I put a 2013 CBR500R radiator and hoses on my 1984 VF500F and it works! I didn't need to because my old, 31 year old radiator still looks great but I just wanted to try it. take a look, it's a little micky-mouse but I just kind of adapted as I went along... did it fit perfectly? nope, not really... key differences: slightly smaller, lighter, fan is much smaller, fan connector different needing wire cutting splicing of old connector, no temp sensor port for fan switch so I installed an inline adapter fan switch on one of the hoses, lower brackets are facing wrong direction so I used L shaped brackets to connect, needed to use spacer in upper bracket to compensate for the centered bracket, eliminated the crimped water pipe on the lower left side with hose going straight from lower radiator outlet to water pump, that's pretty much it... it was fun just finding out if it would work and indeed it does. It was 80 degrees out and I rode around about 35 minutes and temp never got any higher than with the old radiator. It's an alternative to lugging around your old, perhaps leaky radiator. View attachment 31291 View attachment 31294
jeeez...I thought at least a couple people out there might be struggling with an old ratty radiator?... guess not! It is quite amazing how long those original cooling parts last when you don't ride your bike much over the years. The old hoses, pipes and radiator still look pretty new. I guess that's what happens when you only average about 400 miles per year. Upon further research, it looks like a radiator from a CB600 Hornet would have been an easier fit because it comes with the temperature sensor port on the correct side. they're cheaper too. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Replace...-04-/221740174512?hash=item33a0be8cb0&vxp=mtr
I have all the plastic OFF to thoroughly clean and wax and I kinda like the way it looks naked... I think I'll take my time putting all the plastic back on. **UPDATE after riding a couple of hours***never mind on the cbr500r radiator... I got it on and it worked great just riding around the streets but once I got out on the highway and ran pretty hard, the temp went almost into the red-zone, it came down pretty quickly once I slowed down but that's a sign that it's just a little too small, I slapped my old radiator back on and I'm back to just running a little hot most of the time as normal... the CB600f might have worked better, maybe someday... but I don't think the fairing will fit with that one on... Running naked wasn't such a hot idea either, since the back of the gauge panel catches too much air at high speeds, all the shaking in the wind caused a little crack in the black plastic under the tach... damn it!! Oh well, this bike is done, I can't think of anything else to do to it other than put that plastic back on...and go riding hoses are actually for a cb600f (hornet)... didn't use the cbr500r hoses afterall TURNED OUT THE CBR RADIATOR WOULD HAVE WORKED BUT I HAD LEAKING HEAD GASKET THAT WAS THE CULPRIT FOR THE OVERHEATING.... I see no reason that it wouldn't work, just sort of a pain to put the inline hose adapter with fan switch somewhere.
Your naked bike looks cool for summertime riding. The CB600 radiator looks like a general purpose part that would fit a lot of bikes.
