Rebuild time...

Hey all, how's everybody been?

So its been 3 months since the 500's engine ran into problems. The very next day my Taurus' transmission blew up too. Fuckin Fords... So the bike sat for sale with not even the slightest bit of a nibble. We'll its 3 months later, I have a brand new Kia Soul, I'm about 5 weeks from graduating college, and my financials are turning around a bit.

I really have started to think about keeping the 500 again. I know this will make IC really happy. :wink: About two weeks ago I was hanging out with some friends and I mentioned that I had a vintage bike with some engine problems. My friend's boyfriend turned and said that their neighbor rebuilds vintage bike engines. Well, long story short the guy agreed to rebuild my engine for free. Of course I'll be offering the guy money and beer as a token of my appreciation. Now I have to make some decisions.

I think having a 500 as an everyday ride/only bike is not very wise. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get either a Ninja 500, GSX650F, or ER-6N for a daily ride and keep the 500 as a toy. There is also the fact that I'm going to have to put a lot of work into the bike to make it a clean street bike again. The fairings are in some disrepair. The bolt holes on both sides of the front fairing are snapped. The tabs on the side fairings between my legs have been snapped before I got it. Plus other randomness like levers and taillights.

I also have some people trying to talk me into vintage light racing again next year. I already have a bike that is a blank slate that is payed off. I could easily get the engine rebuilt to like new, strip the fairings off, respring the forks, add a F4i shock and go racing.

What does everyone thing. I can basically go anywhere from here....

Thanks

 

do what you think think and fuk everyone elses opinion your the one that has to be happy ... just remember that the olderbikes will turn into money pits.... On the other hand they don't eat anything when they are just sitting around collecting dust while you wait for the coffer to fill back up.....

 

wont be a money pit and it does go 120 mph ; )

 

A free rebuild?! Congrats! Hopefully he knows what he's doing and the top end doesn't give him too much trouble.

If the VF500 turns out ok I don't see why you wouldn't want to ride it everyday. I loved my VF500 when I had it and enjoyed riding it all the time. The only issue I had was the ticking time bomb feeling of "when will this this dro p a valve?" Hopefully with a rebuild the majority of that worry will be gone.

I sure as shit wouldn't race the VF...It'd be a nice bike for it but I wouldn't trust the Engine to withstand it....even after a rebuild.

Good luck.

 

What went wrong with your VF engine ??

A rebuild without replacing the valve springs would be risky..........and they are no longer available.

Forget about racing, as Slowbird says: she'll blow up, and you'll put an eye oot, kid.

 

Ever see that motorcycle drag racing video where the engine blows and the piston comes out of the engine and hits the riders arm?

It'll be like that but with valves, springs and retainers flying around, going up your nose, and landing in your retina.

 

Keep it, rebuild it, race it. All good IMO.

On the rebuild check out KPMI for the valves, retainers and valve springs.

The number one thing to remember with the VF series, let them properly warm up (i.e. get the engine hot) before riding.

Have fun!

 

Define "hot" please?

What temperature?

.....not in Farenheit....in Kelvins.

 

Operating temperature will do. This is more time than it takes to put on your riding gear. For some additional light reading check out:

http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~rblander/V4_kmarshall.html

 

I've been thinking that is the way to go for now. Cheap, bulletproof. Maybe get the ER sometime down the line...

Real low compression. A mechanic is pretty sure the rings are bad. The bike sat for like 20 years in a barn before the previous owner pulled it out, so the thinks they arent seated well. He looked in and said the cylinder heads look good, so he doesnt think it dropped a valve. Plus the bike only has 3.5k miles, so he didnt even think valves would be out of spec that early. Waiting to crack the heads open for the full update. It has been sitting at a used bike dealership for the last 3 months. Yea.... im lazy.

As far as the bike goes itself. I though the things only let go becasue people were holding them at redline for too long? I thought plenty of members have posted track day and racing photos around here.

Thanks for the info.

In the short time that the poor thing was running, I always turned the bike on and then preceeded to get my gear on. Then I would check to see if it would run without the choke. If not, I would let it warm up even more.

 

Take the choke off as soon as possible but if the engine is starting from cold you'll need some more time to get it hot. Gear on, choke off and ride 'ain't it' on First Gen V4s.

 

Good read. Thanks for posting.

 

Hmmm, interesting. Good to know...

I'm trying to contact this guy so I can get it transported to him this week. Once he cracks the thing open and finds out more, I will let everyone know.

 

Look forward to hearing what your tech finds. Which such low mileage this engine should be a keeper.