Hey, from Golden Colorado US. Just bought a VF500 that has been parked for 8 years with gas in the tank. Other that some gooey stuff in the gas take and clutch I think my 500 bucks was well spent. One owner and 22K on the odo. Talk to me in a month and ask me how I am doing. Looking forward to riding this bike I have been riding a KLR for the last couple years so will be nice to be a little closer to the ground. WaveyDavey
Welcome to VFRW WaveyDavey. I hope you are able to clean out all the "goo" in the tank before trying to start the engine. You don't want to make more of a mess by sucking it into the carbs. When you get a chance, post up a photo or two of your 500. Just click on "Upload a File", then "choose a file" from your phone/ tablet/ laptop,ect..
I put three gallons of vinegar in my tank tonight will let it set for 24 hours dump it and see what things look like. I only got 6% white vinegar. Dude I watched on YouBube swears by it over some commercially available stuff. My carbs look clean from the perspective of the removed airbox but the throttle will not move a bit! I am wondering if I can squirt a little Marvel Mystery Oil down their throats to see if the slides loosen up. I wouldn't want to use to much? Not sure if anyone has had to go through this before, if so give me a shout. I am uploading a couple photos of the bike when I picked it up, as well as one of the tank drain operation. Did that ever stink! What does gas turn into when it cooks for 8 years. Oh by the way the petcock was closed when I picked it up, the seller said that it was stuck closed? Maybe a good thing. So many things to research. The brakes are working okay but the clutch has zero feel. So I am about dive into that as well. I need to pull off the slave to see if the piston is stuck there. Again any comment is appreciated.
The brake fluid in the clutch master is likely to be trash/ goo. It would not hurt to plan on a rebuild of it. It wouldn't suprise me if all three brake fluid systems are in need of at least a good clean.
