1986 VF500 Rebuild: Please Help Me with Final Details

I'm putting back together a 1986 VF500 that had been sitting for over a year with the engine and radiator removed. I'm getting close to trying to fire it up, hopefully this weekend, but am stuck on a handfull of final details related to wiring and hoses. I would really appreciate anyone with a running VF500 to look through the pictures and descriptions below and help guide me by using their running bike as reference if needed. The final details are:

1. Where the heck does the battery negative cable (ground) connect to the frame or engine? I'm really confused as to why this critical detail is not in either the Clymer or Honda Factory Service Manual as far as I can tell.
2. There is a grommet on top of the coolant reservoir. Does only one hose go to the coolant reservoir or is there a second hose that should be attached to this gromet? If there is a second hose, where does it go to?
3. There is a hose to the left (when sitting on the bike) of the hose where the fuel tank connects to the carbs. Is this hose just open to atmosphere? Is this the mystery hose that should go to the grommet in the coolant reservoir?

 

I resolved the first issue above by looking at some high res pics of the left side of VF500s online. It gave me a good enough clue of where to find the bolt hole for the battery ground. It's hard to see from the side but by feeling around with my finger I found it. The images below show where the battery ground should be attached.

 

Regarding issue 2, looking at used coolant reservoirs on ebay, it seems that the line coming into the top nipple that has a hose to the bottom of the reservoir (where the grommet is on mine) is the one that goes to the radiator fill spout and I'm guessing the second hose that comes in to the reservoir should be routed to empty out the bottom of the bike in case there is overheating and the coolant in the reservoir reaches the top. Is this correct? If so, then the only final question remaining is where does the hose coming out of the rear upper carbs go?

 

Ebay and the Honda Factory manual appear to have resolved issue 3. Who knew Ebay was a better resource than the factory service manuals for rebuilds The hose seems to go to the Air Vent Control Valve which does not apply to my bike as it does not have the CA emissions equipment on it so I will leave it open to atmosphere. I would still greatly appreciate anyone reviewing my conclusions to make sure I'm not making a catastrophic mistake :biggrin:

 

That is what I did on my VF500 when I rebuilt the carbs. I got rid of all the CA smog crap and left that open. I read that it needs to be uncapped to allow fuel into the float bowls.

 

Those look like CA emission carbs.

 

The picture in post #4 above is a CA carb, but it is not my carb. I took that picture off of ebay which clearly shows where that darned hose is supposed to go. In my case I'm leaving it open to the air since I don't have a CA carb.

 

I have some pics of what you may need send me a mail to evechr783@aol.com and I will send you pics of my 86 interceptor which I think will resolve
Chris

 

I started refilling fluids last night. I had not replaced the drain bolt in the water pump and coolant started pouring out. Luckily, an extra bolt and washer that came with the new battery is a perfect fit for the water pump drain hole. Moving on to filling the oil went pretty much flawlessly, though the drain bolt was only hand tight which I realized after filling the oil. None dripped out and I tightened it properly after filling the oil. No coolant or oil was visible on the cement below the bike this morning so at least there are no cold leaks. Filling the final fluid, the fuel, resulted in a slightly bigger problem. Fuel started dripping out between the flange of the petcock and the fuel tank. I removed the petcock years ago and don't remember if there was some kind of gasket between the two. Stopping by Oreilly's last night and reading the packaging for over a dozen gasket makers and sealants, I could only find one, "MotoSeal" that said could resist gasoline. The sealant is a lot less thick than other silicone based sealants I have used and dries to a much softer consistency, but this morning i sloshed the tank around and couldn't get any fuel to seep through. I'll be watching it closely for leaks though.

 

Thanks Chris, will do!