gutting the stock pipes on a vf500

milky oil on my 84 vf500

has any one gutted the stock pipes on the 1984 vf500f? i have a set of aftermarket headers i was going to put on and use the stock pipes for now until i can find some slip ons. i'm wondering if they can be gutted? i can see the end caps are held in place by rivets, so i didn't want to start taking them apart if it is an impossible thing to do.


so that was the start to this thread now it going toward my oil being milky. the bike had been sitting for six years, i took it out yesterday for the first time.(after working on it on and off for three months) oil looked good before i left. i took it out again today and the temp started to creep up on me so i pulled over and checked the fluids. the oil was milky but the oil level hasn't gone up. i'm hoping it is condensation from sitting all those years but i'm not sure yet.

 

Not sure if you will get any kinda performance f/ doing that, (just will make a lot of noise) you need a certain amout of back pressure for the bike to run correctly, plus it is a b***h to get the baffles out.

 

Apparently gutting the stock cans.....as well as Aftermarket Slip ons have no performance gains on a VF500

 

IT'S easy to screwup a good running bike that way......flatspots at certain rpms are common after pipe mods, probably need to rejet carbs.

 

i went ahead and did it, it was definatly a pain in the ass to do without screwing up the pipes. it is a bit louder but not to bad. as far as performance, i wasn't expecting any gain but i did notice alittle improvement......when i'm really getting into it, it will pull the front tire off the ground a couple inches when i hit second, it never did that before. i still havn't put the aftermarket headers on and my carbs still need synced(i just had them all apart to clean them).

unfortuning when i was on a ride today my temp was up alittle higher then i though it should be so i pulled over and check the fluids and the oil is milky . this is only the second day i've had the bike running, it was sitting since 2003 before i got it. i'm really hoping the milky oil is from condensation from over the years but i don't think i'll be that lucky. however the oil level didn't go up at all so i don't think it is antifreeze.......

 

Change the oil as soon as you can.


Then keep an eye on it and see if it gets milky again.

 

Coolant is bad for the bearing material. Some are worse than others, but I've seen quite a few automotive engines destroyed from head gasket issues, letting coolant get in the oil, then the bearings go.

 

NOW you know why the PO parked the bike ??

coolant in the oil usually shows on the dipstick...did u check ?

 

yeah thats what i was planning.....i'm not familiar with motorcycle motors. are they like a car with the coloant passages all through the heads? on on car the most likely cause of the oil being milky would be a blown head gasket, is that the same for a bike?

 

actually the guy park it cuase he was in an ancident and can now hardly walk so he definatly cant ride a bike. it had been sitting in a storage unit for 6 years so it has been well protected but there was no heat in the storage unit...

the oil on the dipstick is milky but not as milky as around the fill cap and whatever the giant screw plug is for on the side of the engine cover.

 

yes coolant is horrible for bearings. if in direct contact with bearing it will instantly ruin the metial....it changes the molecular structure or something. i once had a snowmobile, completly new motor, one of the heads came warped and leaked anti freeze down the cylinder and into the crank case. within 30 seconds, it destroyed one piston, one cylinder, and crank bearings! however if it is just alittle coolant mixed in oil, the engine can be saved if found soon enough.

 

Probably....but I'm not sure.

Just change the oil and watch the coolant level.