Too good an opportunity to pass up

Hey Everybody,

I just bought an '85 VF500 off of Craigslist, complete, for $300. Title is lost, so I'm not looking forward to getting that replaced, but I figured title or not, an '85 with 2,800 miles on it was a steal. Cosmetically rough, but otherwise seems to be in good shape. This place has been a wealth of information, so I figured I'd introduce myself!

Nice to meet you all,

Sean

 

Well aren't ya' going to post some pics of the ole' girl?? Welcome aboard.


Rollin

 

maybe it was a "steal". might wanna do someone a favor and have the dmv run that VIN to make sure you don't have someone's property.

 

Certainly!! My phone died when I went to look at her/pay/take off the carbs to clean 'em up, but when I pick her up Sunday there will be pictures galore! :biggrin-new:

The thought has certainly crossed my mind. The folks I'm buying from seem reputable enough, and claim to have checked the VIN with the DMV and it comes up clear. I'll be running my own checks in the coming days as well. If worst comes to worst, I'll return it to the owner and invoice them for the carb work!!

 

Back again, with the promised pictures! Also, I ran a couple of separate online VIN checks, and called AAA as well. She's ~$600 deep in fees, but otherwise free and clear! I've got some goodies due in the mail any day now, so I'm hopeful that she'll be running by next weekend.

In her new cubbyhole at my apartment:




Low Mileage!


All strapped in for the ride home. As you can see, she's rough around the edges...If anyone knows where I can find the stripe decals, that'd be handy information!




I don't know what the PO did to the tank. There's filler, about two quarters' worth, and then the rest is just primer over metal for no apparent reason. The story is that the guy who bought it originally decided bikes weren't for him and let his nephew take it for a bit. I'm not sure how old the nephew was, but I guess the primer thing would be something I could see myself doing four years ago?




There she is! I've gone through the carbs already, and they look good to go. I've done a bench sync, so I'm hoping to slap everything back together, do some fine tuning/dynamic sync, and have her ready to ride about the same time I get the title situation figured out. Thanks for looking!

 

For that price I would have done it to.

 

Looks maybe like your bike has an original Corbin seat from when Mike Corbin was still making them.

I'd be checking every peso your DMV says you owe on that bike. A ten spot in the hand of a manager or owner of a bike wrecking yard might be worth it for info. Sounds like they want back licensing fees that are not of your doing.

Just a guess.. with low mileage like that and filler (Bondo) and primer on the tank, somebody got close to meeting with Jesus and the bike got put away.

 

Please forgive my n00bility, but what makes a Corbin seat a Corbin seat? My roommate has done his own upholstery work, and so I was just going to recover it. If it is a Corbin, would I be better served to shell out for an actual upholsterer?