1982 Yamaha Virago VX750?

[greg78gs750]

Hi all,

I have a friend coming to visit on a motorcycle trip, she is riding a 1982 Yamaha Virago VX750. This will be her first big motorcycle trip, and I want to be prepared to help her with the bike should she need it. Any of you guys know these, things to watch for, known issues, etc? Thanks all!!

greg

[ShadowFocus603]

From some cursory research it appears it's the same stuff GS guys deal with. Carbs, valves, and charging systems. One additional issue I did see was apparently the 81-83 Viragos had some type of starter issue which could pop up. Hope this helps.

[wymple]

1st gen bikes had a junk starting system, by design. The only real upgrade to that is a 4 brush starter (under 100 on ebay), and make sure the grounds are excellent. It has Hitachi carbs which work well when right, but are a b*tch to tune unless you are familiar with them. I have 2 of these 82 Viragos in my garage right now. Great power band, one of the sweetest seats ever put on a stock bike. Driveshaft is pretty indestructible. Marvelous clutch action and easy as heck to catch neutral with. If I were to ever get another it would be 84 or newer just to avoid that starter issue. The culprit if the starter is not engaging well is the #2 idler gear found on the left side, about a 2 hour job. I have never seen one with a bad charging system. Wiring is one thing Yamaha outclassed Suzuki on all day long. I like them, but do not recommend 81-84 for less than the mechanically adept.

[rustybronco]

I've seen two 'CDI' units go bad. Hitachi' carbs are a pain to get dialed in. Exhaust systems are prone to leakage (rust out) and they are ugly as sin.

[Cipher]

Viragos are lovely

[wymple]

They're so ugly they sold a huge buttload of them and everyone else hurried to get on the train. Any bike that old has a good possibility of rusty exhaust no matter the brand. Honda was the worst, our Suzis aren't much better.

[rustybronco]

They sold a boat load of them because it was a cheap V-twin... Can't fix ugly.

Starter sounds like a box of rocks.

[Cipher]

If it was Parallel Twin they would not have sold any?

[rustybronco]

What's that got to do with the price of beans?

Pretty much...

[RichDesmond]

If it was Parallel Twin they would not have sold any?

Not as many. The Japanese companies started down the "custom" or "cruiser" styling path in the late '70s, using their existing inline twins, triples and fours as a base. Those bikes sold moderately well, but when they introduced dedicated v-twin engined models in the early-mid '80s sales really took off. V-twins were (and are) an important styling cue for the American cruiser market.

[derwood]

Not as many. The Japanese companies started down the "custom" or "cruiser" styling path in the late '70s, using their existing inline twins, triples and fours as a base. Those bikes sold moderately well, but when they introduced dedicated v-twin engined models in the early-mid '80s sales really took off. V-twins were (and are) an important styling cue for the American cruiser market.

......and they're fugly too.

[rustybronco]

......and they're fugly too.

Not all of them were.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Motorcycles/night-rod-special.html

[wymple]

There is nothing ugly about an XS650, (check out those sales figures) or an early Virago. And the Virago wasn't noticeably cheaper than anybody else's stuff in it's class. Ugly belongs to the CX500 Honda.