1986 Interceptor 500F...buy it or not?

Hello all! New member here needing some advice from people who know about theses bikes.

I've been wanting an interceptor for years and I've done a lot of reading about them. I wanted a 750 or 1000 but here in Idaho Interceptors don't pop up very often. Right now someone locally has a 86 500F for sale for $1200. The seller says it fires right up and pulls strong, has had work done to it and has 20,000 miles. The bike looks clean and in great shape.

Only issues is he says the front tire has a very slow leak and that the valves should be checked as he doesn't think they've ever been adjusted and the bike runs a little hot.

From reading I know about the cam issues and the 500 never got the gear driven cams. But I've also read a lot of people say the 84 and 85 were the bikes that suffered from this issue and that most 86's were fine.

What do you guys think? I'm not looking for something that might need new cams and a ton of work. But if the guys who know can tell me it's not really an issue for that year than I'd like to buy it. I can probably talk him down to $1000.

Also, can this bike haul me ok? I'm 5'11 and 210lbs. I use to own a Suzuki GSF400F Bandit and even though I was more like 190lbs back then it hauled me just fine and was a blast to ride. According to the info I've gathered the interceptor has almost 20hp more than the bandit did and I know the V4s are torquey bikes, I road a magna once and was impressed how powerful it was. Too bad it was ugly.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

I typically wouldn't recommend an older bike like that unless you are very mechanically inclined and have some experience wrenching on bikes but this seems like a decent price if the bike is in otherwise good shape. Keep in mind that very few shops nowadays will even work on a bike that old so if it needs some serious work done to it you will have to find an independent shop or do the work yourself and parts won't be easy to find. Good luck with you decision. Post up a pic or two if you have them.

Rollin

 

I've owned my share of bikes and I do my own work in my garage as shop prices in Boise are outrageous and most shops have a iffy reputation. My biggest concern is people saying it could cost up to $1000 to replace all the cams/followers if it needed it and that's doing the work yourself not a shop. Sounds pretty expensive. However, a lot of people say the 86 500f didn't have the cam problems, just the petcock and fuel pump issues that are common. I don't care about that stuff, it's the cams that worry me. Do you know if it's true that the 86 had the issues worked out? I know there is always that chance it was an early 86 model that could still have the issue but without pulling the covers and looking at the cams who knows?

I'm curious if Honda really did make big changes for that year or is it just rumor?

Heres a pic

 

Also the guy says the forks have been rebuilt, carb as well, new ignition switch as the other one was broken, new controls, new battery etc. Seems to be pretty much ready to go.

 

Even though the 1986 model is improved over previous years the cam lobes and valves stems are still problematic on the 86 and based on the looks of that bike it doesn't exactly look like it has been babied over it's life. I personally would pass on it since you can find one in much better cosmetic condition for just a little bit more even if it does mean you have to travel a bit to pick it up. Just be patient and keep an eye on Craigslist. Just my two cents.

Rollin

 

Yeah, you know I started to wonder. He said the forks were rebuilt, new controls and ignition switch and I noticed some dings on the front fairing. Starting to wonder if maybe it was wrecked. He said it came to him in sad shape 2 years ago and he's been fixing it up since. Maybe I should just pass.

 

I agree with Rollin. I'd pass on that one. It doesn't look like it has had easy miles and why has the cowl and tank been painted?

In general, the main issue with the 500 are the valves. They are known to drop them and should be checked often. There is no fuel pump on the '86 as it is gravity fed. It will pull your weight too. They are great bikes.

 

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll just keep looking, just sucks because you don't see them here often at all. Could've bought a 1000 a couple years ago but it was beat up.

Thanks for the advice and info!

 

Yeah, once again the 'net is your worse enemy. The facts are all years of VF500F suffered from the same top end oiling shortcomings as the other models. What is a much bigger problem is dropped valves - which once again affected all years. Keep the revs below 9000 and you would be just fine.

I would say go for it. The 500 is a great bike. I think everyone who has owned one would admit that it's one of the most enjoyable bikes.

 

How easily are the parts available for 17 year old bike? I had a 1973 RD350 and it was sometimes difficult to source OEM parts. I had to pay obnoxious amount for a NOS part on Ebay.

 

Not always that easy. But as you mention nothing of that age will be. Luckily there were a lot of 500's made so finding used stuff on eBay is normally a decent possibilty.

 

The repaint lowers its value, imo. Wouldn't advize buying that bike unless it passes a compression test with good numbers and all sparkplugs show proppa color.

 

Amazon and eBay sites can help you with parts but still they are very hard to find.

 

Yeah, there were a lot of 500's sold so parts aren't really that difficult to find.

 

I did just recently sell my 500, but I have owned 4 of them over the last 20+ years and right up until last fall (when I sold my last one), I have NEVER had a problem sourcing a part that I needed. Like Jamie said, they made a ton of these bikes. Also, I agree with the comment that the 500 is the most enjoyable bike ever. If you can find one in better shape, then I wouldn't hesitate to buy it, but I'd still pass on this one.

 

Just thought I would chime in as well. I'm a little bit larger at 6 ft tall and about 230 lbs. I have a 85 VF500 and I love riding it. Has plenty of power to accelerate me around in city traffic. Small enough to squeeze through traffic too. I actully have mine for sale at the moment, but sadly I'm in socal. I have mine listed for about the same price as this one but mine still has the original RWB paint. I have stuck to the recommendations on this site, I would never get it up to 9k rpms. I would be devastated if I destroyed my little 500 by acting like a fool.