New guy here + some questions

Hi all, yeah, I too have fallen for her beauty.

So I was walking in my neighbourhood a few days ago, walking past some old dude's house while he was hanging out in his garage, one of those guys who is always working on something. I saw he had some old stuff lying around including a semi decent VF500F. I was looking for a project bike to work on so we started talking.

At the end of it I was walking home with one O.K. looking bike, one in rough shape (for parts) and one extra engine. He just didn't have the time to start a project. I didn't do any homework prior to that meeting but the price was so low I just couldn't resist.

After reading up on the bike, and lurking around on this forum and looking into some numbers, removing the carbs etc(what a pain those rubber boots are) I found out that the two frames I have are 84's. The engine codes are :

-PC12E-2104177 extra engine without carbs.
This is from a 85 vf500F I guess?

-PC13E-2105451 on the semi decent looking bike with VD56D 32mm carbs (90 jets all around)
This engine is from a 85 VF500C magna?

-PC13E-2105775 on the junker with VD31A 30mm carbs (92 jets all around)
Also from a 85VF500C magna?

Now, I think I'm just gonna open up all 3 engines to see which one is the best looking since we werent able to start em up. I have only popped the PC12 engine's valve covers to take a peek, but have yet to take the heads off. I'm waiting for my clymer manual to arrive.

Assuming all engines are in the same good/decent condition what would be the best 'road' to take?
-What engine with what carb?
-What are the differences between PC12 and PC13 engines? I have read multiple contradicting posts about parts (heads, camshafts etc) being interchangeable.
-Presuming im gonna put in new piston rings, do any of you have experience with these on ebay?https://www.ebay.com/itm/84-86-HOND...S-SET-4-RINGS-INCLUDE-11-HKE8PR-/142399888248

A lot of questions right now! thnx for any input.

 

chances are poor that you'll get a good runner. before pulling anything apart it's best to do a compression test first. it's a fair assumption that any spare engine has already expired since that's why it was removed from a bike.

if you want to work on a motorcycle the VF500 is fine, but if you want to ride one, find something newer.

 

A VF500F can be a very satisfying SECOND bike. CAN be.

I own a few.

 

Given you paid very little for them, they sound like great project. Test compression and fire them up with the engines that are already in the bikes and see what you have.

I had 2 VF500F's and both ran great. One I paid a fair price for, one I got really cheap, so.... just get them running and dont sink too much money until you know what your dealing with. parts for these engines are few and far between.

Later engines may have the improved oiling and larger oil sump (Captian80's could confirm that better than me)

 

I did a little sleuthing on Partzilla and it looks like Interceptor and Magna cylinder heads/cams/valves/cases/cranks are interchangeable in 84 and 85. Carburetors look to be Magna or Interceptor and year specific. My dim recollection is that in '86 they changed the heads (line-bored cam journals with half-moon gasket cutouts are the giveaway for that year). Good luck with your project.

 

Later (as in '86) have improved manufacturing (line bored heads) and a larger oil sump. The 84 / 85 will make more power (larger valves)... until it doesn't.

If you have a VF500 motor that has more than 10 - 15K miles on it and the cams look good, then you will likely have many more miles or trouble free cams. Valve springs, and resulting valve float, is another story. You can wick them up a bit, but prolonged high very RPMs will eventually (likely) destroy a valve.

Ask my first VF500F race bike motor. I still won two races after it mushroomed a valve stem. With my earplugs in, helmet on, super load exhaust and a bunch of other really loud race bikes, I couldn't hear the clatter. Wasn't until I popped it off in the pits without earplugs did I hear it. Uh-oh.

 

What a cool project! Not only sorting through finding the best combination, but also looking forward to riding it.
YouTube has a channel, "Vice Grip Garage" where the guy does amazingly little on project vehicles, before he tries to see if they'll run.

 

Hey All,

Thnx for al replies so far.

It's been a few days and in the meantime i've been working on both bikes to get ready for compression testing.
I did all three engines today and below are the results (between parenthesis = with a little oil).

*Note, the test was done with cold engines in cold weather ( it's 35¤ F outside).

PC13-E 2105775
1- 120 psi (140 psi)
2- 150 psi (150 psi)
3- 130 psi (135 psi)
4- 120 psi (155psi)

PC13-E 2105451
1- 120 psi (120 psi)
2- 120 psi (130 psi)
3- 100 psi (110 psi)
4- 115 psi (130 psi)

PC12-E 2104177
1- 115 psi (135 psi)
2- 105 psi (125 psi)
3- 110 psi (135 psi)
4- 120 psi (140 psi)

The first engine from the ''junker'' actually looks the best. Do you guys reckon continuing with any of the engines is worth it?
Now I don't know how the bores look on the inside or what size they measure yet, same with the surfaces of the valves and the rest of the internals for that matter. But I figure after cleaning everything up and lapping the valves, trading up to the 'best' valvesprings taken from all three engines and placing new pistonrings those numbers are bound to go up yes?

 

Whatever engine has the best looking cams, I wouldn't touch a goddamn thing.

I would preassemble to a point where it can be started with exhaust to listen to the tensioners and for any knocks.

Then while you are riding the bike you can wrench away on one of the other engines for it's future replacement, with plenty of time to source hard to find rebuild items.

 

Check the tops of the valves for pitting, if you haven't already done so. That is the beginning of the end.

Sent from my moto e6 using Tapatalk

 

^^ cams pit and valve tops mushroom.

 

luckily not, just mundane life keeping me from working diligently and making the progress I would have wanted.
Also stopped using my phone for making pictures and went to an older ''normal'' digital camera I had lying around. Phone was getting way to dirty and oily, so most pictures are on that.

As for the engines, 2/3 are in pretty good condition as far as I can tell. The empty heads are at a friends for ultrasonic cleaning and are going to a machine shop soon after that for new valve guides were needed and to resurface the valve seats. When they are done doing their magic I'm gonna put them back together.

The bores are all well withing spec, a short light scratch in some of the bores near the top of the bores where the carbon builds up but nothing crazy. A fresh hone should do the trick. Crankshaft and bearings look good too. I did get new bearings just to be sure.

Some pictures that I did still have on my phone.


I also went ahead and ordered A kit of 84/85 carburetor O-rings from billysoutback but got my order closed and my money refunded for some reason. Maybe the heavy snowfall in Texas had something to do with that. So I ordered a 84/85 K&L kit instead. All rings seemed the proper size, just the seal from the carb body to the mounting plate is the wrong size and seems so be for the smaller '86 carbs. Just something to be aware of when ordering the same kit. I will be using a regular o-ring instead. If anyone knows from experience what size O-ring works well, that saves me the hassle of trying different ones.


So far so good, Just gonna continue in a relaxed pace.