Member Contributer sportfour Posted October 21, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted October 21, 2020 Have a new to me 86 VF500F. Per the PO it has an 85 engine in it as the 86 engine failed, rather dramatically I am told. Given what I have experienced going through the bike I am not surprised. It is amazing what people can do to machines. I am at the beginning of the sorting out process. The 85 engine seems to run fine but I am somewhat confused to find that it looks to be fitted with post 85 carbs, VD31's. I have quite a bit to learn at this point as I sort through the parts maze but didn't think VD 31s would mate up to 85 heads as the insulators are different part numbers. I do have a spare set of VD56A's that came with bike. I have also noted that carb gasket/o-ring kits are only available for the pre 86 carbs from Honda. The plan is to make it into a runner. My first plan is to secure an engine gasket kit. I've seen names like Vesrah, Centauro, and a few others; which is the best of the bunch and where should I go? Thanks. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 most gaskets you could find are low-quality chinese garbage. if your bike runs it's one in a thousand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted October 22, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted October 22, 2020 Did you lift the valve covers yet and inspected the cams? I would do that first.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted October 22, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted October 22, 2020 Don't worry about gaskets yet. Do a valve check. Inspect the cams. Look into the spark plugs to get an idea of the piston condition. Do a compression check. Change the oil. The cam springs are an issue. Somewhere I have a picture of my rebuild process, and there was a noticeable variance in spring length. Also 86 engine is different than 84/85, so be careful when looking up or swapping parts. It took me about 5 months to find NOS OEM gaskets for my 85 rebuild. But if I had to risk it, I'd try the Vesrah set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer sportfour Posted October 23, 2020 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 23, 2020 Advice taken, thanks guys. Will be rolling into job in a few weeks. There has been plenty to do so far. Valve train is first on list of checks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamhock Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I've used Vesrah full gasket kits for other engines and the size and fitment was spot on. If it was me though I don't think I would open the engine up beyond the valve covers. There are so many parts that are unavailable to rebuild a vf500f that it's going to be pretty expensive if you can even get everything you need. I have an '86 and when that engine goes down I'm gonna start looking at doing an interesting engine swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer DannoXYZ Posted October 23, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted October 23, 2020 RZ350/Banshee swap... ... with turbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer sportfour Posted October 23, 2020 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 23, 2020 21 hours ago, Hamhock said: If it was me though I don't think I would open the engine up beyond the valve covers. There are so many parts that are unavailable to rebuild a vf500f that it's going to be pretty expensive if you can even get everything you need. I hear you on that. Sort of an easy does it approach for me. I was looking for a project bike that had a level of distinction......and have become partial to the Honda V4's. I have several other nice VF and VFR's and this one is only intended to be a runner anyway. I am partial to small displacement machines as I grew up with several RD's and also currently run a race prepped R3 as a track bike. The 500 is a good ergo match for me and though not a stroker I do like the package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 On 10/23/2020 at 7:38 PM, sportfour said: I have several other nice VF and VFR's and this one is only intended to be a runner anyway. I am partial to small displacement machines....... not many know much about this small V-2, but it's a blast to ride and easy to work on. engine is 1/2 of a VF500 but without the problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted October 26, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted October 26, 2020 On 10/25/2020 at 3:22 PM, squirrelman said: not many know much about this small V-2, but it's a blast to ride and easy to work on. engine is 1/2 of a VF500 but without the problems. You say without the problems. But they share a lot of the same parts, and mine had the same failure my 500 had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 really ? valves ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer sportfour Posted October 27, 2020 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 27, 2020 On 10/25/2020 at 3:22 PM, squirrelman said: not many know much about this small V-2, but it's a blast to ride and easy to work on. engine is 1/2 of a VF500 but without the problems. That's a real cutie. Didn't Honda offer that in some form of teal, I like yours much better. Here's my 86 VFR 750. Lucky to stumble across it. Needed attention in some areas but all squared away now. A delightful ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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