Another VF500F gets a new lease on life.

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by jdm_db2, Feb 15, 2011.

  1. invisible cities

    invisible cities New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2009
    Messages:
    2,259
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Location:
    new york
    Map
    The OP can give a bit more info on this but when I checked in with salvage company I found that these were trade school donor engines.

    I would tend to shy away from these as they may not have been put back together correctly.
     
  2. mstakern

    mstakern New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2010
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Very nice job, In your original pictures the bike was in a big warehouse with tons of other bikes. I thought I saw some CBX iron. Is this the salvage yard where you got the bike, and are those bikes for sale????
     
  3. Deadsmiley

    Deadsmiley Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    May 3, 2009
    Messages:
    1,241
    Likes Received:
    45
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Bowling Green, KY
    Map
    Very cool. I have a secret yearning for a VFR500. Oh, shit...
     
  4. slowbird

    slowbird Member

    Country:
    Canada
    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2008
    Messages:
    2,439
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    51
    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario.
    Map
    Great thread....nice to see you found the bike again after all those years.

    Too bad how some kid wrecked it though. I have a feeling my old VF500 may suffer a similar fate.

    I'm also voting that you change the shock now while it's easy access. If the F4i shock is too much than maybe an F2 shock?

    Be sure to check those valves while the engine is so easy to access
     
  5. jdm_db2

    jdm_db2 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2009
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Boost_Junkie:

    The jury is still out on what exactly the engines are. The owner of Sport Wheels says he got them from a dealership as new engines. They are incredibly clean, and do show any evidence of ever being wrenched on, but one of the people who has been working there for a long time thinks that they came from a tech school. I was always told that the engines that came from the tech school were 700cc engines, but we really don't know for sure.

    Mstakern:

    Those are CBX's. We have all of those, which are in various states of disrepair, and we have 2 nice complete bikes with the full Hondaline fairing and bag kits, one white with blue stripes, and one dark silver with black stripes. They are for sale. PM me if you are interested in anything.

    Slowbird:

    I know we have a few F2's in the yard, but I know we do not have any F4i's. We do have a CBR900RR with an inverted front end that could be a good candidate, but I don't know how compatible the rear shock is. Like I said, I understand that it would be a great time to do the shock, but the work involved in getting it out doesn't scare me at a later date. I'm really focused right now on just getting as many of my parts back on the bike and getting it operational.

    Thanks for the responses and encouragement, guys & girls.
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2011
  6. WGREGT

    WGREGT New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    682
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Nicely done. Welcome to the club. I've got a 84 and an 85 version if you got any issues, but it looks like you got everything covered so far.
     
  7. jdm_db2

    jdm_db2 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2009
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Little by Little

    Well, I got a little more work done on the 500 now that it's back up on its wheels. When I put the engine in it last summer, that was all I did, so the rest of the bike needs to go back together before I can even try to start it. I am working my way backwards on teh bike, starting with completing the front end. Once the bike was on it's wheels, I turned my attention to the front brakes and controls.

    When my friend, Matt, had the bike, he got some clip-ons off of some sort of Kawasaki and ditched the stock bars. I ditched the clip-ons and put some freshly painted stock bars back on it, and installed master cylinders and switches. The original throttle barrell was pretty badly worn, so I got another one of those.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    In doing this, I found that both the master cylinders have torn boots, and no pressure in them, so I will need to rebuild them.

    I started putting the brakes on the forks, and found some more torn boots. I got some from out in the yard, but they seem to be slightly bigger than the ones I took off my calipers. Did they change brakes from 84-86?

    Every chance I get to go look for stuff out in the yard, I take it. Because nearly evertime, I find something that I didn't know was there before. This time, it turned out to be an original VF500F solo seat cowl. Now I have the original, and the Corbin seat.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    ^The cowl attaches to the seat via some pre-threaded holes on the hooks of the seat, but I don't understand the key lock on the back. I know it's to hold it down and keep it from getting stolen, but how is it supposed to work with the seat?

    At the end of each work night, I like to put things together to give myself some more motivation to do the next step, so here are a few pics of the bike with some of the bodywork on it. Keep in mind that the bike will be getting the rest of it's colors fairly soon.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    ^The tailpiece and lower chin are done too, but the tailpiece was being epoxied due to the "spot welds" not being welded anymore.

    [​IMG]

    ^I just thought this was kind of a neat picture of some of my various projects.
     
  8. WGREGT

    WGREGT New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    682
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Hey-
    I also have the OEM seat cowl, the OEM seat, and a Corbin solo seat like you have, as well as a Corbin gunfighter & lady (two person) seat. Allow me to shed a little light on some stuff.

    (Oh...fotos here if they help:
    http://vfrworld.com/forums/1st-2nd-...-you-have-vf500f-full-vance-hines-system.html)

    The solo cowl has the key & lock that you saw (have the key for it? It's a small Honda one...like a small padlock key) turns and mounts/locks to a small metal tab that is mounted with a nut to the underside of the rear grab handle. If you need fotos of this, just ask and I can shoot a few for you.

    You can't use the Corbin solo seat with the cowl. I tried 100 different ways. It's too wide, flares the cowl out too far, esp. with the piping on the corbin, and is cut oddly for the cowl. I have mine recovered, and had some of the rear hump cut down in order to fit the cowl. You will have to drill the holes again for the screws to hold it on, but it's easy to do.
     
  9. WGREGT

    WGREGT New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    682
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Went out and took some fotos for you. Keep that cowl. It is extremely rare. Yours is only the 2nd one I have ever seen, along with mine.

    Let me know if any of these need any explanation...this is the solo Corbin recovered & trimmed in height and width. If you go this route, have them do the bump pad again to match.

    Oh...I'd be shocked & amazed if there were more than one key for these...that is, I bet mine would fit yours (and all of them).

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  10. WGREGT

    WGREGT New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    682
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Oh...and I was wrong. The bracket is not held on with a small nut on the bottom. It's actually a small hex head bolt that is screwed UP into the grab handle. And the smaller key on the right is the one for the cowl.
     
  11. jdm_db2

    jdm_db2 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2009
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    wgregt-
    Thanks for the pics, they are very helpful. It looks like your grab bar was actually made differently than the normal ones. It looks like it has some extra material to thread into. I'll have to go look at all the VF500's in the yard and see if one of them has the bracket. Otherwise, it doesn't look too difficult to fabricate. I was unaware that the cowl went over grab bar, I thought you just removed it.

    I also found a solo cowl for a VF700F if anybody is interested.
     
  12. Big3

    Big3 New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2007
    Messages:
    458
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Lancaster, Ohio
    if you come across another solo seat cowl for a 500 ...I'd be very interested
     
  13. WGREGT

    WGREGT New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2009
    Messages:
    682
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    18
    The grab bar is OEM. Looks exactly like the one on my 84 VF500F. Both are extremely lo-mileage bikes, and I'm the 2nd owner of both of them. My 84 did not come with a cowl, but the hole for the hex head bolt that goes up from the bottom is still there. Maybe the bracket hardware comes with the cowl? I'd see if you can find the bike the cowl/seat came off of. Might get lucky with a key too. If you don't find a key, I can mail you mine for you to try if you like, as long as I get it back. I would think a dealer can still get you a blank cowl key to copy if it works, or at least you might have a blank you can take along with mine to a locksmith to try that route.

    Yep. It goes over the bar. Inner key black plastic tip drops thru the slot on the bracket (only goes in one way).
     
  14. krazyderek

    krazyderek New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2012
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Nova Scotia
    Update please!
     
Related Topics

Share This Page