just bought a 1985 VF500F Interceptor

Hello everyone! I've poked around this website off and on over the last few years. Yesterday I bought my first Honda (my fourth motorcycle), so I figure it's time for me to sign up and say hello. The bike is a 1985 VF500F Interceptor. I scored a great deal on it ($350!), but naturally it is not driveable yet. I don't even have it home yet.

Here's the work that I know it needs so far:
1. The previous owner said that the oil pass pipe needs o-rings, and so it leaks a lot of coolant. I don't even know what this means.
2. All the turn signals are missing. No biggie. I can get truck clearance lights from Autozone. I am super handy with electrical stuff.
3. One mirror is missing. No biggie. Ebay here I come. I might even get turn signal mirrors instead of turn signals separate from the mirrors.
4. The lower fairing is missing. And I absolutely cannot live without it. I cannot have a sportbike without a belly fairing. I don't know why, but the bottom fairing is what makes a sportbike if you ask me. Ebay again.
5. The tail fairing is broken and missing some tabs. Maybe I can fix it, or score one on Ebay.
6. The carbs probably need cleaning and adjustment. I don't know how to do this, but this is probably the time to learn.

Overall the bike looks gorgeous really. The rubber looks good -- no noticeable cracks. The tank looks perfect and not rusty at all. All the decals are already off (thank goodness -- they were so 80's!), and all the parts I have are white, which will look just great under some glossy red paint. The seat is black and looks perfect.

So first I need to get it home. Then I need to finish working on my fiance's car (she made me promise to finish hers before starting this project). Then I have to get this bike running. Then I get to work on some cool enhancements, like an alarm (maybe the SPY 5000m? Anyone tried one?) and some wicked lighting. I'm really set on getting a long-range remote alarm right away, since my Ninja was stolen a few years ago, and I am once-burned-twice-shy.

Maybe later I'll add some luggage (like an insulated pizza box holder!) and GPS.

The bike will come with the Honda shop manual, but I'm looking for a Clymer manual, too.

Here are the only two pics of it so far. I'll get more when I pick it up.

So hello to everyone!
MN man (aka Curt)
P.S. My dream bike is a 2002 or newer VFR800 Interceptor -- freakin' sparkly stylin'.

 

Welcome aboard. nice looking bike, looked just like mine when i got it. paint it back to org. colors. e-bay is where i found most of my parts. if you can't find it keep checking back.

 

hey brotha, I just joined the forum today as well. I got an 85 700 less then two weeks ago. I am starving for the bottom fairings also, but from my research (google) they didnt come with them, so yours arent missing, they were never there. not till 86. I am no expert, that is just what I found with my 85. There is a place that sells them thoagh, and I will find the link again if you need. for my budget I would rather find some used from an 86 rather then pay the 280$ for the aftermarkets running 280$ for the pair - unpainted. if anyone sees my info is wrong feel free to jump in I am just sharing my last 2 weeks of google .
anyways welcome aboard from another vfrw newb ( me )

 

I think the fairing he is refering to is the "chin cowl" , and not the full lowers which is an aftermarket. The lowers were not a stock item , but the chin cowl was as far as I know.



Will R.

 

Thanks for the welcome, guys.

I think you're right, Will. The little fairing under the engine is the one I want, and I have seen it on 84, 85, and 86 VF500F's. But I have seen UK version VF500F's with a much larger lower fairing that covers a lot more of the engine. Aftermarket USA may have that too, but I don't know.

I really want the little fairing that goes under the engine. I will not drive a naked sportbike. I know -- I'm weird like that.

I found my schematics on Motorcycle Parts, Motorcycle Accessories by BikeBandit.com, and I can see that the o-ring is on the coolant pipe that goes from the thermostat to the front head. It has nothing to do with the oil, so I think the seller incorrectly called it the "oil pass pipe." At any rate, it looks super easy to replace that o-ring. According to bikebandit.com, the o-ring is 13x3.0. I think that probably means that the inside diameter of the o-ring is 13mm, and the ring is 3mm thick. That is incredibly close to the size of a 3/4"x1/2"x1/8" o-ring, so I might use one of those if I can't find the metric one anywhere.

So now I feel a lot better about this bike. If I can get it to start, that will make getting it home super easy. So now I cross my fingers and hope it starts! I better start learning about carbs! Any suggestions?

When I went to see the bike, I couldn't get it to start, but the battery was weak and the starter was turning fairly slowly. Maybe with a charged battery it will fire right up. Oh, I do so hope so!
Curt

 

welcome to the brother-hood, you will find plenty of first gen guys here to help you out :thumbsup:

 

MY BABY IS HOME!

MY BABY IS HOME!

MY BABY IS HOME!

Now she needs a name. Hmmm . . . I'm still trying to name my guitar, so how do I name a motorcycle? I'm thinking that the guitar might be Angelina, but I am just at a loss for the motorcycle. Any suggestions?

Getting her home went surprisingly well. The seller really didn't want me to fix the bike at his place. He just wanted it gone. So I rented the Home Depot flatbed truck, and we rolled it up the ramps and tied it on. It made the trip just fine and the ropes stayed tight the whole way. Getting it back down the ramps was a bit scary, since I had no foot or tire traction in the back of the truck because it was full of snow. Darned Minnesota winters.

But she is now safe and sound in the garage and waiting for me to spend a little time on her. I took off my left mirror stalk (the mirror itself is missing) and found that it is a 10mm right hand thread. That's good, since that is such a common size. I'm seriously thinking about buying a pair of mirrors that will have the turn signals on the mirrors, so that way I don't need any other front turn signals. I would think that would be legal, but I am no expert there. And it might be even cooler than the flush mounts I was originally considering. While I'm at it . . . anyone want to buy a left mirror stalk or a complete right mirror?

For the rear turn signals I am considering flush mounts, or maybe putting clear/amber LED turn signals into holes I drill in the brake light lens, or maybe converting the two brake lights to function as both brake and turn, just like many trailers do. I have plenty of options there.

And I bought a couple of 3/4"x1/2"x1/8" o-rings for the coolant pipe for the front head. I think they will work perfectly to replace the 13x3.0mm o-rings that Honda specifies.

Thanks for the link to the carb info, racer600. Any other links or carb info are appreciated.
Curt

 

I named mine sheila ( the tank from red vs blue ). Funny show, not too mention my bike is red and blue. LOL. Have fun!

 

Heya Noob around here from MN myself, just starting a complete rebuild of an '84 VF500F. Hope that somehow we can help each other out!

 

Matt, yours is turning out to be pretty awesome, only on page 7 of your thread though, so will have to finish reading it asap, thanks for posting your work on the bike thus far!!!
If it's already done, I don't know it yet!