Mikernet’s Naked VF500F Build Thread

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by mikernet, Apr 19, 2019.

  1. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    Getting excited now, last few parts are getting painted right now and then the bike gets assembled! This is where it gets exciting so I figured I should start a build thread.

    When I started this project I modified an image of a bike that had many of the elements I was aiming for in the final product so I had a rough visualization of my end goal. Here's the image I found:

    [​IMG]

    And here's my spin on it:

    [​IMG]

    The grey on the muffler and plastics is going to be carbon fiber.

    The starting point is two parts bikes (1984 and 1986) that I think have almost all the parts I need to put together one functioning motorcycle. All the plastics are garbage but I'm going for a naked bike look anyway so I'll have to fab up some minimal panels. This is the 1986 bike that the frame and motor are coming from:

    [​IMG]

    Here's a shot of the frame after the motor came out, you can see the brackets I won't be needing any more have been ground down and some holes have been filled:

    [​IMG]

    Frame stripped down to nice and shiny bare steel, ready for paint:

    [​IMG]

    Frame doesn't fit in my oven (unfortunately, lol) so I built a baking box for it using a heat gun, 70,000 BTU kerosene heater and a candy thermometer poked through the top:

    [​IMG]

    Frame hanging up after paint:

    [​IMG]

    Wheels and engine covers coming fresh out of my oven after a lot of damage repair work to get them looking brand new again:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Previously rusty as hell exhaust parts and stands refinished and ready to go:

    [​IMG]

    Fuel tank stripping and prep was a probably the most painful process so far but turned out amazing, if I may say so myself! Got rid of all the rust inside and out and coated the inside with POR15 tank sealer to make sure it won't come back for maaaaany years. I highly recommend POR15 tank sealer - it was my first time using it and it's fantastic.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Freshened up reassembled motor (cleaned out carbs and cylinders, spare engine covers at the moment), frame and pile of parts ready for reassembly:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Last bits prepped for paint, about to be painted in satin black right now:

    [​IMG]
     
  2. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    That rear end looks great. The new design and tail tidy brings it into the 21st century. If you find an end can like that that fits let us all know please.
     
  3. psj

    psj New Member

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    Lookin' good!
     
  4. mello dude

    mello dude Member

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    Wow, nice job!
     
  5. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    Thanks!

    Bike coming back together slowly but surely. Degreasing, derusting and then greasing every nut and bolt so they look nice is making the process take significantly longer than anticipated. The motor has been reinstalled in the frame though, fluids run through the motor for a while to flush the system and leak test everything and then changed again. I'm happy to report that after tightening the collars on the carbs that I totally forgot about she is now purring along nicely :D

    Now for the not-so-fun task of reading wiring diagrams and rewiring everything as needed...:cool:

    [​IMG]
     
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  6. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    Aaaand in a tragic turn of events last night...I guess the o-ring inside the petcock in the spinning valve section must have dried out from sitting around too long without fuel in it and cracked because it's leaking like crazy from that area :Rain:

    It seems my options are A) find a used one or B) attempt to rebuild this one. What a pain in the ass. Going to drill out the rivets shortly and assess the situation.
     
  7. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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  8. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    Yeah I saw that when I was searching around but I don't want to wait up to thirty days for priority mail from the US to arrive and I don't want to pay $20 just to ship a bloody o-ring faster so I'm trying to figure out where I can find something suitable locally.
     
  9. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    Problem is it's not just an o-ring.
     
  10. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    That's the only part I need :)
     
  11. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    Cool then! Good luck!

    Ironically, Bellevue WA is about 20 minutes from me.
     
  12. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    Fixed the petcock, no more leaks...hopefully back on track to put everything else together now! Ended up getting a 32mmx2mm o-ring at the local fastener shop which seems to have done the trick.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2019
  13. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    I applaud it when somebody shows initiative and gets shit done. Normally, people just ask for help without even trying to solve the problem on their own. Nice work.
     
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  14. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    nice work !

    :Yo:
     
  15. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    Thanks! What can I say, I’m a get shit done kinda guy.
     
  16. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    So close I can almost smell victory...

    [​IMG]
     
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  17. straycat

    straycat Member

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    Looking great , well done ! Looking forward to seeing the tail section and pipes
     
  18. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    You'll have to wait a little longer for the tail section and pipes. Threw on the old pipes for now so I could run the bike and take it on some test rides without my neighbors wanting to kill me.

    Cut off all this excess wiring and tidied it up so that it all tucks nicely above the front fan:

    [​IMG]

    Here's the bike with everything wired up:

    [​IMG]

    Here's the gauge cluster, which is mostly working except for the tachometer jumping around like crazy which I need to figure out...I'll start another thread for that though:

    [​IMG]
     
  19. sixdog

    sixdog Member

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    One of the best looking customs I've seen......
     
  20. mikernet

    mikernet New Member

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    Thanks :)

    Had some technical difficulties for a couple hours there with my pic hosting but they should be showing again now. If you aren't seeing pics let me know so I can look into it further!
     
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