luvmy40

If you get the Loan A Tool set from AZ it will have the correct adapter included. There are several schools of thought on the proper procedure for a compression test. The constants are: 1. Fuel Pump electrics disconnected 2. Spark plugs all pulled 3. CDI disconnected or spark plugs grounded 4. Throttle wide open, or carbs pulled. 5. Booster pack or charger attached to battery. At the the very least, a freshly charged battery. Here's where the thoughts differ: Yamaha service manual says to crank the engine over until the pressure stops increasing. Some folks have a favorite number of "cranks" 3, 5, 6 revolutions, what ever. I tend to stick to the factory service manual recommendations on these kind of tests.

First Stupid Question: Are you running it with the "new" air box installed and closed up with the air filter in place? These engines will idle OK and throttle up slowly for a bit then bog horribly if run with the air box of or open.

Here's what is happening: 1986 VR, Cold start, 50 deg. F ambient temp. Enricher fully actuated Hit the start button and she starts right up and idles around 2200 rpm After a few seconds(maybe 30) the idle drops to under 1000 rpm and she stalls shortly there after. At this point the enricher lever does nothing at any position. Once warm, she idles smooth around 1000 rpm. I synchronized the carbs a couple months ago. Any thoughts?

Puc, It's a single CV carb, vacuum operated fuel pump and external petcock. The sprockets look decent, the chain is pretty rusty but I think it's salvageable. All the engine, carb, transmission parts are readily available as they are from the '99('98?) to 2007 Virago 250. A new aftermarket carb can be had for $20.00, OEM for $60.00+/-. I've already ordered a new speedo cable, tail light/ turn signal assembly and AGM battery for the project. Next will be a running light bar for the front.

I was unexpectedly sent out to Connecticut for a few weeks so Kris is on her own working on her bike. Here's what it looks like today. She's got most of the obstructions stripped away and is working on developing a wiring diagram. We can't find one that is completely accurate anywhere. Before I left, I was able to get the fuel system re-plumbed and the bike fired up and ran as well as could be expected with the exhaust removed. Everything else is really cosmetic at this point.

I would have sworn the vacuum advance connected at the manifold on the MK2s. I don't know if the #2 carb has a blocked vacuum port or not. I'm out of town for a couple weeks so I can't go look at Beauty to verify.

Yes, you can get to the seat bolts by removing the side bag lids. It wasn't too bad. I did have to do nearly everything twice because I forgot things along the way. A bit of a learning curve but the next time should be smooth.

I went with 5/8" spacers and 14oz. of 10 w fork oil from Progressive.

I see how that would work though I'm not sure it will work in my case. Maybe, just not 100%. The reason it may not work for me is that the OP added lights to the red reflector above the rear chrome bar. The wiring runs behind the license plate mount and the lights come through the plastic.

Yesterday, the Boy and I put new shoes on The Beast, Kenda Kruz. Today my son swapped out the plastics for the batch that I picked up on Craig's List a week or two ago. The "new" plastic is in much better condition than the old. Only a few minor repairs will need to be made eventually and they are all invisible. Now we just need to keep watch for a blonde front fender and trunk at decent prices to finish the transformation. Does anyone know if the cross bar supports that run on the side of the engine are interchangeable from MK1 to MK2? I know there are some differences, but will the MK2 bars go on the MK1? The blonde engine covers are from an MK2. They are fairly secure But I'd feel better if they ad the bottom mount attached.

All I saw was the Pittsburgh Steeler's colors. I completely missed the coat of arms or what ever that emblem is. Military Unit?

BOO! BOO! BOO! :banana::banana::banana: Jack Lambert went to my high school, btw.

I can highly recommend the Harbor Freight portable tire changer and motorcycle adapter. It does need some minor modifications but works very nicely when they are done. I made a duck head tool for mine that works extremely well on car and truck tires but only moderately so on motorcycle tires. I will be investing in a NoMar mount/dismount tool soon.

What are you going to use for this adventure?

I picked up a 2005 Vento, V Thunder 250 for my wife as her first bike. She wants to learn to ride and she loves wrenching as much as I do. We got this for next to nothing as it needs some work to be road able. It's an interesting bike. Built around the Yamaha XV 250 from the Virago and Route 66 models. Made in Texas from mostly imported parts, some Yamaha, some Honda and even some Harley stuff. They are no longer in production. The engine will be no problem as there is a plethora of information and parts available from multiple sources. I have found break pads and a little information about the calipers but I cannot find any real technical info on the chassis. I had hoped to find there was a cult following of these bikes, and there does appear to be a pretty big following in Mexico and South America, but nothing really to be found anywhere else. Some youtube videos, all in spanish about exhaust mods to make it sound like a Harley but nothing at all on routine maintenance. We started tearing it down yesterday and found there is no fuse panel and only a main fuse inline. We also found the rear brake rotor is making contact with the caliper mounting adapter, It looks to me like a spacer was left out or put in the wrong pace in the wheel stack up. The fuel pump and carburetor were plumbed completely wrong. The good news is the ignition system seems to be OK at the least as it would fire and run on ether. We are contemplating stripping the wiring completely and making our own harness as I cannot find any wiring diagram anywhere to suss out what should be there that isn't. I'd sure appreciate any helpful advice in the wiring area as I have, to date never wired a bike up from scratch. Any other advice would be appreciated as well. The end goal is to make this look like a 1950s Harley Davidson.

I know you said you checked all the fuses, but that sure sounds like a blown fuse. It wouldn't be the main, that would have killed the head light too. Sadly, I have no personal experience with that bike. I'd be t there is a V-Star forum with much the same kind of folks there as here though. I'd start by looking through the manuals for safety switch(tip switch) or secondary "main" type links or fuses that may not be in the main fuse box. Good luck!

Mine with the driver's back rest was $740.00 delivered.

It does indeed look like a 3/4 scale Harley Fat Boy. When I sat on it the fist time, I almost threw it across the parking lot when I picked it up off the side stand! I don't think it weighs the 320 lb. it's speced at.

Kris and I just picked up her first motorcycle. It's a 2005 Vento V-Thunder 250. Evidently, they were originally built in Texas from parts sourced from Mexico, China and Japan. The engine is the Yamaha Virago 250cc V-Twin. This one needs some work, The fuel pump is not installed correctly and the battery is AWOL. The paint is atrocious and the front fender is broken. there is no wiring to the rear end and there is no muffler mount. BTW the top muffler is just for show. It's not functional. Both cylinders are piped though the lower can. I'm not sure if the Virago 250 was the same or not. Any way, Kris is very excited that she has her own bike to wrench on now instead of just helping me with mine. Now she just needs to get her permit and learn to ride it!

I did not have to do this on my Ventures, But I did on my Maxim, which has the same style handle bar system. I just used a Dremel to make another position available. You do have to be careful to not stretch the cables and hoses, but if you add one more position in either direction on both the upper and lower adjustments, it makes a huge difference in available configurations.

To be perfectly honest, I 'm surprised the '83(or any Gen1 for that matter) actually has a vacuum operated petcock. On a gravity feed carbureted engine, the vacuum valve is almost a necessity. The gen ones are reliant on the fuel pump to feed the carbs. No way can a stuck float cause a carb to flood if the electrics are not enabled.

I think I've found a Gen1, MK2 trailer hitch locally. I have no idea what it looks like yet and I have no idea what it might be worth. Any idea what a realistic price would Be. Are there many different makes out there? I know I've seen several different styles of hitches for the MK1.

The core of the cable broke about 8" from the bottom. The 8" piece fell out when we took the cable off the drive assembly. We havent been able to get therest of the core out yet. If we can get it out we may just replace the core. I ordered a new OEM cable from Partzilla yesterday. We are going go on the assumption that the speedo is good as it did not make any noise before the cable broke.

Don, Me too. Bell received.

The speedo cable broke on The Beast today. Is there any chance it's just a broken cable or is it a sure bet the speedo is seized?