running on 3 cylinders....

I'm working on the same thing you are, I just purchased a new head and will have some extra springs and valves leftover from my old one I'd be willing to part with for a few bucks a piece. Let me know if you are interested.


My Journey:
http://vfrworld.com/forums/introductions/29455-1984-interceptor-vermont.html

 

Sounds like you have a good lead on the repair. It is always nice to have a friend who is a Honda Tech!

From what I have read, the word on the street is that the VF500F's valve springs should be changed at 20k - as insurance against failure. Of course these springs are NLA from Honda - though they may be available as an aftermarket part (quality of manufacture would be a concern here).

The Factory Service Manual is very specific on the maintenance schedule for the valves and I would bet many bikes, that have come to a similar fate as yours, have suffered from a lack of proper maintenance.

Having 40k on the clock and given your bike’s suspect history (the lack of proper maintenance) I think you should consider giving a very close inspection to this engine’s wearable parts. There are service limits for the springs, noted in the Factory Manual, which your friend can help you check - as a start.

 

its a check ferrarone , its a check read the thread , if i was low on funds thats i would do .

 

I am going to try and find enough springs to replace them all and hopefully get that done before summer. For right now I am just going to fix that one valve, and hope for the best. New springs from bike bandit will be $200+ to fix the whole engine... so I believe I am going to try and find some lightly used ones lol.

Thanks for all the help guys!! If you hear of any good deals on a set of springs/complete heads/parts bike let me know!!!

 

Honda Magna VF500 and VF700 Parts, Honda Interceptor VF700 Parts

If you need help with shipping or picking up parts let me know.

 

What are you trying to tell me?

 

I know that a compression test was suggested, I was just wondering what that sentence even meant, and why the fact that I offered him springs on the cheap in case that is the problem warranted another thread read.

 

OK guys, I found a 86 vf500 parts bike today, it is missing the tank, and lower fairing/chin spoiler. Also the air intake has been taken off and aparently it has rained on the bike with the air intake off. The owner did not know the miles right off hand but I am going to look at it this week, anything I should pay close attention to??
Would the heads,valves and springs still be in good shape even though it was rained on? I would think so since all that happend was water getting into the carbs and possibly the cylinder... but I thought I would ask.

How much is this parts bike worth ?? if everything else is in good shape and the miles are not extremely high?

 

Not to be a doubting Thomas, but it sounds like this bike/engine is way past its glory. Any chance you can hold out for better donor?

 

To the OP - tough luck on your bike. I have a 1984 VF750F (1st G) myself, so I feel your pain. For what it's worth, I look at these earliest Interceptors as cool hobbies, but not as basic transportation. They are flawed, but beautiful. However, I would never spend any money for a mechanic to work on mine. Almost certainly any $$$ you spend on a mechanic will be too much. For the most part they are fun to work on, but as a novice mechanic I gotta say that these engines aren't simple . . . .

 

I can hold out, but will not be able to ride my bike or even work on it until I get parts (so I had really rather not wait!!! I wanna ride!!!! lol ) , and since I am spending the money I figured I might as well get a whole parts bike just in case. The owner of the parts bike just told me he would take $100 cash. If the suspension and the rest of the bike is in good shape I am thinking that this could be a good deal.
I guess my main question is: if the motor has low miles (even though it has sat outside and been rained on), should the valves and springs be in good shape? I realize that the carbs could possibly be rusted and therefore ruined, but I do not really need the carbs. Can the valves rust even though they are hardened? the intake valves might be rusted shut if so, and that would make the bike not worth it to me.

Thanks

 

Yeah, I just bought this bike in january and have only got to ride it 3 or 4 times so all this down time is killing me!!! I guess its better to get all these things sorted out before summer though!! I agree, these are some of the best looking bikes out there imo. However with all this money I am putting into it, I could have bought a nice 93 vfr750 that I was looking at before buying this bike... if I had another reliable bike to ride all the time, I would definately keep the vf500 but being my only means of 2 wheeled transportation I think I am going to start looking around for a newer model.
I am sad to let it go, and its hard to say... but after this bike is fixed it might be up for sale if anyone is interested...

 

ok, its been awhile but I finally got parts and started digging into the motor, if anyone doesnt remember I dropped a exhaust valve on my front head.
after close inspection, the piston appears to be unharmed, looks like the valve tapped it one time and it bent the valve slightly keeping it from falling down into the cylinder. odly enough the keeper was still stuck in top of the washer on top of the valve spring, so I didnt have to go looking for it in the engine!! The top of the valve is mushroomed but the keeper looks to just have slipped off the valve. 2 out of the other 3 exhaust valves have some mushrooming and wear on them as well, so I am going to pull the rear head and check it out tomorrow. All the intake vavles are in great shape. Weird that only the exhaust valves show wear... The spare heads I have are the same way, exhaust valve heads have some wear but intake are all good.

Will the intake valves work for the exhaust? I will be using exhuast springs, just wondering if I can use the good intake valves out of my spare head for the exhaust in the head thats going on the bike? They look to be the same part # on bikebandit.
Also is there any special trick to compressing the valves and removing the keepers, or any way besides buying a valve spring compression tool?

 

You will need a valve spring compressing tool and a bit of pipe or tubing that is the size of the keeper holder and cut a hole in it to get at the keepers while the spring is compressed.

 

OK thanks TOE , will the rear head exhaust valves work for the front??? I am guessing they will seeing as they have the same part number, just making sure.

Is there any special trick to getting the valves out of the head without damaging the valve seals? There are a couple of exhaust valves that look alittle worn besides the one that dropped that I am going to replace, but I cannot get them out easy.

Also I cannot get the good replacement valve (for the dropped one) into my good head, I tried oiling it up and spinning it in but it just gets tight quick and I do not want to push it and damage the seal, any ideas????

Thanks,
-86

 

Here are some pics of the dropped valve/piston/keeper and some random dis-assembly pictures....


broken head sold to me buy opmharley... (didnt tell me it was broken...)



looks like the tip rounded off and let the keeper slide out of the grove, the keeper was still sitting in top of the valve spring set up, lucky me!

bent from hitting the piston

the contact point from the rocker to the valve is in bad shape as well, pretty beat up

as you can see, there is a slight mark on the top of the piston but it cannot be felt by touch, the carbon buildup is just knocked offi

notice the wear on the valve tip and the rocker tip size difference from wear...