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Hi all togehter, this winter I have started a little modification project on my VF500 dated from late 85. My intention is to give the bike a more modern look and ride. It should get the look Honda would create for a VF600F instead of launching the CB600F. But they did not so somebody has to do it. Beside changing the wheels, the fork and brakes I have converted the instruments to the VFR400R NC30 clocks. The speedodrive sprocket cover and drive was a mechanical job to do and works fine now. The temperature gauge works as well but the tacho does not. It acts but shows only readings up to 2000 rpm, even when the engine is defintily reving much higher. It seem that the tacho signal from the ignition box is different to the from the VFR400R.... Does anybody have an idea or a solution for this conversion? I think I have seen this kind of conversions on earlier threads but could not find it. Greetings from Germany´s Corona hotspot......

I bought this VF500F earlier this year as a project bike and my second ever motorcycle. I have been working on making it look better and work as it did in the '80s(while modernizing where I can). I thought I was buying a 1985 VF500F, but have since found out from the MTO history documents that it is an '84. Its got 56 thousand km on it, but it runs and it was cheap. I have been told that one of the previous owners restored it using a few donor bikes and based on the frame paint and what not I'd say it has. I have been taking it apart and learning how it works so that I can fix up anything is out of date or falling apart. It has been fairly straight forward so far using guides and chatting with people on this forum, but I have a few questions and am looking for general advice. I've been thinking about the exhaust on this bike for awhile. The bike has some sort of upgraded 4-1 exhaust on it and I think I've identified it as the Hindle 4-1 pipe. It shows it's age though. There is rust pitting and an odd cloudy texture on the metal. How do I resurface the pipe? Also, the can that was on the end was a SuperTrap, but its kinda broken and I'd like something lower profile too. I have been considering leaving the end open as a straight pipe, except the end of the pipe is messed up and has an adapter bolted straight through it. To fix this I want to remove the end bit of the pipe and fab my own stainless side exit. Would this be viable? Will it mess with the tuning too much? I am aware of the carb jetting I'd need to do in order to make it work and I can do it. All that I've been reading from GAZ's topic about building his own pipe has put me off though. I'd also like to know what having this pipe means compared to stock. Besides the exhaust I am open to advice for things to fix. So far my list of things to do looks like this: Tires Repainted wheels Lights Speedometer Redone seat Chain and sprockets Wobbly clutch lever(How do I fix this?) Carb sync and clean Carb jetting Mirrors I am going to link an album of pictures here for the pipe. http://imgur.com/a/RmqqA P.S. - I am not keeping the original look of this bike, but I am a huge fan of the engineering behind the VFR series and I've wanted one of these since I first got into bikes. If anyone in Ontario needs red plastics or stock parts I can hook you up. This is an ultra-low budget D.I.Y. build, since I'm 18 and in school(before anyone suggests super sonic builders who can do it for me). Why is mine red?

Anyone know if the collector box off a VF500C (V30, Magna) will bolt onto a VF500F/F2 (interceptor)? They look the same and as the bottom ends of the engines are the same so I assume it would fit but nothing beats personal experience. There are quite a few decent condition Magna boxes on Ebay but less F boxes.

I put an '85 VF500 back on the road last year. Did a full tune up, all fluids, all the normal "sitting bike" stuff. The radiator was removed and flushed. The drain plugs on the cylinders were pulled at that time, etc. Filled and "burped" the radiator, checked again after the first long ride and topped off coolant to the marks in the overflow tank, per the manual. Bike looks and runs great. Fan works, no signs of over-heating ever. I put several hundred miles on it with no issues. A couple of months ago I rode up to a breakfast meet. Long trip on the highway. Just after I arrived...about enough time to remove helmet and gloves...there was coolant coming out of the overflow hose. I thought it was odd, but figured the long stretch of highway had something to do with it, maybe? Rode a couple hundred more miles over the next few weeks. At least a few tanks of gas. Last night, I rode up to a local bike night and the same thing happened again. Removed seat and side cover and checked and the overflow bottle eventually found a level; maybe a quarter inch above the "LOW" mark. Did I miss something? Is it just "finding it's level"? Is there a bleeder or anything to remove excess pressure from the system? Why the two random "pukes" from the coolant tank?

So I did sell my 5ht gen, the farewel topic here: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/80498-a-farewel/ I had plans the just rebuild the XT600 Tenere I did buy last year, and may add a 1986-89 VFR750F to the garage some later. That what I tought, then as I browsed some sale sites for VFR750s as I was bored at work, I did find this on a Dutch site: A 1985 VF500F2 registred in early 1986, only ~39k kms (~24k miles) on the odo and did look very clear in the pics. Prize 850€ (~900$), Its a bike I almost did buy back in 1997, but as a friend worknig at a bikeshop told me VF was bad, VFR was good, I did not buy it (eventualy did buy a Kawasaki GPZ500S (EX500) instead). Did sleep over night, next evening I did send a PM to Dutchy. He did call the seller, set a appointment to go and see the bike as it was close. So as Dutchy had seen the bike, ridden it etc, he did call me and tell me yesterday, there was only one thing wrong whit the bike, he would like to buy it for himself! Buy fortunally he has no space for 2 bikes, and so he did buy it for me and drove it home to keep in his garden untill I will pick it up! Hopfully your wife is understanding I now have a airplane ticket for May 1st to Amsterdam, then May 2nd I will hit the road and ride that nice bike home to Finland! Thanks Dutchy so far!

Welcome! This will be a thread where I show off the finished product(s) of my VF500 Resto-mod. I will only be featuring work I have done or modified myself. I will not be including specifics on how I did things here, but I will answer smaller questions. If you too are working on a VF500 you may want to see my other thread where I've been back and forth asking questions to the forum on how to solve problems with my build. My motorcycle is a 1984 VF500F. I picked it up with 56,000km on it. I have been restoring it inside and out. I am replacing parts that I think are outdated, for the purpose of either making it look better or preform better. Besides bolstering the performance I am changing the look of the bike from it's boxy-retro look, and into a bit of a streetfighter or cafe-racer. One thing you will notice about this build is that it is not going to be a perfect show-bike finish. The simple answer to this is the fact that I can not afford the tools or materials, nor do I have the expertise to do it anyways. This bike is ultra-low budget. Wheels I sanded down the old paint and metal. I fitted modern radial tires that give it a lower profile (and in my opinion a cleaner look). Then I painted the red and white using Duplicolor wheel spray paint. Seat Being vertically challenged, I reshaped the foam of the seat while I was recovering it with new vinyl. Handlebars/Mirrors I pulled the cores out of the stock handlebars so that I can fit bar-end mirrors. Used a drill, tap and a slide hammer. Mirrors are in the mail. Carburetors After cleaning the carbs I put bigger jets in to accommodate a straight pipe and K&N air filter. I also did a mod that Dutchy taught me about where you drill an additional fuel line, to prevent a lean mixture on the fourth and third carb. Fourth carb with jets and extra fuel-in^

Bike is an '85 VF500, but these calipers were used on many models and are similar to other makes, as well. I had to pull what Honda calls the "collar" because they were rusty and gummed up. They didn't move like they should. It's the barrel shaped piece in the pic. I canNOT get this thing back together. The caliper and grooves are clean, the collar is lubed with brake assembly grease, the collars are brand new OEM Honda. I can get the boots in the grooves in the caliper, but they stick up just enough to snag on the collar and roll under. OR...I can get them on the collar and then I can't get them past the caliper body and into the inner groove. Tips or tricks? This is a "before" pic. It's supposed to look like this. There's a groove inside the caliper and a groove on the collar. There are corresponding ridges inside the rubber boot.

Hello to everyone, first post! I'm on the cusp of purchasing an '86 VF500 and have a few questions of resto/moding. First just a little background. Purchased my first bike in 1981, a 1977 CB550K. Great bike, I even tried my hand at cafe. Came out pretty well, but with a wife and kids on the way, the justification of a motorcycle came to an end. Now, on wife number 2 and (collectively) 5 kids thru school, t's time to get back in the game. Over the past 5 years I have built 3 CX500's (cafe, resto, and a resto/mod). All three were head turners and I learned a lot in the process. Still have the resto/mod (fun bike) and it's quite a head turner for someone in the know. Long story short, I ended up with a flock of four '88 - '90 Honda HawkGT647's. Got one running and sold to a friend, parted one out, stripped a tired track bike of it's goodies and finished this build in early spring. What a great ride! It's an '88, with a '91 VFR rear wheel (hub modification) and an '09 CBR600RR front end among other items. Replaced every seal (coolant and oil), did a Stage 3 carb upgrade and added a Delkavic can,clutch springs, you name it. Beautiful bike that handles like a dream. A good friend of mine (rides an SV650) has had his crashed '85 VF500 stashed in his garage for 10+ years. Whenever the subject is breeched, he turns a cold shoulder to selling. So thinking ahead to the winter months, I've started a search of one of my own. Hopeful of finalizing the purchase of an '86 in the next day or so. Personally i think that paint scheme is the best of the breed. So I'm thinking a frame off cleaning/resto and possible mod. That would be in the form of a CBR front end, but not certain that's the way to go or not. I have a feeling the majority here would lean toward the OEM forks (Showa's i would assume?) to keep it period correct. What has been done to update these forks? Emulators? Do they work with the Trak anti-dive, or is that scrapped for emulators, springs, spacers and proper fluids? On to the rear, the GL500 used the same air can as the VF and I have access to seals. But are there rear socks that would eliminate the need for the outdated rear pogo? I put a Hagon on my Hawk, a tremendous step forward. I'm sure the track monkeys would go to a Penske or Olins, but I don't think I need to go that far ($). So I really don't want to stray too far from what the bike was (is). Like many of you, I'm certain, I'm a huge fan of the vintage and somewhat overlooked small displacement Hondas. IMO this bike is the pick of the litter (color scheme) and I know the little V4 is peppy and well designed. Your thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated! -tom

I have undertook the task of rebuilding and modifying an '84 VF500F. I have a wiring question. What does the yellow wire that connects to the instrument cluster do?. I have figured out every other wire on the bike, I am adding an LCD display, HiD Headlight Assembly, and LED blinkers all around. Every wire is labeled and ready for soldering. Except the yellow wire. According to the diagram it connects to one of the ignition coils and one of the spark units. On the other side of the wire though, it disappears off the diagram past a pin connector. Following the wire myself I can see it go into the body of the gauge cluster, but I wont know what it connects to until I take it apart. If anybody has a clue what it is supposed to connect to, please let me know. One sneaky suspicion that may be of use, is the fact that the bike wont start with it unplugged ( I think [many things and do-dads were unplugged] ). This is a link to the diagram http://imgur.com/0zhzloN I think something suspicious is afoot, maybe we should [redacted] into this more. [redacted] are keeping something from us.

As some of you already know, I got myself a 1985 VF500F. Well its made 1985 by the frame number, but technical its a 1986 model, as it don`t have a fuel bump! I have a problem, the bike starve for fuel at times. So someone kindly did give me this link.http://www.daughertymotorsports.com/howto/tankvalve/tankvalve.html A thing I might do, but seem this is a problem for bikes whit a fuel pump, my do not have a fuel pump. I have had the fuel tap/pet cock up, the screen was clean and all seem in order. I have tested the fuel cap, it let air pass the small hole, tested whit compressed air. After the check the bike did run fine for about 300km, then rideing to work today, it started to starve for fuel again, turn the pet cock/fuel tap to reserve didn`t help. But turning the bike to left side, like rideing a left curve did help. Did stop at first petrol station to be safe, filled up 9,3 liters.............it should be a 15,5l tank, so how mutch is for spare/reserve?3,5l? I have filled up ~12l at most whit out hitting reserve. Anyway after the fuel stop it did run fine again the rest of the day. So suggestions where to start to look next? Something in the tank that sucks into the screen of the fuel tap/pet cock? Ideas are welcome. And one more thing, my bike is a Swiss market bike.............