85 VFR500: some questions?

Hello, Some of these mabye newbie questions.. if they are sorry..
I am going to be looking at an 85' VFR500 on Sat. at a dealer. It is supposed to be "like new" it has 17K on it. The dealer is asking $2300.
Is this a resonable price for a good cond bike?

Also is there anything I should look out for mechanically, I am very mechanically inclined.. so minor stuff does not matter. I am aware of the cam wear problems with the V4's, but according to the article I read the 500's don't seem to be afflicted by this as badly. Any wierd noises I should be aware of.. or mabye the lack of a noise is a problem..
This will be a beginner sport bike for me.. not my first bike.. I am coming off a 200cc dual sport, and have had my licence a couple years and I have taken the Ohio MSF class.

Thanks again for your help.. and patience with newbie questions.

Ken

 

Hi Ken. First, let me welcome you to the group and say it is good to have you here. I believe the early (gen 1) V's had cam oiling problems, but I think that pertains more to the 700's than the 500's. $2300 might be a good price. Check on KBB.com to get a better idea, even look on trader online to see if there are any for sale and what the asking prices are. For me, personally, I think thats high. I got a 93 with 28,500 miles for $2700. But again, that's me. Search the forums in the first gen section there should be some good info there.

Edited 7/29 01:51 EST - Oops. I meant 38,500 miles

 

If it is perfect, don't pay more than $1600. When you are done with it, all you are going to get when selling it is around $1200 ish. I have just sold my 1985 VF700 for $700 in great condition. Just need to get it out of my garage.

 

I'll have to agree with reg on this one ken. It sounds high, unless its in collectors condition. Check fleabay to get a good idea of what you should be paying for this model.

 

Hmmm . . . I just bought an '84 VF750F with 19k miles in pretty good condition for $1200. I replaced a leaky fork seal and soldered a pinhole leak in the tank and I am good to go. If the 500 is perfect, well, that might be worth it. BTW, why are you buying from a dealer? Dealers tend to ask a lot of money for used bikes. You could do a lot better if you buy from the owner (sorry if I am offending any dealers here).

 

I plan to mention that KBB and NADA show values between $1100, and $1300, I am willing to go beyond that.. figured I set a cap of $1600-1800.
The trouble I have with EBAY, or a private seller is that I am very time limited. I am an over the road truck driver, and I am only home for 2 days, then out 2 weeks. So the only options on EBAY are "buy it now".. since I can't always get an internet connection to follow the auctions. And I have been checking "the buy it now" regularly.. and not finding anything close to me, or the right price.

My vacation starts this weekend, and I am taking a trip to Nashville.. ON THE BIKE.. so I needed it quick, and in good condition... I currently have a 200cc dual sport.. But it is not really capable of much over 60MPH... I had planned on taking it, using the back roads to Nashville. But then decided to upgrade to something else, the dual sport was purchased as a cheap way for me to get my feet wet again to riding.. wanted something small, light, and low powered.... and cheap to buy... It is one of those Chinese bikes.. BTW.. so far the bike has been pretty decent. I will be up for sale.. if it does not get traded in on the VFR.

Off track question here.. Does the older VFR's like this 85 have a rev limiter???

Sorry.. I am kinda rambling all over the place.. I am very tired.. Just finished 11 hrs of driving. Started 70 miles East of Dallas/Ft. Worth this morn.. stopped at exit 2 in Kentucky on I-65... 678 miles.
I have driven 3000 miles in the last 5 days.. It's been a long week... and I am looking forward to beeing off...

Anyway.. need to sleep now.. gotta get up at 0715 so I can get to the dealer today...

Thanks for all your help.

Ken

 

Well, if I were in your position I probably would shop at a dealer too. You could search for a better deal, but the aggravation might not be worth the $600 or so you might save. $2300 is still pretty cheap for a good runner.

BTW, the 500s don't have the cam problem that the early ('83 to '85) and VF750Fs and VF1000s had. Anyway, I think those problems are pretty much avoided by running clean 10-40 synthetic oil and keeping the revs above 3500 RPM.

 

Ken,

Honda changed the VF500F engine drastically in 86, mostly to address the top end oiling problems that all of their pre- gear-driven cam V4's had to some extent. The 86 has different camshafts and cam followers, cam bearings that were "line-bored" for better oiling, and a bigger oil pump than the 84-85. The problem was much more prevalent on the early 750's than on the 500, but still definitely an issue. The cams simply did not get enough oil, and especially hated getting hot and max-stressed, such as by racing at Willow Springs in the summertime even with an oil-cooler (yes, that is a personal experience)... and were known to fail within 15-20K miles. The cam lobes, especially on the rear cylinders, would develop pits and flakes and essentially disintegrate. I raced an 84 in a VF500F spec-class Honda backed with contigency money at Willow, and though the little buggers were astoundingy quick around the big track (high 1:31's when the overall track record was 1:26 flat), trust me, the cams were very much an issue indeed.
Still, if the bike in question was going to have a problem it certainly would have had it by 38K miles. And many claimed that if used only for normal street riding (as most 500's were), and if valve clearances were scrupulously maintained and oil changes done regularly that the cams were fine.
The Mini-Ceptor is an amazing little bike even today; a forgiving, light, great-handling little hot-rod, and it sings an especially sweet small displacement rendition of that famous V-4 roar.

JonR
V4Roar

 

Thanks for the info. I bought the bike on Sat afternoon, it has 17K on it. I have Aaready put 800 miles on it... 300 in one day. The bike runs great, great power, but forgiving too... The oil that was in it appeared very clean, But just to be sure I changed it today, with Mobile One Synth for Motorcycles.. $8 a quart.. OUCH.. but it is cheap insurance for the engine. Only engine noise I have noticed is a slight valve tick when it is warmed up, and only at idle, can't hear it once you are riding... I think a valve adjustment will be needed soon, and since you have said that the 500's were also at risk I will move that job up to the top of my list of things to do. I picked up a Cylmers manual today.. will order the Honda service manual as soon as I can. I will post some pics of the bike soon.

Do you know if this bike has a rev limiter??? I am thinking not.. I missed 2'nd gear and over rev'd it a bit... wierd thing is that if you stay on the power, it pulls all the way to 12K and seems to want to keep pulling.

I have had at least 4 people comment that the V4 Interseptor was the bike that they DREAMED of when they were growing up... I can see why.

Anyway.. thanks for all the info.. I am really enjoying this bike so far.. It was easy to get used to, and I am having a blast on it.

Ken

 

"I have had at least 4 people comment that the V4 Interseptor was the bike that they DREAMED of when they were growing up... I can see why."

Your exactly right Ken. Thats why I bought my '84 VF750F. I had always wanted one when I had my '83 Nighthawk 550. I paid $1500 for my Viffer with 14K on it this May and I love it. I plan on riding it for a couple years and then upgrading to a newer generation bike. Congrats on the bike... You'll love it.

 

I'm enjoying my vintage ride Reg. I sure do get alot of stares and "Hey what is that thing?" Just the other day a fella pulled along side of me on an R6. We pulled on the shoulder and talked for about 20 min. Said he saw me around town a couple times, but wasn't sure what kind of bike I had. Someone told him it was a Gixser. I laughed because my bike was probably older than he was. So its pretty neat that my ride still has a certain cool factor. I also think the original paint scheme helps it get noticed. So don't paint your 500 reg. I think they look better stock anyway. Keep me posted about your project. Later.

 

There is a rev limiter built into the cdi box with the red plug. It is the larger of the 2 cdi boxes. Also watch taking it close to the redline. The 500's love to eat valves on the front head if you over rev the engine. The 86's a notorious for this. The 84-85's have a diffrent head configuration. I also checked out the oiling issue that everyone has with the 700's & 1000's. I talked with Dave Dodge of Dodge Racing Proiducts in North Carolina. He manufactures oil mods for the 700's & 1000's. He tested 2 500's yrs ago when designing his oil mod kit and said that the 500's have more than enough oil volume due to a larger orifice in the oil lines to the heads. The 700's and 1000's had a smaller orfice which decreases the flow. Keep the valves adjusted!! And remeber if you have no valve noise.....they are adjusted too tight. You want to hear a lil valve noise.

 

I've got an '84 500 that the tank apparently has a hole worn into it from the seat(?). Anyone know where I can get my hands on a procedure for soldering the tank?
Thanks,
Dean

 

It's pretty easy, so long as it is only a pinhole...anything bigger, you might just want to get another tank.

Once the tank is drained and completely dry, remove the paint in the offending area. Sand an area at least a couple of inches or so around the hole. Leave the metal rough - at least a 60 grit finish - the solder will stick better.

Use acid core solder - not rosin core or silver solder. The acid helps etch the metal.

If you have one, a pencil or micro type torch is good for this, although any torch will work. The trick is to heat the metal, not the solder. Feed the solder into the hole once the metal is hot enough to make it flow. Do be careful, though - bike tanks are thin, and you can blow a hole in it even with a small torch. When the solder starts to flow, remove the heat.

Once it's done and cooled off, fill the tank and just let it sit somewhere, for at least a couple of days. Gas has the most aggravating way of finding the tiniest way out. Nothing will make you madder than to find out it is seeping after you paint it.

 

I have had good success using 50/50 solder and acid flux (Phew!) and a very powerful (550W minimum) soldering gun.