1982 Virago XV750

Anyone know anything about these? Traded a guy for a snowboard I found in a dumpster..

I guess I now have another winter project, along with finishing the oil cooler and carbs on my XJ550…

probably going to just get the virago running and sell it

I’ve heard the starter clutches on these go bad quite frequently, but I haven’t turned this one over yet to find out…

Most of the switches and handles are toast, so I guess I’ll be trying to find some of those soon

got any deadheads on the forums?

 

Just finished the first part of this build, I also am almost done with the fuel tank, but that’s a surprise for down the road…(I’m really excited for this one)

Powder coated jetblack, looks really awesome

New bearings, new hardware, resurfaced brake drum and brake rotors.

and some new shinkos!

these will be put on at the beginning of next season

carb rebuild kit should be here Tuesday, and I already finished ultrasonic cleaning those!
Everything looked really awesome on the carbs, but I always do a complete tear down on anything new to me.
The new seat upholstery should be getting finished up soon too

 

I’ve also been able to connect with the original owner of this bike who bought it new in 83, he had it until 1999 then he donated it to a charity org who let it sit for 22 years then traded it to me for a snowboard

I’m waiting for him to send over some pictures he has of the bike when it was in its prime

 

Forgot to mention I got the bike to turn over multiple times by jumping the starter relay, compression is good on both cylinders but I’ll be doing a valve adjustment here soon

 

You do very quality work!

 

Thank you!
There is a plus side to having ocd!

 

Yes great looking bike and good history to it. Just watch the compression on that bike, the OEM head gaskets on the 750's sometime had issues. I am sure your will be fine and they will last a long time. Great find and keep doing the quality work.

 

Thank you for the heads up!
I was relieved to find out these bikes have adjustable valves.
I got 139psi 0n cylinder #1 and 137 on #2
After the valves I’ll reset timing, probably throw a new caltic starter with idle gear for $90 since I’m pretty sure I heard the starter clunking around when I got it to turn over. New starter relay, plugs, and filter on their way.
After that it should just be basics, changing fluids, bulbs, fuses, connections, filters, and detailing!

 

@Noahsxj, sounds good. Upgrading tot he 4 brush starter is a good call. Cleaning the contacts for the grounds will help also. Idle gear issues are the main issues with the rattle noise. I used a dremel and a grinding disk on mine to sharpen the rounded portion of the gear. That allowed it engage with the flywheel much better.

On the new idle gear if you go that way, make sure your year bike will take their gear assembly. Seems it only works on some yr models. I could be wrong on that.

 

New seat upholstery!
I’m very pleased!
Only $40, this guy on eBay makes them to order, only took about 2 weeks, very easy to install.
Mac Motorcycle Seat Covers

 

Alright so all valves are adjusted, they were all unsurprisingly slightly tight.

these adjustable valves only took me about 30 minutes to get all 4 in spec

timing was good but adjusted anyways.

rebuilt, bench synched, and wet set carbs are mounted up with nos carb boots and revitalized intake boots.

new spark plugs, starter relay, fresh oil and oil filter, along with new air filter.

I should be starting the bike this weekend most likely, after that I want to rebuilt the controls, rebuild the cluster, rebuild the front caliper, replace front and rear brakes, and I’ll most likely be needing to service the air ride suspension

 

Good, great, and okay news
I got the bike to start and run on both cylinders on Saturday, but it idled around 1500 rpm’s and if I hit the throttle at all it would die.
I realized I didn’t have the vacuum ports capped off when this happened
So I got caps, capped them off, and started it again to get it to only run on the front cylinder

does this mean the rear cylinder is running rich?
I did set the rear carb pilot screw 3.5 turns out and the front 1.5 turns out as per Yamaha recommends.
(The rear cylinder needs to run richer for some reason)
But I’ve read on some long forgotten virago forums that this is unnecessary and most people rebuild them with the same settings for both cylinders.

I’ll have to synch them up, and I’ll probably set both carbs to the same settings (around 2 1/4 turns out)
And see where that puts me.

On the bright side..

Everything works!

best news yet imo is that all the suspension holds air!

I’ve yet to check the charging circuit, Speedo, and transmission. but the headlight, brights, turn signals and turn signal indicators, horns, and starter button along with the tach all work great!

 

I wonder if the rear cylinder needs a richer mixture because it runs hotter since it's air cooled?

 

that makes a lot of sense!
The rear cylinder is much less exposed compared to the front.

 

With the rear cap off it would weaken the mixture so that might be the reason it's not running on that cylinder. Depends on how the mixture screws are set too as you know.

 

You did check to make sure you had spark on the rear? Two coils so make sure it is working. If you can put your hand over the intake of the carb feeding the rear cylinder and see if it starts to run. If so, you might not have the float height right and need to do a wet set on the bowl.

 

I didn’t have spark!
But the coil was good, it was a bad plug
I’ve been waiting for the bp7es plugs to arrive from the uk, there’s bpr7es available all over but I want the right ones

so I guess the first startup the existing plug was fine, then took a crap after I turned it off

buuuut the new plugs just arrived yesterday, so I’ll install them probably on Saturday

I ordered 4 more of the plugs from the uk because they were only 2.99 and they are NOS

 

got the plugs switched out, redid some wiring, cleaned some grounds, then got it to fire up on both cylinders!
Runs pretty rough, but it’s only bench synched and tuned at the starting settings
It got cold and snowy out so I decided to paint the side covers, hand paint the emblems, and detail the cluster!

 

The "R " just means that the resistor is built into the plug and you can scrap the factory caps that jave the resistors in them. Also means that every time you change the plugs, the resistor gets changed at the same time.

 

What did you clean the gauge faceplates with, they look really good? Anyone ever try restoring the red on the faceplate?

 

Do they look that good the next day too? I mean sometimes we us stuff that gives it a wet look for so long and then back to the sun faded appearance. Looks great.

 

I tried. I can share some photos. Very tiny detailed work. I think the result is mediocre at best.

 

@Rooster53 i actually used a paintbrush to dust them off, then an air gun with my compressor just blasted them till the dust was gone.

I don’t have a very steady hand, so I haven’t even really considered redoing the red.

the texture of the plates is really rough, like sandpaper, so I found if you use any sort of paper/cloth cleaning utensils, it will leave lint or marks on the paint.

 

@Timbox ill take some pics tomorrow, they’ve been on the bike for about a week now.

but I didn’t use any cleaning solution or detergent, just a new paint brush and some compressed air!

 

Here’s my attempt at refreshing the dial faces on my XJ650J. They don’t look too bad from 3+ feet away.

 

Virago update!

This is a no choke start

I tested the fuel height, both carbs fuel levels where -1mm or even with the bowl mating surface.
So I’ll need to pull them once more and raise the level.

I’ve put the bike in 1st, and it accelerated smoothly about 4 or 5 feet(I have limited space) under engine power

I put my vacuum gauges on and they are very closely synched, but still need tweaked.

I’ll have to order a new colortune plug, these plugs are larger then my xj550

after that, I just need to change the drive gear fluid, change brake shoes/pads, install the rebuilt wheels, and finish touching up the side covers! (Hopefully)

Edit-I’d also like to repaint and get new stickers for the hand controls!

Also, does anyone know what the whining sound when the engine revs could be?

 

Well, I took it out last weekend for about 20 minutes, no complaints
Rides so much better then expected
I’m going to vacuum synch and colortune tomorrow.
Then take it out hopefully for a couple hours in a rare 52 degree clear Colorado day
Now that I’m done with this, I’ll probably look into restoring a bone stock XJ, since my xj550 is not so much.
Any suggestions?
A yard nearby is selling a naked 82 turbo 650 for 500
I say naked because it’s been stripped, but has all major components (carbs,turbo, cluster, rear fairing and light, exhaust, harness) just missing plastics and some other trim pieces.

but maybe they’re too complicated?
I like a new challenge.

 

I would say go for the Turbo. They are more complicated than the standard XJ and most of them is different but it is still interesting. I traded or a complete low mileage Turbo a year ago that nobody had been able to make run "right". Several months of messing with it and specifically the Mikuni carbs and it is okay now. Zero to 60 is nothing special but 60 to 90 gets exciting. Also see Simmy's Naked Turbo thread for his build. He built an awesome, beautiful bike.
Oh, and the Virago came out nice. Well done.

 

Been riding the Virago pretty often in these early days of spring in the Rockies
Unfortunately had to deal with not one, but two brand new oem Yamaha neutral sensors leaking out the electrical port after pretty light rides

they’re both sitting in the bottom of my oil catch, but the dealer kept giving me new ones after I showed them pictures

Finally got one that decided to play nice, I was beginning to think something was wrong with the linkage

I’m most likely going to list her for sale soon, hard because of how it turned out and it rides so nice..
My son is going to be born in about a month, and I think my 550 deserves about 1k more miles!

 

That is a really awesome build, actually kinda what made me see some potential in that junkyard bike
Unfortunately that honeypot parts yard sold to a British investor or something last week, the guy said he’s been shipping a container a week over there.. really sad tbh, this place was my go-to, I’ve never been to another one like it
I’m going up there again for 1 last parts grab this weekend

 

That is sad about your parts yard. There was one in Boulder (I think) in the mid 2000's that was a sort of pick your parts kind of place. The next time I was around and went there they had got bored with it and scraped out and crushed everything. What a waste!
Your Virago turned out pretty! Nicely done.

 

Very nice work Noah!

 

Well done on that bike, looks very clean. Best wishes in the future with the new member of the family.

 

Sold the Viggy
Younger kid bought it, with his grandad cheering him on.
I’ll miss this one, but there’s thousands of viragos out there

 

here’s the best walk around i was able to take,

 

I have a love/hate for them bikes. That is a good looking bike. Nice paint choice. I am sure it will have a great new owner and they really enjoy that you sold it to them.