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Clean and Simple II Virago

137K views 499 replies 121 participants last post by  livetoride21 
#1 ·
Hey everybody,

Been hankering to build something recently, and my lovely wife told me that i couldn't mess with the Buell because she liked to ride it how it was, so i picked up a 1982 Yamaha Virago 920 for $300. The bike had been sitting outside under a tarp for a while and was in pretty rough condition, but as i am only planning on keeping the engine and swingarm, it fit the bill quite nicely.

My plan is to strip it down, build a custom frame, tank and tail. My goal is to have a striped down bike that is basically wheels and an engine. I haven't decided completely on the styling, however i am going to be putting spokes on it and the bodywork will be primarily carbon fiber. Oh and the other thing is i am going to do my best to not spend any money from our budget on the bike. I am planing on funding the bike with side-work. so if you have anything that you need done, hit me up.

here it is in the truck on the way home:


Here is the bike as it sits newly introduced to its stable-mate.



I also have parts left over from the last build, including these USD forks from a GSXR 750 that were in really bad shape that i cleaned up and am rebuilding.

before:


During:
 
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#4 ·
I wish I could find deals like that around me. Everyone here thinks they have a museum piece to be featured on the latest episode of chasing classics or something.

Looking forward to what you do with it, have seen some really cool Virago restomods. :rock:
 
#8 ·
not as hideous as the sound of the starter

I have the XV920R, same engine, frame, but enclosed chain drive instead of shaft, analog gauges, 18" rear wheel and 9" dia round (seca) headlamp

seems like I have to replace the starter or starter parts every 3000 miles or so, when new it sounds like there's rocks in it
 
#12 ·
Ghetto subscribed... can't wait... any thoughts to using the GSXR front's for this build? Maybe that will be overkill for what you are thinking... I'd love to hear what "type" of bike you want to build. I think I remember them doing a cafe build with a similar bike on Cafe Racer (TV show). Can't wait to see what you are thinking.
 
#14 ·
Hey,
yeah the GSXR forks are for the build. They will be going together with custom triples, and a spoke 16" front wheel. it is going to be a cafe racer with a blend of modern and retro (hopefully)

i am aiming for a combination of this:


and this:


custom frame, custom tank, custom tail. some performance mods on the engine...
 
#16 ·
Yep, that was the bike I was refering to... can't wait to see what you come up with, I love your work...
Toran
 
#19 ·
Subbed..your builds are like an awesome TV show.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#27 ·
I will be keeping the stock neck so it will have the VIN number on it and so it should be a problem. However to title a custom framed bike is pretty easy. you just have to certify ownership and go through a safety inspection with the state police.

okay so i only had about an hour yesterday to work on the bike due to some conflicts, and should have more time today, however i was able to make some headway it stripping it down.

I am really sorry for the crappy pics, my camera was having a bad day.



just some of the crap i pulled off of this thing


Is it just me, or does this bike have a lot of electronics for a carb, air-cooled bike? Maybe because of the digital gauges? i am going to go through the wiring diagram and see what i can cut out.

thanks!
~Chris
 
#23 ·
I had an 82 Virago 920 many years ago. That was the only model and year for the square headlight and digital dash. I pulled the starter apart when I got the bike with 10K, saw the poor design but didn't really see anything other than the corner of the gears chewed up a little. It didn't look any different inside after I put 15k more miles on it. It comes from the solenoid slamming the straight cut gears together. It sounds like it's going to explode but it works if you keep the charging system and battery in good shape.
 
#32 ·
I just got my virago 1100 on the road. Ugly as sin to start with but I think it came out pretty good so far. As said before they really have an awesome engine. I got rid of the fuel pump, swapped to a single carb and rewired the whole bike. If you are thinking about rewiring your's do it, it's pretty easy and cleans thing up alot. So far I've got about $400 total into mine. Here's a couple pics.





 
#35 ·
Nice work 67! Looks like a hard tail now right? With a metal seat that seems like it might be a bit unforgiving around town :) I ride a Ducati 998 a good bit so I'm pretty familiar with torture racks :)
She looks awesome, great looking machine, well done.
 
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