new member here with an '85 vf500f to ressurect

so i had this 85 mr2 a couple of years ago and i sold it about a year and a half after i had bought it to get a quad. while i had fun on the quad, i regret selling it. since then, i have had a "hole" that i have wanted to fill. well, a few months ago, i picked up an 85 magna vf700c, and have gotten it back to road ready condition. then, one day a couple of weeks ago, i thought, "hell, why not have a crotch rocket too?". so that is when i placed an ad on craigslist for an 86 vfr700 or 750. i had one of those back in 96. was beat to hell, but it was fun to ride.

moving on, as a result of the ad, the only bites i got were for an '84 vf500f and an '85 vf500f. after some finagling, i got both for 625.

as it stood, the cosmetics on the '84 was eh, but, the motor was running. it idled very nicely, but since the throttle cables were broken, we could not rev it a little. turns out the sliders are gummed up.

the '85, while not in showroom shape, is in a lot better shape, but the engine i think is locked up. turns out that the breather assembly and tank was left off for quite a while and water built up in the heads. the carbs are corroded beyond repair and the intakes have significant rust build up in them.

my plan is to take both bikes and make one running one between the two.

this weekend was a pretty eventful. i was able to accomplish quite a bit, and even smash my middle toe enough to see it turn colors.

so, here are the pics with a brief explanation of what i have done.

this is a pic of the '85 at the sellers place:

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this is a pic of the '84 at the sellers place:

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i work from 3pm to midnight. on friday morning , i began stripping down the '85. after i got home friday night, i was up until about 3 am and was able to pull the motor out. saturday morning, i pressure washed the parts bike and the 85 prior to putting the engine in.

here is a pic after pressure washing the 85:

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then pulled the motor from the 84 and washed it up a little more:

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after i cleaned as much as i wanted to, i got the motor installed on the 85 frame.

(you can see the 84 in the background)

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i spent sunday morning finishing stripping the parts bike down and boxing up the parts. after that was done, i placed all the plastics and tank on the 85 just to have someplace to put them as i won't be touching the bike for a bit as the next step is rebuilding the carb rack.

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after getting the garage back in order to park the other two cars, i spent some time with the trashed carbs to pull out what was salvageable. amazingly, the fuel and vent tubes did not break upon disassembly.

i will post pics of the carbs when i begin rebuilding those, but i do have a couple of questions regarding the carbs:

parts bike is a 1984 california emissions setup.

resto bike is a 1985 49 state set up.

engine in 1985 was removed due to corroded carbs and rust in intakes. engine in 1984 runs very good, so i removed it to put into 85 frame. the carb rack is out currently for a complete rebuild. now, here is where i need some opinions.

1st. since the carbs i am using are 1984 california type, will the jet size difference be an issue?

VF500F Carburetor Specs

'84
Model No. VD56A - 32mm Throttle Bore, 6.2mm Float, 102F/105R Main

'85
Model No. VD56D - 32mm Throttle Bore, 6.2mm Float, 90F/90R Main
reference this reply from another thread:

2nd. since the engine/carbs are from a 1984 cali bike, should i be using the cdi box for that bike, or will the cdi on the 1985 49 state bike be fine?

any suggestions on these two questions?

thanks!

GREAT job! :beer: And very fast work too. Looks like it just needs a front fender and chain to be complete.

Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for the carb question other that run it as is and see how it does. IIRC, the 86 model is the only one with different sized carbs/tuning. I think your next step is the brakes though before you start riding it; a good caliper cleaning/overhaul and fluid replacement including clutch.

Good luck! :fing02:

Wow, that is some fast work....great job on it. Thanks for the pics too.

[image: View Post]Hobie1dog, on 14 April 2010 - 10:39 AM, said:

Wow, that is some fast work....great job on it. Thanks for the pics too.


an update:

finally got the bike road ready.

new chain,
painted the extra set of wheels because i like the white better.
new front tire, a battle axe
tank cleaned out enough that remaining crap should be caught by the filter.

have been riding it around, no further than 5 miles from the house though, to work out the kinks and anything else that may pop up now that it's running.

will need to pull the carbs again because i failed to pull the pilot screws and make sure those passages were clean when i had them out and apart last time. will also need to synch the carbs, but as she sits, she pulls hard through 4th.

next up is working the cosmetics.

i am currently working on the fairing from the 84.

enjoy:

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Good looking salvation project.

Any updates?

Love it, you get :fing02: :fing02: !