Virago 700 in the shop

[Deleted member 69715]

That plug is NGK, right? A little research might be good.
https://ngksparkplugs.com/en/

And if you're having difficulty find some items, BMI has a little old stock.
https://www.bmikarts.com/

 

[cathead]

This morning I was perusing the manual that Great White was kind enough to post. There are over 400 pages in that manual
but it all needs to be looked over. One thing I had noticed when I took off the left side cover was that the chain for the oil pump
seemed a little loose. The prudent thing to do will be to open it up again and adjust the tension on that chain. Also while servicing
the front wheel and cleaning up the bearings, it was found that both bearings were in bad shape with rusty grease in them.
They didn't seem too bad but after rinsing them out with some diesel and getting them clean, it was clear that they were needing
replacement as the wheel had a little side play that ought not be there. So now I have bearings and seals ordered for that. The
project is going to be on hold if I don't get some more firewood for the stove so need to get on that soon.



I was thankful that I had read through the manual and found the page(3-53) that showed how to adjust the oil pump chain.

 

[Deleted member 69715]

If you can cross reference the Yamaha p/n for those bearings you may find your local auto parts store has them for less than what a bike dealership wants including shipping. And who doesn't like a trip to an auto parts store?

 

[great white]

This morning I was perusing the manual that Great White was kind enough to post. There are over 400 pages in that manual
but it all needs to be looked over. One thing I had noticed when I took off the left side cover was that the chain for the oil pump
seemed a little loose. The prudent thing to do will be to open it up again and adjust the tension on that chain. Also while servicing
the front wheel and cleaning up the bearings, it was found that both bearings were in bad shape with rusty grease in them.
They didn't seem too bad but after rinsing them out with some diesel and getting them clean, it was clear that they were needing
replacement as the wheel had a little side play that ought not be there. So now I have bearings and seals ordered for that. The
project is going to be on hold if I don't get some more firewood for the stove so need to get on that soon.



I was thankful that I had read through the manual and found the page(3-53) that showed how to adjust the oil pump chain.

Step 1 for me with any new bike, car, truck, quad, boat, machinery, etc is to find out if theres an oem service manual and buy it.

I may end up spending a couple hundred bucks on a book or two, but that cost comes back to me many times over the years if I keep whatever it is I bought the manual for that long.

These days it seems pretty much everyone puts out a pdf for their product, so finding a factory service manual is usually as close as a google search.

I tend to buy quality and buy once, so a service manual is always a necessity purchase for me. Heck, I’ve still got tools I bought when I was 15….

 

[cathead]

This morning I went looking for some spark plugs in my collection because I wasn't able to find any in town.
Surprisingly I found a pair of platinum non resistor plugs that look pretty nice and another pair of plugs that
look usable and one brand new BP7ES! So I will start with the platinum plugs for now.

It's another cold day up here and still 18 below zero F and bright sun. While looking at the plugs I found in a tool box,
I decided to give the old Craftsman tool box some care and remove some dents, sand it down and give it a coat of paint.

That's my POTD for today.

 

[cathead]

Yesterday I drained out the oil in the front forks on the Virago and added new oil. I'm a little concerned because there wasn't very
much oil to drain out compared to how much was needed to put back in. I guess I will find out about that when spring comes....

 

[Deleted member 69715]

Record exactly how much oil you put in. After 200-300 miles check on top of the fork seal itself for fork oil collecting. You may need new seals.
What are you using for fork oil?

 

[FOMOGO]

I would go ahead and replace the fork seals. Pretty common for them to be leaking on older machines. I hear you on the cold temps, it was -27 here the other day, and -38 in Craig where we took the dog for her shots. Mike

 

[cathead]

Record exactly how much oil you put in. After 200-300 miles check on top of the fork seal itself for fork oil collecting. You may need new seals.
What are you using for fork oil?

Yes, I am expecting that I will be needing to replace the seals so for now I put in some trans-draulic tractor oil. After
riding it a bit in the spring, I will be able to see what if anything is leaking, do any repairs needed, and put in the correct oil.

 

[great white]

Fork oil does not get consumed, it can only leak. If your tubes are dry, don’t worry about leaking. At least not until spring and it warms up. Cold seals can leak even if they’re still serviceable. Remember: motorcycles are not designed to operate in cold temps and things like seals can go hard in the cold and leak, where they’re fine in summer temps.

Look up how to measure fork oil level in your service manual. Most damper rod forks measure the oil level from the top of the tube with the fork collapsed.

Not enough and you don’t get proper damping, too much and you can nearly make them rigid. Beleive it or not, the air space above the oil is actually a designed part of the assembly, essentially acting like an “air spring”. Your service manual will tell you how to deal with both conditions by properly servicing the forks.

make a note that not much oil came out, but unless you’ve owned the bike since new, you have no idea what someone has done to it in the past. It may not have leaked out, it may have never been filled. Or, all it takes is one PO who thought they knew what they were doing with oil levels and damping rates, but however well intentioned, they didnt know thier head from their buttocks and didn’t do a proper service.

Keep in mind that all seals, no matter how good, leak some fluid. It can be slow and slight, to the point it is never noticed because its within oem limits. But if the bike has never been touched, the fork oil you find might be 20 years old and loosing a cc here and there across two decades (or more).

Of all the fluids on a bike, shock and fork oil is the most neglected. It’s entirely possible its low because its never been looked at since the factory fill.

Don’t pull the seals on spec. Check them for leaks and change if required. There’s a lot of “gotcha’s” with rebuilding forks and if you’re not at least reasonably experienced (or can’t follow a manual to the letter) you can mess things up pretty good.

Some bikes, if you take them apart wrong, you can ruin the internal bushings and then you have to get in even deeper than doing “just” seals….