Why so many VF500 haters ?

just joined a few days ago and have been doing a lot of reading on the VF500 and there are so many negative comments on this bike and problems i was not aware of , is it really that bad ?
i had a vf500 years ago and put over 20k miles on it with no problems at all , i did service it regularly and took very good care of it and i never experienced any of the problems i have been reading about . why i ask is i just bought another 84 500 with 2300 miles on it in showroom condition and wondering if i made a mistake ? hate to think i wasted my $$$ on a ticking time bomb ......LOL

 

+1


Welcome. Sounds like you got a keeper. Funny thing is, some of the biggest haters never even owned one. Enjoy your bike and if you get sick of the trash talk, there are other places that will welcome you with open arms. We lost one of the best VF500 resources here due to the negative vibe. The place is diminished without him.

 

yes i was very amazed to see the odometer with only 2300 miles ! i did have to rebuild the carbs due to dried out bowl gaskets and o rings and it still has the original tires on it that will have to be changed this winter . it had all the dealer papers and records of all service work even the crank replacement due to the recall and the carbs have had the bowl vent update .
here are some pics . love the look of these bikes .

 

Beautiful bike, would like to have that in my garage. No reason to hate a VF500 Intercepter, they are really cool. Tell us how you found it and what part of the US are you?

 

And I thought mine looked good. Congrats on the find.

 

That is purty, wish I had found it.

 

I wondered where IC had gone. I didn't realise he left for that reason. IMO there is far more positive feedback on here than negative about the 500. All bikes have issues. Part of the attraction.

 

Nice! Very clean. Fuck all the haters - pay them no mind. You got a sweet ride there.

 

Wow, very nice, looks like it is brand new.
I think one of the reasons people hate on the bike is that used beat examples can be had for pretty cheap, so you have young kids buying them with little to no mechanical know how and the wallet to support an old bike.

 

Thank you guys ! i found the bike on craigs list in Nebraska , also found a service record for front fork rebuild ? thought that was strange with this low of miles .
learned my lesson on the carb removal about never taking the air manifold off them ! i did and yes the springs fell out but i found them and that's how i found out the o rings were bad in the fuel connecting tubes so i guess it paid off to do it wrong the first time . putting them back in was no problem with the new boots and a bit of Vaseline . not sure if the valves have ever been serviced so i may have to look into that ? it does have a slight tick to it .
so whats a good tire for the 500 ? never had to buy tires for a street bike so i am clueless on what to get or where to get them ?
i still have to look at the odometer and say really !! ... LOL and it makes me think is this the lowest mile all original untouched VF500 out there ? that's the main reason i bought it was the mileage .

 

Good 500s are fine little bikes, but so few now haven't been damaged by abuse, neglect, inept begining riders/mechanics, lack of available replacement parts, defects in original parts (valve springs), crashes, etc.

Mechanically damaged, hopeless but OK-looking cases of VF500s show up on CL often and appeal to younger, poorer riders looking for a reliable first
bike or commuter cheap and prove frustrating to the new owners, often transformed into parts-bikes by default, usually with loss of investiment.

A proper-running VF 500 has one of the smoothest motors ever, but now those are rare. In this case, with low miles, the bike should be good for a long time with careful routine maintenance. Revving too high causes valve float with consequent damage to top end, and the bikes need a real warm-up before riding.

 

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What a super nice bike, great score! I think you will find a wealth of knowledge still exists here but it's more of an "underground" thing. You need to use a healthy dose of the ignore function along with the ability to let stuff roll off your back. The VF500F is a special bike, no doubt about it!

 

I've owned 4 of these bikes over the last 22 years and have never had any issues. Do the routine maintenance and you'll be fine. You got lucky on that find. Congratulations and welcome to the forum.

 

Yes, IC went over to VFRD. I asked why the move, but I didn't get a reply.

 

Which is weird, because it's worse over there.

 

couldn't agree more.

I love mine and once I fixed what idiots before me had messed up it's been dead dependable and prob one of the most fun bikes I've ever ridden. Mines the same paint as yours but not nearly as nice and still draws lots of attention. Kinda odd that younger guys seem more attacked to it, like it's some mythical creature. I have friends with HDs that all ways seem to welcome the baby ceptor along, not so much with any other Jap bike I ride. From time to time I have the occasional group or single HD fall in behind and follow me till I stop and comment on the "cool Bike" before going their separate way.

A lot of people love the BT45 tires, I hated mine, way to dang thin. I still had a good bit of tread and a small piece of gravel put me to walking 15 or so miles from cell service. I now run the Shinko 712 front and back. Excellent tires.

Not sure how you feel about molesting such a nice example but the Race Tech gold valves and springs made a HUGE difference in the handling of mine. Just a word of warning about the RT set up though, it's definitely more track oriented. It was a little aggressive by the instructions for the street.I'm not big on hanging off the side of the bike on the road to keep it stable. 1/8" more height in the front made it as stable as stock but handles 1000 times better.

 

Couldn't disagree more.

 

+1
and was always there with a picture to help explain a post. Even if he disagreed with a point, he always did so in a polite manner that didn't make the person feel an idiot for buying a 500.