Possible VF500 purchase

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by jeremyr62, Feb 21, 2017.

  1. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    I am going to look at this tomorrow.
    https://www.donedeal.ie/vintagebikes-for-sale/honda-vf-500/14758489
    It's local to me so would be amiss not too.
    It is proof the half faired model (called the VF500F) was released this side of the pond, at least in mainland Europe anyway.
    It has the pressed comstar wheels and not the cast aluminium ones the US got. (I have yet to find a reason why Honda did this.)
    I have the fully faired F2 variant but I prefer the look of the half faired.
    So if the bodywork and petrol tank are in good condition I will make an offer.
    The fairing lacks the screen and a mirror is missing but it looks pretty much all there.
    Mileage seems to be 68000km but I have spare engines and spare carbs so not a real concern
     
  2. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    Another rescue mission, J.? Good find ! :smile:
     
  3. Fentible

    Fentible New Member

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    'Ad being updated'...................did you buy it?
     
  4. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    No. He has sold it to a friend. Never got chance to even see it.
    Such is life.
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2017
  5. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    UPDATE. His friend cried off after hearing the motor run. I went to see it and bought it.
    I'll post a few decent pictures up tomorrow. The petrol tank is in good condition. A few very small dents but the paint looks good enough. Plenty of things to fix though. The seller managed to get it running and I can understand why his friend declined.. A very loud rattle that only becomes apparent at higher rpm. I think its a sticky camcahin tensioner. What amazed me is it even started at all. Hadn't been on the road since 2004.
     
  6. Riding a 2000

    Riding a 2000 Member

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    Hoping that the bit about the friend and the engine noise helped sweeten the price from your perspective.

    Will look for subsequent posts!
     
  7. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    I got him down a bit but I probably overpaid. I'm useless at negotiating. The bike is solid and what swung it was the petrol tank. These are just about unobtanium now in decent condition. If I sold the tank alone I would get back half of the cost of the bike.

    Photos here
    https://goo.gl/photos/GfZvWB5zYH1z9fco6
     
  8. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Sweet looking ride and great job on posting photos.
    Hope ya get the motor squared away, good luck and keep us posted



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  9. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    The bike will not be delivered to me until next week but I did take possession of the petrol tank.
    If you want a look, photos link below. Like an idiot I forgot to get him to open the tank, so I can't get into it with my endoscope until I get the bike and key.
    The tank's pretty good externally IMO. Very rare to see them on Ebay in this condition nowadays.

    https://goo.gl/photos/LCyx1JeWB8SWMXBt8
     
  10. flattrack

    flattrack New Member

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    sounds to me like you will be looking at rockers with divots carved out by the cam as the flash chrome on the rocker wore through.
    you can add that to your experience of valves disappearing into the heart of the motor with a sickening sound.
    only true diehards would keep coming back for more!.....It looks to be an ''84/85 motor" as I don't see half-moon gaskets.
    I see you have an '86 already. Let us know what you discover inside when you hunt down the "racket".
     
  11. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    Could be worn valve gear but the engine was quiet at low rpm and the rattle was audible only at higher rpm. The noise oscillated too. I think camchain tensioner. This will be my fourth engine so I don't care if it is beyond repair. I have a low miles 86 engine I can fit to the bike with the correct spark boxes and carbs.

    It is an 84.
     
  12. Fentible

    Fentible New Member

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    That looks fairly decent and as you say the tank and actually the rest of the bodywork looks to be in pretty fair condition. Fingers crossed that it is simply the cam chain tensioner.
     
  13. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    Got it delivered. In the cold light of day it's a lot shittier than I remember. Sometimes my idiot tendencies get the better of me. This is one of those occasions.
    Good job I like a challenge...
     
  14. Fentible

    Fentible New Member

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    We've all been there. My cold light of day was a GPZ1000Rx that scarily was still road legal and regularly ridden by the owner at the pont I bought it. I nearly broke it for parts after the 'back to base' scrutiny began. Kept me going for 4 years, but I got there in the end.

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
  15. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    If the red is a before picture then that looked to be in very good nick. The black is very impressive. That came after or before the ZX10? (Not the ZX10R said a la Sykes)
     
  16. Fentible

    Fentible New Member

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    Red is the before and the picture is very flatttering, brake discs warped, antidives bypassed without blanking them properly, swing arm moved laterally nearly half an inch, every faring panel cracked and the tank rotted out at the lower edges. How it ran is equally bewildering, as the carbs were held on with varying size jubilee clips and the carb to airbox rubbers had been fitted the wrong way round. That said it was cheap and ran.
    The after picture followed 2 years collecting parts, brand new tank in box for £80.. and which dictated the colour scheme plus complete original exhaust system as new for £100 and 2 years rebuilding. Nobody wanted these in 2008 so parts were plentiful and cheap. They were never as successful as their smaller brother the GPZ900R but I preferred their more aggresive styling.
    You are correct it predated the ZX10 which emerged in 1988
     
  17. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    Spent the weekend having a good look at the bike. It is not a basket case but is going to take time and money to get it decent. I bought a scrap bike in 2011 and before chucking that one away, kept the decent bits. That has supplied quite a few parts already. I'll post a few more pictures when I have made some progress.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2017
  18. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    This is what it looks like currently.
    https://goo.gl/photos/aqfg8iTM5pLrH3ks6

    One clear advantage of buying a bike from a country that has severe winters is the bike couldn't have been used on salty roads. For a 33 year old bike it is virtually corrosion free. Some spots here and there, but has made taking it apart quite easy so far. I am trying to resist buying Ebay bits for it as I go along and would be better off making a list and then buying everything in one go but difficult to do that.

    The show stopper at the moment is the rear undertray/mudguard. The bike was fitted with incorrect sized tyres. The rear was a 120/90 18 and the front 110/90 16. The front mudguard had been butchered so the tyre would fit, and the rear has worn through the undertray. I was going to fix it with some fibre glass but its worse than I thought and you can pick up secondhand ones quite cheaply. Might take the swing arm off next.
     
  19. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Love those old zedXs, specially the shape of the tank and the tail section with the built in bungee hooks, nice job. I went through the same crap with a bike i bought home on a trailor. Never let the love affair die!
     
  20. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    Swingarm was OK. Took it out and cleaned it up. Battery acid had taken some of the silver paint off so I spray painted it with cheap zinc silver paint. Good colour match too. Not much left to do to the frame until I get the rear undertray. Will take the engine out next to see whats making the noise. Spent 3 weekends on it now off and on. All good fun. Pity you can't get decent plastics for these anymore. Every cowling and tailpiece I see on Ebay are wrecked.
     
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