Beginning a 1986 VF500 resurrection

Hey everyone! First off thank you guys for this forum and keeping it so active, what a wonderful thing to see.

Just wanted to start a thread about my attempt at revitalizing my dad’s 1986 VF500. I’ve been riding street bikes for 5 years and wanted to get him to ride with me. He declined riding either of my bikes because he doesn’t trust his reflex times, but did agree to ride the Honda if I can get it running again. He’s now 83 years old so I’m really excited about the opportunity to ride with him. I attached a picture of him riding at Willow Springs back in the 80’s on his beautiful machine.

Anyway, we moved in late 1990 and it hasn’t been ridden since then. We found some receipts from 1997 and 2004 indicating he purchased a new petcock, tires, and a couple other small parts but the gas had been left in there for years before that without being drained. As you all know this means the carbs are caked in a solid gunk that is very difficult to remove. I’ve got things disassembled and am already talking to squirrelman since I’d rather get the carbs redone by someone who has experience with these V4s than struggle myself and potentially not do it right anyway.

I cranked the motor over by hand a few times using the rear wheel and was able to get the starter to crank a few times but the battery is ancient so I’m waiting for a new one.

The windscreen has some damage from some kind of chemical so I was hoping someone had a source for a good replacement.

Being nearly 40 years old most parts are discontinued so if anyone can help I would seriously appreciate it. I’ll keep everyone updated on any progress I make!

 

That sounds like an awesome project! Post some pics of current condition for us?

 

Not bad but not great, some dents and dings from storage. Dad says he doesn’t want to cherry it up entirely but I’m going to try to see what can be done about the smaller issues.

 

Another angle (my avatar)

 

Soaked the salvageable carb isolators in 1 part wintergreen oil 1 prt glycerine and 3 parts 91% isopropyl alcohol for 3 days. Good news: they’re even more pliable than the new old stock boot I found on eBay. Bad news: see below

I got this NOS boot on eBay and it’s definitely smaller. It still fits on the intake runners on the motor so I think it’ll work but I’m wondering if there was an update at some time. It’s not the boots swelling because the boot I had that broke is the same larger size as the three that I restored. It’s just this new one that’s smaller. It couldn’t be for another year could it? I thought the 1986s were smaller than 84-85. Came in what appears to be genuine packaging.

Sent the carbs off to SquirrelMan and they should be there tomorrow so I can’t test fit the boots on the carbs yet. Anyone have an idea?

 

Was the fuel inlet on the carbs in the rear center or the front left?

And the packaging was still heat sealed?

 

Hey captain, fuel is in the center at the rear, small vacuum line on the front left for the petcock. Still heat sealed in the pack yeah. Is it the difference between California and 49 state?

 

Not a CA thing. Just making sure that some 84/85 carbs didn't find their way on it. My 86 race bike had 85 carbs.

That is weird. It is possible that the originals had swollen.

And we had a heat sealer at the Honda Shop when we did returns. You never know where it might have possible been mixed

How much was that insulator btw?

 

It was $30 lol. Would’ve got the $100 4 pack of aftermarkets but thought it would be good to have 4 matching OEM ones. Also the new one says “carb side” and the d is backwards, but the ones on the bike only say “carb”. Think it’s not genuine?

 

I know money isn't flowing for everybody right now, but if one "broke" I wouldn't trust the others regardless of how supple they feel after the soak.

There is no way I would use that odd ball with 3 suspect originals. The aftermarket ones are really damn good depending on where you source them. I have some in a 88 Hawk GT and a 92 VFR.

 

Yeah the one that’s no good anymore tore through right at the same place that the “good” ones are beginning to crack. I’ll go ahead and get the aftermarket versions. What’s your preferred supplier for them? Thanks cap!

 

See if TourMax offers them. They make high quality replica parts. For some reason I don't think they do the 86 style, but you never know. K&L would likely be a good choice too.

I know more money doesn't always mean more quality, but stay away from ones that seem too good to be true.

 

Alright gentlemen, (huge shoutout to SquirrelMan!) with your help the bike is actually running again!!! I’m so happy, dad is really excited and now looking for riding gear that fits him. Hoping to get out once or twice before the weather gets too cold. Sent the carbs to SquirrelMan to have an expert fix them and he did an amazing job. The bikes starts right up, carbs are clean, no leaks, simply awesome. Going to get the tires replaced and do the brake fluids before I do the fine tune on the jets but it’s honestly pretty close as it is. Idles right around 1300rpm when warmed up. Got those aftermarket carb boots in place. Thanks for the suggestion Cap! They’re just the right size and work great.

I was able to put 17miles on it (slowly due to old tires) to make sure it’s all good to go. It was smoking a bit after the first couple of miles but wasn’t oil or coolant, so I cleaned out above the exhaust with compressed air and out came a bunch of seeds and mouse poop haha. No smoke now. I ran it up to redline a few times after it was fully warm and it truly sings. Headlight wasn’t working but it was just corroded contacts in the hi/low switch. I’m not used to the riding position as it’s so much lower and more comfortable than the modern bikes! I think the thermostat might be failed in the open position as it takes quite a long time to get to operating temp so I’ll be swapping that asap.

This website is incredible and wanted to say thanks to everyone who chimed in. Long live the Honda VFs!