After lurking around for a while and posting some specific topics I thought I ought to start a build thread for my VF500. Currently it sits completely dismantled in the garage awaiting lots of new shiny bits.
She's a a1986 VF500F2, and I got her last year as something to play with as my CX650 Eurosport was finally on the road following its full rebuild. The bike looked to be in good condition and complete but was a non-runner. It only has 20k miles on the clock and was last taxed in 1994! All the electrics worked and it even had oil and water in.
Here she is when I got her, looking slightly sorry for herself.
[image: DSCF3794.jpg]
Under further inspection I found:-
Bent RH fork leg
Exhaust collector rotten
Plastics cracked but complete
Master cylinders full of jelly-like congealed fluid
Front brakes stuck on
Surface rust to frame and 1 area of corrosion in the frame rail under the engine
Carbs full of varnish
Not one to be scared of a challenge, I've set about given her a full rebuild. As some of you may have seen, I set about making my own 4-2-1 exhaust, here VF500 Exhaust, and I'm going to be putting both wheels off a CBR600 F2 on for good measure!
This forum has been a wealth of knowledge and extremely helpful, so I thought I'd post up what I've been working on!
Very cool. I would love to do a F2 as I think they just look that bit more cool than the F here in the US. Also looks like the CX650 and the CB1100F used the same fairing.
If I could ask, how is the condition of gas tank? The lower rear corners are prone to rusting through if the tank is not properly drained and coated with oil during long term storage.
If I could ask, how is the condition of gas tank? The lower rear corners are prone to rusting through if the tank is not properly drained and coated with oil during long term storage.
The tank doesn't seem too bad from the outside, I think it'd be wise to use a sealer on it to prevent rust getting through into the carbs. Does anyone have any tips for getting all of the fuel out of it, other than shaking it for ages?
I will definitely do that, thanks for the heads-up. The paint is good in the area, no discolouring as you have shown. I will be repainting it anyway, so will be taking it back to bare to check out the condition.
Any tips on getting that last little bit of fuel out?
In all seriousness, I know other owners have tried all sorts of methods. With this in mind, Mityvac offers a nifty 'mini fluid evacuator' (as it's always fun buying new tools)
Some nice shots of a rebuild CX650E will be nice too!
My brother owned a white 650 (long time ago, long gone to the scrap yard after burying itself in a car. My brother flew over the car, did a summersault and landed on his feet, not a scratch...)
My old VF500 was leaking in the areas IC mentioned. I had the tank repaired and coated but I woas then experiencing a problem with the fuel bubbling out of the tank after filling up.
Also, after further investigation, I found that the coating never made it to the problematic "valleys" where the rusty leaks occur.
Good luck with the build! Looking forward to hearing that exhaust!
I use a 60cc syringe with a long tube attached. I also wrap wire around the tube for stiffness or to bend to the angle I want to get the gas from.
That is indeed borderline genius!
So to the rebuild - this weekend I was busy preparing my new shock linkage, as I'm planning on using this F4i shock on the VF:-
[image: DSC00870.jpg]
As I live nowhere near Jamie D the shipping costs pretty much put pay to having him modify the shock to extend it. I have no machining capability at home, but I have a friend, Ian, who runs a Precision Engineering firm - very handy indeed! So I got him to turn me up two bearing carriers which would form the basis of a new shock linkage. I cut some pieces of 4mm thick mild steel to form the side plates:-
[image: DSC00873.jpg]
I then needed to work out how to position everything so that the bores in the bearing housings would be parallel, and the side plate perpendicular. I reasoned that my friend would have turned the ends of the tubes square to the bore, and so bolted them to two pieces of the steel plate. This is as close to parallel as I think I'm going to achieve reasonably!
[image: DSC00874.jpg]
The first side plate needs to be 4mm (handily) from the edge of the bearing tube, so another piece of plate offcut is serving as a spacer.
[image: DSC00876.jpg]
Once the first sideplate has been welded on, I'm going to use the bush out of the bottom of the F4 shock as a spacer to locate the other one.
That's as far as I got, my MIG won't give me enough penetration through the 4mm plate, and ~6mm thickness of the bearing tube. I'm going to get a local welding firm to do the final welding on the piece, especially as it's a safety-critical item.
Hopefully that will allow me to use an un-modified (except for spring rate) CBR600F4i shock.
Ian also made the cylinder head stubs for my exhaust from 316 stainless, and as I'm doing the F2 wheel swap he machined the CBR6 front wheel, VF500 sprocket carrier, and made me the necessary spacers for both wheels.
I'm using the F2 rear wheel, and the F2 rear brake disc, so it makes sense to use an F2 rear brake system (or similar) too, so that everything fits. I found a used VTR1000 Firestorm (guess you guys would call it a SuperHawk) rear brake calliper assembly (complete with pads) on eBay for £5 and snapped it up! It's in great condition. I just had to have Ian shave 2.5mm off the outside face of the bracket, where it meets up with the RHS adjusters, and make me a RHS wheel spacer that took up the clearance between the 20mm hole in the brake bracket and the 17mm VF axle.
[image: DSCF4750.jpg]
The best bit of that is that it cost me less than a rebuild kit for the original VF caliper, which was in a very sorry state indeed! After reading this thread http://vfrworld.com/...ossible.html on the <other forum for Hondas with 4 cylinders arranged in a V> I decided to check the fitment of the VTR calliper bracket into the VF swingarm, and found I needed to take some material off the swingarm tab. 60 seconds with a flap disc in the grinder and she fits a treat, throughout the range of axle adjustment.
I'm at the stage of the build now where all the work required to get the modifications (wheel swap, shock swap, exhaust) onto the bike is complete. Now I need to clean everything up and start putting her back together!
Not much to update on the build yet, I haven't got round to getting the suspension linkage welded up, due to various things getting in the way. For Christmas, Santa brought me a pair of nice Bridgestone tyres to fit my CBR rims! Lucky me, and thanks to my girlfriend for buying me such a great present!
I want to get the frame and some other bits off to the powder coaters after I get paid, but I realised my centre stand won't fit round the tyre. Well it will just but there's no room for mis-alignment, and I'm not happy leaving it as it is.I want to keep the centre stand as it's useful for rear-end maintenance, and the exhaust was made in order to accept the centre stand.
Also, as I'm adding some rear ride height to my bike, I'll need to lengthen the centre stand to avoid the stand dangling in fresh air with both wheels still on the floor :-)
So I took the scabby-looking VF500 centre stand and cut the "feet" off it to use as a pattern (this also let 25 years worth of rust out...). I also took the stop off the LHS of the stand, as my exhaust is right-exit. I'll have to make a new stop:- [image: DSC00878.jpg]
I've decided to keep the top "hoop" as it has all the bracketry for the stand, and re-make the rest to ensure it clears the new tyre. [image: DSC00879.jpg]
I have had to scallop the Right-Hand forward gusset on the stand so that it clears the exhaust:- [image: DSC00885.jpg] [image: DSC00881.jpg]
I've made some new pads out of 2mm thick mild steel plate, ready for when I get some tube to make new legs for the stand. I'll also need to make a new foot lever, which I'm going to tuck in further towards the LHS footpeg hanger than the original (again, as I have no exhaust on the left side). [image: DSC00892.jpg]
I couldn't resist putting some parts loosely in the frame to see how it looked:- [image: DSC00886.jpg] New tyres waiting for the rims to be powdercoated
[image: DSC00889.jpg] Showing dusty CBR F2 wheel, VTR1000 caliper and bracket, and Micron end can all in installed position.
Not much to report recently - it's been a mad-house round here and I've not had too much time to do too much on the bike.
Getting ready to get everything off to the powder coaters, though, and wondered if anyone had any pictures of similar bikes with the frame done in black?
It's time for me to take all the major parts to the powder coaters.
I want to get the swingarm done as well as the main frame, but have a question about how to get the old bearing races out of the arm.
I don't have an internal puller small enough to get behind the races to pull on them successfully, can I heat the arm and allow the difference in expansion rates between Steel and Ally do the rest?
Can you reach in from the other side of the arm with a long rod and hammer the bearings out from the backside?
Maybe a long slender punch?
There's absolutely no access from behind - the bearing bores are both blind! It's not like a newer VFR with the needle roller bearings - these are 2 x 30203 taper roller bearings, with the outer races pressed into blind bores machined into the swingarm. There's barely any depth behind the outer races in which to get a puller (and even then I haven't got one) hence the heat idea.
Can you reach in from the other side of the arm with a long rod and hammer the bearings out from the backside?
Maybe a long slender punch?
There's absolutely no access from behind - the bearing bores are both blind! It's not like a newer VFR with the needle roller bearings - these are 2 x 30203 taper roller bearings, with the outer races pressed into blind bores machined into the swingarm. There's barely any depth behind the outer races in which to get a puller (and even then I haven't got one) hence the heat idea.
There are these special blind bearing pullers, but when I pulled mine out I just welded a big washer with a rod in the inner part of the bearing.
The welding heat helped loosen up things and with the help of an "impact dent puller" getting them out was not a big problem.
Side panels [image: DSC00991.jpg] [image: DSC00989.jpg]
This weekend I'll be putting them all into primer ready for top coat. Should get the frame and other components back from the powder coaters this week too, so there'll be plenty of things to crack on with over the weekend!
Thanks guys! The whole set of front plastics were pretty well rashed up, with missing bolt holes and parts snapped off. Most of the corners were missing so I've had to build them up with hard filler.
Got them into primer last night and they look much better, still plenty of work to do!
Finally making some progress ! Thanks to Her Majesty the Queen we had a couple of extra days off work this week so that I could work on the bike! So the frame and wheels came back from the powder coaters, they've done a great job even if the paint on the frame & swingarm is a touch pimp! [image: DSC01012.jpg] [image: DSC01013.jpg]
The wheels and other components look great in Satin Black - I wish I could have had more of the bike powder coated instead of painting. [image: DSC01003.jpg] [image: DSC01007.jpg]
I also got the tank blasted, after InvisibleCities advice above, and the only pin-hole that came through is below the fuel tap:- [image: DSC01017.jpg]
The bodywork is coming on, and after a bad experience with filler primer, all the plastics are now in grey primer (except the lower fairing ducts!). [image: DSC01025.jpg] [image: DSC01027.jpg]
Next step is to complete the paint on the plastics, and prep the tank. There are a good few dents which will need attention, but at least I know it's rust free now. I need to find someone who can mix up the correct Honda colours, as the shop I went to today couldn't mix up Candy Aleutian blue, because ICI apparently never reverse-engineered the paint. Does anyone know of a good substitute?
Looking great! Glad to hear the tank is okay with the exception of the one pinhole. The lower corners, on the VF500F's tank, can be troublemakers and you are ahead of the game if yours are sound.
I used Casewell's Gas Tank Sealer on my '84 (as noted). Not sure if this is available in the UK but if you can get it this product is top notch.
Re. The OEM colors, ColorRite offers these. Again not sure they ship to the UK though.
Looking forward to seeing how this all comes together. I have a hunch this is going to be one sweet F2!
Great choice going back to black with the wheels. I've been thinking of white, as it looks fantastic, but would regret it when trying to clean those F2 wheels.
Looking great! Glad to hear the tank is okay with the exception of the one pinhole. The lower corners, on the VF500F's tank, can be troublemakers and you are ahead of the game if yours are sound.
I used Casewell's Gas Tank Sealer on my '84 (as noted). Not sure if this is available in the UK but if you can get it this product is top notch.
I have a hole in the tank lower corner, under the fuel tap, roughly 3mm in diameter - do you guys think that the tank sealer would be sufficient to seal this, or should the tank be fixed by another method? I am a bit concerned by welding in these hard-to-clean areas - what method is recommended for tank fixing in this area?
So today I turned my attention to the fuel tank. The pin hole revealed by the blasters is shown below;- [image: DSC01133.jpg]
So I managed to weld it up using the MIG, and I have some POR-15 tank sealer on the way to make sure it doesn't cause any problems for a while. [image: DSC01137.jpg]
While the welder was out, I managed to weld most of the side stand up, I'll have to do the foot-lever and stop once the swingarm is in the bike, and I've found the centre stand spring! [image: DSC01138.jpg]
Hopefully getting some paint this week, so the grey parts in the garage will start to look like a proper RWB Honda again!
Once you have the tank sealed you'll be in good shape.
A lot of VF500F tanks suffer from this malady. Most likely this is caused by improper long term storage, i.e. the tank was not properly drained of fuel and the interior coated with motor oil. When this is not done condensation settles into the lower corners and rusts the tank out.
Looking to get some paint this weekend, the bike is all now in grey primer.
Purists look away now
I am struggling to find the exact Honda colours, and think that the Fighting Red R-134 is a touch orangey anyway, so am going to use alternative colours, to the original 1986 layout/scheme as seen on the bike at the start of the thread:-
- Shasta White - code NH138 - Original Honda colour. Got to have something original on there!
- Audi Brilliant Red - LY7J - Nice strong red, redder than original.
- Lexus/Toyota Indigo Ink Pearl (US) or Dark Blue (UK/Europe) - 8P4 - Lovely deep pearl blue, possibly deeper blue than the Candy Aleutian. Close enough to the original, whilst working with the stronger red.
Hopefully I'll be shooting some colour this weekend! Got to try and lay out the stripes first!
Managed some progress today. Got my tyres fitted yesterday, and checked the balance. Only needed 10g on the rear, the front was pretty well spot on! [image: DSC04629.jpg] [image: DSC04628.jpg]
And I managed to finish the centre stand off, added the lever and stop, so that I could use the original rubber pad that used to be in the LH silencer. Checked it with the spring in place to make sure there was still some tension in the spring at the retracted position. Clears the tyre nicely!
I am waiting for a large delivery of new parts from David Silver Spares (major UK Honda parts supplier, specialising in pre-2002 Hondas, www.davidsilverspares.co.uk), which should allow me to get the bike to a rolling frame.
This will mean that I can wheel the VF and the CX outside to have more room to finish spraying the panels. It's too tight in the garage at the moment, there are parts everywhere! My first go at painting the tank was promising, but highlighted every single flaw! So I have started virtually from scratch again!
By the time I get this finished I just know it'll be the dead of winter and it'll be too cold to go riding!
I was struggling to find a front mudguard (OK, fender) for this, so for the princely sum of 1.98 plus postage I acquired 2 CBR400 mudguards off fleabay. I got the first one thinking I might be able to use it as-is, but the part that would fit between the forks is too wide towards the back. So I got another one, cut them both in half and plastic welded/bumper fillered them together. I'm hoping that they are joined together well enough, and that the bracket will support them adequately. The CBR mudguard won't fit on the VF bracket so I have designed one and put a little spoiler on the back, inspired by the VF1000s. [image: DSC04630.jpg] [image: DSC04632.jpg]
So this weekend has been very busy on the bike. I have now got a rolling frame! Forgot to take any pictures of that, but that has allowed me to wheel both bikes outside to gain some garage space. So this weekend I have been painting the panels I prepared previously.
I am by no means a professional painter, but seeing as it's cost me no more than time and the materials I am quite pleased with how the first panels have come out. My friend Stu did the decals for me, and I'm really pleased with them too.
There are some parts on the frame that will have to come off for paint/powder coat but it's great seeing the bike start to look like a bike again. I'd forgotten how much smaller and lighter it is than a CX Eurosport!
Rebuild is progressing slowly, and there are more parts working their way onto the bike.
I'm preparing to fight with the carbs to get them back on, and may have to buy new carb rubbers. I think I'll try with the existing ones one last time first.
Can anyone tell me if the VF500 is supposed to be fitted with carb drain tubes from the nipples on the bottom of the float bowls, and if so where do they run? I can't find them in my stripdown pictures, or on any online fiche.
Great, thanks Veefer! I am slowly getting to the stage where the bike can be fired up, and don't want fuel sitting in the bowls over the winter, in case the bike doesn't make it onto the road this year. Might get some plastic Y-pieces and tees so that I can connect all four to a drain.
To drain my carbs before each winter, I cut apart a tall, narrow 1 litre oil jug lengthwise, so it was able to fit in-between the vee of the cylinders and underneath the carbs, so that when I opened the carb drain screws, the gas would flow into the oil container. I would drain 1 carb, empty the container, and repeat.
It worked good, and I didn't have gas draining all over my engine.
Been making some progress on the bike lately, I eventually got the carbs back on using some tips from this site and others, by soaking the rubbers in boiling water, using a little oil, and hugging the carbs on using a piece of wood on the airbox lower against my chest and pulling on the lower frame rails. I'm not that big a guy so I couldn't put enough weight on the carbs to get them in. Must have been quite a sight, I'm glad there are no pictures of that!
I've decided to wrap my exhaust in order to keep the heat away from the fresh paint. The thinking behind it is that there used to be a pipe running beside either side of the lower fairing, but now with my new exhaust I've got 2 down one side, and don't want the extra heat to affect the paint or the plastic of the bodywork. Unfortunately i ran out before I could do the whole exhaust, but never mind.
So today was a milestone day in the project so far - it lives!!
Spent the morning refitting the exhaust, cooling system and the rear suspension (exhaust installation was far easier without the swingarm in), and some parts that the powder coating fairy delivered this week. Then hooked it up to the CX with some jump leads, and it fired up straight away! Result!
It sounds much more tappety in the video than it did in person, and the exhaust had some more bass than the video suggests, there is some "chuffing" noise because I had the breather port on the rear head open. I was impressed that even with the straight through Micron can it wasn't too loud at all, but then it was only idling on the driveway.
Will check the valve clearances again before it gets ridden, and must balance the carbs as well because they're quite obviously out by the way the idle hangs, but I was impressed that it started first try and ran well with no leaks or problems.
Quick question for you 1st Gen gurus, I've had to drain the cooling system to fix a small radiator leak around the lower hose pipe, which I've now done with some careful soldering. I managed to rig up a test system to pressure test the radiator to 20psi, which it has held for a couple of hours now.
While dismantling, I noticed that the thermostat is actually slightly loose in the housing, and rattles. Now, this is the thermostat that came with the bike, and I've no idea if it's genuine Honda or not.
Is that correct, or do I need a different 'stat? If so, does anyone know where I can get one cheaper than £36.50 + VAT from Honda? Does it also fit a Civic or similar, like the one in the CX?
Will check the valve clearances again before it gets ridden, and must balance the carbs as well because they're quite obviously out by the way the idle hangs, but I was impressed that it started first try and ran well with no leaks or problems.
Congrats!
+1 on setting the valve lash & synchronizing the carbs. Should quiet things down quite a bit.
Looking forward to reading the first test flight report!
I don't own an '86 FSM but believe both the intake and exhaust are .15mm. For reference these are .12 and .13 respectively on the '84/'85.
Thanks! My Clymer manual says the valve clearances for the '86 were 0.001" wider than the other years, so I set them to the 0.006". Is that correct?
For the '86, my FSM states 0.15mm (0.005") for both intake and exhaust, cold engine.
Yes, very sorry for swearing on the forum, guys (C***er). Maybe Santa will bring me the official '86 FSM for Christmas! OK, looks like I need to go round and tighten the clearances slightly. Not a big problem while the bike is in this stage of build. At least I know it runs.
Since I'm off work until the 7th January, I'm trying to make the most of the Christmas/New Year holidays.
So I've been busy doing (and re-doing in some cases) the bodywork for the bike. It's been unusually mild here (9-10ºC) for January, which helps a lot!
Finally got the tank done in the 3 colours of base coat:-
[image: DSC04682_zps22999614.jpg]
And the fairing lowers and rear panel too:-
[image: DSC04683_zps7189cb37.jpg]
There's no clear on them yet, hope to do that today and tomorrow, then I can finally tick the paintwork off my to-do list!
My chain and sprockets arrived this week too, so am finally getting all the bits and pieces to put the bike together! Major parts left to acquire are brake lines and footpeg components.
Thanks! I have no air fed mask or other breathing equipment so will stick to 1k clearcoat. I'm not risking it with 2k. Means I'll have to be a little careful with getting fuel on it but it'll do for now.
I can see all the imperfections, it's by no means mint as I'm doing the paint work in my garage, but it will be fine for now.
Just a quick note on valve clearance setting. I always used a flat blade screw driver to cantilever on the engine case with the flat tip under the center of the Y between the tappets. That way there is no rocking of the forked rocker arm so no flex wear on its bearing !
Great rebuild, I miss my old 500, I did the F2 wheels to & used a 130/90 rear tyre to compensate for the reduced ride height !
Thanks ICs! I have the OEM yellow-handled adjuster tool, and a suitable spanner for the locknuts. I think the adjuster tool is the cheapest Honda "special tool" you can buy - it was something like £1.98 direct from Honda when I got mine.
So yes, I've re-done the valve clearances as per your post, but have not had the bike running since. Been busy the last few weekends, and need to get some more welding gas so I can finish the exhaust and put her back together.
That head looks very clean - where's the rest of your bike! :-)
Gas the gap on the valves is 6 thou on the interceptor 1986 from the fsm manual
Ps where did you get the Honda stickers on the tank ? I couldnt find any in the uk
Cheers
Chris
Chris,
A friend of mine who does that kind of thing for a living made me a full bike set of decals. PM me if you'd like me to find out if he can do more. I'm sure he can, as I stuffed up the first set of tank decals I had, and had to get replacements.
So I'm nearly finished with the build (will provide some pictures when it stops snowing and I can get the bike outside). Only got a couple of things left to do, fit seat cover, battery, bodywork and screen, and bleed the brakes. Then it'll be MOT (UK yearly inspection) and Road Tax time, and time to see how it rides!
So I need to assemble the fuel tap to the tank, and my filter gauze has broken. It's item 3 on this picture (P/N 16952-MF2-880 or 16952-MM5-005), usually orange plastic.
Already checked DS and CMSNL. DS UK does not have any in stock, but DS USA does. Problem is. if I want to order from DS US directly, I have to get approval from Honda UK, as apparently they are not authorized to sell the parts outisde the US without mother Honda's permission!
ICs, that's interesting, your '84/'85 tap is much different to the '86 that I have.
Check other hondas from around the same time, they most likely have the exact same part, but Honda like many manufacturers, seem to use a different part number for each bike ! Mental IMO.
Been busy putting the final pieces of the puzzle together this weekend. Balanced the carbs again, but I need to get a 4-way balancer - so far I've made do with a 2-carb balancer and comparing all the cylinders to the master.
Are they gonna freak out about the non-standard exhaust, or is that an E-legal can???
They've recently changed the rules here, the can no longer has to be E-marked, it just cannot say "NOT FOR ROAD USE" on it, which this one doesn't. Noise levels are at the "tester's discretion".
Good to see clearly written concise guidelines being put into use, eh?
If it is judged to be too loud (by them or me) I'll get one of those dB killers for it, or make one from some plate and tube.
It's not offensively loud - you know it's running but there are a couple of cars near my house that are much louder than it.
It almost makes me want my old 1st gen back. ....almost.
My '86 VF500 was missing that Fuel Tube "sock" and I was unable to order one. I also ended up unscrewing the bottom of the Petcock and uncovered a TON of rust bits. I then ended up rebuilding the petcock and installing in-line fuel filters.
Keep up the good work and keep us posted. :cheerleader:
Have had the chance to put a few miles on the ol' girl now, and am very pleased with how it's riding on the whole. The engine is very smooth, much smoother than the twin in the CX! It's like an electric motor in comparison.
However, I think the exhaust has sent the mixture very lean. It seems happy up to 50% throttle, but trying to open up further than that at 5000RPM and above there was a big hesitation - so I didn't try it again!
Currently it's on the stock jetting, on the '86 30mm carbs.
So I have a couple of questions -
Does anyone have any recommendations as to jetting I should be using?
Do the symptoms I've described relate to main jets only or will the needles be wrong too?
Obviously I know I need to get it on a dyno and plan to ASAP, (there's a Dynojet centre right down the road from where I work), however I'd like to try and get it a bit closer now to try and avoid having the carbs on and off loads of times.
So if I'm on 90s all round, that would definitely be too lean at WOT. I'm on the VD41As from the European market VF500F2F, if it helps for reference.
I'm confused about the needle clip position mention, though, as the needles I have (3JV stock needles) don't have any provision to change their installed height. Could I use some small washers to lift them? Does that only apply to the aftermarket needles?
For reference, from Factory Pro's website:
The main advantage of a jet kit is the ability to alter the needle "height" to dial in carburetion for various applications. Note that the aftermarket needle (top) has a circlip, which can be set in any of the grooves in the top portion of the needle, while the stock needle (bottom) has no adjustment. Check your jet-kit instructions for proper "base" clip setting. Note that the positions are counted from the top of the needle down: The "number three position" is the third groove from the top. The easiest method for installation/removal of the circlip is to place it in the desired groove, and gently force it in, by pressing the needle and clip against a flat surface. Place the open end of the circlip against a flat surface to remove. Be careful while handling the needles, as they are precision-machined pieces; bending them even the slightest amount renders them useless.[image: install_H21I.jpg]
Not to worry, I thought. A bit of balance screw twiddling should have that sorted. But here's where I'm struggling.
I've got 1, 3 and 4 balanced, but can't get 2 to behave. When I adjust the screw for 2 (Left Front), number 1 vacuum goes up and 2 doesn't move. When I adjust number 1, number 1 and number 2 change.
I don't want to throw in the towel on this just yet - can anyone shed any light, or point me in the direction where I'm going wrong?
Also, I have a question - there is a balance screw on the number 1 cylinder, which I thought shouldn't have been adjustable. What's going on?
Thanks for all the inputs guys! So I took the carbs off and made myself more familiar with the workings of the screws.
Each adjuster works directly on the master linkage - so each cylinder can be adjusted without affecting its neighbour. Its just that mine were so far out, adjusting one carburettor allowed all the rest to close further, knocking out the readings.
Put them back on after the bench sync, and had to adjust number 2 slightly, which as you've said, Jeremy, is a pig to get at!
Just got to set the idle speed after a quick ride out, and then her bodywork can go back on.
OK so I've been riding the ol' girl for a while now and it seems to be going great! I went on a trip to North Yorkshire (250miles each way), across motorways, main roads, and the (much more fun) tiny winding roads around the Dales.
It runs great, I can't feel any flat spots or anything other than a fantastically linear power delivery, so it doesn't look as if the exhaust has upset it at all - which is nice given all the hearsay and "it can't be done" that was banded about in the other thread!
However, to repay me for leaving her in the garage for a week while I went away on business, I came back to a strong smell in the garage like household emulsion. Yep, the tank had sprung a massive fuel leak!
So a radiator repair shop has fixed it for me, testing it to 1 bar pressure afterwards - but in doing so they've completely wrecked the paint! Good job I have some left.
As my dad commented "ah, its good practice for you"..... :dry:
OK, so after the carburettor diaphragm troubles here:- http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/76132-vf500f2f-5k-misfire/ I want to tackle the only other niggle that I've got with the bike.
Just recently, the Main and Reserve sections of the tank have been working as one - meaning that the tank runs fully empty when its on Main and leaves me with no reserve, which has made riding the bike long distances with uncertain availability of fuel stops a bit anxious.
I'm struggling to find a replacement tap, and with them all being about the same age, I'm thinking that its likely that they'll all suffer the same fate eventually.
So I have some questions:-
Has anyone stripped down the tap to see what's dividing the inlets on the tap?
Is it sealed by O-rings, gaskets, etc
Can I drill the rivets out and replace them with small nuts and bolts?
Any information anyone can provide would be gratefully received, as usual.
You can drill the rivets out and tap them with small screws (#4 I think). Most of the people on the VTR forums are going to the chinese petcock since they're half the price of the replacement parts. I have one on the track bike and it works just as well.
I think the reserve works where when it is switched to on, it takes in fuel through the brass tube which sticks up into the tank. When you switch to reserve, it allows fuel to flow through the orifice between the petcock and the brass tube. All is still covered by the in tank filter. You may have a bad brass tube, or a bad selector seal on the petcock. The brass tube is easy enough to have made. If it's the selector seal, go the dubious chinese route.
Its definitely the selector seal in the tap - I can blow through the outlet with the tap set to main tank only, and feel air coming out of the reserve port.
+1 using Caswell tank sealer. As in all painting and especially coating the inside of a fuel tank; Dedicated, careful preparation and application are critical. Do not even spend a moment imagining there's a better way than what the directions describe. Good fortune, R3~
I need the collective wisdom of the forum once again!
Did about 125 miles on the bike today on a charity bike ride from my home to Harwich, a south-eastern seaside town.
So I filled the tank on my way out this morning. The journey was all highway riding, at normal (i.e. legal) speeds, and I got most of the way back when the bike wanted me to switch to reserve tank. As far as I could tell the bike is running absolutely fine, the engine felt responsive, smooth and behaved itself very well.
Does 125 miles sound a touch low to anyone else? I'm sure I've had closer to 150 normally.
What should I be looking for - I guess a carb cleaning session is in my near future!
iirc the tank is 4.1 US gallons and reserve is supposed to kick in at 1.1 US gallons. That would give you around 41 mpg US, which isn't bad, but I think I got a little better mileage back in the day.
End of thread · 119 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 6 Jul 2017
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