1986 vf500f

Hey all, I am yet another sucker that has fallen for an old interceptor 500 on Craigslist. I picked up the 1986 Vf500f with 16k miles on her a little over a month ago.




I just finished rebuilding and reinstalling the carbs today. She was originally leaking fuel from the fuel joints, but some new o-rings put a stop to that. I think she is running a little better than she was before, but I believe I may have an air leak at the carb boots. I will be picking up starter fluid tomorrow to test the hypothesis.

I’ve already rebuilt all clutch and brake cylinders, and replaced all of the fluids. I am itching to start riding her. But I still need to check the valves as there seems to be some ticking coming from the rear right of the engine. I am waiting to find some decently priced valve cover gaskets because it seems the current gaskets may be leaking slightly.

Below I linked a video of the engine running, for what is likely the second time in 20 years, in the hopes that some you kind folk could provide some informed input

 

Welcome OTyler. Top notch first post!
Really low mile VF - 16000 in 34 years - does it still have the original tires on it?
I hope that one of the other vf500 owners can listen to your video and give insight to what you are hearing.

 

Congrats on the bike! Looks to be in really good shape.

How does the price of shipping and answering a question for me sound for some new valve cover gaskets? I bought a Vesrah VG-1071 gasket set for my 1984 VF500F, but the 86 has a different valve cover. It's got them mickey mouse ears for the cams that the 84 doesn't. I think it's highly unlikely I'll run into someone needing them with an '86 500, so they're yours if you want them.

And the question--what kit did you use to rebuild the brake master cylinder? I'm having a hell of a time with the kit I bought on 4into1. Trying to eliminate variables.

 

[mention]Colddevil [/mention] If you’re not planning on returning those, then definitely! I’ve enjoyed following your rebuild so far, that neon yellow sure is an eye-catcher.

The brake rebuild kit was a K&L that I had bought on eBay here https://www.ebay.com/itm/161905993951. I had to take it apart twice though because during my first cleaning, I hadn’t cleared the tiniest of the two holes at the bottom of the master cylinder reservoir. When it was clogged, very little fluid made it into the lines and the bubbles refused to come out. Once that was solved I was able to fill the lines up with fluid and remove all of the air by just actuating the lever and pointing the front wheel left and right repeatedly to bring the bubbles up past the flat section of brake line.

For the slave cylinders I only ended up replacing the two rubber gaskets on each piston. Now it holds pressure better than my 2014 Yamaha, probably because the brake lines are rock hard!

 

... the what? ... there are 2 holes? f***! I just made a post on my rebuild thread that would be entirely resolved if that were the case. That sounds exactly like what I'm struggling with now. Looks like I've got a lead on what to inspect! Hmmm.. even if there isn't... I've got a drill, lol.

And nope, not returning them. I've already used the most of the gaskets that came in the set. I sent you a "conversation" which is what I believe is the equivalent of a direct message with my email in there.

 

[mention]RllwJoe [/mention] I just checked and the rear tire is from 1998 and the front from 1994. The tires barely have any wear! The front holds air perfectly but is cracking. The back is in better shape but leaks air slowly. I’ll be replacing both, before she touches asphalt, with tires from americanmototire.

This weekend I’m going to need to order a new chain at least. (Maybe new wheel bearings too?) I typically replace sprockets when I replace the chain on my other bikes, but their conditions seem fine and I’m trying to slow the bleeding caused by all of these new parts .

 

Started her up again today. I very carefully bench synced the carbs after assembly yesterday. She idles fine around 1400 without any choke. Once she is warmed up throttle response is pretty responsive to a quick twist. But the rpms take a couple of seconds to come down after throttle is released. I added zip ties to the vacuum tube going to the fuel petcock and that stopped a higher-pitched whine.

When I sprayed starter fluid around both right boots the rpms increased by over 500. Spraying the left boots, increased rpms by only a couple hundred. The bands on the boots are super tight right now so I’m thinking I’m going to have to find some brand new boots. But last time I looked the only kind that were available are for ‘84-‘85 which I believe have about 2mm tighter diameter on the carb side.

I read somewhere around here that both leaks at the boots and a lean condition (I guess they’re kinda the same thing) can cause the rpms to stay higher after the throttle is released.

Now I’ve got a more basic question. How can I adjust the air fuel ratio once I get potential air leaks sorted? Is it the pilot screw that is still covered by the tab of aluminum? I bet it’s about time for me to drill those out.

A ticking and tapping is also present on the right side that increases as the engine warms up, and gets louder as rpms increase. Definitely need to adjust those valves once I get that new valve cover gasket in

 

I wish I had a good suggestion on where to find '86 intake boots, but I can't find them in stock anywhere. The '84-85 were very easy to find and honestly surprisingly cheap. Like $9/each. I'll keep my eye open for 16211-MF2-711 in stock anywhere. There are techniques people use to "restore" hardened intake boots with wintergreen oil(?) and iso- alcohol. After 35+ years, my thought is to just replace them for peace of mind; however, if they're not available, then that might be an option. If they're cracking though, softening them up isn't going to resolve the issue.

Yep, you're going to have to drill the welch plugs out in order to access the A/F screws. I've never done that while they were on the bike, but if you're planning on replacing the intake boots, you may want to pull the carburetor off again regardless. Pulling the carburetor off is going to give you more working space if you're planning on checking the valves anyway.

You may also have a lean condition on one or two butterflies depending on how close your bench sync was. It sounds like you got it mighty close. I'd go after the obvious one first which is the intake boots; however, if you're still finding a hanging idle, you may want to find some vac gauges. Double check your bench synch if you pull the carburetor off.

Valve cover gaskets headed your way.

 

Yeah so I actually did the wintergreen and isopropyl alcohol combo to restore all of the boots and let them soak for over 5 days. but I am still having leaks around the carb boots. There were no obvious cracks in the boots, so I think at sometime before 34 years the integrity of the boots went shot.

I will get at those pilot screws when I drill them out this coming weekend. I've got the carbtune vacuum sync tool to use sync the gauges this weekend too. Should be fun I also ended up ordering expensive-as-shit boots, manufactured by K&L supply, on ebay that supposedly will be here this coming weekend so that I can get all of the engine work I need done in one fell swoop. With this i hope to be able to fix my lean condition.

Furthermore I guess it is time to finally time to purchase a quality impact drill to show respect to those FSM torque specs. I should be able to complete all valve adjustments this weekend too? We will see. I did read further into the degradation of the valve compression spring performance after so-many years for the vf500f. I am going to forgo any replacement of internal engine parts and just pray for the best in the future. I previously read in these forums that replacement valve springs and valves are possible to acquire but appear quite costly. If I have any funny behavior over the coming months I will look into this though.

Wish me luck.

 

If you've got a Harbor Freight near you and find their coupons, the 1/4" and 3/8" torque wrenches will be much more useful for setting torque for ~$20 each. The 3/8" has more all around use, but I like having the 1/4" as well because it keep you honest when torquing down those really low torque bolts.

 

Im not sure about the 86 VF500, but I was still able to buy new boots from Honda for my VF1000R's

 

Alright, so I performed a carb sync and the bike seems to be running smoothly. However, After a few weeks of riding it around I am getting some squealing when the engine is warm and the engine is idling below ~1450rpm. Pulling the clutch doesn’t affect it at all. Revving and riding it makes the noise disappear, not just drowning it out. But as soon as the bike is idling below ~1450 again, it begins. It seems to be coming from the left side of the engine around the front cylinders. All fluids are fresh. The bike gets pretty hot but the fan seems to keep the temperature in check. I included a link to a video taken today of the symptom below.

 

Yeah, it looks like I will be switching to 84/85 carbs on my 86 the next time they come out. Ridiculous.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=+16211-MF2-711&_sacat=0

That noise is weird. I was really expecting it to go away with a clutch pull. Sometimes the clutch push rod can spin a little with no pressure and squeal in the slave cylinder. It did it on one of my 500 after installing a Barnett clutch where you remove the judder spring and seat. (Yes, the pressure plate bearing is good)

Time to pull the valve covers!

 

New to this forum and need some help.
i also have an intake air leak around the boots.

i have hade this bike for two years now and it runs good . i let it sit for a few month and the float bowl gasket dryad out .

i need to replace the float bowl gaskets, and having taken the carbs off before i new i wanted new intake boots. so i spent the $100 for the( 1986 only boots) and the installed them, pretty easy all things considered.

but when i started the bike it had a high idle that will not respond to the idle adjuster and when i did the carb cleaner test the engine raced higher.
i rechecked the intake clamps to verify they are tight and look all the way seated.
Any idea ???

 

a float level set too low (high fuel level) can cause high idle and a leaky float needle can too. inspect plugs to find any improper blackness. the squeak, IDK, maybe trans or clutch basket bearing ?

 

Check all vacuum hoses and the throttle cable free play and choke cable. Try to narrow down the intake leak by spraying the boots with starting fluid or something like it with a small hose attached to the nozzle. Use very small amounts. Did you adjust or remove the air screws?

 

Squirrel and sixdog probably have it with one of those suggestions--however, another thing that may have caused this is if you turned one or more of the synch screws and put it way out of balance. I had this happen to me earlier this year since my bench sync was so far off, and I couldn't get the bike to idle under 3500rpm until I got the butterflies in better sync.

 

^^^ Geez, i furgot to mention that !

 

i defiantly have a vacuum leak at the boots .
i did not turn the mix screws and it has slack in the throttle cable it ran smooth before it started this project .
i think i have to fix the intake leak first before i can do the final tune .
the intake boots are new and the clamps are stock so i dont know why there would be a problem there or how to fix it

 

The first step is to accept that you have a leak.