Since I'm looking for info on where to find a FSM PDF thought I should post a few pics.
I was talking with my brother a while ago and casually mentioned could he have a look at a VF500F that was in his area (NH) that was listed on Craigslist. He said he would when he got a chance and I left it at that and headed off to the ship I work on.
About a week later I get a cryptic e-mail from him titled, "where do you want it?" followed by this pic.
[image: post-19876-0-09111600-1448154609.jpeg]
The guy had bought it for his son but soon lost interest as it needed more work than he thought to get it running. My brother had a look, confirmed it would at least turn over and handed the guy $250 and stuck it in his truck.
I got off the ship a few weeks later and drove the 4 hours down to his house to have a look. Although the rear tailpiece and side covers are off a 84-85 version rest of the bike seems to be all there. It had been registered and on the road in 2014, and although it would not start it turned over well enough that I think a good carb clean will solve that issue. It has 22K on the clock, all the electrics work, brakes also, tank is pretty clean inside with only a small dent at the seat, and the exhaust, though rusty a bit, is solid and the F1 cans are in good shape. It has newish bias tires, but I'll swap those out if I can prove the bike runs well enough. I may even look into getting a 17/17 F/R setup on the bike to get a better selection of rubber. I did see one of the owners of Kon Tiki Cycles VF500F with that mod but IIRC it was a bit of a mission, and that will be later on anyway.
[image: post-19876-0-65992300-1448155755.jpg]
[image: post-19876-0-67969900-1448155859.jpg]
For now, the bike will have to stay at my brothers as I'm not allowed to have any more bikes :)
I'd advize a compression test on all cylinders, and being sure it shifts through all gears before spending more money. As you know, VF500s have very well-known valve problems if they've been over-reved or poorly maintained.
From what i can find it looks like your wheels are almost the same size as my 86 vfr700(vf500 is 1/4" narrower out back) and from the research i've done the battleaxe bt45's are the best available street tires imo. Available in 110/90 16 and 130/80 18 from quite a few retailers which is stock size for the vfr700's. I figure i'll run those for now and worry about fixing other stuff first instead of starting off the project with a wheel swap as well. Looking forward to your progress. I'll start my own thread once i get a few things going worth taking pictures of :P
Nice score Michael. I'm jealous. Member InvisibleCities is the 500 guru and did a very tasteful wheel swap using CBR600F wheels. They look great and keep the 3 spoke original look but a bit more modern and are 17" for better tire choices and probably lighter than the F2's for better "flickablity". The F2 swap looks pretty damn cool as well.
From what i can find it looks like your wheels are almost the same size as my 86 vfr700(vf500 is 1/4" narrower out back) and from the research i've done the battleaxe bt45's are the best available street tires imo. Available in 110/90 16 and 130/80 18 from quite a few retailers which is stock size for the vfr700's. I figure i'll run those for now and worry about fixing other stuff first instead of starting off the project with a wheel swap as well. Looking forward to your progress. I'll start my own thread once i get a few things going worth taking pictures of :P
VF500F's came with 110's on the rear. Back when I had mine, some 120's barely fit, others rubbed. I have a feeling 130's would cause issues without modification.
I'm used to car stuff i guess where you can up size a little bit with no problem. Looks like they do have the stock size in the H speed rating bt45's instead of the V rating though, still not bad to get things rolling on it compared to bias tires anyway. That 17" wheel swap looks awesome, love that it keeps the 3 spoke look.
I'm used to car stuff i guess where you can up size a little bit with no problem. Looks like they do have the stock size in the H speed rating bt45's instead of the V rating though, still not bad to get things rolling on it compared to bias tires anyway. That 17" wheel swap looks awesome, love that it keeps the 3 spoke look.
I remember a buddy with another VF500F mounting a 120 Dunlop K591. The K591 tread profile lapped over the sidewall, and rubbed against the swingarm. Back in the late 80's the two best tires for the Mini-ceptor were Dunlop K591 Sport Elite and Metzeler Lazer Comp K. When I wore out the OEM's I went with standard size Dunlop K591's first, then tried the Metzelers. Metzeler was really nice in the rain in comparison and I don't recall the 120 rear rubbing anywhere. Wheel swap or not, radials or bias, the limiting factor for tire width on the VF500F is going to be the swingarm and chain. The bike was designed to be skinny and no matter what kind of dress you choose, you can't make it's ass look fat. :tongue:
I've spooned on a few Bridgestone BT45's for folks the last few years and thought they were at least up to par if not beyond the capabilities of the bikes I put them on. I ground the peg feelers down on my niece's Nighthawk while scrubbing them in for her. They should do just fine on the Mini-ceptor.
I have a 130/70-18 Avon on one of mine. Chain guard would need to be modified (mine doesn't have one). MIGHT rub inner fender when leaned over and suspension compressed. Almost all current 120s should be no prob.
BT45 is great choice. Have them on a couple bikes. Had a friend that even raced on them. Don't forget about Avon. Roadrider is a very nice bias tire. Great profile and pretty sticky rubber. Available in appropriate sizes.
I have a 130/70-18 Avon on one of mine. Chain guard would need to be modified (mine doesn't have one). MIGHT rub inner fender when leaned over and suspension compressed. Almost all current 120s should be no prob.
BT45 is great choice. Have them on a couple bikes. Had a friend that even raced on them. Don't forget about Avon. Roadrider is a very nice bias tire. Great profile and pretty sticky rubber. Available in appropriate sizes.
Wow! I didn't realize the Dunlop's profile stuck out so much past the sidewall because the 120 definitely rubbed. Evidently they measured their width on the sidewall instead of the overhang. Since the Metzeler 120's didn't rub back then, I can see that a modern 120 with a normal profile wouldn't rub, but I'm surprised a 130 fits.
I've got the PDF service manual for the VF500 (84-86) but the file is 250mb so it is too big to email. Let me know if you still need it and I can upload it to dropbox so you can download it.
End of thread · 12 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 6 Jul 2017