1984 Honda Interceptor vf500f

Well shrink tubing doesn't seem to help much. My dad and I are going to try to get a new seal in without splitting the case as soon as we can get a seal. Does anyone have any tips for that? I know it isn't the best option, but I really don't want to split the case or pay someone to do it.

It also has a new development. When I downshift into first and coast to a stop, my RPM's stay around 2500-3000. When I let the clutch out a little, it drops to around 1000 and then either jumps back up when I let the clutch out or it dies. Any ideas?

I'm not sure if part of that problem is fuel related or not since I haven't taken the fuel pump out yet. I read over your suggestion elysse and thought about my setup. There is no vacuum line from the petcock. It is capped at the petcock. There is a vacuum line going from the left rear cylinder to the aftermarket chain oiler. Also, should the lines from the front two carbs be capped?

 

Sounds EXACTLY like what mine was doing before I took the fuel pump out. When it dies, can you turn it back on and ride a few miles no problem?

Pics please? that vacuum line doesn't sound right... like, a drivechain oiler or a Camchain oiler? Also, explain a bit more about the carbs being capped? There's only one fuel line that goes into all 4 carbs, and it goes into the leftmost carb. The distribution to the other 3 is handled by tubes in the bank. I'm curious to see what you see.

 

Well it hasn't actually died while I was riding (except one time last week when I came to a stop). I pulled it in the garage today after my ride to mess with it and it died three times after I let the clutch out a little and pulled it back in. It started back up, but I had to give it some throttle each time.

It is a drivechain oiler. It is run by a vacuum line coming from the left rear cylinder.
The line(s) I'm talking about on the carbs aren't fuel lines. I know what you are saying with only one fuel line/inlet. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow. It might be hard to see though. If I remember right, the two inner carbs have vacuum caps on these "tubes" and the outer ones come together and have a vacuum cap.

 

I tried taking the fuel pump out last night, and it seemed to run fine, but I was letting it warm up this morning and it died and wouldn't start again.

So I decided to try the gravity feed mod. I took the petcock apart and discovered that one of the previous owners had cut a hole in one of the diaphragms, but not both so I did the other one. Put it back together and fuel flows out for about a second when on the ON position and then stops. It flowed out for a while on RES but it stopped also. I used a piece of fuel line to connect the vent and vacuum ports on the petcock. What's the deal?

 

You think your tubes or fuel filter(s) is/are clogged? There shouldn't be anything to stop the fuel flow by the way you describe it.

 

Call me an idiot, but there wasn't enough gas in the tank. I didn't think that was the issue since the fuel flow stopped when I had it on RES, but it seems to be fine now that it's full. I ended up putting the fuel pump back in trying to see if it would help me. So now I have gravity feed to the fuel pump.

 

:-D that'd do it too!

 

To clarify, you have removed the vacuum safety feature on the fuel petcock.

Having a gravity fed fuel system entails removing the fuel pump, et al, and connecting the fuel line directly to the carb's fuel inlet.

Removal of the fuel pump has a road tested track record and as such it can be discarded without negative effect.

 

Keep me posted on the clutch rod seal, my 86' has the same leak right now. Can you give me the part number for the seal? having some problems finding it in the diagrams on bikebandit.

thanks and good luck!

 

invisible cities: Correct. I have removed the vacuum petcock system and have "gravity feed" to the fuel pump. I understand true gravity feed is direct from the petcock to the carbs, but is there any harm in having the fuel pump in there? (other than having another system that could possibly fail)

inovativems: On bikebandit it is in the Left Crankcase Cover - Water Pump Schematic.
#22
OIL SEAL (8X18X5)
Part Number : 729994
The shrink tubing seems to have helped. It only drips 3 or 4 times once it is warmed up now (after it is parked). I'm wondering if I'm losing quite a bit of oil when I'm riding because the muffler smokes when it is parked. (Oil dripping and being blown onto it). I think I'm going to try putting another layer of shrink tubing on.

Besides the oil leak, there is really only one thing I don't like. After I have ridden for a while, and I come home, and put it in neutral to go open the garage door, it doesn't seem to want to stay running. It starts right back up, but sometimes it won't idle when it is warm. Also, when it does idle when it is warm and I let the clutch out just so it starts to engage and then squeeze it in right away, it dies. Does my clutch need rebuilt or is there something else causing this?

 

No harm. If your tank is clean (no rust) a gravity fed system is a good mod. If you do have rust inside the tank the larger inline fuel filter on the stock system would actually be a plus. Either way, best to keep the petcock in the 'off' position when parked.

 

The stock system works just like you describe: gravity feed to the pump and forced flow after that. The pump only delivers about 1psi so it's not really that much to begin with - that's why gravity feed all of the way to the carbs works.

Good luck!

 

any luck on the oil seal?

 

Well I just have some shrink tubing on the rod now. It leaks about a half dollar sized spot of oil after riding. I have some other shrink tubing I might try in a few days

 

are you going to try to replace the seal? i'm going to attempt it in the coming weeks.

 

Are you going to split the cases? It is the only way to 'officially' replace the seal.

For a temporary repair:

http://www.v4market.com/Clutch-Rod-Leak-Repair_p_116.html

 

I don't think I'm going to attempt to replace the seal unless the leak gets bad.
Invisible cities, I just purchased that shrink tubing but I don't have it on yet.

 

Good deal. Hope this works out. Keep us posted on the progress.

 

I put that shrink tubing on today. Still leaks. Apparently my seal is damaged too much, but I think another layer of this stuff would help. I just have to find somewhere else to get it.
The bike acted up again today. I rode it about fifteen miles, parked it, and went to ride it about 4 hours later and it started harder than usual. It started and died 7 or 8 times before it started running. Like usual, it was only running on 2 cylinders to start with. I would really like to find out why the cylinders fire/warm up in the order they do. New plugs and wires. I thought maybe a coil was going bad, but I if I remember right, one coil goes to the front two cylinders and the other goes to the rear two, but the left front warms up sooner than the right front, which is always last. And ideas? Also, when I parked it to open the garage, it idled between 2000 and 3000 and I couldn't get it to drop. It hasn't done that in a while, and I'd appreciate any ideas on that also.

 

I took three out of the four spark plugs out a few minutes ago to take a look. (LF, RF, RR) The ground electrode looks lean on all of them to me. (I don't know too much about reading plugs though). It is a white/creamy color. I use 89 octane fuel, but I thought it ran fine before I changed the plugs a couple weeks ago.