1982 Virago 920

I have been wanting to learn mechanics and have been very interested in motorcycles. I was picked up a 1982 Virago 920 off of craigslsit for FREE. The only catch is the bike doesn't run and it hasn't been used in about 10 years. The original owner said he had an issue with the starter and just never got around to fixing it. With that being said I have a nice bike with no rust that needs to get back on the road. The only question is.....where do I start?

 

Get started on the electrical system.. charge up the battery and be sure you have a good one or replace it. Hook it up and try out the starter to start diagnosing it.

If you have to wait for parts, take a look at the carbs, if they've left gas in the bike unattended for 10 years it'll need a good cleaning..

once you get it running you can get a better idea of what else needs to be done.

I should have posted this first but go over the whole bike tip to tail and be sure that everything is buttoned up properly. After working on one bike that sat for two years and one bike that sat for 27, that made me realize that you never know what the PO did to the bike so for your own safety, do it.

be excited for your new venture man, just ask the forum if you need any help

 

starters on the early viragos are awfull. they make a clip repair kit for them its not actually the starter its the gears. i have 2 of the later models. you did not pick a good bike to learn how to work on. i would much rather work on an xj. first you need to fix the starter. then you need to pull the carbs and clean them wich is a major p i t a. you have to pull the manifolds off with the carbs. there is alout of good information you can see how everyone fixes the starter problems http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.a ... &nav=start . they are pretty tough otherwise if you got the chain drive model you got 1 of the fast ones. i have a bunch of parts for the later models if you need something let me know. im getting ready to sell both of mine that way i can concentrate on finishing my x

 

Some penetrating oil in the spark plug holes so when you do get the starter fixed you don't break any rings.

Crank it with plugs removed and grounded to clear the oil so you don't hydro lock it.

 

oil in the plugs. clean the carbs. get the bike running first. then work on the rest. get the basics done first. see if you like the bike before deciding to fix everything else up and put money into it.

you COULD find yourself fixing more then you planned on just to get it running. let alone fixing everything else up BEFORE you even get it running

 

Hey, Deerpark, don't let them scare ya. Yeah, the starter issues are legit, and the carbs are hard to pull, etc.... etc... etc..... but----when you get it going, you'll have a fun ride. Look at my list of bikes and you'll see some viragos (plus there's a couple parts bikes not listed)

Dave Fox

 

This applies to any old motorcycle: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=24010.html

As does pretty much everything in this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14581.html

Take the bull by the horns and have at it.

 

Got the carbs out and y'all called it. Pita!!! It felt good though. I need to get a new battery and get the carbs cleaned. After that I'll see what's going on with the starter. What did y'all mean about hydro-locking the engine?

 

Too much liquid inside the cylinder (liquids don't compress well) won't let the piston travel upwards. Bad things can happen if it occurs at speed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolock

 

Doesn't necessarily take much speed. I broke a rod on a hydrolocked Ford Windstar with just the starter (did take 3 tries though :wink: ).

 

Hi, I just bought a 1983 Yamaha XJ650 without a right side cover. Can anyone tell me where I can get one but not ebay. Thanks.

 

Hi Patrick, you can cruise through the "For Sale, Wanted" forum.
You should also post your own thread, dropping in on someone else's thread with an off-topic comment is called "thread-jacking", bad form in the blogosphere...
I'm moving this thread to the appropriate forum folks.