VFR400RR NC30 Bodywork fitted to the VF500F

Hi Viet,

If you have the 33hp carb restrictors, you should remove them. They are like NASCAR restrictor plates and you will see a big jump in power once they are in the trash bin.

If the engine is not restricted, then a free flow muffler, K&N filter and carb jetting will give you a few more HP. Other than that, those little engines are already pretty well 'hot-rodded' from the factory. I would not mess with the engine internals.

As far as bodywork, you might consider one of the pre-painted body panel kits on ebay. You can choose your paint scheme... OEM, Repsol, Castrol, among other themes. I'm impressed with the one I got from Motoparts Supermarket

For Honda, For Yamaha items in Moto Parts supermarket store on eBay!

It did take a long time to ship from China, so you can't be in a hurry.

BTW, you can follow the VF500 project bike progress over on the VF500 SSS swingarm thread on this forum.. I'm not really updating this thread anymore.
Cheers,
BLIGHT

 

Great thread! I'll be watching your progress.

 

It's been about 3 years. Any updates/fotos, Blight?

 

It's like death by nitrogen asphyxiation......silent, slow, painless, deadly

 

Try this link for NC 30 stuff.http://www.400greybike.com/nc30.htm. Load of stuff on there sold by NC30 enthusiasts.

 

Hi guys, 'short attention-span' on this project... sorry for that.

I did install the SSS and 18" rear wheel from an NC30 onto my VF500F, and it looks great. The forks and triples were changed to 600RR F3 IIRC, and the matching 17" wheel and brakes... all in white.

The project was halted when the NC30 bodywork pieces just didn't want to fit without major cutting. Here are a couple of pics of the bike before I rolled it over into the corner of my garage where it's been under a bed-sheet for years.

I feel bad, because I've done several other major builds in the mean-time, and the little VF still sits in the back of my mind... waiting for me to complete it!

Here are some pics as it sits: (nice bungee-cords and blue tape!)









So, now I'm heading back to square 1, where I want to add the F2 bodywork to this old girl, and pull the NC30 panels off and sell 'em I guess. I found a nice chap in the UK that makes repro F2 left & right side panels! I have a set on order. I'm trying to find an international seller that will ship an F2 upper fairing to complete the package. Also will need an F2 front fairing bracket (it's a monster!) or maybe I can use the modified one I used for the NC30 dual headlight fitment... dunno!

The hard work is done with the swingarm and new front-end. I'm going to do another PhotoShop of an F2 with my NC30 rear wheel & SS swingarm, and my CBR600RR front end. It'll be sort on a hybrid of the two projects, and might look like ass, but I'll know after I do a photo 'what-if' to see what it looks like.

Cheers,
BLIGHT

 

Holie shitte! ZOMBIE ALERT!

Can't wait to see more BLIGHT. Hope you are well.

 

Hello again,
I spent very little time on this photo-edit (pretty rough)... just wanted to see sort of what the new F2 bodywork would look like on my bike already fitted with the white NC30 rear wheel, SS swingarm, and the CBR600 front end.

I like it, but I also think it might look as good or better with black wheels.

There is the possibility of spraying the wheels satin black with Plasti-Dip rubberized wheel paint to see if I like it better... if not, it can be peeled off back to the white with no traces it was ever there. Here's the quick & dirty shopped pic:

 

Leave the wheels White ( JMHO)

 

Looks good, I love the F2 look. White wheels make it.

 

Thanks guys, I'm leaning towards leaving the wheels white the more I look at my quick and dirty photo-chop.
The Phoenix UK repro F2 side panels are paid for, and should be here in a few weeks.
Here's a pic (below) from their website: https://www.phoenixclassicautopanels.com/
Andy Day and his wife Carol are the owners... very nice people to work with!
Also scored a beater F2 headlight & fairing mount from another seller on UK ebay.
Still searching for an upper fairing & screen, but something will come along.
There are some in various stages of condition on the Germany ebay pages, but the seller won't ship to the USA.
Help anyone in the UK or EU??
I had a beautiful 500 Interceptor tank that I sold for top dollar when I started the hare-brained NC30 bodywork/tank scheme... too bad.
The only one I have now is from that old parts-bike, and it's 'presentable' but needs some work to be pristine.
Also have a beautiful VF500 seat I reupholstered in red vinyl that will work perfectly.
The last part will be the rear plastics... I have a set that is pretty-well falling apart, but hopefully I can glue and weld it all back together and repaint it.
The fairing paint will be fun, and I'm up for the job there... also, the OEM-style vinyl stickers (pricey!) are still available from an aftermarket seller.
https://motor-stickers.com/honda-vf-500-f2-1984
I scored an F2 tach and speedo gauge set and bezel several months ago.
I'll make up some fairing-mount brackets before I paint the new panels, so reassembly should go smoothly!
Cheers,
BLIGHT

 

Update: I just contacted 'The Dude', the original Nationals Fiberglass guy, and ordered a set of his F2 uppers and lowers for $260 + $80 shipping (est.)

So now... I have The Dude's F2 fairing setup coming, plus I also have the the lowers only coming from Phoenix in the UK.

I've looked for years for this stuff with no luck, and now I will have more body parts than I really need! Funny how this stuff works, eh?

It's supposed to rain the next couple of days, but this weekend, I'll clear out all the bikes and parts blocking in the poor little Mini-Ceptor, and will roll it out into the daylight after 8 years after being in deep sleep.

I'll take a few new pics of the nice NC30 painted bodywork on the chassis before I remove it and store it away, or put it back on ebay or CL to sell it.

Also, I'll need to get the bike running again. It may need a carb cleaning and definitely some fresh gas to fire it up after sitting so long.

I'll also need to run over to my storage unit and pick up the other VF500F parts-bike, and bring it home to start some parts transfer over to the project bike.

At least the project bike has a current registration and insurance, so once I get it going again I can ride it legally... these bikes are really fun to ride!

Cheers,
BLIGHT

 

Well, the Dude didn't come through. I waited 3 mos, and he just couldn't deliver. So now I'm back to the NC30 bodywork, and determined to make it work. I have some pics, but I'll switch over to my laptop to upload em.

The carbs were all gummed up, so I yanked them yesterday and cleaned up the needles and seats, and cleared the tiny pilot jets.

Had to order new carb boots too, because the old ones are rock hard, and cracked.

New Gates fuel lines too, as the original ones are rigid and cracked.

Have to drain the old varnish gas too, and replace it with some Bidengas at $5.50 USD per gallon

More to come...

BLIGHT

 

OK, I have some pics from last week below. Doesn't look much different than what I posted before, but the fairings fit a lot better. I raised the clip-ons up above the upper triple clamp, and it will be way more comfy to ride... I'll be 67 in a few months, so comfort is important to me!

Once the carb boots come in, I'll reinstall the carbs and see if she'll fire up!

Sorting the gauges now... the VF500 'dash' and gauges are way too big to fit in the smaller space in the NC windscreen/fairing.

Also, since I adapted that CBR600RR F4 front end, there is no longer a speedo cable drive on the 17" wheel.

So, I got a GPS speedometer. It's 85mm, the same size as most 'traditional' side by side gauges in cups on motorcycles.

Searched all over and found the matching 12K rpm tach in black face and white numerals, orange needle.

It's on order from AliExpress and should be here in a few weeks. I'll fab up a mount bracket and get the speedo mounted in the mean-time.

I didn't go with SpeedHut gauges (very nice... I put some on my Guzzi) only because they are so expensive. The Chinese gauges are under $50 USD each.

The fairing lowers are still about 3" apart under the engine, because they hit the front exhaust head-pipes.

No way around it unless I make up special front headpipes that tuck in under the engine, but that's not gonna happen.

Plan is to make an aluminum filler panel that will fill the gap under the engine, and another perforated steel triangle-shaped piece at the front.

If I take my time, and heat-insulate the pipe to fairing areas I should not end up with melted fairing lowers.

Still a lot of fiddling left to make new attachment points for the individual fairing panels to the frame. Not heard really, just takes a lot of time.

So, here are those pics, and I'll send more when it gets nearer the finish point!

BLIGHT

 

That’s a really good looking bike …. Good luck with the fairings

 

Thank you!

 

fun ready. some crazy mods, i like it! i might need some NC30 bodywork some day.

 

Check out ebay, you can get Repsol, Rothmans, and OEM paint schemes for about $400

 

That Looks Great.

 

Well, guys.... it's about 99% done! Got my new gauges installed and wired up (still working on the turn-signals) and even modified the tail graphic to read "VFR500R"... the only one in the world maybe?

That's my interpretation of what a "5" would look like in that odd font.

Too bad Honda never made this 500cc VFR model in 1986 before they went with alloy frames on the 700 and 750's sold here.

Even with gas and fluids, it weighs in about 400 lbs. Lithium Ion battery saves about 7 lbs, and the stock VF mufflers are very heavy!

One other thing I had to deal with was to make a new side-stand location since this NC30 fairing covers the old (forward) side-stand mount location.

A whole lot of fiddling on this project at every turn, but it sure has been a rewarding one!

That's an NC30 swingarm, hub, brake and 18" wheel, and I used an NC30 steel swingarm axle with some 20mm steel adapters I made on my mini-lathe.

Front end is CBR600RR (F4?) along with the CBR 17" front wheel with the larger floating rotors.

Also, that's a real NC30 fuel tank that I stripped, 'undented' and painted myself. Pretty hard to get this stuff here in the USA.

Most ebay sellers in the UK don't want to ship to the USA, and I can understand that... I just got lucky and found a few that would ship the major parts.





I took it for a short shake-down ride to the corner gas station, and everything works fine, and it feels really good.

Cheers,
BLIGHT