So I went today with my buddy to pick up an '86 VF500F. He food it online the guy was asking $850 my friend got it for $600. It needs the carbs gone through, coolant flush, spark plugs, new fork seals and the brakes fluid changed. Cosmetically it could use some work but for a $600 MC it's not bad. I test rode it and liked it. I rode it home for him and LOVED it. I told him when he sells my name is first on his list. Here is the only two pic I thought to get.
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I had a bike just like that. Traded it in to a dealer in Windsor towards my 919 in the spring. Is there an AGV decal on the tail? Maybe it's the same one...
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I know this bike inside out. I had one back in the day and did a restoration project on one last year. VFR World is the place to go for information. Very VF-knowledgeable people are around there and are very helpful. I am Michael E over there. He's going to need that place, trust me. He definitely needs a shop manual too, the Clymer can be downloaded, but has a lot of mistakes. The Honda manual is better, but harder to find (for free).
There is a lot to watch for on the 500, namely valve-train related problems and many key parts like valve springs, valves top-end gasket kits, etc and no longer available.
I'm a little concerned about the buying price on this bike. It is in the range that suggest that something is wrong. Lot's of sellers will simply say that the carbs need cleaning when there is something more serious wrong.
Key things to watch out for include dropped valves, worn cam lobes, blown rear air shocks and petcock problems.
Before spending much time on the carbs I would do a compression test and a real good inspection of the valve train. I would first do a compression test. Depending on the mileage, they might be below spec, but as long as they are all fairly close to each other, say withing 10% then your ok.
Pull the valve covers and check everything out. Check for anything unusual then check the clearances. The 500's drop valves because of under-engineered valve springs. When fresh, the springs do their jobs, but when fatiqued they begin to float at high RPM and eventually piston/valve collision occurs. This is a very frequent failure on the 500. Since springs are no longer available, the best wisdom is to keep the revs way below the 11,500 redline. Many suggest keeping the revs below 9k.
When he cleans the carbs, DO NOT separate the carb bodies from the plenum plate!! These carbs are a nightmare to get back together and you can do everything that you need to do without taking them off the plenum. Every VF veteran will make that recommendation!
Keep in mind that the screws on the float bowls are not Phillips, they are JAS and strip fairly easy if you use a Phillips. The dot on the screw head is how JAS screws are marked.
The throttle cables are a real bitch to get back on. Be sure to study them closely when you take them off. Having a friend with a 10mm wrench turning the
Carb synch's are a bitch on these as well, mostly because the adjuster screws are very awkward to get to. Be sure to "bench synch" them before putting them back on the bike. To do this, simply adjust using the three tiny holes as reference points relative to the butterfly valves, using #1 carb as reference. This will get you close enough for test runs and rides.
Use good old dino oil (non-synthetic) on these old bikes. It is somewhat common for people to develop leaks on these older bikes when using synthetic.
Off the top of my head, that's some of the key stuff. I highly recommend that your friend introduce himself in the 1st generation section of VFR World and start a project thread with pics. We all love that? Then when questions come up everyone is ready to go.
Well, we asked all the questions we could think of at the time. Under full disclosure laws my friend gets his money back if anything is wrong and the seller didn't tell him. The stuff I mention is the stuff we found after each of us rode it or was obvious to see when looking at the bike. I texted him to get on VFR world.
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Never Trade the Thrills of Living for the Security of Existence.
Did it ride ok? A dropped valve either doesn't run or if minor will run crappy, typically on three cylinders, basically.
Non-disclosure implies that the owner doesn't have plausible denial-ability. It would be pretty easy and believable for someone to claim that they thought a problem was just dirty carbs.
It sounds like he might be ok though. I don't mean to sound down on the bike. It is a real nice bike, but after hanging around VFRWorld for a while you see a lot of people come on with so much excitement who ultimately end up disappointed. It is a 25 year old bike and it requires some special TLC and strong mechanical aptitude or lots of money and access to a mechanic (preferably with V-4 experience) is required.
There's been some great success stories too. This one guy bought one and didn't know what he was getting into. He had no mechanical experience, but with the forums help and a few parts bikes, he was doing complete rebuilds. How's that for character building?
Originally posted by Ottawa919Keep in mind that the screws on the float bowls are not Phillips, they are JAS and strip fairly easy if you use a Phillips. The dot on the screw head is how JAS screws are marked
Sorry to be off topic but could you please post more infoon how to I.D. JAS screws.....thanks.
Sorry, it's actually JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) Do a search for on them to read more. On older motorcycles they are typically the variety marked with a small dimple (dot) on the screw head.
Neat little bike, will look forward to hearing how it turns out. Great info from Ottawa919, certainly pays to do your research because a seemingly cheap $600 bike can turn into a hellishly expensive $600 boat anchor real fast.
Well, we asked all the questions we could think of at the time. Under full disclosure laws my friend gets his money back if anything is wrong and the seller didn't tell him. The stuff I mention is the stuff we found after each of us rode it or was obvious to see when looking at the bike. I texted him to get on VFR world.
What utopia has a law like this? It's all caveat emptor around here. Cool bike, congrats to your friend.
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