restoring & adding a modern touch to a 86 vf500

[matt1986vf500f]

hello again everybody, a few of you have seen me around this website, and today i have decided to completely redo my vf500, im going to leave the body lines the same but i want to make the suspension and brakes, etc.. more modernish, so i just want some feedback from you guys mybe you can help me out with stuff, jamie i will need your help for sure.

[JamieDaugherty]

jamie i will need your help for sure.

No problem man, I'll help in whatever way I can!

[stewartj239]

i just want some feedback from you guys

When I restored my 500 a few years back, I installed a top-end oiling kit, added a Lockhart full fairing (RWB) and powder coated my rims white. I also added a brand new gas tank, upper fairing, side panels and had the frame repainted. What do you have on your TODO list so far?

[matt1986vf500f]

well on the list i have, wheels, revalve rear shock, revalve front forks, powder coat frame and swing arm, brakes, new paint,etc... i have the rear f2 wheel ready for modifcation and a f4i rear shock, right now in my head i want it to look like the old interceptor, but im going to teach this old dog new tricks, when the motor comes out of the frame ill do the topend oiling mod, and full exhaust, and have a jet kit installed. big list!

[matt1986vf500f]

oh hell to the yea!! i justy picked me up a full hindle exhaust system for my bike!! sweeeeeeeeeeet!!! hell yea, this kicks ass!!

[JamieDaugherty]

oh hell to the yea!! i justy picked me up a full hindle exhaust system for my bike!! sweeeeeeeeeeet!!! hell yea, this kicks ass!!

Man, what a sweet score. Consider yourself lucky my friend, those are getting very difficult to find these days!

[stewartj239]

oh hell to the yea!! i justy picked me up a full hindle exhaust system for my bike!! sweeeeeeeeeeet!!! hell yea, this kicks ass!!

Nice! May I ask how you acquired them? New from some long forgotten warehouse? Used from eBay or some other classified? Aftermarket parts (as well as many stock parts) are hard to come by.

[dcompson]

Great find, keep us posted on your progress.

[matt1986vf500f]

thanks guys, oh jamie did i mention that i ONLY paid 140.00 bucks for it!!

[matt1986vf500f]

hey jamie got a question for you, with the hindle exhuast i will have to jet the bike, right? i know getting alot of power out of these smaller engines is very hard but with your stator advance kit and some 8mm wires and full exhaust and a stage 1 jet kit, i should be able to pull the some good hp numbers?, thats not my question the question is does any one sell anything bigger than a stage 1 jet kit for the 500s? oh yea that number on your website that a good number to get ahold of you, right? i need to send my sprocket carrier for the f2 wheel and my F4I shock also.

[vfrhusband]

I was just going over in my head on what performance mods id did to the wifes '92 when she got it, it had the two bro's pipe. So far it has a dynajet stage 1, UNI filter, russle braded brake lines, EBC brake pads, JT sprockets & a regina chain. besieds more visual stuff, and ideas on the porformace/handling side i can get into? oh yeah, any tire recomendations would be helpfull.

[matt1986vf500f]

not sure what tires i will be going with yet, ive got a huge list of stuff im going to do i just need the cash to make it happen.


sweet ride
oh im such a ass tires for your bike im sorry

[Naseer23]

Damn i wish i could fund half the stuff your doing for mine... Keep me updated, i got my f2 rear wheel coming in soon, hoping for the front wheel in the next month and got both front and rear f2 kits from jamie already. Think im going to do the f4i rear suspension and the front forks next winter though. Im thinking of getting the rim of the wheels black chrome n the spokes in red chrome.

[JamieDaugherty]

hey jamie got a question for you, with the hindle exhuast i will have to jet the bike, right? i know getting alot of power out of these smaller engines is very hard but with your stator advance kit and some 8mm wires and full exhaust and a stage 1 jet kit, i should be able to pull the some good hp numbers?, thats not my question the question is does any one sell anything bigger than a stage 1 jet kit for the 500s? oh yea that number on your website that a good number to get ahold of you, right? i need to send my sprocket carrier for the f2 wheel and my F4I shock also.

Yes, you will probably need to rejet the bike for best overall performance. Things like "bigger" and "Stage 1" don't really apply when it comes to jet kits, what you need is the "correct" jetting. Terms like Stage 1, 2, etc were ways that some companies used to differentiate the kits that were matched to various degrees of engine modification. Your 500 will still be in the "near stock" category even after the exhaust. A jet kit will give you needles that have a different taper to them which help smooth out the midrange. Don't be surprised if you end up with the stock or +1 main jet size. The mains are usually not that far off.

Sure, the info on my site is the best way to get a hold of me.

[matt1986vf500f]

Damn i wish i could fund half the stuff your doing for mine... Keep me updated, i got my f2 rear wheel coming in soon, hoping for the front wheel in the next month and got both front and rear f2 kits from jamie already. Think im going to do the f4i rear suspension and the front forks next winter though. Im thinking of getting the rim of the wheels black chrome n the spokes in red chrome.

the black and chrome, it said cool, but im more of a sleeper look kind of guy, ill keep you posted on it im looking revamp it.

so jamie your telling me that with the exhaust and the jet kit it might bring it back to the stock hp level, well the 500s were never power houses before, ok then, hey im looking a upgrade brakes for it like bigger rotors beefer calipers etc.. any help

oh thanks for the help jamie, its amazing that just infomation will take you so far.

[matt1986vf500f]

well jamie, i think iam about to catch everyones attention, ive been talking with a company and they have a prototype throttle bodie kit for the vf500 its still in the testing phase but i had to do some ass kissing, but im wheeling my bike in there to them to install it, so i guess ill have the first fuel injected 1986 vf500 sounds awesome but i wondering what me benfiets will be? crisper throttle respones, but fuel milage, or the fact that i dont have to friggen jet crabs anymore, whats your thouhts on it?

[vfrhusband]

Wow. I think the risk is worth the reward.

[crustyrider]

well jamie, i think iam about to catch everyones attention, ive been talking with a company and they have a prototype throttle bodie kit for the vf500 its still in the testing phase but i had to do some ass kissing, but im wheeling my bike in there to them to install it, so i guess ill have the first fuel injected 1986 vf500 sounds awesome but i wondering what me benfiets will be? crisper throttle respones, but fuel milage, or the fact that i dont have to friggen jet crabs anymore, whats your thouhts on it?

if they need a 700 to use let me know, I would volunteer mine . they would have to come out here to install it but I often wondered if anyone had ever swapped the carbs for FI

[JamieDaugherty]

well jamie, i think iam about to catch everyones attention, ive been talking with a company and they have a prototype throttle bodie kit for the vf500 its still in the testing phase but i had to do some ass kissing, but im wheeling my bike in there to them to install it, so i guess ill have the first fuel injected 1986 vf500 sounds awesome but i wondering what me benfiets will be? crisper throttle respones, but fuel milage, or the fact that i dont have to friggen jet crabs anymore, whats your thouhts on it?

That's great! Care to reveal who is doing this work? I'm curious if they are using standard VF500 carbs and plugging all of the holes or making a throttle body from scratch. Using the stock carbs is actually a lot easier.

Here are a couple of other thoughts I have on this topic:

1) What are they going to use for a controller? Megasquirt? I hope it's programmable, otherwise you won't really be able to get the optimum performance out of it.
2) What about the fuel pump? There was quite a bit of discussion on the v4hondabbs.com board about a year or two ago when a guy was doing this to a Magna. My concern was that a high pressure fuel pump would draw too much current and be too much for the charging system. The guy(s) working on that project had specs on a pump that had really low current draw. Needless to say I'm still a little skeptical of that. I wonder if a pump off a new fuel injected 450 motocross bike would work?
3) What is the cost going to be? I've thought about doing this for several years and have done the math - it's kind of tough to justify a $1000 FI setup on an $800 bike.


The bottom line is that I think it's a great idea. In fact, I'd love to put FI on every one of my bikes. Some people claim that carbs can make more power. I don't necessarily agree with that, I think FI is a mystery to people who are used to carbs and therefore more difficult to work with. Frankly, I'd much rather use my laptop to tune my bike rather than pulling those darn carbs off everytime! That alone might justify the cost.

Keep us up to date on the progress.

[Rollin_Again]

oh yeah, any tire recomendations would be helpfull

I love my Michelin Pilot Powers on my 92.

Regards,
Rollin

[JamieDaugherty]

I love my Michelin Pilot Powers on my 92.

Regards,
Rollin

You can't get those to fit the VF500F's. About the best I've used are the Dulops (of course). Bridgestone still makes a decent tire. If you are looking for something more cost-effective, a friend installed a set of Kendas and they weren't too bad. They had good tread wear and seemed pretty sticky too.

[matt1986vf500f]

That's great! Care to reveal who is doing this work? I'm curious if they are using standard VF500 carbs and plugging all of the holes or making a throttle body from scratch. Using the stock carbs is actually a lot easier.

Here are a couple of other thoughts I have on this topic:

1) What are they going to use for a controller? Megasquirt? I hope it's programmable, otherwise you won't really be able to get the optimum performance out of it.
2) What about the fuel pump? There was quite a bit of discussion on the v4hondabbs.com board about a year or two ago when a guy was doing this to a Magna. My concern was that a high pressure fuel pump would draw too much current and be too much for the charging system. The guy(s) working on that project had specs on a pump that had really low current draw. Needless to say I'm still a little skeptical of that. I wonder if a pump off a new fuel injected 450 motocross bike would work?
3) What is the cost going to be? I've thought about doing this for several years and have done the math - it's kind of tough to justify a $1000 FI setup on an $800 bike.


The bottom line is that I think it's a great idea. In fact, I'd love to put FI on every one of my bikes. Some people claim that carbs can make more power. I don't necessarily agree with that, I think FI is a mystery to people who are used to carbs and therefore more difficult to work with. Frankly, I'd much rather use my laptop to tune my bike rather than pulling those darn carbs off everytime! That alone might justify the cost.

Keep us up to date on the progress.

i just got done talking with charles at hfd1motorsports, and they are running a ecu qiute simialar to the powercommander, a few things i didnt know was that they will have to tap the cam for a cam sensor, install a 3 bar map sensor, the good news is the program is windows based so tuning is a simple laptop away, yes you have to have a new fuel pump installed but after talking with the man he isnt just going to hack up my good fuel tank to installed a fuel pump it will be installed in the factory location, as for the chargeing system on the older vfs he has told me that theres plenty of power output to run the ecu, and fuel injectors aswell all the sensors that is need, just like i asked him its not a bolt on kit, but i think its worth the money to do it 2500$ its alot of cash BUT!!!, the gains that are to be neted will be much more and you also have a data logging system on board and a traction control system as well, this is race tech, but like jamie said if all i have to do his pull out my laptop to change the fuel curve then sign me up, and the hp gains are more on big bikes i only have a 500 but this same kit on say a 750, 1000, just think of the power gian and just how responsive it will become i am diving into it, this company currently races a vfr400, and has plenty of know how to get the job, so its not just limited to the 500s, ill keep you guys posted on it when i find more out on it.

[matt1986vf500f]

oh if any of you guys have any links to anyone taht has or are useing these bikes for race use can you please send them to me

[stewartj239]

Matt, did you say that the actual cost is $2500?

[matt1986vf500f]

yes around that area

[woody77]

Some people claim that carbs can make more power. I don't necessarily agree with that, I think FI is a mystery to people who are used to carbs and therefore more difficult to work with. Frankly, I'd much rather use my laptop to tune my bike rather than pulling those darn carbs off everytime! That alone might justify the cost.

Keep us up to date on the progress.

After taking apart the pair of carbs on my wife's HawkGT, I've decided that carbs are WAY more complicated than FI. Too many moving parts and stuff that can crud up or get wonky.

Closed-loop FI with a wide-band O2 in each header pipe, so you can tune to an A/F ratio vs. throttle position and vacuum... So nice.

I have a subaru wrx, and seeing what people can do with careful work with those and a dyno, with a laptop with back-to-back pulls instead of having to tear down the carbs to shim needles, change jets, etc would be so nice for getting a good tune on a bike, especially with a dyno that can hold rpm and load (Factory Pro) on the bike at various throttle positions.

[JamieDaugherty]

It will be interesting to see what the HFD1 guys come up with. It will be interesting to know what benefit their system has over a $350 Megasquirt setup.

[matt1986vf500f]

well i got my hindle exhaust today, then i sent it to be powder coated "the header" but no other news on the project, ive been looking for more info on this F I, thing but i have not found jack.

[vegita65]

I wouldnt screw with the stock front end. FInd a cbr f3 front end. Swap the whole thing. If you want to use the speedo, use a f2 front end.

I have no problems with my f3 front end hitting or anything.

THis sounds like a sick ass build. cant wait to see it finished.

[JamieDaugherty]

well i got my hindle exhaust today, then i sent it to be powder coated "the header" but no other news on the project, ive been looking for more info on this F I, thing but i have not found jack.

I really hope you don't mean "powder coating". That stuff is durable, but it won't hold up to the heat and will peel like crazy. Some powdercoaters offer a coating similar to Jet Hot's process, is that what you mean?