RC-31
Well-known member
Have you given any thought to restoring it just to look at without refilling it with fluids and getting it running?
I just bought a 1984 Honda V30 Interceptor
- Thread starter NuggyBuggy
- Start date
Thanks !View attachment 74995www.facebook.com
I saw this bike listed recently, I am pretty sure. I guess he decided to either part it out or he bought it to part out.
Not really - if that's all I could do, I would do it.
I never owned one or even rode one - my parents wouldn't let me near a (road) bike - but I knew it was considered perhaps the best handling road bike you could buy. People waxed lyrical about it in its day. This was written by someone around 2012 (Bikes Of A Lifetime: 1984 Honda 500 Interceptor - Perfection On Two Wheels - Curbside Classic)
So while I fell in love with it for its looks, knowing how good the bike and the engine were supposed to be all just added to the dream. If I can get it running within my financial constraints, I will. Part of the resumption of this long-stalled love affair will be doing most of the work myself.
It has occurred to me that I should shut up about this bike so that nobody else buys one and competes with me for parts.
Fuel tank was in way worse shape than I had thought. I had peeked at it when I got it, and it didn't look bad. There was fuel in it, but seller had mentioned guys had tried to get it started so I was hopeful that was it.
Filler cap is not sealing. Looks like it's stock, so not sure what's up there. There as maybe a couple of litres of old gas in the tank. Opening petcock did not result in gas draining. After removal of petcock I still couldn't get any gas whatsoever to flow out of the tank. I had to open the filler cap and shake it out. Blech. I captured most of it in an old oil jug and will dispose of it next time I go to a dump.
There's still a bit of fuel I couldn't get out. I just stood the tank up right, left the cap open, but a plastic bin over it and left it to evaporate.
I don't know how I missed the terrible smell of old fuel. After I dumped as much of it as I could, you could smell it 20 yards away. Fuel was black, tons of grit/rust. Funnel and drain pan looked like the aftermath of a 90s frat party. My car stunk of the stuff (probably had some in my skin). I drove down the 400 with the windows opened to try and get it rid of the smell. It's still there. Finally got the smell out of my skin today.
Plugged in a battery. Lights, signals and dash are working. Against my better judgement I tried to get it turn over. Nothing. Seller said he did hear it trying to turn over, so
Mad Mike
Well-known member
That’s strange, once you remove the petcock the tank should drain. Was the screen on the petcock absent? If so, the area can gunk over with varnish and rust. Give it a poke with a small screwdriver to puncture the gunk. .
The last bit can be hard to remove. I use compressed air blow out the insides, you can also leave it upright on your asphalt driveway in the sun. It will evaporate bone dry in a couple of hours
This can be a number of things, most often is wiring not the starter.Plugged in a battery. Lights, signals and dash are working. Against my better judgement I tried to get it turn over. Nothing. Seller said he did hear it trying to turn over, so
1. Make sure you know/follow the bikes starting procedure. (I’ve fixed lots of power sport no start by flicking a kill switch or squeezing a clutch lever)
Kill switch , kick stand switch, neutral switch, and ignition switch may all be involved.
2. Continuity test. First check grounds. Then power, then switches.
If you want to test the starter, jump the 2 large wires at the solenoid. If you get nothing, put a jumper cable between the starter and battery. Ground to starter body, then tap the positive to the starter wire lug. If it spins and engages, the problem is elsewhere.
If the starter spins and wiring tests good, test the solenoid.
Thanks @Mad Mike . I didn’t spend much time on the starting issue. TBH I spent more time trying to figure out how to connect a battery- the leads were so dang short and they were reversed from where their terminals are on the battery I tried. I ended up having to connect leads and battery with a jumper cable.
Are the location of +/- terminals always consistent relative to the battery itself?
Are the location of +/- terminals always consistent relative to the battery itself?
Mad Mike
Well-known member
No, there are countless battery configurations. Length, width, height, location of terminals could be CENTER, left or right, poles could be left or right, terminal type and orientation (top, side connection)
here’s your battery ( I believe)
Attachments
Haven't had much time to work on this project except for pulling off random parts and tossing them in the ultrasonic or Evaporust, just to feel like I'm making *some* progress.
But... yesterday another VF500F came up on Marketplace. The plastics were in much better condition than mine, and better yet - they matched AND were in the same color scheme that I've always dreamed about. The bike I have was a hodgepodge of plastics from different bikes; some were missing and some were broken. From this perspective I believe this new bike is close to perfect.
I messaged the seller immediately yesterday and told him I would buy it. I was going to pick up on Saturday but got worried somebody might show up at the seller's door before me, so took the day off and drove 10h round trip to pick it up.
Seller was laughing because he thought this bike would be hard to sell and he had 3 other bikes to sell, so he had moved this one out of his main garage into a really hard-to-get-to spot in his barn just before listing. He apparently got a ton of interest and we moved it back out the next day. I'm glad I moved fast.
There are a bunch of things that are in a bin (headers, rad, etc) so this picture is missing some of the stuff as the seller had started working on it. It looks worse on the left side where there is some rust on the frame. The right side is much cleaner.
Seller told me engine is not seized. Don't know what the condition of the inside of the tank is yet as the fuel tank lock is stuck. Might not be good as the license plate sticker is from 1999, but there are none of the tell tale signs of rust in the places where they usually show up on these bikes.
The carbs are in a box but look way, way cleaner on the outside than the ones I already had. Haven't taken a look inside yet. I need to do some reading on these but I know there are some write-ups specifically on these carbs... apparently they're a bit of a pain.
I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to get a runner out of these two. If I do, they'll definitely be wearing these plastics.
But... yesterday another VF500F came up on Marketplace. The plastics were in much better condition than mine, and better yet - they matched AND were in the same color scheme that I've always dreamed about. The bike I have was a hodgepodge of plastics from different bikes; some were missing and some were broken. From this perspective I believe this new bike is close to perfect.
I messaged the seller immediately yesterday and told him I would buy it. I was going to pick up on Saturday but got worried somebody might show up at the seller's door before me, so took the day off and drove 10h round trip to pick it up.
Seller was laughing because he thought this bike would be hard to sell and he had 3 other bikes to sell, so he had moved this one out of his main garage into a really hard-to-get-to spot in his barn just before listing. He apparently got a ton of interest and we moved it back out the next day. I'm glad I moved fast.
There are a bunch of things that are in a bin (headers, rad, etc) so this picture is missing some of the stuff as the seller had started working on it. It looks worse on the left side where there is some rust on the frame. The right side is much cleaner.
Seller told me engine is not seized. Don't know what the condition of the inside of the tank is yet as the fuel tank lock is stuck. Might not be good as the license plate sticker is from 1999, but there are none of the tell tale signs of rust in the places where they usually show up on these bikes.
The carbs are in a box but look way, way cleaner on the outside than the ones I already had. Haven't taken a look inside yet. I need to do some reading on these but I know there are some write-ups specifically on these carbs... apparently they're a bit of a pain.
I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to get a runner out of these two. If I do, they'll definitely be wearing these plastics.
A feel good thread right? We're gonna be poppin bottles for Nuggy in the spring time when he posts that he's got it running, safetied, insured, and plated in the spring time.
Bottles of advil, obviously, because, he's gonna need one or two along the way. Looks like a fun project, hopefully you can take it further than you expect to @NuggyBuggy ! Congrats on the new toy!
That's a twin. This is a V4, also found in the Magna V30
Nice bike and a big thumbs up on the original paint, that’s getting rarer on vintage bikes these days. Interceptors, and Ninjas for that matter, we’re a giant leap in technology that year being the first water cooled, mono shock mass produced sport bikes. Your right about the 500 being much less common than the 750 Interceptors. They sold quite a few 750’s although a lot of racers were a little reluctant to race them and stuck with the older technology. I believe Reuben McMurter raced one when they first came out and did quite well.
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Thanks, all. I am super excited to have the plastics in the colour ways of my dreams, and in such good condition. Unfortunately, the weather is getting colder so my window of opportunity for wrenching on it – which I have to do outside – is rapidly closing. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fit seven bikes in my shipping container lol.
I consider myself lucky to have this problem.
I consider myself lucky to have this problem.
Today I went to seal up all the holes (coolant line, fuel line, spark plug wells, etc) that the PO had open while he was working on it to prevent critters from getting in. I decided to take a look at the tank. From the outside it's very clean, but as the PO had not been able to open the tank with the key, and the fact that the last registration sticker was 99, I was curious to see what the condition would be.
First thing - it was heavy - clearly full of gas. I was surprised that the PO - who was a mechanic by trade and has a going business - would tear open the carbs, replace plugs and so forth without draining the gas.
Second thing - the gas was terrible. It smelled bad (not as bad as my other 500) and looked like cola. As it trickled out (why is it so hard to drain these tanks?) I was surprised that there wasn't a lot of particulate matter in the gas - my other 500 had tons.
Well, I was wrong. Once I got most of the liquid out, it was clear there are solid chunks inside. No joke, it almost sounds like there are rocks in there. They're not coming out of the bottom hole, so I need to figure out how to open the tank and shake them out from the top.
Given that my key doesn't seem to open the tank, is my best bet just jamming a big screwdriver down there? I heard that they can be picked, but I don't want that smelly tank inside my car to take it to a locksmith and I don't want to pay for a service call.
First thing - it was heavy - clearly full of gas. I was surprised that the PO - who was a mechanic by trade and has a going business - would tear open the carbs, replace plugs and so forth without draining the gas.
Second thing - the gas was terrible. It smelled bad (not as bad as my other 500) and looked like cola. As it trickled out (why is it so hard to drain these tanks?) I was surprised that there wasn't a lot of particulate matter in the gas - my other 500 had tons.
Well, I was wrong. Once I got most of the liquid out, it was clear there are solid chunks inside. No joke, it almost sounds like there are rocks in there. They're not coming out of the bottom hole, so I need to figure out how to open the tank and shake them out from the top.
Given that my key doesn't seem to open the tank, is my best bet just jamming a big screwdriver down there? I heard that they can be picked, but I don't want that smelly tank inside my car to take it to a locksmith and I don't want to pay for a service call.
Don't put it past me! I'm one to go down rabbit holes.Time to pick up a new skill. Lock picking.
Years ago I did order a cheap lock pick set online and downloaded some books on it. I couldn't get the set to work, a girl at work picks locks and she said the set was crap and the "gun" didn't work.
So...anybody got a beginner's lock pick set they could recommend? LOL.
Dirty Frank
Well-known member
If you end up going with a locksmith the path of least resistance would be bringing the helmet lock to the locksmith on the assumption that it is keyed alike to the gas cap.
FWIW one of those lockout kit jiggle keys would probably do the trick.
On my way home with the bike, a guy pulled me over. Turned out he had a V65 Sabre, recognized the Interceptor, and wanted to talk.
He said he had exactly the same problem - stuck fuel lock, which he solved by doing as you suggest: bringing the helmet lock to a locksmith.
All that would assume that the fuel tank (and helmet lock) are keyed the same, but differently than the ignition, correct? My key turns the ignition.
Dirty Frank
Well-known member
From the factory all three would have been keyed alike but the ignition lock sees the most use and abuse so it isn't uncommon for them to be replaced and seldom do the owners bother to get them rekeyed to be alike. Gas and helmet see less use so hopefully they will still be alike.
