Matt Tries – 1984 VF500F Overhaul

Probably going to be waiting for a while on the "wrapped it all up" post! My goal for now is to get it mechanically solid and understand how and why it works. Then put some miles down because it's been a while since I've ridden it. Once I'm comfortable with that, I'd like to address aesthetics. It's got a 20ft paint job that's failing. I'd like to redo that eventually.

"Sheer force of will" is what it felt like wrangling the carburetor into the new intake boots last night. My god that was difficult. I tried several different methods and eventually figured out a ratchet strap method that didn't interfere with coolant lines or anything else. Got it popped onto the bike now. If the carburetor still holds fuel after that manhandling, I'll get the cooling system and coils back on, and I'll be closer to firing it up.

I was trying to think of any silicon-based grease in my basement to coat the o-ring. Realized I had a teeny tiny amount of red grease from the master cylinder rebuild, so I used that. I ordered a little tub of Castrol Red Rubber grease today because it's definitely something I should have on-hand. Thanks for the suggestion! Hope I don't have to pull the carbs off again, but I'm definitely prepared to. I'll try filling it again tonight to see if I disturbed it during install.

 

For putting the carbs back in a smear of KY Jelly on the rubber boots is perfect... The Castrol Grease will also work fine in this purpose - BUT A SMEAR......

 

Two steps forward, one step back. I'll actually be able to give the castrol red rubber grease a shot on the carb boots. I noticed that my throttle pull seemed too stiff, and then I realized I routed the damn cables incorrectly. What kills me is that I actually stopped, went to my computer, printed out the routing diagram, and still did it wrong. I'm an idiot.

Picture of incorrect routing. Needs to go on the other side of the right fork.


Anyway, I got the throttle cables routed correctly, and it feels good. The problem is, I can't get the carburetor back into the boots. I was using so much pressure it actually snapped the 3/4" board I was using to protect the exhaust in half. Decided this is going to be a thinking man's battle as opposed to brute force--even if I did get lucky the first time. I'm afraid I'm going to seriously damage the carburetors getting them into the boots. I'm also afraid I've already damaged the boots as they started to fold a bit instead of the f***ing outlets just going in the goddamn boots.

Picture of boot folding as opposed to just going into its home. I feel like Happy Gilmore talking to a golf ball with these things.

 

I would have just pulled the handlebar, slid the throttle tube off and re-re-routed.

Yeah, that's not good. When you go to press into the rear boots, you can take a small flat blade driver and help get the boot "started". Also heat them up with a heat gun and get them nice and soft. Helps so much!!!!

 

You know... I actually pulled the throttle off, but it wasn't immediately clear to me how to pull the cables off. So I put them back on and went to the carburetor.

I was planning to loosen them up in hot water and trying again. Would you recommend a heat gun as opposed to hot water? I will definitely give that screwdriver a try this week. It seemed like all I needed was just a tiny bit to get the lip over instead of it folding. I bet that will do it. Growing a third arm might help too, hah. I think the governor of my state just made it illegal for me to invite someone over to help for the next 30 days.

 

Do NOT use a HEAT GUN - Use a Hair dryer....
I find attaching the boots to the carbs & then fitting is easier..
Undo the clamps more than you think is needed, Ensure the boots are fitted the right way around - It really does make a difference.. & then lube & install.

If it takes more than 5 mins you are doing something wrong..

 

I do not place the front all in and then the back - just doesn't work for me. Position all 4 carbs into the approx position & press down firmly. It at this point sometimes you feel the front just start to move in then its important to press & keep at that angle. the fronts will normally go in first anyway but try to keep the backs in at that time..

 

The cables go behind the right fork leg & in front of the centre triple. Then come back in to the right of the left leg. That way when you turn the bars it doesn't drag.

 

My heat gun has a low setting and I use it all the time for this application with no issues, both removal and installation. But to play it safe for the general public, use a hair dryer.

I've also done this easily 100+ times (Shit, 10 times alone on a buddy's VFR) so I have developed different techniques for the different models. 86-87 VFR carbs almost fall in compared to VF1000.

 

The struggle is real.

 

Cap, My comment wasn't aimed at anyone who has done this more than once...
I suspect you could use a arc torch & still be fine - lol

You would love trying on a 400... ha ha ha

 

Dude... What. The. Fuck. That just took me 15 minutes to seat the carbs using this method. 13 of those 15 minutes were heating up the boots with the hair heater. I just put a thin layer of red rubber grease on the inside of the boots and (most importantly) setup two small standard screwdrivers to ensure the lips of the boots wouldn't curl over. I put on gloves and deathmetal expecting a war, but they fell right in. Why isn't that in the manual? Thank you.

And I know it wasn't a fluke because I did it twice. Because, again, I'm an idiot. I forgot to reinstall one of the boot clamps prior to installation.

I was thinking I'd try everything until I got to this.

Out of curiosity, I measured the volume of fuel in all of all the float bowls prior to installing the carburetors. It turns out, I definitely have some room for improvement on my measurement technique. I'm not a tuner, but I believe this is passable (at least for a first go). But the results prove that my technique needs improvement.

 

Hey don’t worry about it - at least it shows you are listening... lol..
you will now repeatably kick yourself as to why you had so much trouble before.. ha ha ha..
but progress is always good.

 

Monumental effort, victory is yours. The manual is only 90% of it, it's the experience that gets it done.

 

Almost ready to re-fire (hopefully) the bike for the first time in years. There are a few issues I'm running into, and one of them is audible, so I shot a quick video:



1. How can I tell if a rear shock is bad? There's a lot of whooshing coming from the rear shock as I depress it. I checked, and it had 0 PSI on it. Set it to ~13 PSI now, and it was holding pressure while I had the gauge on it. Will check if it's still holding pressure over the course of the week.

2. Proper way to get 1700mL of coolant into the bike? I've gotten 1250mL into the bike. I've shaken it all about, but I haven't started it yet. I'm just trying to understand the process... Run the bike up to normal operating temperature would open the thermostat and allow fluid to go to the radiator. But I'm pretty sure the area in red is where all the air is trapped, so when would the thermostat actually open?


3. Pretty sure my coil wires are on their last legs. Is there a source to buy new wires? Or should I just play the ebay lottery for a better set of 38 year old wires?

4. Should the kickstand be interfering with the shifter mechanism? In practice I don't think this will affect much, but it certainly doesn't seem like they would manufacture it that way.


5. Longshot... anyone know if there should be an additional bracket for the Vance and Hines exhaust? The right side muffler has a bracket that mounts to the bike. However, if you mount it here, its still about 3/4" out from being fully pushed into the rest of the exhaust pipe.

I swear I don't ever remember another bracket. And it seems like this should align and go right in easily--the left side did. It's like the bracket on the exhaust pipe is incorrect.

 

It's too bad photobucket is a bunch of jerks because the pictures I need for the exhaust in this thread from 2010 are obfuscated: https://vfrworld.com/threads/if-you-have-a-vf500f-and-a-full-vance-and-hines-system.29080/

But I think I can see enough to show that I have to mount the right exhaust to the outside of the footpeg, not the inside like I have it. I'm betting that will resolve Question #5 above, though it does seem that it will still keep it from seating all the way... we'll see when I get home for that one.

 

Without complete disassembly, you won't get ALL the coolant out of a bike.

How do you tell if a VF500F shock is bad? If it's the stock shock, it's bad. These shocks were never great, but the one on the 500 did better because of how light the bike was. If it holds air and doesn't "lock" down after being compressed, It's probably doing as good as it ever will. If you keep and ride this bike, address that rear shock. They are not technically "rebuildable" and not tuneable.

Exhaust brackets go on the inside. Don't expect aftermarket exhaust to slide all the way down or fit perfect. Adjust the best you can.

The shifters and sidestand sometimes try and occupy the same real estate. Make sure your adjustment rod is not bent and maybe try to adjust the lever up a touch. One end is reverse threads so when you loosen the lock nuts, keep this in mind. You can tell by looking at the threads. Spinning the rod adjusts the position.

 

Thank you for the insight Captain. In regards filling the coolant, is there a danger in hurting the water pump if I'm potentially missing ~300-450mL and running the bike in order to try to shuffle out the air bubbles? I'm just a bit confused on how that air bubble is ever going to purge if it's right under the thermostat like I suspect. Or perhaps I really did only get 1250mL out during the first flush.

Noted on the rear shock. Looks like my options are Hogan or CBR600F2 modified by Daugherty Motorsports (if they're still active). When I do that, it should give me a good opportunity to pull the full exhaust system then because I'd like to remove the rust and coat it to combat further corrosion.

 

I have 2 Daugherty shocks and I like them and like supporting him. Hagon, Wilbur and YSS are other options. I've also bought 2 YSS recently and I like them a lot too. The YSS allowed me to easily gain the max ride height (and adjust it) as I needed by getting a slightly different part number than what the application list said. 405mm vs 400mm starting point.

Run the bike, recheck your level after. You're fine.

 

In the exhaust mount pic, do you have all the bits? There should be the rubber isolator that fits inside the casting, with a center bushing that presses through from the inside (nut side), with a washer and the bolt on the outside. Just asking, don't think that flanged bolt should be directly up against the isolator. It could just be me...happens all the time.