Virago 700 in the shop

[cathead]

Now I don't consider myself a serious biker, certainly not one who rides a "hog" style machine but I had one offered me for free.
A friend of mine had it and wanted it out of his bedroom of all places. Anyhow it hasn't run for years, sat outside a while,
then he worked on it in the bedroom and finally decided it was time for it to be gone. This story has the potential of getting long
but will try to keep it short. Just getting it home was an adventure in getting a trailer for the haul that was 300 feet off the road
in deep snow and a flat tire etc, and then hauling it and removing it from the trailer at the shop in total darkness all by myself.
Whew! I'm glad I got it off the trailer ramp backwards without much incident.

So, now it's in the shop by a huge wood stove and a not so huge pile of wood. The best place to start on a project like this
is just to attack something, fix it and keep going. The Hitachi 40 carbs were full of rusty accretions so worked them over as
best I could and installed them. The wiring was all apart, hmmmmm, worked on that some, then fixed up several nonfunctional relays.
The bike came with a Haynes manual and I didn't look at it until I found that the starter wouldn't turn over the engine. I'm more of
a British style guy so this is all new to me! The starter resisted removal so I removed the left side cover to get to the problem. \
The Haynes book mentions a gear assembly thing on the end of the starter that turns freely in one direction but not in the other.
I was pretty sure it was something like that but alas, that part was just fine, even new looking, someone had been in there before. I could
tell as there was fresh grease on the gasket! Could the starter itself be non functional? I had to know so tore it apart to see.
Now it is getting interesting as there is a planetary gear, sun gear and ring gear functioning as a gear reduction. On first inspection,
it looked good but I noticed that the ring gear was free to turn. There it was, a red flag, and a red herring to boot! When the motor
ran, the ring gear would rotate just the ring gear and the result was the engine would not crank. Now I have no idea how this is supposed to be other than a pressed fit as there was absolutely no provision visible to hold the ring
gear from turning. The starter had fresh silver paint on it making me think it could be a rebuild and the brushes looked new.
If you look closely at the photo, there are four machined grooves in the aluminum housing and the ring gear itself is perfectly
smooth. It was pretty easy to machine several grooves in the ring gear on the mill with a 1/4 inch end mill. I fit in some brass
1/4x1/8th keys in there, cleaned it up, greased it and put it back together. Then came the reassembly, all the time not knowing if it would
crank. Having learned a few things, I learned that the bike has to be in neutral for the starter to run and the side kickstand has to be up.
There is actually a switch on the kick stand that disables the starter. And the answer is YES, it cranks over the engine now!




Today could easily be the day I fire it up so need to connect up some fuel lines to the carburetors and see if it runs.


I expect it will so will proceed to work on the hydraulic brakes, and maybe see if there is oil in the front shocks. I'm guessing
not because there is oil soaked dirt on the front wheel possibly from the brakes or the front shocks, probably both from the look
things. There are brand new mirrors in a box and a brand new battery with acid not yet installed in another box. This was a
basket case if there ever was one. Another thing I just don't get is the air cleaner in a chrome cover on the right side and yet
another chrome cover on the left side containing hoses and unidentifiable stuff that apparently connects to the left carburetor.
All that will be elucidated in the future I guess, maybe will have to study the Haynes manual once again. Maybe someone on H-M
has one of these bikes.

My guess is that I will get it into runnable condition and after that who knows. Anyway, it's been fun so far working on this thing.
You can be sure I will be looking to see if there any of these old machines still on the road come summer. I just hope I get it into
shape before I run out of wood.

Thanks everyone for reading along.

 

[Deleted member 69715]

Suggestion here. Before you add gas and turn the petcock on, look in the tank for rust, dirt and other contaminates. But you may have already done this.
Good luck; looking forward to see a running bike.

 

[cathead]

Suggestion here. Before you add gas and turn the petcock on, look in the tank for rust, dirt and other contaminates. But you may have already done this.
Good luck; looking forward to see a running bike.

Yes, I will do that. Thank you! The tank looks pretty nice and it has a new petcock but will check it out to be sure.
It's painted in maroon as well as the fenders thanks to the previous owner.

 

[cathead]

At the moment, I'm trying to give this bike a name. At first, the name Fukushima came up but then Kyshtym
seems more fitting as it's commonly referred to as the Kyshtym disaster.

 

[benmychree]

Without pics, it does not exist.

 

[cathead]

OK then, I will take some photos. Today I cranked it over and shot some gas in the carbs and it did fire but not catch.
I still don't have the fuel lines hooked up, just put some gas in the float bowls. Maybe the carbs need more work or
the vacuum stuff needs to be hooked up to raise the jet cylinders. Also, I removed the front disc brake piston assemblies
and removed the pistons using a little heat and some compressed air, also fixed the horn.

 

[Janderso]

Now I don't consider myself a serious biker, certainly not one who rides a "hog" style machine but I had one offered me for free.
A friend of mine had it and wanted it out of his bedroom of all places. Anyhow it hasn't run for years, sat outside a while,
then he worked on it in the bedroom and finally decided it was time for it to be gone. This story has the potential of getting long
but will try to keep it short. Just getting it home was an adventure in getting a trailer for the haul that was 300 feet off the road
in deep snow and a flat tire etc, and then hauling it and removing it from the trailer at the shop in total darkness all by myself.
Whew! I'm glad I got it off the trailer ramp backwards without much incident.

So, now it's in the shop by a huge wood stove and a not so huge pile of wood. The best place to start on a project like this
is just to attack something, fix it and keep going. The Hitachi 40 carbs were full of rusty accretions so worked them over as
best I could and installed them. The wiring was all apart, hmmmmm, worked on that some, then fixed up several nonfunctional relays.
The bike came with a Haynes manual and I didn't look at it until I found that the starter wouldn't turn over the engine. I'm more of
a British style guy so this is all new to me! The starter resisted removal so I removed the left side cover to get to the problem. \
The Haynes book mentions a gear assembly thing on the end of the starter that turns freely in one direction but not in the other.
I was pretty sure it was something like that but alas, that part was just fine, even new looking, someone had been in there before. I could
tell as there was fresh grease on the gasket! Could the starter itself be non functional? I had to know so tore it apart to see.
Now it is getting interesting as there is a planetary gear, sun gear and ring gear functioning as a gear reduction. On first inspection,
it looked good but I noticed that the ring gear was free to turn. There it was, a red flag, and a red herring to boot! When the motor
ran, the ring gear would rotate just the ring gear and the result was the engine would not crank. View attachment 433874Now I have no idea how this is supposed to be other than a pressed fit as there was absolutely no provision visible to hold the ring
gear from turning. The starter had fresh silver paint on it making me think it could be a rebuild and the brushes looked new.
If you look closely at the photo, there are four machined grooves in the aluminum housing and the ring gear itself is perfectly
smooth. It was pretty easy to machine several grooves in the ring gear on the mill with a 1/4 inch end mill. I fit in some brass
1/4x1/8th keys in there, cleaned it up, greased it and put it back together. Then came the reassembly, all the time not knowing if it would
crank. Having learned a few things, I learned that the bike has to be in neutral for the starter to run and the side kickstand has to be up.
There is actually a switch on the kick stand that disables the starter. And the answer is YES, it cranks over the engine now!




Today could easily be the day I fire it up so need to connect up some fuel lines to the carburetors and see if it runs.


I expect it will so will proceed to work on the hydraulic brakes, and maybe see if there is oil in the front shocks. I'm guessing
not because there is oil soaked dirt on the front wheel possibly from the brakes or the front shocks, probably both from the look
things. There are brand new mirrors in a box and a brand new battery with acid not yet installed in another box. This was a
basket case if there ever was one. Another thing I just don't get is the air cleaner in a chrome cover on the right side and yet
another chrome cover on the left side containing hoses and unidentifiable stuff that apparently connects to the left carburetor.
All that will be elucidated in the future I guess, maybe will have to study the Haynes manual once again. Maybe someone on H-M
has one of these bikes.

My guess is that I will get it into runnable condition and after that who knows. Anyway, it's been fun so far working on this thing.
You can be sure I will be looking to see if there any of these old machines still on the road come summer. I just hope I get it into
shape before I run out of wood.

Thanks everyone for reading along.

Have fun, be safe. Yeah we need pics of this free bike.
I had a Virago 1100 once. I never felt comfortable riding it.
My BMW R1200RT was more to my liking.

 

[great white]

Have fun, be safe. Yeah we need pics of this free bike.
I had a Virago 1100 once. I never felt comfortable riding it.
My BMW R1200RT was more to my liking.

Probably because most "cruisers" put a lot of weight bias on the rear wheel which makes them a bit "skittish" compared to bikes where you have your feet back under your butt. It's a balance thing. Less weight on the front makes a bike "darty" in quick maneuvers.

I'm the same on cruisers, they never do feel "right" to me....never liked the "arse heavy" feeling. Just doesn't feel like I have the control I want over the bike.

 

[pontiac428]

At the moment, I'm trying to give this bike a name. At first, the name Fukushima came up but then Kyshtym
seems more fitting as it's commonly referred to as the Kyshtym disaster.

That would be like naming a Triumph "Thalidomide" because it's British. It will be met with odd looks.

But what I'm really trying to say is:

 

[cathead]

Apparently I am causing a lot of stir by not having any photos for you guys. Photos are on the agenda
for tomorrow morning. Maybe we can group think on this and give the bike a good name.
I was picking on it because there are so many things wrong that need repair or attention.

One thing I think I found about in regards to the starter slipping problem is that there is supposed
to be a washer (about 2.5 inches in diameter) in the starter that I think would sandwich in the
starter assembly that would keep the planetary gear in there from turning. I found the blow up photo
of the starter in the Haynes manual and it showed the big washer.

While I'm at it, I have a question concerning carburetors that have a diaphragm on the top
with the tapered pin that is connected to it and controlling the jet aperture. I'm wondering
what it is that makes the diaphragm and pin move when opening the throttle. The carbs
are 40mm Hitachi and when you open the throttle, the cylinder with the pin and diaphragm connected
do not move. Is it vacuum that moves the diaphragm assembly and if so do I need some
hoses to accomplish this or is it built internally into the carburetor? I did take it apart for
cleaning and everything seems to operate smoothly.

One thing I did notice sitting on the bike is that the front wheel seems to stick out significantly ahead
more than my usual ride which is a Yamaha XS 650.

On the weight balance subject: I wonder why there are double disc brakes on the front, seems counter intuitive
to me but I suppose the weight shifts forward on braking maybe.

Thank you all for your comments.