Another VF500F gets a new lease on life.

This bike began as a 1986 Honda VF500F that my friend purchased in spring of 2002. He had purchased it from a guy who rode it a lot, but took good care of it. When my friend got it, it would be his first motorcycle. He was 18 years old.

A good 2 seasons passed, with Matt enjoying the bike on a nearly daily basis during the MN riding seasons. Eventually, he wanted something more modern, and more powerful, so he purchased a CBR600F2 with an F3 engine. The VF500F sat in his dad's garage for a few years, and in 2007 Matt graduated college here in MN, and moved out to MA to attend grad school. He sold his beloved CBR shortly after the move. His dad, being a Harley rider his entire life, often rode Matt's CBR to keep the carbs clean until the bike sold. When it sold, he realized that he liked riding a nice, tight handling bike. So he turned his attention to the VF500F sitting in the garage.

It wouldn't run, so he removed the carburetors to clean them, and never got the time to re-install them. A few years later (2008ish), he sold the VF500F in it's state of slight disrepair to one of his step-son's friends.

Up until this point, the bike was in pretty good shape still. The Yoshimura slip-ons that Matt has scored on Ebay in 2002 were still in perfect condition, and the original paint was still intact. It was showing a little age, but still in very good condition. That's when it all went south...

The kid that bought it, laid the bike down on the perfect muffler, dented the tank, spray painted everything, hacked into the wiring harness, drilled holes in the dash, and dropped valves into engine while running...

One Saturday, while working, I noticed a green VF500F that had just been dropped off for salvage. I was looking over the bike and remembering the bike that Matt had owned. I saw some Yoshimura slip-ons on the bike and commented to co-workers that those are really rare mufflers and suggested that we take them off and keep them indoors. I explained how Matt had scowered ebay every day for random parts for his bike when he was riding it, and how after a few months of looking, finally found an NOS set of the Yoshimura pipes.

Then, I recognized a sticker on the windshield that looked familiar...

The sticker said "Item 4". It was a stupid little car club that my friends and I made up a long time ago. Matt had put the sticker on the windshield around 2003-2004. This was Matt's bike. It had the pipes, the low clip-ons, the "carbon fiber" turn signals, and the Item4 Sticker. I soon wondered if the destiny of this once valient machine was to end in a salvage yard. I inquired into the plans for the bike and found out it was just going out to the yard, so I saved it.

Here is a glimpse of how I got the bike. It had all it's bodywork on it when I got it, but I removed it to investigate the engine.



You can see the nasty, green spraypaint with "skeleton" stickers on the tank. You can also see the Corbin seat that I located in a trailor at Sport Wheels.



Once I saw the bike, I told Matt about it. After I got the bike, he came home for X-mas and found the Targa fairing that he purchased for it a long time ago.



All this was in Fall of 2009. In the Spring of 2010 I got done with school for the semester so I started tearing into the VF500. I found valves in the oil pan, so I started looking around at work for a good donor engine from a bike in the yard. I checked out every bike in the yard, and only found 1 possible prospect so I started looking in trailors, and under lean-tos. I walked into a trailer with a few Victory and Benelli parts and found 3 wood boxes with steel corners. I looked inside, and found 3 VF500 engines. I was not sure if they were Magna or Interceptor, so I checked the tranny and found 6 gears. I called the local Honda dealer and had them decipher the serial number and learned that they are 1984 VF500F engines. I brought one over to the shop, and started bringing the bike back to life.














Old vs. New








Spray paint all over the wheel and swingarm.

















Pre-pressure wash.








Post pressure wash.









Box of parts after the deconstruction.






Nasty "aftermarket" wiring.






The dash cover had been drilled into, and the screening on the gauge covers was fading so I took another trip out to the yard and found a perfect one in yet another trailer.






Original gauges, but new dash cover and gauge covers.






Found tank grommets.










Then started the bodywork. I was able to remove all the spraypaint with laquer thinner.












The wheels would not come clean, so I have to repaint them.









Aircraft Stripper doing what it does best.









These wheels were originally white. The strange thing, is that under the white, there was black primer with the very outside lip being machined. At first I thought that maybe the wheels were originally the black wheels with silver lips. But the machine work goes all the way into the spokes on the stock black wheels, and these are only machined on the very outer-most lip. My plan is to keep the machined lip, but still paint the rest of the wheels the original white.







That is where I am on the bike up till now. Shortly after I started this bike, I found the VF1000R that is in my other build thread, so progress has slowed. Currently, the new engine is installed in the frame, the forks have been rebuild with new seals, and all the bodywork, with the exception of the tank, are ready for paint. As both my VF bikes require the same colors, I've been waiting to paint either of them until I can paint both of them. That means I need to order sticker kits, and get the paint.

Thanks for looking.

 

sounds like you are having fun...don't let anyone tell you different..... sounds like this bike has a bit of sentimental value.... when you get it finished tell your friend to eat his heart out.....LOL.... Good Luck

 

I love a good resurection story, good work man.

 

Very nice work to date! Thank you for the post.

On a side note, I believe the wheels, as you are describing them, are from the '84/'85 model. Here is a photo of a stock front wheel from an '84 VF500F (wheel on the right) adjacent to a CBR600F wheel:



and Factory photo of a stock '86 for comparison:

 

Rock on man! Keep us up to date on your progress!

 

:clap2: Great work!

 

/subscribed


love these threads... starting my GSXR750 Rebuild this weekend!

 

Invisible_cities:

That's what I originally thought, was that the wheels were from an 84/85 bike. But if you look at the machined part on the wheels you posted, it goes from the outermost diameter, all the way into where the spokes meet the rim. The machined portion on my wheels is just the outermost face. Look at the pics of the wheels in my original post, and notice where I put the yellow tape to protect the machined portion. The rest of the wheel is normal sand-cast.

 

You are definitely right, thanks for the clarification. I see the difference now. I don't have a close up of a stock '86 rim but I am wondering if this area was machined on the stock rim and then the whole wheel was then Factory painted. Perhaps an '86 owner can post a detail photo or two?

 

Love this thread, definitely going to watch the progress

 

Holt sh*t dude 47k miles!! Thats amazing all in itself!

Good score on that new engine! Are there any more of those available?!?

 

Awesome story!! Man, what a dream place that must be. I mean, look at all those classics...and a box in the back with three new VF500 motors. Drool...

Keep us posted.

 

wow that bike was is bad shape. worst than mine when I got it. Good luck, can't wait to see it finished .

 

Long Overdue Update

Hey guys, sorry for such a long absence from this thread/bike. I have been out of school for the last few weeks, so I could begin working on my bikes again.

Progress on the 500 has begun to happen for the first time in nearly a year. I got new paint (after I stupidly let my other paint dry), so I could get the bike back up on its wheels for the first time in one year.

In order to get the bike on its wheels, I needed to paint the forks, wheels, and front fender. Since I already had most of the bodywork ready for paint, I cleaned and sprayed everything with a white base (except for the tank, which needs a little more help). I had already rebuilt the front forks with new seals, and fresh fluid last summer.









^ Since the front fender for my 1000R was ready for its Fighting Red, I sprayed that too.







^The machined lip on the wheels came out pretty good. I like the effect it gives the wheels...Class's 'em up a little bit. The only reason the seat is on there, is because I accidently latched it into the latch, and I don't have the key for it.

More to be coming in the next few weeks. Now that the bike is on its wheels, I can start all the reconstruction. In the meantime, I need to sand all the bodywork with 500grit and get ready to spray the blue and red areas.

 

Looking good! Thanks for the update.

If I could make a suggestion, this would be a good time to change out the stock mono-shock. Easy access right now.

 

Yeah, I'd love to change the rear shocks on both my bikes, but my focus right now is just getting them operational. What is the best OEM shock to use on these bikes? I know that you have to make or buy the adaption kit from Jamie, but as I have a plethora to choose from, which one is best?

 

A really heart warming story, keep up the good work!

 

Those other two new old stock motors for sale?

 

Totally understand. You are doing great work.

I'd recommend using an F4i shock as the core and going with a remote reservoir. JD can give you the hook-up on this.

(photo of F4i w/ remote res that I installed on my '84)