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1982 Virago XV750

Discussion in 'Other Motorcycles' started by Noahsxj, Oct 25, 2021.

  1. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    D1A1DA57-AC61-45AD-A570-35DDBA5A98D1.jpeg 4B46050B-C212-4F82-99DD-C7CC0ED2F2B3.jpeg 4E82F4DC-1FF7-404B-8C43-9637076AF9B7.jpeg 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?
     
  2. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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
    B7BE6C23-43E5-41D1-872C-D712CF50896C.jpeg 3D76BAC8-9F80-45E2-9EE1-4E750703D7BD.jpeg
     
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  3. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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
     
  4. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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
     
  5. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    You do very quality work!
     
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  6. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    Thank you!
    There is a plus side to having ocd!
     
  7. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    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.
     
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  8. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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!
     
  9. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    @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.
     
  10. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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
    C49A714A-F59A-4521-9CBB-F6453E694905.jpeg 0E4ADE51-0F13-4494-B0EF-C28C627BF44C.jpeg
     
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  11. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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 :( 925AD9FC-082A-40EF-8865-D360B9A9CD0C.jpeg B98D84C2-E99C-45FD-A79A-435432DEB304.jpeg 6B6C2791-E72E-47C7-9B47-1F2AEC0DBF10.jpeg
     
  12. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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!
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2021
  13. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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

    Noahsxj Active Member

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

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    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.
     
  16. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    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.
     
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  17. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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
     
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  18. Noahsxj

    Noahsxj Active Member

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    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!
    318BF40A-FA4E-4B35-B165-8A16BFCC140F.jpeg 3634D575-9A80-4A16-B342-C744BCDDCD54.jpeg 47AF6B2A-E952-453B-89D6-6E36E4F8B88F.jpeg 441793D0-FAFB-45E9-B7DC-08070A153205.jpeg D6CA40D5-96EB-4B32-ACA4-1076D6268EE3.jpeg 86EB2D75-70D2-42F1-AE11-6449CF687E9C.jpeg AD5BF3C8-6B2D-4139-8BDF-999404561825.jpeg
     
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  19. short_circutz

    short_circutz Active Member

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    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.
     
  20. Rooster53

    Rooster53 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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

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