got my first bike hehe

Discussion in 'New Riders' started by Hellapet, Aug 6, 2016.

  1. Hellapet

    Hellapet New Member

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    Hey folks, just bought my first motorcycle the other day, a 1985 VF500F.
    I really like it so far, it feels pretty amazing to be on the open road on a bike.
    It's got 30k miles and runs really nicely, though it needs a little maintenance (fork seals, brake fluid change in the rear at least, chain service, rear indicator is snapped.) Also I noticed what seems to be an oil leak on the bottom right side of the engine. I wonder how concerned I should be about that.

    Here it is next to my car :cool::
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    I have some questions about these 500s if anyone has any answers:
    Should it be running with the temp gauge pretty far to the right, like nearly on the "H"?
    Why wont the brake light go off when I put the steering lock on?
    Does anyone have the seat cowl hold-down mechanism? It came with a really nice cowl but the guy couldnt find the little metal piece that attaches to the pillion handle.

    Thanks for the help guys
     
  2. Jeff_Barrett

    Jeff_Barrett Member

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    Welcome to the crazy house.

    Post some photos!!

    I don't have experience with that model so I can't tell you what's normal for it. These V4s do run hot though.
     
  3. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    I occasionally have the same brake light problem with my '83 750, so far all i had to do is turn the key off, on then off again and it goes out. So the problem is in the ignition switch, haven't felt motivated yet to take it apart and clean contacts. Grease inside switch is 30 yeas old, needs to be cleaned and re-greased.
     
  4. Hellapet

    Hellapet New Member

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    Jeff, I did post photos, are they not showing?
    Thanks for the welcome.

    Allyance, thanks for the tip, maybe i'll get in there and see what I can come up with.
     
  5. Jeff_Barrett

    Jeff_Barrett Member

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    They weren't earlier but are now.

    Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
     
  6. Hellapet

    Hellapet New Member

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    Possibly a tapatalk bug.
     
  7. Arnzinator

    Arnzinator New Member

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    Nice bike. Those Yoshi slip-ons are pretty much un-obtanium these days.
     
  8. Hellapet

    Hellapet New Member

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    Thanks, they sound pretty nice. :)
     
  9. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Congrats,sounds like a little TLC is in order and you'll be fine.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  10. gorillasnacks

    gorillasnacks New Member

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    Sweet bike! I had an 85 and an 86 like that one. The 85 was my first bike ever and the 86 was my second bike ever. Lol.
    Had a lot of fun on them vf500's!
     
  11. speed

    speed New Member

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    Hi, I have had a lot of 85, 86 and 87's. I don't think the temp gage should be near the H. I would not be comfortable with that. I would check the thermostat and coolant temp sensor, and make sure the cooling fan is cycling. I have had problems like that. Can you see any idea where the oil leak is coming from ? I wouldn't want oil leaking near my tires. Do you have a repair manual for it ? You can figure out a lot there, wow in person would be so much easer to trouble shoot. On one bike I bought, the brake light did the same thing and I found some wires had been swapped but I'm not sure thats your case.
    But hey nice bike congratulations
     
  12. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    Replace the radiator cap, system needs to maintain pressure so coolant doesn't boil off @ 212 and burp the engine (run with cap off) to get air bubbles out.
     
  13. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    Car and bike from the same era?
     
  14. Hellapet

    Hellapet New Member

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    Thanks guys, so far: turning the switch from lock to off and back to lock a couple times got the tail light to go off. ordered fork seals and fork oil, repair manual, blinker and new grips (other ones are gross and slipping.) The oil leak is real slow, like an hour ride produces a small line of oil on the lower cowl, the leak is at the very bottom of the case on the uh... drivers side. I need to check the coolant level and should probably check the oil level too even thought the owner said it was changed recently and the gauge isnt lit.

    Big Jim, yeah I'm an eighties man, I wanted the 951 in white so i could feel like Don Johnson but couldnt find a nice white turbo. This one (a 1986 model) has a fresh engine rebuild and clutch just before I bought it. Lots of well documented failures on the water-cooled Porsches. I'm a Porsche mechanic btw...

    So i've owned the bike for 3 days and already had a 0mph tip over. No scratches cause the brake handle took all the brunt but it was quite embarrassing. I have a nice big gash on my left pointer finger and couldnt apply all my strength to holding the bike up when it started to lean...
    Thanks for the help guys. And the nice comments. :smile-new:
     
  15. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    I have never owned a Porsche but I did get to drive my girl friend's husband's 911 turbo. That was fun. (Chalk it up so spousal revenge car abuse.) I was always a 928 guy. I thought they were beautiful but I'm not everyone. I think they had issues with overheating. Back in the day I had a fetish for an 80s car that didn't love me back. I put 94,000 miles on a TR7 that wanted to die in the worst way and I wouldn't let it. Those had some well documented issues too. I think I had the head gasket change down to under two hours I did it so often. Everything that could break did but I loved that car. "The shape of thing to come." NOT!
     
  16. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Nice car, i drove in them. Welcome to the site
     
  17. Glenngt750

    Glenngt750 New Member

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    With your tail light, don't you have a position on your ignition tumbler for "P" or "Park", and another for "Lock", that lock your steering. The "Park" function is for parking , in the night, when you want your rear light on, as a safety marker. "Lock" is for storing it in your garage. Be careful, the one will kill your battery. Actually, I met a girl once, when she came over to tell me my lights were on, on my bike! Hopefully, you never had an issue.
     
  18. Ghost_Rider

    Ghost_Rider Active Member

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    She looks nice! Just always bear in mind that your bike is 31 years old, and finding spare parts is akin to discovering plutonium in your backyard. Never throw old parts away, and buy up any spare parts you see for VF500's, when you see them. Enjoy!
     
  19. Hellapet

    Hellapet New Member

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    95000 mile tvr must be a world record...

    It seems like theres a good amount of used parts on ebay but I know they dont make head gaskets anymore so that's a concern. Same goes for valve springs and enthusiasts say to replace them every 20k miles, mine are at 31k.... hmmm
     
  20. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    Damn, you learn something everyday!!! I have had my 83 from new, and never noticed that! See, it pays to procrastinate, now I don't have to fix it.
     
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