'85 Yamaha Virago 700 v-twin




(mine's blue, though if any of you paint on the cheap let me know. would like it black)


needs a little minor tuning and new tires but it runs and shifts beautifully. Only two real issues: one is the infamous starter grinding. Not sure if I should try to shim it or buy a new one, but it's not really a big deal.. starter doesn't sound pretty but it gets the job done. The other issue (which I'm about to go out and work on) is a fuel leak from the petcock assembly. Hopefully I can just tighten the offending bolt (once I remove enough shit to get at it) and I don't have to find a new gasket.


Anyway, high five o/

[Edited on April 24, 2009 at 9:52 PM. Reason : painters?]

4/24/2009 9:46:28 PM

hell yeah man.

4/24/2009 10:19:15 PM

thats a fun size/style to ride, I had a magna 750 from 82 that was a blast

4/24/2009 11:18:26 PM

^Those V-4s were a whole different beast though, weren't they?

4/24/2009 11:24:54 PM

get a rebuilt starter and a shim kit for it and it will work fine, i wish i could remember where i got mine from back in the day, but it wasn't more than $100 for everything


gl with thew fuel leak, but those tanks are notorious for rusting out there, it traps water in that low spot

4/24/2009 11:49:14 PM

[words] to come




I did a small amount of riding tonight and I noticed a few more things. The idle is low, not necessarily rough, and it will die occasionally. A quick adjustment of the idle jet screw didn't fix it. The engine bogs at low rpms through every gear, but at a certain point it hits the right mixture and that bike will walk right out from under you. Made me wonder if the carbs needed some tuning.

I wanted that fuel leak fixed. Upon closer inspection I found that gas was just spurting out of the petcock housing, where the two halves meet. That's when I called Ryan, y'all know Ryan. He came over and rode it back to his place where we really started to tear into it.

First the seat and tank came off, dumped, and petcock removed. He took it apart and the gaskets were falling apart in his hands. I'm pretty sure the previous owner let that bike sit in his shed untouched for a year, with the petcock on primer. Anyway, after tires, item two on the list.

We looked into the mushy front brake. Opened up the reservoir, and not only was there a lot of air in the system but the brake fluid was brown like your girlfriend's mocha. We bled the brake lines and put fresh fluid in but the hoses are shot. Item three on the list.

Next I pulled off the air filter. This part is AWESOME. I opened it up and a fucking white washcloth fell between my feet. There was a gaping hole in the filter fabric, almost as if chewed away by tiny little mice, so instead of spending 3 bucks on a new filter some dipshit crammed his cumrag in the filter housing. Item four.

Then we decided to check the opposing housing (remember, v-twin) to see what horrors lay within but quickly learned it wasn't a second air intake. Some vacuum tubes leading in piqued our interest so we took it off to reveal a curious device and two hoses pulled off their respective destinations. And plugged with rusted screws. I checked the manual and it turns out to be Yamaha's "coasting enrichment system," ostensibly a way for compensating for mixture leaning when the bike is coasting at speed with no throttle applied. Apparently someone along the way thought it needed to be taken out of the loop. Ryan apparently didn't disagree, fucking Yamahas.

Then, several beers later, he decides he's gonna make this bike gangster as fuck. He's talkin about jetting the carbs and going straight pipe.. cone filter intake, cams, and new handlebars. And what's cool is that the 1100cc block for this model fits my current frame.

But I reminded him I gotta learn to ride first. Then I ran home (literally ran since my ride was in pieces on a shop floor, but that journey is a whole other story) and here I am. I don't mean to paint a bad picture of the bike, it's very solid and has a shit ton of miles left on it, it just needs a tune-up and some catching up on neglected maintenance for a 23-year-old bike. Definitely well worth what I paid for it and I'm very happy.


^ that's good to hear. I know this bike was extremely popular when it came out so it shouldn't be hard to find cheap parts. Checking out bikebandit ahora

[Edited on April 25, 2009 at 6:49 AM. Reason : bandito]

4/25/2009 6:35:37 AM

Congrats, DC! Good luck with all those issues, too.

4/25/2009 9:40:01 AM

Where are you guys getting replacement gaskets from? The petcock on my '87 Honda CBR1000 is also leaking

4/25/2009 10:02:15 AM

^^ Thanks! it's not really that big a deal, just a few inexpensive parts. PM sent also


^ Check out http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/honda-motorcycle-cbr1000f-hurricane-1987/o/m2024 the petcock assembly is listed for almost 90 bucks but if you pick apart that schematic you might be able to order just the gaskets

4/25/2009 2:07:09 PM

That's pretty awesome. Glad you finally got a bike!

4/26/2009 2:39:20 PM

definately needs pipes on it, i would suggest drilling about 6 1/4" holes around the outside edge of the backplate on the stock mufflers if not, the yamaha v-twins are nice sounding

4/28/2009 7:06:38 AM

Quote :

"First the seat and tank came off, dumped, and petcock removed. He took it apart and the gaskets were falling apart in his hands. I'm pretty sure the previous owner let that bike sit in his shed untouched for a year, with the petcock on primer. Anyway, after tires, item two on the list. We looked into the mushy front brake. Opened up the reservoir, and not only was there a lot of air in the system but the brake fluid was brown like your girlfriend's mocha. We bled the brake lines and put fresh fluid in but the hoses are shot. Item three on the list. Next I pulled off the air filter. This part is AWESOME. I opened it up and a fucking white washcloth fell between my feet. There was a gaping hole in the filter fabric, almost as if chewed away by tiny little mice, so instead of spending 3 bucks on a new filter some dipshit crammed his cumrag in the filter housing. Item four. Then we decided to check the opposing housing (remember, v-twin) to see what horrors lay within but quickly learned it wasn't a second air intake. Some vacuum tubes leading in piqued our interest so we took it off to reveal a curious device and two hoses pulled off their respective destinations. And plugged with rusted screws. I checked the manual and it turns out to be Yamaha's "coasting enrichment system," ostensibly a way for compensating for mixture leaning when the bike is coasting at speed with no throttle applied. Apparently someone along the way thought it needed to be taken out of the loop. Ryan apparently didn't disagree, fucking Yamahas. Then, several beers later, he decides he's gonna make this bike gangster as fuck. He's talkin about jetting the carbs and going straight pipe.. cone filter intake, cams, and new handlebars. And what's cool is that the 1100cc block for this model fits my current frame. But I reminded him I gotta learn to ride first. Then I ran home (literally ran since my ride was in pieces on a shop floor, but that journey is a whole other story) and here I am. I don't mean to paint a bad picture of the bike, it's very solid and has a shit ton of miles left on it, it just needs a tune-up and some catching up on neglected maintenance for a 23-year-old bike. Definitely well worth what I paid for it and I'm very happy."

lol. I hate that kind of stuff. I tried to replace the thermostat on my boat last weekend only to find that there was no thermostat. And there I was thinking the temp gauge was busted because the boat was running at <105 degrees on my previous drive. This was after I replaced the water pump impeller and found a ~80% blockage of the cooling system by fins from an old water pump impeller which had come apart. I think a previous owner must have found some perfect balance between only getting 20% of the water flow that it should have had and not having a thermostat to regulate water flow because it was fine before I started fucking with it.

4/28/2009 11:48:31 AM

i used to have a 650 version, also had the infamous starter issue.

BTW one of the most badass custom rides ive came across, The Creature by Paul Scott is based around that generation virago drivetrain (920cc version)



thing is hand-made down to casting the "frame"

4/28/2009 5:41:26 PM

^^ awesome. what make engine?


^ that thing's ridiculous. kinda funny, he bored an '83 vx920 to 1000 and used ducati carbs...wonder why he chose that block?

[Edited on April 29, 2009 at 4:17 AM. Reason : oh well I'm proud either way]

4/29/2009 4:07:58 AM

the 920 was a fairly rare and powerful engine for the time, and it sounds nasty, i had an '81 920 virago midnight edition, the XV920M, straight murdered out before it became popular

4/29/2009 2:06:25 PM

can you go more into those six 1/4" holes in the back plates? or link me to a guide so I know what I'm doing? also, will that change my back pressure significantly enough to retune the carbs?

4/29/2009 2:37:03 PM

Quote :

"can you go more into those six 1/4" holes in the back plates? or link me to a guide so I know what I'm doing? also, will that change my back pressure significantly enough to retune the carbs?"

sawzall the mufflah's off, be a man

4/29/2009 2:55:44 PM

Quote :

"^^ awesome. what make engine?"

5.8L PCM. Basically a Ford 351w built for marine use.

4/29/2009 3:28:54 PM

Your muffler looks like this on the back if it is stock, it should say yamaha near the inlet

drill 1/4" holes to make it a little louder, but not annoying, 3/8" to give it a throaty sound, and 1/2" to be annoyingly loud and popping, for up to 3/8" you dont need to rejet



for the stock style mufflers:



[Edited on April 29, 2009 at 4:45 PM. Reason : the red dots are the holes you need to drill]





[Edited on April 29, 2009 at 4:49 PM. Reason : ^ loooks just like the 920 midnight special i had]

4/29/2009 4:42:42 PM

I want to get bike

4/29/2009 5:19:31 PM

then buy one

5/2/2009 5:44:15 PM

well last night we got it back together, new and bled brake lines, new air filter, and a new petcock diaphragm that doesn't leak. I also got it legal with a shiny new plate on the back! Of course now it won't run. The only way we could keep it running was to pull off the air filter case and manually choke it, so next the carbs come off for cleaning


I'm really jonesing to get this shit on the road again.

[Edited on May 21, 2009 at 7:18 PM. Reason : also thanks for the muffler info 69, i'm probably going to try that soon]

5/21/2009 7:17:57 PM

you need some carb boots, i looked at it and they were cracked, causes it to suck too much air, had the same problem on mine, carbs could use a cleaning, but the float adjustment is touchy


very common problem and you can get a new set for around $40 on ebay




http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YAMAHA-XV750-VIRAGO-INTAKE-CARB-HOLDERS_W0QQitemZ110381793740QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item19b34481cc&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

5/21/2009 9:12:14 PM

drilling holes in muffler = niggardly modification.

5/21/2009 9:41:12 PM

it works and sounds good on those

5/25/2009 4:22:13 PM

Just buy a damned muffler or two and weld it/them on son. Jesus.

5/26/2009 9:31:57 AM

How much was it? I'm looking at buying one in the next 3-6 months and want to get something around 3 grand that'll still have enough juice to move while allowing me to learn how to ride.

5/26/2009 10:17:10 AM

You could get two 85 Viragos for three grand.

5/26/2009 11:45:32 AM

i would not drop more than $1000 on a great condition running 80's virago

5/26/2009 11:53:04 AM

$3000 son?


SV-650 son.

5/26/2009 1:15:38 PM

good luck

5/28/2009 5:12:43 PM

Quote :

"Just buy a damned muffler or two and weld it/them on son. Jesus. "

except $300+ is a lot more expensive than 2 minutes with a drill


i paid $1000 for the bike. it ran when i got it, just not as well as it should

5/28/2009 6:21:57 PM

well after almost two months of troubleshooting on the rare evenings when we can get together to work on it, it's getting to the point that I really need the sucker running asap so I can sell my car. I'm going belly-up and taking it to Matison. Wish me and my bank account the best of luck.


Jeepman's garage can use the space anyway.

6/13/2009 5:28:22 AM

haha he almost wouldn't take it in

came off the truck with no seat, tank, carbs, fuel or vacuum lines, mirrors or air cleaner box. He looked at me and said "we typically don't take project bikes in the peak of riding season"

I told him it's really not a project bike, just need someone with the time and specific yamaha knowhow to whip it into shape real quick

we'll see how long it takes them to turn it around :/

6/13/2009 5:57:54 PM

lmao, just keep it for a parts bike and buy a running one

6/20/2009 12:10:40 PM

well thanks to smc's help in picking it up yesterday and me throwing it all back together this morning, she's up and running like a champ! put about 75 miles (and counting) on it today running around town


thar she blows:

8/30/2009 10:23:22 PM

What did it cost you and what work was done?

8/30/2009 10:56:27 PM

at matison? cleaned/sync'd/re-gasketed the carbs, cost $384.texas. i know. AND they ganked my battery, but i'll be getting compensated for that nonsense


on the plus side she'll sit at idle all day long and runs as smooooth as butter

[Edited on August 30, 2009 at 11:08 PM. Reason : adsf]

8/30/2009 11:07:45 PM

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, "They ganked my battery." FUCK THAT NOISE.

But on the reals, 80s cruisers unite(poor people)! Good to hear she's up and running.

8/30/2009 11:23:53 PM

yeah i brought it in with a relatively new battery and when i got it back it was missing. they said it was dead, which I'm sure it was due to repeated cranking when i couldn't get it to run, but all it needed was a recharge. was still a perfectly good battery.

i'm sure they just saw a dead battery on an old bike and tossed it, i probably would have too, but they'll be paying for the new one i just bought

8/30/2009 11:33:07 PM

"hey heres a battery on a customers bike. you can have it"


this is why ive never liked this place. their fucking servise sucks. next time you should go to team powersports.

8/30/2009 11:35:13 PM

agreed, lesson learned.


besides the fact that it took them 2.5 months and nearly $400 (on a bike that only cost me a grand to begin with) to clean some carbs that I had already removed for them


i understand it's riding season and they're interested in oil changes and bleeding breaks but come on

8/30/2009 11:38:52 PM

Quote :

"i'm sure they just saw a dead battery on an old bike and tossed it, i probably would have too,"

No you wouldn't. You would at least put a charger on it to see if it would hold a charge. Or just leave it be and let the customer deal with whether they want to buy a new battery.

+ 1 for bad things I've heard about Matison. It sounds like you at least got some good carb work though.

[Edited on August 31, 2009 at 12:46 AM. Reason : l]

8/31/2009 12:44:53 AM

^^ brakes*


and yeah, i will give them credit for a stellar job on those carbs

8/31/2009 1:15:34 AM

Sometimes it's worth it to overpay just to get it done and start getting your use out of it again. 4 months is ridiculous though. A $1,000 bike is pretty worthless if it doesn't run right. Probably a well spent $400 since you're able to drive it now.

[Edited on August 31, 2009 at 1:39 AM. Reason : l]

8/31/2009 1:38:48 AM

you're right, I mean all things considered I feel the bike as it is now is worth at least $1500 (adding in $100 for other miscellaneous parts I bought for it) and I could probably get that much back out of it after next season assuming nothing major breaks and I clean it up a little.

So overall not a bad deal I s'pose

8/31/2009 2:09:07 AM

saw you the other day coming from maywood to S saunders bike looked decent and the helmUt matched the bike to a T. unless some else has 6 mile long hair

9/20/2009 11:38:08 AM

i ride that way pretty often, but my helmet is black which would match anything i suppose


also something to consider is Volume 11 is on maywood which means that anyone on a bike in that area is likely to be a metalhead and is thus likely to have long hair

9/20/2009 3:59:59 PM

Yea you're right but does every one have a large face shield

9/20/2009 4:16:31 PM

nope i seem to be the only guy in raleigh on a cruiser wearing a full-face these days

9/20/2009 4:32:40 PM