Help me with my VF500!

I didn't see the picture originally.

 

unless you have adjusted valves before, maybe take bike to a shop for the proceedure.

Unlike carb work, valve adjustment is very critical of any screwups, and engine damage is an almost certainty if not done exactly right. Valves can be CHECKED pretty much without risk, and may not neeed any adjustment.

 

How important is the valve adjustment? I really don't have money to take the bike to the shop... i was just planing on following Clymers... The shop in town charges something like $70 per hour, and i'm thinking the valve adjustment would take well over an hour...

 

the valves have been fine for lots of miles, so wait till later to check them......after you deal with that oil leak!!

IF any of that oil got on your rear tire, Bunkie, you be on yo ass!

 

Can't get the bike to replicate the oil leak, could never find anything. I did an oil change this week. I found out my radiator fan wasn't ever running. 2 owners ago wired it to a switch, the last owner rewired it back to factory but forgot to put a fuse in. I found that out when messing around trying to find the problem and now it works! The bike runs at the temp it should now!

My main problem is it is bogging down big time in the upper end of the RPMs. After 6K or so it is very slow to accel. In first gear it will not go over 10K RPMs. It just sticks right there at WOT almost as if it had a rev limiter that it was hitting. The only thing I can think is that it isn't getting fuel because of a clogged gas line/filter, or something with the floats.

Anything else I should look into about this? Also thought it could be the spark plugs?




EDIT- Also wanted to know if anyone has a video of a vf500 with stock exhaust running. I hate how loud my yoshi's are, after riding my friends Ninja 250 around this weekend I would really like to find something that quites the engine down, what are your thoughts that won't take much $ out of my pocket with the sale of my Yoshi's...

 

Bump!

Is it bad that my oil is a tanish-green color? I think it may just be a mixture of the old oil that was left after the oil change and the new oil that I put in.

 

YES IT IS BAD!!!

If your oil has a chocolate milkshake color, that means your headgasket is blown and is leaking coolant into the oil. You should also experience loss of coolant. Smell the oil and see if it smells like coolant.

DO NOT RUN THE ENGINE. Coolant makes as a poor lubricant.

Do a compression test to determine which cylinder has the leak. To further isolate the problem, you can do a leak-down test.

I replaced both headgaskets on my Cepter and it only cost me the price of a new gasket for each head. Get OEM if possible - it's better quality.

 

My bike has very mild coolant drop off. I have add maybe 250-400ml every 300 miles. I don't know where exactly the leak is occuring, but I would think that in small quantities, the coolant would just burn off or pool at the bottom of the oil pan?

 

Burn that Friggin' bIKE!!

NOW You may have a bad head gasket!

Everything that can or will go wrong is going to happen.

Get used to it : You're a victim of the previous owner's neglect.

Bail out now.........your bike is a POS!

 

I don't know, after all that work, it'd be a shame to bail now. For about $36 and several hours labor (free), it could be back up and running.

My bike was a victim of the PO's bad mechanical ability - but I just rode it 520 miles last Thursday and it didn't even hiccup.

As far as mild coolant drop-off, the headgasket could be leaking coolant into the combustion chamber and burning off. Pull your plugs and see if one looks "cleaner" than the rest. That is your suspect cylinder. Do a compression test and see what you get.

I used this compression tester from HF:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92720

If your compression reading are good, I'd then suspect your radiator is leaking. Remove the radiator and take it to a radiator shop where they can pressure test it. Be sure to bring the radiator cap too.

 

Yea, there is no way i'm giving up on this bike!! I'm gonna own it until the engine blows to where it isn't fixable, as of yet, i still have faith!

I switched the plugs yesterday and all of the old plugs were very carbon fouled. I'll get that compression tester or find one from someone... I would mention that the front 2 plugs had had what looked like oil on the threads... but the ends of the plugs were dry like the rest...

 

Wanted to update that I took out the pilot screws to check them, and there were no washers or o-rings that came out with the screw... I haven't rode the bike since I found out there may be a head gasket problem, i'm in the process of getting the compression tester...

One thing I don't know if I have mentioned or not... My bike will not start very well at all when it is warm, I usually have to let it sit for at least 20-30 min after riding to cool it off or it acts like the battery is almost dead. It doesn't turn the engine over very fast, and if I hold the starter for 5 secs or so it starts clicking... What would be causing this to happen? Could it be antifreeze in the cylinders?

 

If your RR isn't working right it might be overheating the battery. Batteries don't like being too cold or too hot. If it's overcharging, it won't be able to output a lot of energy.

Heat also increases the amount of electrical resistance in the system.

I'm sure there are a plethora of other factors that could lead to those symptoms, but I'm at a loss at the moment.

Oh and when I took out my pilots the first time I didn't think they had O-Rings and washers either, but more than likely, they're just stuck inside. Get a light and shine it in, take a looksie. My solution ended up being using a WD-40 straw to coerce the O Ring/washer out (you don't want to use something hard like a needle/nail, etc. else you damage the internal threads.)

 

I will have to take a look at that tomorrow... I also wanted to know if it is weird that my pilot screws were set at 5.5 FL, 4.5 BL, 5 FR, and 5 BR turns out when I first looked at them, which seemd very odd. I put them back in at the stock level and couldn't get them to start, i think I ended up putting them at 3 or 4 turns, and got it to start, tried to tweak it a few times to get it to run better, and then I found out about the head gasket thing...

What should I look to do about that part of the deal?

 

I wouldn't know why your pilot settings are how they are or why when reinstalled the bike wouldn't start. There is, however a pilot adjustment procedure outlined in detail in the service manual. You will need to buy/rent a tachometer to perform the procedure though.

If I were to pull random reasons out of ass I might say that removing the pilot jets on shot O-Rings may have caused them to not seal very well, your pilot jets are clogged, removal may have changed the dynamics of the clog or the pilot jets were damaged when you removed them.

The more experienced members of the board would probably have a better idea.

 

The starting issues is because of the right hand engine cover.....This would also explain the oil leak you had. I bet after the leak you tightened down the bolts around the cover ( or the PO did ) once you did that you put to much pressure on the starter clutch, the bronze washer is now pressed into the cover and the clutch. I bet once you take it off you will have a nice burn / score mark on the clutch. I had the same issue.....

You will need to take that cover off. Clean it with a razor blade to get that old gasket off ( both the cover and the engine case ) Once you do that put on the new gasket and torque down the bolts to spec and you are good...

 

I have a set of stock exhaust that I would be willing to work something out with for the yoshimuras. I have been looking for a set of them since I got my bike with no luckas far as the sound the stock pipes are stamped with the 83db that they meet the requirements they are not loud until about 9k I think. Got any pics of them tho??? All the pics I have seen are of the motor not the exhaust.

 

So, Head gasket anyone? What is your analysis? The only thing I could think is maybe it is a mix of the new brown/tan oil and the old black oil that was left in the tank... If that isn't possible, then somehow antifreeze is leaking into the oil...

 

Leakdown test, leakdown test, LEAKDOWN TEST. You may want to inspect your water pump for mechanical seal failure as well. You've got to find someone you trust that knows what they're doing. I've been reading this post for quite some time now and it seems that your bike has more than one issue.

 

I hate to say it bro. But alas I've lost any inkling of hope for your bike and I've really been rootin' for you and it too. It's clear that your bike was abused quite horribly before you got to it and it was only fitting that you got it free.

Just take from it what you have, a deeper level of motorcycle understanding and when to call it quits. The nice part is you can probably recoup any financial costs by parting the bike out and come out with the profit of experience.

The amount of effort to replace your bad head gasket is more than the bike is worth. It pains me to say that a 500 isn't worth it because I ride (and love) one myself, but the bike is at its end. I like working on and maintaining my bike, but I like riding it ten fold.

Requiscat in pace.