Procedure for bringing the old guy out of hibernation

Hey guys, I got an '85 VF500F last summer, and it's my first bike.
Last winter when I put it away in my parents' garage I put stabil in the gas, took out the battery, and all that good stuff.

But it's finally getting time to bust it out again! However, this is my first spring with my first bike as I said, and I'm a little unsure what exactly needs to be done.

First of all, I believe it needs an oil change right away. So to drain the oil, it works best if the engine is warm, but is it ok to start the bike with that old oil in there? What is the best way of doing this part?

Also, should I drain out the coolant and out new stuff in? And what about brake fluid? Do I have to do anything with that?

Thanks for any advice you can give, and sorry I don't really know what I'm talking about!

 

welcome to the site! Glad to see another 85' 500 around. where are you from? If you really want to get the bike in shape for riding I would sugest new fuel filter, oil change, probably spark plugs. Depending on the miles replacing the brake fluid and coolant wouldn't hurt. it's your call on that one. If it has high miles you may want to consider getting the valves adjusted. Make sure your chain is lubed and adjusted and that you have good tread on your tires you should be good to go. How many miles does she have? Did you get a good deal on it? If you got some pics post up if you can.

 

Hey, thanks for the quick reply!
I live in Milwaukee, WI.
My bike's got about 30K miles on it, but it's in really good shape as far as I can tell.
I got it from a dealer last May. I was really trying to find a decent used Ducati Monster, but I wasn't having any luck, so I wandered into the Honda dealer one day and there it was!
To be honest, I was never a fan of newer Japanese bikes but this old thing caught my eye right away. I asked how much they wanted for it, and they said $1500. "$1500?!?!?!?!" I said, and I bought it. Now I know they can be had for cheaper than that, but it was in such nice condition, and 1500 was a lot less then 4000+ for an old Ducati. So this thing is one impulse buy I've never regretted!

Any how, it doesn't need much work... There are a couple rusty parts that I plan on cleaning up soon, but that's it for now. Last summer I had the fork seals replaced and new tires put on.

Can you adjust the valves yourself? Actually, how can you tell if they even need adjusting? The engine seems to run great as far as I can tell, but I don't have much basis for comparison.

I don't have any decent pics for now, cause it's at my parents house, but I'll take some this weekend and put em up!

 

Congrats on the "new vintage" 80s bike! Sounds like you nabbed a good one! Enjoy it... it's totally unique and will turn as many heads as a Duc! The only problem with finding a good-condition rare bike like this is that you're now obliged to never get rid of it! :biggrin: At least that's how I feel about my Hawk GT!

Leave the valves alone unless you're getting some definate telltale signs of trouble. Valve adjustments on these V4s is notoriously difficult voodoo sh#t that you don't want to touch yourself. These engines have been known to go to 50K and beyond before the valves need adjusting. Just get out and ride that thing!

Coolant: if it's green, it's good. Changing it is pretty easy, too. The biggest PITA is finding a way to feed fuel to the motor while the tank is removed, so you can rev the engine to bleed air from the system.

 

Haha yeah I know what you mean... When I first got it I was thinking 'hey I'll get this for now and trade it in a couple years for that Ducati,'
But now after riding it for a while, there's no way it's getting traded in!

I think the engine is running fine, so I'll leave th vavles alone. What are the signs of messed up valves?

Also, referring to my first post, what should I do about the first oil change? Is it okay to start it and let it warm up with that dirty oil that's been sitting in there all winter? What's the best way to go about getting that old crap out?

 

Re: what bad valves sound like: I don't know, really. Generally: poor milage, running rough, clattering sounds from the motor... I've haven't had to mess with it yet on a motorcycle. Both the Hawk and VFR have pretty long valve service intervals.

Re: oil... Well, how dirty is the oil? If you bought it from a retail shop, you should expect common courtesies like fresh fluids.

Just drain the oil. If it's been sitting, than all the oil has already drained to the oil pan. The only point of warming up the engine is to facilitate drainage, but time has already done that for you.

Re: old crap... hopefully there aren't actual solids in there. Short of opening the crankcase, all you can really do is drain out what you can and dilute any remaining impurities with fresh oil. Don't worry about it, just change the oil and filter and go. These bikes are tough!

 

Sounds good, thanks a lot!

 

My Ritual every spring:

I will ride it to get her nice and warm and change the oil and filter... I use Stabil as well, Generally sspeaking I have never had an issue with Stabil making my machine (An 85 VF700F BTW) run any different. In general though I like to run it till I need to switch to the reserve tank and then fill up with a fresh tank filled with half a bottle of Gumout Carb and Choke cleaner...

There are some that frown on that but It's never done me wrong...

 

When I saw the title of this thread..

My immediate thought was "Boy, is this guy ever going to get an inbox full of Cialis/Viagra spam.." :biggrin:

 

haha, nice :laugh: