Coolant in Oil, feeling pretty sick right now

Agreed this is a great bike and you have the option of installing a complete CBR front end with a VFR rear rim for a sweet upgrade.

 

On this note, one sweet (highly modified) Hawk NT650





source: Honda NT-650 Race Hawk

 

I'm around 5'8" and about 150lbs and my 2nd gen feels good. Heavier than the VF500 I used to have and lighter than the 3rd and 4th gens but definitely comfortable and easy to handle.

Actually my VFR750 feels lower than my old VF500

Cut your losses....sell the parts and get a 3rd or 4th gen

 

I can understand parting this bike if the OP doesn't have the time/skill/space/budget to tackle the fix after a careful diagnosis of what has caused the coolant to find its way into the crankcase.

This said, respectfully I don't understand the advice to jump from a 500cc to 750cc bike simply to stay in land of V-Fours. Yes, they are great engines but the 750, as you note, is a different animal.

The CB-1 and the Hawk 650 are closer fit, IMO.

 

The main reason I want to stay with the VFR line of bikes is the Gear Driven Cams and lack of valve clearance checks.

I'd LOVE a hawk 650....but having sat on both the Hawk feels more like I'm sitting on my nuts, rather than the comfortable, wide seat of the VFR.
2 different bikes for 2 different purposes.


If this is the OP's first bike than I wouldn't recommend a VFR750. Then again I wouldn't recommend anything over 500cc....but that's a different discussion altogether.

jrob, if you want a VF500 then go ahead....but keep in mind if you don't want to pull the valve covers once a year (depending on how often you ride) and check valve clearances, Cam wear, valve stem mushrooming etc etc etc....as well as dealing with other issues, than I suggest either you buy one in really good shape, or you steer clear of the 1st gens.

I've spent too much time wrenching on my 1st and 2nd gens when I should have been riding

 

I know nothing about the VF500, so can possibly offer a different perspective... Buy or download a workshop manual, and spend the time trying to find the problem. If nothing else, it'll be a mechanical learning experience that will help you in the future. I doubt that you'll get much if any less for the bike if it's partly disassembled, as anyone who buys it will most likely only want it for parts anyway.

 

Just defect from camp Honda and get a Kawasaki. Maybe an EX500/the CB1 is an old bike, really didnt sell that many here in the USA, did see lots of 400s in Japan though. btw my EX runs circles around my old hawk gt, doesnt have the Honda build quality but for what I paid it really does not matter.

Change is good anyway, cut your loses and move on, my two cents....Cheers

 

^^^ Very good point.

 

I agree, if you can afford another bike.. get one and keep this one around to tinker with and learn valuable skills...then if you fix it...you have a bike to sell or another one to ride... good luck

 

You'd be surprised what an encouraging forum and no experience whatsoever can get accomplished (says the guy who bought a non-functional 3rd gen in April and rode home from work through snow last week).

 

This...even money on a dropped valve.

 

I'm 5'7" 140 pounds and I ride a 5th gen 800. Now don't get me wrong it is definitely not a beginner bike for someone my size, and I did drop it once when I first got it, but if your technique is good, you can ride a bike that size no problem. If your looking for something lighter, the sv is a good choice, and that little 650 v twin is a sweet little mill.

 

You know I just do NOT understand the people that as soon as they find out
something is wrong with the engine, they just talk about getting another engine!

Just repair it. No need to go buy ANOTHER set of problems.

I am beginning to think your generation of people just want INSTANT fixes.
I just don't get it.

If it is a great bike and you like the way it feels and rides keep it,fix it.
In some ways it is better than some of these cheap aluminum frame throw away bikes.

When people buy expensive Ducati's They get a tubular steel frame NOT a junk aluminum throw away impossible to repair frame.

 

I will tell you why that is not good reasoning.

If you just look at the dollars and cents it still does not work.

If you buy a $400 dollar engine and it is complete. As you said it is a "flawed platform" so you still do not know if it will perform and for how long.

If you spend 800 dollars You know exactly what you have. A BRAND NEW ENGINE.
And the serial numbers of frame and engine still match.
When you REBUILD an engine the metal has settled down over the years and is not going to change like a new engine will.

You can have it bored ,honed and new pistons ,valves - NEW, and really make it custom like weighing the pistons and rods (blueprinting the engine) and it is a much better engine than a "flawed platform" USED engine.

The value of the bike is very solid, because you have the receipts for all the work and parts. You can pay attention to all the details. It is a NEW engine basically, NOT A USED time bomb as you say. That right there is worth the $400 dollars extra. And it will NOT take a month to rebuild. 3 hours to take it out if you are a beginner. But you MUST have a shop manual.

So you can have another $400 time bomb, or a basically new engine. It is up to you.

 

Tink, IMO, you have been way too down on VF500Fs lately.

The crux of the matter is that VF500F engines can be rebuilt and the mechanical issues can be corrected. To tell the truth I am somewhat surprised at some of your posts as I know you have an excellent set of mechanical skills and working on an engine is not a mystery to you.

Of course owing a vintage bike pretty much infers that it is not a plug and play daily rider so I can see why many here post recommendations to make a jump to a more modern bike. For those who enjoy tinkering on bikes though, the 500 is a whole lot of fun.

Off the soap box and no offense intended.

 

If you know a cam has oiling issues. then have a hole drilled in the low side of the cam
that goes right into the center oil hole.

That is what Honda did with the vf1000R.

If the cam needs to be line bored that is easy to do too.
AND you can get the rubber end seals too from a vf 1000 R.

Matter of fact I used to rebuild 2 Honda 350 twins per day and on our racing twins we installed needle rollers on the cams instead of bushings and they would rev to 11,000 RPM no problem.

Lots of things you can do when you rebuild the engine.