Topic: 1985 VF500 Interceptor

[grcamna2]

Spoke to the owner very briefly the other day, just passing each other at work. He threw out a number of $2,000, which seems high to me *in it's current condition*. With the known history, overall shape, etc., I'd probably be inclined to give him that if it were running. I'll talk to him more next week, but I feel like i need to get it for a few hundred less, since it'll need a battery and front tire, at the VERY least. Plus, I'd want to "base line" it and change the fluids, adjust the valves, etc

I have a feeling he's not firm on that price. And he's a reasonable guy. I might ask him to get it running....or I might explain that it needs a few hundred bucks just to make it road worthy again and offer something closer to $1500.

That sounds like a good plan Scott.

[RAFster122s]

If the tire is very old (rear tire) it will need that as well. So, you are  200-300 into a good set of rubber.
New battery another 40-80 or so. Filters, fluids, plugs, etc. add up.

David

[Terry in Australia]

Why would you bother? I know it looks nice, but that's just a ruse...........

[Scott S]

If the tire is very old (rear tire) it will need that as well. So, you are  200-300 into a good set of rubber.
New battery another 40-80 or so. Filters, fluids, plugs, etc. add up.

David

 My thoughts exactly.

[Scott S]

Why would you bother? I know it looks nice, but that's just a ruse...........

 Aww, come on man! Don't crush my dream!

 Nah, in reality, there seem to be two camps on this bike. Enthusiast who love it and don't have problems. And a smaller group like you, who seem to steer clear of them. I'll definitely ask lots of questions. And with one owner for 31 years, I feel better about the condition of this one, even any unknowns.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, as much as I don't want to rain on your parade Scott, I tried to warn Sean too, and probably pissed him off at the time, but his blew up just as I predicted.

There wouldn't be many here in Oz that's still in one piece, they belonged to a family of really poorly engineered Honda bikes, and as Honda has done in the past, they just walked away from their issues, didn't offer any compensation to folks who'd bought them, and just built something else.

For the sort of money you're going to spend on that thing, you could do way better, but it's your choice. Choose wisely.

[Scott S]

Been parked for three years. Said he's never had a lick of trouble with it, other than having to clean the carbs a couple of times because he didn't store it properly. That's why he drained the tank and carbs this time. Fork seals good. Kerker is a full exhaust, not just the cans. Fork seals are good. The biggest concern for me is the lack of valve adjustment, which is something I'd do before putting it back on the road. Rear fender extender removed and homemade "tail tidy" installed. He has the fender. I'll probably go look at it this weekend.

[grcamna2]

Been parked for three years. Said he's never had a lick of trouble with it, other than having to clean the carbs a couple of times because he didn't store it properly. That's why he drained the tank and carbs this time. Fork seals good. Kerker is a full exhaust, not just the cans. Fork seals are good. The biggest concern for me is the lack of valve adjustment, which is something I'd do before putting it back on the road. Rear fender extender removed and homemade "tail tidy" installed. He has the fender. I'll probably go look at it this weekend.

They're good bikes Scott.I'm a member on hondatwins.net also and there's a new member 'NorCal'.. who has a VF500 that a man gave to him quite a while back out of his garage:Scott, he now has 83K on that bike and him and his son both enjoy it.They need care and will run good with it.I own a Volvo 240 sedan and it's known to be a very durable car,but I'm not going to 'run the sh*t out of it just because "it's Very durable and can stand-up to anything you want to throw at it".  That would be abuse:Sportbikes have the crap pounded out of them as a general rule.Try looking up owners of the 84-85' VF500C Magna and see how many miles of sensible 'driving' they have 'rolled-on' to those bikes  Lot's of good histories on those bikes.They are ridden/cared for in a different way usually compared to a 'Sportbike' that always seems to get abused.A similar issue is:street bikes or dirt bikes ! They run dirt bikes a Lot harder.
I also take good care of it and give it any regular maintenance it needs 'by the book'.
I've found that many motorcycle/auto owners buy a used vehicle and just 'run it until it breaks down' but I think 'used' is great,as long as it hasn't been too 'ab used'..and preventive maintenance 'By the Book' is the key to long life plus operating the vehicle w/ respect/care.The valve adjustment for the VF500 isn't bad,it has screw-type.
I would love to have another 86' VF500F  ,real smooth running engine.

[Scott S]

 Well, for better or for worse, I now own an Interceptor!

The tank is solid and spotless inside. Front tire is shot, rear is new, but now several years old. It's in need of all fluids and all the normal "sitting bike" stuff. The clutch is limp, the rear brake was dragging until we pried the pistons back, fork seals are good (but oil will be changed), and it'll need a battery, of course. Full Kerker exhaust, not just the mufflers. Only very, very minor scratches and blemishes here and there on original, still shiny paint. There's a homemade "tail tidy" on it, but the rear fender is included. All stock except the grips and exhaust.
 I think the price was fair, considering the history and condition. I plan to go through it completely over the next few months and would love to be riding it by this Summer!

 First time she saw daylight in over 1,000 days!

 


 Strapped down in Creep Van for the ride home. Now snugly nestled in my garage.

[grcamna2]

Hi Scott,
The bike looks good sitting there  .
I remember putting a pr. of Avon tires on mine and they handled very good and gave good mileage;it was a challenge finding a tire manufacturer that had the 16" front and the 18" correct rear.The orig. exhaust had the collector box underneath the engine where the four stock head-pipes plumbed into(I still have some NOS oem head-pipe to collector box exh. gaskets/packing) and both mufflers flowed out of;that stock collector box is supposed to give the engine a bit more torque/grunt as the engine is tuned more for high rpm's(8-9K+) even stock.I imagine w/ the Kerker exhaust it will favor the high rpm's and you may have to use the gearshift often to keep the rpm's up to get anywhere.I would hope the PO might have saved the full orig. exh.
You may have to completely flush-out the clutch master cyl. & slave cyl. to clean out the old DOT 4 and then re-fill and bleed the system to get the clutch working again.

[MoMo]

Congrats Scott, when I had my Sabre I was a member of this forum http://v4musclebike.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=4.  ...Larry

[Scott S]

 That explains why the clutch lever was limp.    Luckily, the piston moves and it sounds as if it's moving a little residual fluid. I bet I can get by with just a clean and flush.

[Scott S]

Brake question(s): The rear caliper was stuck and we had to push back the piston to get it to roll. Going by the rust on the front rotors, only one of those calipers is working.
A full flush is in order, but do you think I should go ahead and order seals and pull the pistons?
Also, in the pic below, isn't that enough to do both front calipers?

[Scott S]

 Also, I've ordered some genuine Honda parts.
-carb insulators
-oil filters
-a factory service manul
-some NGK DPR8EA-9 plugs

 I also got some new grips. I'll check the air filter when I get in there, just to make sure there isn't a cleanable UNI or K&N before I order a replacement. If I need one, I'm going with genuine a Honda paper filter.

[MoMo]

Brake question(s): The rear caliper was stuck and we had to push back the piston to get it to roll. Going by the rust on the front rotors, only one of those calipers is working.
A full flush is in order, but do you think I should go ahead and order seals and pull the pistons?
Also, in the pic below, isn't that enough to do both front calipers?

Yes, pull the pistons as it is possible they could be pitted.  Hopefully you'll get by with disassembly, cleaning and new seals.  It is a fun bike-I loved my 750 but sold it before I started racked up massive quantities of tickets....Larry

[Killer Canary]

Nice!
I found the carbs on VFs to be stone simple as long as you're aware of the need for different jet sizes.
If you need to pull the carbs, loosen the clamps on the intake sides of the boots also and slide the boots halfway off of the intake flanges and then slide the cabs off of the carb side of the boots.
It helps to deal with the widening angle of the cylinder vee and makes the whole process easier.
Check the fuel pump and filter while you're in there.
I want to know what the top end is on that once you get it sorted.

[grcamna2]

I think it's great that they still have carb. insulators avail. ! I have a pr. of 86' VFR750F front calipers that I fully rebuilt including all 4) new OEM pistons & pads,too bad they wouldn't swap onto your bike.

[eigenvector]

Make sure the clutch line is functional as well.  I had a similar issues on my Nighthawk where the clutch master cylinder gummed up and in the process must have mucked up the line as well.  I couldn't bleed the clutch to save my life before I swapped out the line.

You can get modern steel braided lines no problem.

[Scott S]

 I kinda planned on getting in touch with Slingshot about all new hoses anyway.

[Scott S]

 It was WAY down on my list of stuff needed, but Chaparral had a sale on tires, so I ordered a set of Pirelli Sport Demon's for this beaut!

[grcamna2]

It was WAY down on my list of stuff needed, but Chaparral had a sale on tires, so I ordered a set of Pirelli Sport Demon's for this beaut!

That'll jump this build forward w/ new 'sneakers' on her. 

[MoMo]

It was WAY down on my list of stuff needed, but Chaparral had a sale on tires, so I ordered a set of Pirelli Sport Demon's for this beaut!

excellent choice, I had Sport Demons on my Sabre and Metzlers on my Interceptor.  For me it was 6 of one half dozen of the other....Larry

[Terry in Australia]

Sport Demons are great tyres, I've got them on my BMW K100RS and my Harley XLH1200, and put some on my Yamaha FJ1200 and Honda CX500 Custom before I sold them.

It's always an easy trap to sing the benefits of a new tyre after riding a bike with crappy old tyres, then replacing them with soft new rubber, but the Sport Demons do inspire confidence, for sure. Cheers, Terry.    

[grcamna2]

Sport Demons are great tyres, I've got them on my BMW K100RS and my Harley XLH1200, and put some on my Yamaha FJ1200 and Honda CX500 Custom before I sold them.

It's always an easy trap to sing the benefits of a new tyre after riding a bike with crappy old tyres, then replacing them with soft new rubber, but the Sport Demons do inspire confidence, for sure. Cheers, Terry.

You sold the big Yam 'XJ' ?

[Scott S]

Pleasantly surprised to find a K&N filter in the air box. Looks like it was cleaned and oiled just before storage. I also cleaned out the clutch and front brake master cylinders. Both are moving fluid just as they should. New piston seals for the calipers are on the way. Factory service manual and spark plugs showed up today.
 I plan on addressing the brakes, forks, clutch and tires first, then I'll move on to the engine.