First Bike - 4/3/2007 - Electrical Update

[ANDS!]

Just picked up a 1986 Vf500, after being on the lookout for one (locally). Taking the test on the 18th, and will attend the class on the 19th - so Ive got some time to look for cosmetic upgrades in the meantime.

My question is - I know next to nothing (like as close to nothing as one can possibly get w/o being nothing) about parts and what "should" and "should not" fit on the 1986. I know that I want to replace the seat on the machine, and the Corbin seats look good; but doesn't say if its able to fit an 86. There are other places that say one can simply take the seat to a local upholstery to get it fitted with the proper color, but Id like to get it comfort fitted as well for some long-range riding. So far (and this could be due to my not really knowing what to look for) I havent been able to find much more than the stock type of seat.

I also need to replace the tires (they are 17" and 18") - what are some good lowcost options for tires. The guy I bought the bike from said theyd last for awhile, but definitely not the year, so I have some time on this.

Also, wheres a good resource to find out about bike parts and what they do, and what to look for. Im talking about if someone wanted to know what "pipes" are or "cluth" (as a for example - I know what the clutch is at least), where could they go to get general parts info.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Salud.

[storysunfolding]

Salud-

Wow.. where to begin?

I would pick up a factory service manual for your bike. Walk through it and you will learn what alot of things are called and what they look like. As to what pipes are... "pipes" are the exhaust pipes that come off your engine. They provide a certain level of restriction, air refinement and sound reduction. They are the part other than your engine that should be too hot to touch without burning yourself.

I'd just find another biker to familiarize you with the parts on your bike.

An upholsterer will be able to not only cover a seat but make it more comfy

[canuckerjay]

Just be careful -- don't fall into the 'money pit'.

It's an older bike -- if you want to restore it and make it a long term ride, I guess that's cool; but I see a lot of people buy thier first bike and wind up fixing things they've already fixed, and when they add up a couple seasons of maintenance bills, they realize that for just a little more than that, they could have had a used bike that's only a few years old.

[dr_bar]

Try this link out for OEM parts at BikeBandit

I didn't see the Vf500 for '86, but did see it for '85. The link above is from the TMW home page and is supposed to get you a discount or something. It is also a click through for creating income for Mike to support this site.

[ANDS!]

Thanks for the info, but I know what the parts look like (i have the service and owners manual) - I simply want to know what they DO. I know nothing off throttles, clutches, etc. and have no interest going into a class blind, or stumbling around the internet looking for things that I dont know what they do (and thereby dont know what to look for). I am a first time rider/driver so while gears and what not is old hat for folks - its all new to me.

I hoped on the bike tonight, to muck about with starting it and what not, and for the life of me I couldnt get the engine to start. Followed the instructions to the letter, but pushing the engine button didnt do anything. Im sure I did something wrong, but I swear thats all the guy did yesterday to get the machine going.

[logitech104]

well your just going to have to poke around until you can catch on the mainstream i guess. It takes years to get to know what vast knowledge people know here. You have to start with one thing and just keep learning about, well, everything.. I'll try to give you some good links.

http://motorcycles.about.com/od/basicso ... ycling.htm
http://flashpages.prodigy.net/klindstr/Etc/MIP2.html
http://www.whybike.com/
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/motorcycle.htm
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/

But that is the soul purpose of this site, is to help riders like you! So ask away sweetie.

[ANDS!]

Good info all -

I managed to get the bike started yesterday, but ran into some problems:

The first time I started it, I guess I didnt have the bike in nuetral, and used the clutch to get the bike started.

A few minutes later, I tried the same thing (wasnt in neutral) - used the clutch, opened the choke, and hit the starter. All I got were clicks from the bike.

Spoke to a co-worker just now and he says that I shouldnt be opening the choke all the way (or even using the clutch to start it) in our "warm" weather, as it would flood it - but I tried it this morning, and while it wasnt freezing, it wasnt "warm" either. Headlights work and all that stuff, so it's not battery (looked in service manual and it said something about recharging battery if starter didnt engage the engine). I guess I will find out when I get home again.

[Johnj]

When you start your bike I think it's best to have the bike in neutral, pull the choke knob out half way, and hit the button. If the bike doesn't start in 5 seconds let go of the button, then try again.If you hit the starter button and the bike goes "click-click-click" that indicates that your battery doesn't have enough charge to turn your motor over and most likely needs to be replaced.

Tires...recommending tires is a sure way to get a flame war started on most bike forums so all I'll say is I put a set of Bridgestone S11s on a 81 Honda GL500 and I been happy with them. That Interceptor may take radial tires.

Those VF 500s are great bikes, wish I had one.

[ANDS!]

Thats weird about the battery. The guy rode it all the way from Roseville here, and started it up twice while we were talking. I managed to get it going as well once (the next day). Would it just die minutes later?

http://www.whybike.com/motorcycle13.htm

Says I can try and charge the battery; I live in an apartment complex though, would I still be able to use these? Do they require a plug outlet? Man, I hate buying things that dont work out the gate (especially since dude didnt want to negotiate on the price).

[big_ry_ry]

When you start your bike I think it's best to have the bike in neutral, pull the choke knob out half way, and hit the button. If the bike doesn't start in 5 seconds let go of the button, then try again.If you hit the starter button and the bike goes "click-click-click" that indicates that your battery doesn't have enough charge to turn your motor over and most likely needs to be replaced.

Tires...recommending tires is a sure way to get a flame war started on most bike forums so all I'll say is I put a set of Bridgestone S11s on a 81 Honda GL500 and I been happy with them. That Interceptor may take radial tires.

Those VF 500s are great bikes, wish I had one.

+1

Also a dead battery may have enough juice to put the light on but not enough to crank, as this happened to me. Charge it; if it wont take buy a new battery or buy and you know you have a solid battery in there.

On tires a good inexspensive tire is the Dunlop D 404, I think it was $65 for the front tire, $20 to mount and balance at the shop (if i took the tire off and brought it to them..I did) and the rear tire was $75 for the tire and another 20 to mount and balance. This was last year on my old bike. Not bad pricing in my mind.


As far as terminology and functional pieces to a bike do what you are doing, research, talk to people, and or buy a book or two, and actually try to do the work.

Good luck to you