WaveyDavey Enters the World of VF500F

Does the state of New York Deface a motorcycle in this modern age with the registration sticker on the fork? Damn.
Got them together, thanks to Capt 80's.

 

Yeah either New York State or Military Bases.

Good job WD.

 

Thanks going to call it a night. I am going mix up the oil and get the preload set up tomorrow. Yeah the state of Hawaii does the fork sticker thing also, and on cars they put the annual registration sticker on a rear body panel. My civic still bears the scars.

 

Here is the latest, kinda whiped out at the moment been a long day for many reasons
This

s what 20mm preload looks like with the Race Tech Springs in my 500.

From Race Tech Instructions



I mixed 15 and 10 wt oil. The oil that was left in the forks when I started this was black and about the consistancy of water 7 wt??






Racetech called for fork oil level of 180mm measured from the top of the tube to the surface of the oil. Honda SM called for 335L 320 R cc /ml respectively
180mm measure from the top of the tubes turned out to be: 365L and 350 R cc/ml. That is pretty significant.

My custom made dip stick: The clamp is set to stop at 180mm.



Back on the bike with new Kenda K671 front tire mounted balanced

Why oh Why do states have to deface bikes and cars with registration bullshit. The fucking license plate has everything required to keep us under their thumb.



I am going to be posting a better. list of things to come here is a partial.

 

Great job. It's going to feel firm at first, but you will not only get used to it, you will love it the first time you go to grab the front brakes or go thru a series of bumps.

Quite a difference between "capacity" and the proper oil level, eh?! With the proper springs you don't need to add "air preload", because there is less air space now. And the forks won't be bottoming due to woefully weak stock springs. You can always reduce the oil level a bit (5-10mm) for a little more initial plushness.

I like those Kenda tires. The only thing I found is that they don't like cold weather, especially at the beginning of a ride. Any kind of 60 and above riding they are fairly ready and willing.

Super good job! You are now a carb and fork guy. ;-)

 

Temp to almost hit fifty today, so off to the Mesa to ride with a buddy. I am going to see what kind of chore it is to dismantle enough plastic from the tail of the bike to swap the floppy rear signal stems with front stems I picked up on ebay. I may remove the inner rear fender and fab up some kind of license plate holder. I am using Capt. 80's work as a reference. Also going to look into exhaust mods for two reasons. One my right pipe was landed on by someone in a past incident, the only damage to the bike. So it has some rash. Second, in looking at the plugs it seems to be running slightly rich. Well given I am at about 5200 ft altitude hear and generally only go higher when I ride, a little more open pipe may be easily rationalized if not beneficial! Isn't that handy?

WaveyDavey

Thanks all!

 

Rode the KLR out of the desert 10 miles on a flat rear tire. I stopped to pump it with my electric pump twice which got me about a mile each time. I just gutted it out after that on the flat. Shinko 805s are awesome tires to ride flat.

 

Good times. At least the tire is robust enough to do that.

 

I cleaned up the tail last night ride ready today. I put the a set of front signal stems on the rear, and removed a check of fender I am fabbing up a little steel to bracket behind the fender, it is a weee floppy.
https://youtube.com/shorts/axD7Utddfbw

 

This is much better. Rode first highway speed ride and exercised the tires a little bit on a couple 90's corners! Front end feels good great, I have not touched the shock but it felt pretty firm and tracked extreme well when I applied some heat in the corners. Nice to feel it track so well after rideing a KLR so much on the highway.
A wee tidier.




It doesn't look or feel 38 years old. I am thinking about what to do next? Ideas anyone?

Wavey Davey

 

Good job!

Rear shock.

That design does ok on the relatively light 500, but is not a great shock, even when new.

Eventually it is very likely going to freeze or collapse. Has happened to almost every one of my VF shocks, 500 - 1000.

 

This has been a fun thread to keep up with and I'm loving the updates. Thanks Wavey.

Throw a shock in like Captain said, and I would just ride and enjoy it after that. Or just ride it now and do the shock when you want to take a break for a bit. I think you're mainly looking at quality of life upgrades after that unless you're planning to get wild. Without spending time riding what you've got, you won't know what QOL upgrades you'd even benefit from or if you'd want them.

 

The rear shock is a preemptive move so it doesn't F you in the middle of an important ride or during the riding season. And, it's a damn nice improvement.

And then like Cd said... ride, ride, ride and enjoy.

Cheers bud!

 

I put about 80 miles on today. Front feels good ironically the back is pretty stiff. I have no preload air what soever on the shock. I am assuming it is OEM as the air chuck and hose look OEM? And.... nothing else has been modded. I will start looking at shocks, deffinitely won't take it anywhere to far from home without working that out. I just want something simple these days, kinda set and forget.

Thanks for the comments.

WaveyDavey

 

The shocks are designed to run at least some air, it should be wallowing terribly. Toast.

Set and forget: YSS

 

Cool, thanks for the tip regarding YSS $419.00 USD is pretty good today. HONDA VF 500 F INTERCEPTOR 1984 - 1987
GAS TOP LINE TOP LINE (STD) MZ456-340TRL-19-85 I will be changing the shock out for sure, but will have to wait till after the holiday. I did discover that my shock did have about 15psi in it. That's some pretty old air? I thought that I remembered looking at that some time ago, but well must not have. In the meantime it is riding super nicely. Remember the only bike I have been riding off road or highway is 2001 KLR(Tractor). It looks to be quite the jungle to get at the shock, this will take some study!

Thanks again

Dave

 

OK, good. The rear shock is likely not toast... yet. But I would keep the plan to replace.

 

I order all of my YSS from this eBay vendor. They have usually had the best pricing, along with service and shipping. They are also the store front for Firefox Racing, the UK R&D center for YSS.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/123923666931?_skw=YSS+VF500F&itmmeta=01JF8NVB6KBGMAJ61SNR8W1T6Z&hash=item1cda6d17f3:g:ixcAAOSwXWhi~19d&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKnC2fCY8/4LXuX6/VmBuA0KTcgvVYoA+h3e9KG5wj/PDdu9W/iMB+VEpOghMYq3SUablLub0rcwHeT6+Fv/49cE5E7QBR3WgVEbypLuh+sLOeUEz/bTLBWc6FX4QTWDb3rWyHDc4hJLzDmvaeFRveFzDzvEj288d4lD5b/F4Q/vCbUcvcjuLXC+TFOm9Javui0BZhwCSkPOtMJTHjfHxhjnLCx7SBp11GhUQUVQjElankXiVDhn8xLOowaUyOp6Bpo=|tkp:Bk9SR86z7ZX6ZA

There are some reports of the Italy, Spain, etc listings taking your order and then not really having inventory, along with a long wait for a refund.

 

I have just sent them a message. I wanted to verify ability to re-spring for 17.8 stone! What do you think about rounding should I go up or down. I was at one time contemplating setting this bike up for someone smaller than me. (Wife) I am pretty confident we will be getting her something more suited to her level (TW 200 or such). After feeling how this bike tracks and performs I may not be able to hand it over, until such time as I acquire something else, say a 750? If you know of anyone interested in a Triumph, Daytona, (94) let me know.. Pristine, but hasn't been started for 6 years. This bike was properly shut down and drained. I am kinda getting hooked on vintage Honda. After all my first bike was a CB550F. My best friend happened to work at San Jose Suzuki so....

 

I have found that the spring that ships stock is slightly heavy. I weigh 185-ish without gear. Even had a respected suspension guy on the Hawk forum comment that they seem to be shipped on the stiff side. too. By the way, he also recommends YSS as a good, budget friendly choice that performs well.

If you are just trying to go up a little, don't bother. It will be such a big improvement, with the ability to add some preload if wanted/needed. And then still be suitable for a wider range of potential future owners.

Just my $.02.