Another '86 VF500 question(s)

Hello everyone, been lurking around for a few days.

Looking at adding a '86 VF500 to the garage. Friend of mine found it, low 20's on the clock. Bikes been sitting for a few years, runs. Fresh tires and carb kit/bowls are included.

I can pick it up for 800.00, which I think is a pretty good deal. Bikes running and is pretty clean, carbs need to be gone through though.

Any other problem areas I should be aware of? I'm pretty comfortable doing most work myself, but am no expert by any means.

 

I bought an 84 w/ ~35k miles for around the same price. The biggest trouble area I overlooked was the rear shock. It was completely blown. Replacing with another used stock unit is pretty much a waste because likely it will be worn out and it wasn't such a good design to begin with. Unless you can find a Fox shock on ebay or something, you will have to look into having a CBR shock modified to work with the 500. Check out Daugherty Motorsports Homepage - V4 Honda Performance Modification Home!
The shock works great (Thanks, Jamie!) but it took about 3 weeks to receive and total cost was about 1/2 of what I paid for the bike.

Other areas of the bike that I knew needed attention before I purchased were the carbs - luckily a tank of premium gas and Seafoam seem to have done the trick, mufflers- both had rot around the clamps, front brake pads were worn, and the whole bike needed a good cleaning.

Nothing besides the shock was that big of a deal. But over the last couple of months with very few miles traveled, other stuff has started to go wrong. Both sight glasses in the master cylinders leaked, the battery went bad, the started died, the seat cover quickly deteriorated, and now the right fork seal is leaking.

None of this is really out of the ordinary for a bike this age. Mostly common problems that you could look for. Just keep in mind that a bike that runs and seems pretty clean can quickly become a money-pit and a headache.

I love riding the bike. I just wish it spent more time on the road than in my workshop. Hopefully, once I replace the fork seals, she will give me some trouble-free days. (Knock on wood)

 

Thanks for the input, haven't read anything about the shocks but pretty much assumed that anything 20+ years old would need its shocks looked into.

 

They were notoriously poorly designed. I didn't have any problems with my 500 (with regards to the shock), but then again it was my first bike so I'm not sure if I had the feel for what a proper suspension should feel like, but it wasn't bouncy and had a smooth, non jarring compression action.

Watch out for the valves too. When measuring the oil with the dip stick you don't screw it in, seat the threads of the dip stick on the rim of the stick well, otherwise you'll be something likea 1/4th-.5 quarts short.