Thanks man. Been a lot of work to get it to this point. My mother and grandmother get so mad at me because I spend all my time working on the basement as opposed to updating a showerhead from 1961 😅. Ive picked up a lot of organizational tips from people I've interacted with on the vfrworld forums.

Hah, I know Im supposed to grow up, but I just can't not think goose to human attacks are hilarious.

Thanks David. Even though the vstrom (and any shim under bucket) valve adjustments are more involved, I far prefer them to the older style locknut tappets. Maybe I'll get out on the ole vstrom today.. Cheers man.

Thanks man! How's that VTR250...ish machine you got coming along? I gotta imagine that thing is all fullll of wonderful surprises! That's funny about the goose. There are some near me, but never close to my house. Instead for the last two years I've had something almost as fun. It's a crow I've named Harold. He just camps out on the top of the tallest tree and yells at people as theyre walking down the sidewalk. It's hilarious. Sometimes I see him carrying sticks around on the ground. He's got a girlfriend this year so it's double trouble with the sqwaukin. I want to get on their good side but something tells me the bikes aren't helping my cause, hah.

@@matttriestodothings since I got the CM185 done I've been getting into the VTR. I think the fella that attempted this engine swap got about to the point where he had to splice the wiring. The VTR harness is in weirdly good shape, the FT500 wiring has butt splices and wire nuts, and looks like rats got to it. But I have wiring diagrams for both and I enjoy this kind of garbage. it;s probably gonna keep me busy for a minute. Harold sounds like an inspiration. Crows are smart birds, so it's hard to guess which human behaviors are gonna land you on Harold's shit list, but riding motorcycles around is probably a safe bet, haha

@@thesuzukimethod I don't envy you having to figure out how to get that electrical system to work. Once you do though, that'll be an awesome achievement.

Thanks Ryan--they're getting there. Slowly but surely, they are getting there!

Congrats on the new bike purchase Nick. I appreciate the kind words and hope you have an awesome time with it. They're fun as hell and just really handsome looking bikes.

I see you made it out to Laguna with your VF this year, that's awesome! Yep--the geese "snarling at traffic" is probably my favorite characteristic about them. They just crack me up so much. I need to take more of their energy into my life, haha. Thanks for the comment Dale.

Thanks William. I'm hoping the next update involves a fully painted 500.

Pitt Race is in Beaver Run! I bet it's the same one. In 2014 they expanded it from like 1.4 miles to 2.8 and there's now a north and south track. Or the combined full one. I ran the full one--check out a few laps from recent motoamerica races there. It's what convinced me I had to go. I heard that Barber is the other one I need to try. It's what a lot of the Midwest guys were comparing experiences to. This was the first ccs Midwest region at Pitt race so there was a lot of people seeing Pitt for the first time.

I always thought beaver run was a mini barber. I would have loved to see it expanded. Sounds like they did a autobon country club outside of Chicago kind of thing with it have two tracks that combined.

Just rent a grinder from home depot, buy a bunch of epoxy and shit, and get after it 😁

@@matttriestodothings Haha yeah. I'm doing my valve clearance check (and looking like adjustment too) today, and I'm currently in the middle of it. Thanks so much for your informative videos, I have the suzuki manual but your content helps my confidence in doing this sort of thing for the first time, and the guidance is invaluable.

@@sam2920 absolutely Sam. Good luck on the valves. Hope everything goes nice and easy!

@@matttriestodothings Everything went great! Only had to adjust the four rear valves which were right on the tight end of tolerance. The fronts were right in the middle so I left them alone. It runs great! Thanks for the help, I'll be following your channel from here on.

@@sam2920 awesome man. Well done.

Honda. Vf 500 F ll

I am almost positive that the seals are the same 7x2mm viton orings that are on the 86 VF500F and 86 VFR700F. 99% sure.

ahhh shoot, no I don't. But my research leads me to believe M8x1.25 sounds right. However 15mm sounds a little short. I use a nut on the opposite end of both bolts to clamp the main fairing stay with an aluminum stock "washer" to remove the play. I'll see if I can get a better eyeball on it later this week.

@@matttriestodothings thanks! I'm holding off on ordering some for my Naked SV until I've got some input.

It is a Pitbull steering damper. Bought it used on the 13x forums since all the Scott's dampers were OOS and backordered til later this year. Install was pretty simple but does involve drilling two holes in the triple tree. So far I'm pretty darn happy with the purchase.

I hate to say this--but no. Do you have another motorcycle and you're just looking for one as a project? If so, then maybe. If not, absolutely no. I love the 500s. They're my favorite bike I've ever ridden. I'd be hesitant to even tell you to take on the project if it was free. It's not that they're impossible to work on or anything, but they're a bit more complicated than a comparable parallel twin or even inline 4. At nearly 40 years old, all the rubber is shot if it hasn't been replaced. This goes well beyond the tires. If the gas tank is rusted and has any pinholes, you're looking at $3-500 for a tank if you can even find one. I don't trust tank lining kits at all and think they cause more issues than they fix. Those carburetors are coming out. Depending on what you find inside, you're anywhere from $100-400 to get them right if you do it yourself. The high end of the spectrum is if someone has been in there and damaged them. "Randomly powers off" means you're chasing electrical gremlins. Get ready to buy a bunch of electrical testing gear and materials. If it's a CDI failing that's an expensive fix. Regulator/Rectifier you're also over $100. Hopefully the stator isn't shot. Basically parts availability for these bikes isn't great. They're very fun projects. They're even more fun to ride. However, there are much better options to buy to learn how to wrench on bikes. Buy something newer and simpler. Learn how to wrench on an already running bike. Honestly I'd recommend a Ninja 300 because a lot of people moved off of them due to the 400 coming out. Alternatively, the SV650 has been around for a long time and is just simple to work on. The wealth of knowledge on them is huge. Parts are readily available. They'll go plenty fast and you'll never "outgrow" it. Pick up the Miniceptor if you can stomach sinking $2000 (on top of your purchase price) and many months/years of tinkering with it before it's road-worthy. But if you do end up buying the Interceptor, I'll be happy to try to answer any questions I can. I'm no expert though. I'd recommend starting a thread on VFRWorld if you do purchase it.

@@matttriestodothings Thank you for the speedy reply, someone ended up buying before I even got the chance to go take a look. I'm going to do some more research into bikes before I make any impulsive decisions. The Ninja 300 looks pretty nice depending on the colorway. My last question is if you know of any newer reliable (easy to work on) bikes that have a similar build/look to the 84-86 interceptors because after a couple of hours of research they look the best hands down.

@@darknazo10 The 80s Interceptors do have a timeless look. A lot better than the transformer, bug-eyed monstrosities that a lot of manufacturers are pumping out today. The only bike I can think of that really has that kind of look that is modern is the new Suzuki Katana--which I'm absolutely not recommending. I love how it looks, but it's not a recommendation I'm making. I'm really struggling with this one. I'm trying to think of something more modern that resembles it and isn't in the 100hp+ category and I'm coming up short. One suggestion would be the Kawasaki Ninja 500. The second generation after (don't quote me on this) the year 1994. That's when it got 17" wheels front and rear and some other fixes to problems on the first gen bikes. There were tons of them sold. Same type of power as the VF500F in a bit different package. Easier to work on as it's simpler. Parts availability is still good. Decently active forums. They made them all the way up to like 2007 or something. I would skip the 250cc version unless you got a banging deal. If you found a good running VF500F I wouldn't tell you to run away. Only that I doubt you'll find any good deals on them now and ownership has some problems as I mentioned before. Personally though--If I'm buying a new bike as a new rider, I'm buying a modern Ninja 400. I see so many of them at the track and people love them. Big aftermarket and lots of info. But that's if I solely wanted to focus on riding.

Yes--stock carburetor besides jetting. I do not believe the TPS has any real-world performance effects. On the Bandit (it's the same unit)--it does nothing. I believe it was included for very minor fuel mileage gains in specific situations. I haven't unplugged it on the SV but I'm pretty damn certain it could be done without any ill-effects. People change carburetors on these bikes to units without a TPS and they work just fine.

Unfortunately I'm not certain of all the diameters since I don't have an uninstalled kit. If the fuel tube seals are the same as they are on many of the 80s V4's, they will be viton O-ring 7 x 2mm i.imgur.com/IAHvzaA.jpg

Not sure how much help I can be, but if you want shoot me a message on instagram matttriestodothings Alternatively, send an email to colddevil01@yahoo.com but you'll have to let me know when you send one there since I don't monitor that inbox.

Did you adjust anything with the brake at all or just the fork seals? It could be a few things (not limited to, but this is where I'd start): 1. Over-filled master cylinder. If you have too much fluid in the brake master reservoir, it will not allow the pistons to retract 2. Blocked bleed port on the master cylinder. The system needs to allow fluid to move back into the master cylinder. If this tiny bleed port gets clogged, you won't get the pads retracting 3. Dirty brake pistons not allowing the pistons to retract I'd start with opening up the master cylinder and siphoning out a bit of fluid (to give it space because you're going to push fluid back into it eventually). Pull off the calipers and remove one of the pads. Push the pistons partially out (remove one of the pads) to inspect the piston surfaces. If they're dirty, clean them. Once you've cleaned the pistons, you're going to need to compress them all the way back in. I usually use a c-clamp for this. Make sure there's some vacant room in your master cylinder since the fluid will get pushed back up into there. Once the pistons are fully compressed, flush/bleed through new brake fluid. See if that resolves it.

@@matttriestodothings hi Matt I figured it out! I needed to install the front tire after it was positioned under the fork.. tighten starting with the right caliper then the clamps! It is all good! Carbs, plugs, flush, seals , brakes and a new front tire done. I did this after the dealer near me insulted me with a 2k estimate to do the work. Thank you for your videos!

@@thankyou7491 oh damn, sounds like you have been busy! Glad you were able to get the front wheel sorted. That's going to be pretty status quo with any dealer or even a lot of independent shops. Nobody wants to touch these bikes. They're old and complicated and they're not going to make any money given the hours they have to sink into them. Gotta do it yourself for better or worse.

@@matttriestodothings I spoke too soon! Got the front tire figured out! I rebuilt the carbs and now it will not start but only with starting fluid. The air fuel screw was 4 turns out but the bike ran. Only the middle two bowls get full of gas. The other two not as might! Yikes ! I have taken the carb off and on 10 times .. nothing .. I wonder if with the new needles the seat is super high shutting off the gas 😵‍💫heeeellllpppssss

Okay the floats were set too high by the previous owner.. 13mm cheap bastard kept changing the float seat instead of buying new needles!😂she runs beautifully now!

It was your pep talk before ULSB that convinced me to nut up and get out there. I watched your GTL vid this morning and saw two very obvious spots I'm running the track wrong (4 to 5 and 12 to 13). Looking forward to getting back out there and keeping up a bit better next time.