Matt Tries – 1984 VF500F Overhaul

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by Colddevil, Feb 14, 2020.

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  1. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    My usual order of mods with a new or used moto - 1.) Suspension, 2.) Brakes, 3.) Tires, 4.) Tuning - Performance Upgrades
     
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  2. Colddevil

    Colddevil Member

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    Looking at my email history... and trying to remember because I didn't take any pictures and don't feel like pulling the front fairing off right now... I'm pretty sure that the instrument bulbs are T10 wedge type. Partzilla shows these as a stock replacement.

    T10Incandescent.JPG

    My ebay order history shows that these are what I've been using. I don't have a recommendation on a specific brand or anything though--maybe somebody that knows bulbs better has one. They're like $0.50/each or so. The ones I bought are 6000K, but I bet you could get a softer color. The 6000K doesn't look too out of place though.

    ledT10.JPG

    I could always use the current lead/acid door stop on a core charge then.
     
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  3. Colddevil

    Colddevil Member

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    I knew the vac-operated petcock was going to be a liability--just thought I'd be able to make it to winter before it becoming a problem. Luckily a friend actually saw me out riding ten minutes prior to me losing power at 70mph on the freeway a few miles from my house. I asked him pretty pretty pretty please run to my truck, grab my ramps, and save me. My knight in shining armour helped me push her up and bring her home.

    So I will be doing the petcock modification to remove the vacuum requirement. :Lol: All in all got really lucky with it happening so close to home and having someone able to help me out.

    naughty.PNG
     
  4. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    oh man... could have been way worse
     
  5. Jim McCulloch

    Jim McCulloch New Member

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    Oh man that completely sucks.

    So I guess the petcock does not have an "on" position that bypasses the vacuum valve? I did not know that. I will have to check on this mod.

    Nice to have good friends!
     
  6. Colddevil

    Colddevil Member

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    Absolutely, which is why I'm not going to sweat it. I got super lucky it happened now.

    Yea, this one has ON/RES/OFF. Whenever I don't run it for a while, it's always a bitch to get started if the floats are low. I can pull the vac line and suck on it to pull some fuel through, but it's not great. It should be better which is why I knew it was a liability. To cut passed that I'll just hook up the auxiliary tank to prime it.

    Vacuum-operated petcocks are such a great idea in theory and just awful in practice. I probably mentioned it earlier, but on my friend's (mine now) Bandit, the vac-operated petcock works a little different and caused a big issue. It has ON/PRIME/RES. No true off. The bike had a petcock failure AND one or more floats allowed fuel to flow passed. There is no overflow on those carbs, and the orientation is downwards towards the cylinders. The bike hadn't been run in at least 8 months and the entirety of the fuel load worked its way into the crank case. To say the least, it made an absolute mess in my garage when 16+L of fuel oil mixture came out when I pulled the oil plug not realizing it.

    And yes, super lucky to have good friends. This specific friend helped me realize a dream two weeks ago by not just being a spectator at Road America, but a participant :Cool:. So he had some practice with the ramps. I'll have more on that soon. It wasn't on the VF, but it is tangentially related, so it'll fit here. I haven't been dormant, just haven't had anything Interceptor related to post in a while.
     
  7. Jim McCulloch

    Jim McCulloch New Member

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    Nice, looking forward to hearing about it.

    I worked a lot of road races as a flag marshal and did some hot practice laps but never actually participated in a Road Race. Too Skeered!
     
  8. Colddevil

    Colddevil Member

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    Hah, it was a track day. I'm a lonnnnggg way from racing. But I'm convinced that's the goal now after doing two days this month. I'm slowly dying inside without competition in my life. I'd picked up boxing last October, but haven't been since March because corona. Don't know if it's responsible to go back yet.

    I can tell you that the "laid back" novice scenario on the motorcycle track day was far more fun than I ever had when I got into kart racing a few years ago. It's all I've been thinking about for the past few weeks. I'm dreading the winter.
     
  9. Jim McCulloch

    Jim McCulloch New Member

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    Do it! Just be careful. I don't if they still do age groups in amateur racing. Hopefully they do. When I raced off road we had vet classes for people like me who had to go to work Monday morning!
     
  10. mikemo

    mikemo New Member

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    Hi guys. Can you tell me if there is supposed to be a gasket between the petcock and the tank, or just an o-ring? The drawings make it look like a single o-ring. My bike was leaking fuel terribly and I removed the petcock. It was put together with two home-made gaskets stacked one on top of the other, and there was no o-ring anywhere near the tank. If there is an o-ring, can you measure it and tell me the size so I can try to source one?
    Thanks
     
  11. Colddevil

    Colddevil Member

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    That's actually a really good question. Mine started leaking like 10 years ago, and my dad cut a paper gasket. I actually just cut some new ones this summer. I never questioned it because it worked. I see what you're talking about though.

    petcock.PNG
    paperGasket.PNG

    Which brings me to a potentially really stupid question... How does the reserve work if there's only a single solid siphon tube? I've got some research and head-scratching to do. Maybe this would explain why it's so hard for me to drain the tank, lol. If I pull the tank soon I can measure what the o-ring size should be. Headed out of town for a week though, so hopefully someone else has a quicker answer for you.
     
  12. Jim McCulloch

    Jim McCulloch New Member

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    My riser tube has multiple screens on it. It's not a solid tube. I also put an oring (Viton) from a oring kit I bought at Harbor Freight. It is working fine right now. I can take a picture if you want, the tank is off right now.
     
  13. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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  14. Diving Pete

    Diving Pete Member

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    The 'gasket' is a single O ring.

    Do you turn your tap to off?

    On all of my bikes with a manual fuel tank switch if I stop I turn to it to off. You can remove the vac part if required but in general this isn't needed.
     
  15. Diving Pete

    Diving Pete Member

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    That tube has 2 parts, the reserve is lower.
    Drain the tank with a plastic tube into the filler cap and let gravity do the rest.
     
  16. mikemo

    mikemo New Member

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    Colddevil,
    If you look closely at the petcock housing where the tube enters, you can see a gap. This is where the reserve fuel flows when the valve is in the "reserve" position. The "on" position takes fuel from the tube.
     
  17. Colddevil

    Colddevil Member

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    Goddamned things keep multiplying.

    My buddy installed a kitchen sink for me and in return I told him I'd go through his non-running VF500F and see if I could get it running. These are the lengths I choose to go to to not have to do housework. I've been pretty occupied with going through my SV650 but figured I was close enough to finishing what I wanted to do that I could strain my pea-size brain with another concurrent project, so we loaded it up a wee bit before getting dumped on with another 8" of snow and brought it over.

    He bought the bike non-running, which isn't the greatest idea. I haven't checked valve clearances yet but the biggest thing I wanted to check was whether or not the cams looked pitted or destroyed. And whether or not it looks like we should put any time or money into it. The bike is pretty filthy; however, I'm encouraged by what I saw after pulling the valve covers off tonight. We'll see. If I get into anything exciting, I'll start a separate thread. For now, I just want to see if I can get it running.

    2021-01-31 19.22.43.jpg

    2021-01-31 19.51.39.jpg

    2021-01-31 20.38.01.jpg

    2021-01-31 21.01.24.jpg
     
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  18. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    I don't know if decent cams/followers is good news or bad news for you. Hah!

    Good luck, I will follow along in the new thread.
     
  19. Jim McCulloch

    Jim McCulloch New Member

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    For sure subscribed! Good Luck, fun fun fun
     
  20. Colddevil

    Colddevil Member

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    Ain't that the truth.

    Pulled the clutch slave cover off with some struggle, but the left side engine cover is frozen on. I'm sure I can work it loose eventually with enough blows with a soft mallet, but I'm just going to throw it into 6th and spin the wheel manually to check and set the valve clearances for now. Planning to fill it up with some new oil, throw the old filter back on, and hopefully attempt to get it running this weekend. I'll deal with the engine cover later. If that happens, then I'll commit to really getting into this one.

    The alternative is to crate it and send it over to jstehman because, judging from the progress on his "My 1986 VF500F revival" thread, he seems far more capable and motivated than me, haha.
     
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