1982 Vision 550

Looking at getting a Vision 550 for a winter project. I know there were only made for two yrs and that they are a Vtwin, but I think they would make a fun bike.

Been doing a lot of reading on them and the articles were saying it was faster then the Seca??

I guess it has a square engine design? The boar is bigger then the stroke and it was water cooled with down draft carbs. Looking at one to pick up tomorrow for a good price but I know it needs so much work.

Anyone here ever played around with one of the Vision 550's?

 

Well here it is, a little farther drive then I wanted but for a good deal.
Vision by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Vision 1 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Once my knee is all healed up I will be able to get to this and see what it needs. Been doing a lot of reading on the bike, should be a fun project.

 

Drilled out the lock for the seat, hit the bike with some compressed air and then BP blaster all the bolts and screws I can see. Cleaned out the spark plug holes and letting them soak for a day before I try to take the plugs out.

I did take the left engine cover for the 14mm bolt off to see if the engine will move. NOPE. So will be hitting it with some 50/50 and letting it soak. Tires are so bad that I can't even get them to try to hold air. I have a XJ rear tire and wheel that I think will fit for now but that front tire is a 18 and not a 19 like most the other XJ's spare fronts I have around. I have not tried the heat gun yet to see if I can get the bead on tire a little more pliable so that it will hold air.

Has the old buss fuse setup under the seat like our XJ's do, that that will need to be cleaned and then changed out once I get it running. Looked over the wiring connectors and they don't seem to be melted. I guess big issue with this bike many of the older 80's metric bikes is the three yellow wires melting the connector and then having issues charging.

The bike is not as complete as I had hoped. I seem to be missing the rear down pipe to collector but do have the "Y" pipe that connects to the head. I guess ebay or custom pipes if and when I get the bike to run.

Looking forward to getting at them down draft carbs and removing the air box and putting PODS on them. I am hoping a downdraft carb does not need a air box like the CV carbs on our other XJ bikes?

Tank looks to be in good shape and is only a normal petcock type. Has surface rust in the tank but noting that a good soaking in evaporust won't take care of. All in all the bikes looks good and I hope to get it broken free and see if I can at least get spark. Will have to hot wire the ignition, but this only a three wire system like the XS400 I used to have. So just put a toggle in it for now to get it running and tuned. Then go on ebay to pick up a full key set. $$

Had to stop there for the day to elevate the leg and get some ice on it...Last Wed was knee surgery and bouncing back fast.

 

Got the carbs off today and really had to work to get the plugs out. That front plug was in there....Can't go back in as it broke the top off when she came out. The bike is still engine seized so working on that. Changed out the back wheel to day for one that has air and for now will work to help free the motor.

Cleaned the outside of the carbs, so cool to see these down draft carbs on a motorcycle. Looks almost like two older 80s car down draft carbs. Will not get into the rest of the bike too much until I can free the motor and then make sure I have electrical and spark. I did make a ignition bypass jumper to be ready if that day does come.

All the warnings of the rear brake shoes coming off the metal shoes has finally come to fruition, yes this bike booth of the brakes has come off the metal part of the shoes and white power was all over the place in the brake drum.

Have the bike with a good rear tire on the ground and soaking both cylinders. I will continue to rock the bike back and forth with my weight on it in high gear for a while. Hoping that it come free soon.

 

550 1 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Filled to the brim with 50/50. I kept looking for the mix to come out of the oil plug or the water drain plug but nope, just took a lot of 50/50 mix. Will let it sit for a week and see if I can brake it lose. Only has 9K miles on the engine but the old was nasty.

550 2 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Intake side just to make sure all the stuff gets a chance to soak and break free.

550 3 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Cool big down draft carbs ready to maybe clean.

550 4 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
One shoe was still on the base part of the brake, but didn't take much if any pressure to remove it from the shoe base.
550 5 by Tim Brown, on Flickr

So for those of you who don't check the rear brakes on our XJ bikes pls take a look at these pics and see what can happen at a very bad time. If you are going down the road and this happens, your wheel is locking up and you are in for a hell of a ride that I hope you can control to a stop.

 

Bike is still not free, will try a little more persuading today but not crazy. I might have to pull the heads off to get this bike free. Interesting bike and I really want to ride it, so I am sure I will keep playing with it as time permits.

 

I was reluctant to brake into the bike. I could not move the motor at all. Not even a little bit. Put rachet straps on the real wheel and one on the crank, nothing is moving. Pop off the front cylinder head and found lots of rust on the piston. This is after hand cleaning it, hitting it with air and then putting some more BP blaster in there.

Looks like the side walls are done, so might have to part the bike out. Hate to do that, but not worth the effert and cost for a 550.
v1 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
v2 by Tim Brown, on Flickr

Cleaned off the head as well, and the rust is also messing with the valves, they would need to be removed, cleaned and new seals. It might just be the front cylinder but not too sure.

Win some lose some, Good thing it was a cheap bike.

 

Damn, that’s a shame. I just read through the whole thread and I was hoping you’d get the bike running.

 

Got the engine free, but it will not do a full rotation. The rear valves are stuck as well. This will be a large project if I wanted to do it. I also looked for piston and rings on line, will have to go with after market stuff as I can't find any Yam parts for this bike. No wonder it was only made from 82-83.

I have a friend that has many Vision 550's so I think he will be getting a parts bike. Sometimes you win sometimes you have to know when to let them go.....

 

Now that you're not putting it in your stable I can say this, the 550 Vision has the ugliest forks of all motorcycles LOL.
I'd like to understand why they borrowed the concept from a shopping cart?

 

Simmy, that is fine and I will take any and all feedback, thick skin here. Most of the bikes I get to flip and work on are very cheap bikes. But with this one I should have known better being a 82-83 model only.

I am trying to get a deal on a local engine from ebay, this is the last ditch effort to keep the bike. That or just wrap it up in a tarp and see if another one comes along some day. That takes up space and makes the yard look a little more tacky as well.

Spending $350 on good engine is something I would do, but the shipping is killing me and I will not spend that much to get the engine to my area. I have another message sent to the seller who I have a good track record with, so we will see.

 

There’s a guy local to me with a bunch of Japanese motorcycle engines, including a vision 550 for $100.

I don’t know if he’ll ship, but it’s worth an email:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/mpo/d/pope-valley-selling-japanese-motorcycle/7675059482.html

 

Thanks, I found one a little hover 2 hrs away. I will be going up there to get it on think on Wednesday. They can load it on a trailer so I guess I will take a second shot at the old Vision.

 

Going to pick up the motor today. We had our first snow of the yr yesterday and I picked up some friends from the airport. Lots of people forget how to drive in snow after the summer season. Many cars and semi's in the ditch. Will be taking State hwy's today and not the interstate so that might help. Looking forward to the road trip.

 

Motor in shed, got to see 4" of snow on the ground in Appleton WI already, not fun. Have three projects in the way of the engine swap, so once parts come in the mail, I will get the Vision engine swapped over and see if I can bring it to life. I will take the time to rebuild the carbs as I have room to do that. Will get some pics on here of the down draft carbs, hoping they are not too bad.

 

Got motivated today! Yep swapped out the old nasty for the better motor. Not too sure how I should have worded that as I have no idea if will last very long. But at least good compression and it came off a runner.
v4 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Bike with the old broken motor ready for start to get all the little stuff off. Wire harness from the left side and get a jack under it so I can pull the major motor mounts. Motor has four mounting points mid way and back part of the motor. It has a nice plate from the rear cylinder to the frame as well.

v3 by Tim Brown, on Flickr0
The frame has a nice cross member that comes off and then the motor more or less come forward and then to the left.

v2 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Remember to save a lot of time and effort and remove the drive shaft from the bike. This way you don't have to fight to line up the spline when you are tying to line up all the motor mounts. Once the motor is in, you can then easily put the shaft and hub unit back in with a little movement and a few taps of a rubber mall.

v1 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Better motor in the frame and I have the bike mobile again. This way I can move it to smaller shed with a table and finish torquing all the nuts and bolts. The comes the fun part cleaning them down draft carbs. Handing a AUX tank and see if it will run. If it does, the I will sand down most of the spots on the frame and do a little painting.

I know shop is a mess, need to do a little more cleaning up and make a scrap mettle run as well.

This will be a good project over the very cold and snowy months to come.

 

What are the dimensions of the pistons and barrels on this - could it be that it's a 2 cylinder version of the early Vmax?
If so, the liners can be removed and replaced, and again, if so, the pistons might be identical - pin dia, height etc?
I had to rescue my vmax 1200, scrap piston and one bore, all bores worn. I bought a used vmax top end and pistons, removed the liners with a hydraulic puller and boiling water, and replaced them into my block. All of that is doable at home, what is not is that the tops of the pots need skimming flat afterwards, but its no biggy.
Worth a thought?
well just read to the end, all acedemic now.. Fingers crossed the new engine is good!!

 

Minimutly, yes them Vmax engine are very interesting, I have one of them also. I have another thread on that bike, but I found a broken connecting road on #3.

The jugs on the Vmax don't come off if I remember correctly. They are part of the motor and the sleeves press in and out of them.

The Vision 550 has jugs on it and I could have removed them and had it honed ect. I would have had a lot of work to do on the valve train as well, just very water logged and sat outside I think for a long time.

Yes lets hope the motor is good. I got it from "Mr. Cycle" in Appleton WI, have picked up many parts from them over the yrs. They said it was a good motor, so I am betting on it. The motor has some right side road rash so came from a running bike that must have been in an accident.

 

Starter mounted, motor turns freely by hand so had to pull plugs and give it a starter spin. Turned over very well and have bright blue spark on both plugs. To the down draft carbs.

 

Yes the vmax barrels are part of the upper casing, liners are pressed in and finish machined flat afterwards - I had to make jigs to hold the upper crankase in my milling machine to face them, different ones for each face.
Broken con-rod is a serious issue, likely to mean a scrap engine. They have other issues too, like wear in the spindly crankpins, wear in the thrust faces of the crank (no thrust washers), and if the float valves in the carbs leak, any time you start the engine there will be a load of fuel just waiting to drop in on top of your piston (this and the hydraulic lock is possibly what started your conrod breakage).
The ignition module has a vacuum sensor that fails, leaking air into one of the carbs, causing popping back, missfires and lack of performance, leading many to think its carbs out of synch, but it's not.

 

Minimutly, correct on all accounts with the Vmax, but when that Vboost kicks in with a good tuned carb and motor, hang on. I have a V65 Saber and me and a friend take that and the Vmax out every once in a while. The Vmax is a beast in the short runs but the Saber has much longer legs and will end up catching and passing after triples come to play.

Down draft carbs are all clean and just waiting to be installed. Hunting season here so my life has shifted a little bit. Hoping to get to the carbs install soon and then AUX tank and see how loud this motor is without exhaust...scary.

 

@Timbox - here's something that may help with this project:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/357960840061770

Or a nice little project for somebody...

 

And another one right in the middle of WI!!! Vision 550s coming out of the woodwork!!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/760329986093452/

 

Yes they seem to be coming out of the wood work this time of yr. A guy in Oshkosh WI has five of them for sale in different running conditions. I think that "Mr. Cycle" will be picking them up soon.

 

She came to live today, only for a short time as I didn't even have the exhaust on her. But she fired right up with just choke, no starter fluid needed. Now for all the little things to take care of. I jumped on line and got my parts list taken care of on ebay. Have one more thing to look for.

I will start the gas tank soak today and that will take a good week for the process to render the rust.

Front MC and fluids and a look for tires for this little V Twin. Will try to make a custom cross over pipe for the exhaust as shipping is so high right now even the smallest of parts is not cost effective to shop. $35 for the exhaust part I want and $80 to ship it....just going to fab and weld.

 

Right on!

Could you share the tank soak process?

 

Just using Evapo Rust in the Gal jugs. I have tried so many other products and even though it is $20+ a gal, once you have it, never goes bad. I just keep adding it up and now I have a 5 gal bucket full.

A little motivated today, took both tires off so that I can change out the really bad ones with some that are not so bad. That will just be for a test ride and shake down then new tires before I really get after the roads.
4 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
5 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Found a pin hole in the tank, I guess I should have looked it over better then I did. So took a round arbor bit with a dremmel tool and cleaned up the area That and something for the Tank Seal epoxy to stick to.
3 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
This is going to be interesting to see if I keep or not. Looks to be almost like a "Vboost" that the Vmax has.
2 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
That mall vacuum device hooks to the carb and then I can only guess that it opens this flap. Now it is not moving at all as it is so rusted right now.
1 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Waiting on parts, epoxy to harden and then to remove the rest from the inside of the tank. Fuse box and many other items in the mail. Going to be interesting to to fab up a collector for the front and rear cylinder for the bike. Guessing I can get away with just one exhaust can once I have made the collector.

 

Got the front MC cap off, took some soaking and some TLC. This is the nice pudding like brake fluid substance that was in there.
370226118_1279786762670784_5709872928363249439_n by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Also took the time to swap out the front and rear tires at my buddies shot. Them old tires were very hard to take off, nasty to say the least. So not I have tires good enough for spring shake down ride...that and moving the bike around this winter if I choose.

Front slave is all taken care of. No too bad of shape and the puck came out with just compressed air. Normally have to use a grease gun to get them pucks out. It cleaned up very well and I put a good polish on it as well. Seals seem to be okay and will keep me out of trouble for a little while this spring. Have I mentioned SPRING enough yet, let it be here soon.

Soaking the MC in brake fluid, I am sure I will have to rebuild it. Stuck all the way in the "in" position and not moving. Even tool the banjo bold out of the feeder end and tried to push the cylinder back, nope. Always interesting getting them all apart the first time.

 

That is some nasty looking crap in the MC my friend

 

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, looking forward to spring is kind of depressing on Dec 1. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

why do live here again????

 

Family and friends is the main reason I still live here. That and the feeling one gets riding a motorcycle over the coulee region in the fall with all them colors. Hard to beat our mid West area for mother nature. The winter does sneak up and kick you in the butt for sure. The older I get the less fun it is.

Took off the bar controls, cleaned and put some contact cleaner on all the moving switching areas. I have no issues with them working just some preventative maint. Will need a speedo cable as well, have many left over from different projects but none with a hex style wheel end. Just a little more $$ to throw at the bike.

Work on rear turn signal next along with full electrical system connector clean up. Waiting on parts in the mail and then the custom collector for the exhaust should be run.

 

A few parts came in, sure not like a few yrs ago when you would order and they would be here in a day or two. Now might take up to a week from the same places.

New fuse box is in, old turn key ignition swx and seat swx are off the bike.

Removed and cleaned the RR turn signal, the spring and washer that makes up the ground contact was all full of rust. Went through about half the wire connectors to make sure they were clean and not nasty. Kinda of on a hold until the brakes and other parts get here.

 

Removed that blocked off the YICS on this bike. Just two hoses, one each cylinder. RTV is drying know. Removed the flap in the air intake part of the box. One reason is that my vacuum arm is so rusted that there is no coming back. Other is why it that flap there? I mean the bike will suck what ever the carb needs when it needs it. Very interesting added part by the engineers.

Keeping the air box at the down draft carbs need velocity stacks on them to work correctly. The OEM air box has them build it. I can see what type of air filter I will put in there but for now it will stay. Air box is huge, reminds me of some of the older sports bike 600 with in-line 4's. Just huge box. lol

Rear brakes are on, new speedo cable and clutch cables are on. Replacement ignition swx is in. Didn't get acid with the batter from Denis Kirk, should read the fine print a little better. Will go to auto store and order a bottle of just acid. If the gas tank was done and these 50f days I might think of taking her down the rd. No way! All the slush, sand and salt on the WI roads already, oh well, next spring.

 

I had a Ford car with inlet manifold flaps which l removed because in the early cars the pin supporting the flaps broke up eventually and wrecked the valves on some engines. It was the Ford Duratec engine. The same engine was used l believe on a Mazda and it didn't have the flaps fitted. When l removed mine there was no noticeable effect on the engine. I assumed there were there to improve combustion but l don't know for sure.

 

The issue on the Mondeo.

https://www.robert-jenkins.co.uk/mondeo/index.php

 

I tried to find out about the Yamaha ones. This was a car site it said inlet manifold flaps create swirl. The swirling effect aids combustion and helps to improve emissions and generate more torque. After 2000 rpm the flaps are generally activated to a fully open position and have very little effect on engine performance and emissions.

 

Thanks for looking and the info. The flap is gone, it is also mouse proofed now. The inlet for this air box is right up next to the seat. I little different then a lot of other metric bikes. Most of them have them right into the air or just off the side. Some do have them pointing down but I can't think of one besides this bike, that has the air box air opening to the rear.

Took the evapo rust out of the tank today. Kinda warm here in Wisconsin, just about 32F for was able to work with water and not be too worried about it doing contact freezing. What I found was that the tank is not bad. But I will have to wait until spring to get some really good pressure water in the tank.

Reason bike had water in the top of engine and now I find sand in the tank. I am guessing this bike was in a flood or had been on its side on the ground for some time. I have looked over all the wheel bearings, frame, swing arm and alike for bad spots. So far just surface rust the cleaned right up.

386875071_7044962715563110_6167871712306074622_n by Tim Brown, on Flickr

Not what I wanted to see coming out of the tank once all the water was clean from flushing it. I will let the tank dry, hit one side with compressed air and the other with a shop vac and hope most of the sand comes out of it. Sand does not do well in fuel and hoping that even a good filter will keep it out of the carb, jets and then intake of a engine is not good news. Lets hope it comes out to my satisfaction.

Almost all is out of it now, but it is like mice if you see one there are more.

 

You are much more efficient in your bike rehab projects than I am. Mine seem to go on for long, long times. I bet if you get that tank as flushed as you can and then treat it with a good thick liner it will trap and secure what ever sand you can't get out. Caswell epoxy and POR-15 come to mind. I don't know if you have used either before but both are HIGHLY dependent on properly prep.

 

@Fuller56, yes that is the plan. Get it as clean as possible, prep the tank and then line it with Golden tank sealer $40+ a quart. I have used that liner before and so far am very happy with it. As you say all in the cleaning and prep work for sure.

Correct temps are had to come by in the midwest this time of yr for painting too. Hard to bring in a project that off gasses bad into the house, so you have to have a warm shop or the great outdoors to be able to paint and seal the tank. I can't ride the bike now anyways, so I just have to take my time and do what I can with it as time and weather permits.

 

@Timbox is this it? https://www.kbs-coatings.co.uk/products/gold-standard-tank-sealer

 

Yes that is it. I ordered some POR 15 this time around as they seem to have changed their product sense the last time I tried them as well. I also wanted halve quarts as that is about all you need for one tank project.

 

Covering went well. Would recommend only doing this in warm weather or a warm shop with good ventilation. The off gassing from the POR 15 is strong, also needs 50f or warms to cure so there is that. Winter time is not the best time to do this, but warm shop worked out, just can't work in there for a few days.

 

New petcock arrived the other day, just waiting for some ebay exhaust and ready for a full run up. Weather is helping and with no snow, might get to do a road test this winter yet. Maybe, will be a cold road test if I chose to do that for sure.

 

Getting back to some projects, about time. This bike is almost ready to go. Took it out for a shakedown and it was not good. Noise coming from the front end, have to take a better look. I also tried to run the bike with a broken throttle cable taped up enough to make it work. Didn't work so well. But, the bike does run up the rpm range well and goes through all the gears, so that is good. That exhaust it going to be a loud little 550, but that is okay. Also sounds a bit different from lets say a cruiser twin. That and the fact that it redlines at almost 10K too.

Was working on a friend's 1983 Honda Nighthawk 650, got her running and working good in just a few days. Bad rust in the tank, so that took three days for that to soak and rinse out.

 

Being this bike has down draft carbs on it, I came across an issue. The bike running bad, what the heck. Carbs are so easy to clean compared to the XJ bikes, was scratching my head. Pulled the carbs and opened them up. Wow, what and the hell, all this stuff in the bowl area. Is it tank junk, sediment, what is it, I thought? Well, looked into the intake of the head and saw material onto of one of the valves. Fished it out of there and what do you know. The old air cleaner inside the OEM box must have had some type of power or foam type stuff in there.

Over the years, it had lost the battle with time and the elements. I didn't notice it when I was going over the air box and the filter. Must have been a combination of things? Cleaned the carbs and put them back in, and the bike is running good. I need to find a discontinued throttle cable now...how much fun is that, and then I can ride the bike.

 

Well Yamaha, what the heck. From yr 1982 to 1983 they changed the length of the throttle cable by 4" and the free play by 3". What???!! Going to have to get a hold of motion pro and have them make me one for $90 something. Not much I can do if I want to finish the bike.

36 3/4" housing length
3" of free plan
90 Degree on one end and straight lead on the other.

 

Or get a set of universal ends in one of those repair kits, nip into a local bicycle shop and get some brake cable, make your own, re-using any specialist bits from the old cable.

 

Dave that sounds good, but having a hell of a time trying to get the solder to flow as it should. Had a few jigs set up to that and a good hot flame for the solder. Just could not get it to work. I have the old cable, and have more than enough parts to do what you are asking. Just can't get the solder to form on the end of the cable for the right size to fit the throttle grip.

 

The supper nice folks at Motion Pro helped me out today. I guess attention to detail and I missed this. XZ550 RK had the throttle cable of "11U-26311-00-00 and the XZ550 RJ cable is "11H-26311-00-00" Found one on bay, should be here soon. If you do get some custom cable by them, hold on to your hat for pricing. I think they start at $140 and go up. The Website has $97 and up, I guess they need to update the site.