanding and polishing right now!

Good luck with your racing...I wish I had the nads back in the day to try road racing! Looks like a real rush...