85 500f Streetfighter

Hello all,

A few months ago i was browsing craigslist like i do everyday at work, and came across a 85 vf500f that apparently ran well and was all stock. I remember the vf500f being the first bike that i tried to buy when i was 18 when i got my m/c lisence, but couldn't afford it... or get even an 800 dollar loan to buy it. So to see it kinda sparked my interest and i ended up picking it up for 500 bucks. The guy owned it since 86, and while it was all there and ran ok, was not in good shape by any means.

So to waste time at work and have something to do, i just started tearing everything off of it just messing around. A couple cans of paint, a few zip ties, and a $25 ebay headlight late...i ended up with this:

*Some might not like it, or think i ruined the bike...but thats ok, i had some fun with it, rode it around a bit...and will prob sell it for cheap pretty soon. At least it saw a little more fun before completely becoming a pile...*







Thanks!

 

What size tires are you running?

 

btw, I think these bikes lend well to the street fighter look...

 

Look's pretty cool except for the horrible seat cover. That is a monster front tire! The front fender is really raised for clearance. I had the F1 slip-ons back in the day, but I don't remember the F1R.

 

That must be a rear tire on the front. I think street fighters are cool if done right. The term fighter gets lost on some when they go backwards in performance trying to get a certain look.

 

Taking a second look, my curiosity is peeked about how you managed the electrical. Do you have closer pics of how you managed the cables up front, what you removed, etc?

 

Thanks all, the bike came with 130 tires on both ends, but the front just looks huge because its on a 16" wheel...if i wanted to get this back on the road id probably go back to a 100/110 combo. I still have the front fender too that can go back on, but it doesnt fit over the tire anymore.

As far as the wiring i removed everything except the ignition on/off switch and starter engage wires. There are no gauges and no key, just a kill switch mounted under the tank.

Honestly, if i wanted to put it back on the street all i would really do is just a couple cheap tires, seat cover, and its needs fork seals....but i prob wont get to that point..

 

I love it, and it kills me to see it like this at the same time. The body panels and gas tank in the original paint could have easily gotten you 300 - 400 dollars on eBay. That's the part thats killing me. At the same time I love how it looks, and I now plan on doing the same thing to mine. It just looks great. I plan* on rigging LEDs into the radiator reflectors up front and adding like lights to the side holes in the rear fairing, and using them as the front and back turn signals. How does it drive with the massive front tire?

 

Honestly all ive been doing is tooling around at slower speeds, i never have really put any lean on it or anything...so i cant really comment on the handling or the odd size tire, but for what ive been doing with it it seems alright.

This was my old bike, i miss it a lot

 

looks good but when doing a streetfighter you need to go all the way or not do it all

 

Here is a new seat cover for you:

Honda VF500 VF500F Interceptor Seat Cover New: eBay Motors (item 110461526739 end time May-22-10 13:54:59 PDT)

 

I'm sure you do especially after riding around in a $500 dollar bike. Great work on the fighter, by the way. It looks really cool.

 

Wow....it's definitely different.

...and I can't imaging the huge profile on that front tire makes the bike feel very stable.

How are YOU liking the bike?

 

Not to be boorish but I am not sure 'stable' is a the correct adjective here - this tire profile will negatively affect the handling of the bike.

 

Picky picky.

 

LOL, yes of course!

I do think Hopit88 said it best:

 

Well, im not sure why that tire was ever put on the front, it was put on by the previous owner while all the old fairing were still on. Its a 130 just like the back...except on a 16 inch rim obviously. Like i said, i never really pushed the bike to its limits or spent much time on the road with it. But for what i was doing with it the bike rode fine...probably staying less that 40mph...etc.

I actually just sold the bike for 550 bucks, pretty much just what i bought it for. I never really planned on keeping it or doing much of anything with it...but i did have fun for a little bit, and let my friends have fun with it as well, some of which didnt have that much exp riding bike...so it was good to get them on something they coudlnt really mess up.

Guess thats it....thanks for the short stay on the forum!