Here's a Virago, any opinions on if this is a good beat around town bike?
http://wyoming.craigslist.org/mcy/4391458839.html (http://wyoming.craigslist.org/mcy/4391458839.html)
Viragos are V-twins... :pardon:
Quote from: not a lib on March 25, 2014, 06:36:09 PM
Viragos are V-twins... :pardon:
V-4, V-twin, tomato, tomahto. :rofl2:
bminder,
That looks like a 535 Virago. I don't think those had the starter clutch issues that the earlier Viragos did. I have never ridden one, but all I have heard or read about them is pretty positive.
Joe
Totally different engine than the Virago 750 that had the starter problems in the early 80s.
For $1000.00 it looks like a steal.
Don't expect anything like FJ performance, but it should be a good around town bike and pretty comfortable on the highway.
Arnie
I had an '81 XV1000RH, the grandfather of this bike for 12years.
Post has already been taken off CL :(
I've ridden a Virago, and it made so little impression that I don't know if it was a 750 or a 535. I remember it was unintimidating, but not much else.
What are you looking for?
Is this a second bike? Commuter? Project?
I'm assuming you have an FJ, what else do you need?
Quote from: andyb on March 25, 2014, 08:08:54 PM
Post has already been taken off CL :(
I've ridden a Virago, and it made so little impression that I don't know if it was a 750 or a 535. I remember it was unintimidating, but not much else.
I was offered a ride on one once but wasn't prepared to take the risk of being seen on it.
Seriously, if I was buying a hack for around town it would be a 250. You can chuck them around like a push bike, in fact after the FJ, they feel like a push bike.
I had a VFR250 at home for a while (not mine) well, the house was, and become very fond of it for city work. I loved the lightness and it's small physical size and it had enough grunt.
I also had a near new 250 scooter on loan for a while too. I like that for the same reasons and it had bucket loads of storage and good weather protection.
250's are a LOT cheaper to run.
Buying a second big bike for a daily rider around town just because it's cheap doesn't necessarily make it the best choice. Far more potential as a money pit too.
Where I live smaller engined bikes are cheaper to register to, by about half.
Noel
Gotta agree with Ribbert. My in-town ride is a chinese 250cc touring scooter. Faster off the line than most of the cars without going WOT. Can hit the interstate up to around 75mph if you need to. Runs the streets around 45 or 50 easily with some grunt to it from 40mph up. Shiftless, which is great in traffic or when the lights are running against me. Plastics are kinda cheap, but the engine is a linhai-yamaha clone, and no problem in two years. But, scooter or motorcycle, the 250's are a lot of fun in town.
The only problem I see with a scooter is that I'm 6'5" and 255.
I would look like a circus bear on a little bike. (My secretary thinks I look too big for the FJ!)
I do have a little pride and ain't ready to turn in my man card yet.
how much you lookin' to spend?
http://wyoming.craigslist.org/mcy/4385032513.html (http://wyoming.craigslist.org/mcy/4385032513.html)
True enough on the 50cc scooters, but my mc-79-250 touring scooter is maybe 3 inches shorter than my fj1200, an inch or 2 less wide, and sits taller. Only about half the weight. I'm 6'1", and around 230lbs.
I took the liberty of browsing CL in your area, and you are pretty limited in what is offered without traveling. I don't know your budget, but I think that if you find something that you like in your price range, it is good to find out what problems that model/year had, but I wouldn't be reject it just on "known problems". If they are simply older bikes but have been well maintained, then there is a good chance that the problems have already occured and been fixed, or that it didn't exist on that particular bike.
Certainly, it's important to make sure there is a parts supply still available, so shy away from ads that say "rare". That usually means that nobody liked it when it was new. I wouldn't simply reject a v-4 because it's a v-4. If your intended use is around town, and you don't plan on flogging it to death, the fact that the bike is still on the road 15 or 20 years later means alot..
So, it's good that you are taking the time to look and inquire. You will find the one that you like. Will there be some problems? Maybe. Can they be fixed? Usually.. Good luck, and good riding..
Quote from: Bminder on March 25, 2014, 06:44:04 PM
Quote from: not a lib on March 25, 2014, 06:36:09 PM
Viragos are V-twins... :pardon:
V-4, V-twin, tomato, tomahto. :rofl2:
I'm still trying to get past this statement. :scratch_one-s_head:
I rode a Virago once. I couldn't get off the bike fast enough.
I really enjoy pushing a bike & myself to my limits in the corners. If I can scrape a footpeg in a turn, so much the better. I really appreciate a Dirt Bike to Sport Bike type of riding position & ergonomics. The Virago had such a laid back riding position, that I felt like I was water skiing around the turns. Couldn't stand the vague feeling going around the turns on the thing.
Just not my style of bike.
~JM~
Quote from: ~JM~ on March 26, 2014, 11:17:17 AM
I rode a Virago once. I couldn't get off the bike fast enough.
I really enjoy pushing a bike & myself to my limits in the corners. If I can scrape a footpeg in a turn, so much the better. I really appreciate a Dirt Bike to Sport Bike type of riding position & ergonomics. The Virago had such a laid back riding position, that I felt like I was water skiing around the turns. Couldn't stand the vague feeling going around the turns on the thing.
Just not my style of bike.
~JM~
That's good to know. Thanks
Get the feeling that will be common to most anything with the raked front end, really.
I don't like feeling like I'm using (or having to use!) all of the machine's performance, I like it to feel as if there's always more in reserve.
For something to just kick about town with, I'd think something either like an old 350-450 parallel twin (XS, KZ, GS, etc) or something silly like a motard would be great fun. You've already got a sport-tourer, may as well get something utterly different so they don't overlap on their uses.
My friend John (The Beer Scientist) has had a Virago 750 for a few years. He favors the kind of bike he can pick up off its side while standing on one foot (I gather he has had to do this more than once) which means middleweight cruisers, and as he says, this one was the best bike he could pay cash for that was for sale that particular day.
It sat long enough to gum up the tank/lines/carbs and kill the battery. Last year I took it in and took it apart. Cleaned the tank and carbs, rebuilt the carbs, did the valves, put it back together, put a battery in it. It's together and would run, except it has sat long enough to kill the new battery.
The fuel tank leaked, so I did my carb synch and test rides using a funnel hanging from the handlebars instead of a fuel tank. It rode fine and pulled hard, but the funnel held barely enough gas to get around the block.
You may see it again at an FJ rally. He will ride it fast enough to keep up with about 2/3 of the folks who show up to ride with us at rallies; I am never bored with his pace when he leads.
A 750 or 920 or 1100 will run $1,000 to $2,000 depending on condition. They're neat in the way all running bikes are neat, and they are flawed in the way many Japanese bikes from back then are flawed. (The frame is an airbox? Really??) Lots of steel, some of it chromed half-heartedly, John's needs stem bearings at 20,000 ish miles.
Quote from: andyb on March 26, 2014, 07:35:12 PM
You've already got a sport-tourer, may as well get something utterly different so they don't overlap on their uses.
BINGO :good2: :good2: :good2:
get a different experience! :bye2: :bye2: :bye2:
Frank
As I look at all that's for sale on craigslist, I'm amazed how many are selling bikes with no title!
Quote from: not a lib on March 26, 2014, 10:46:54 AM
Quote from: Bminder on March 25, 2014, 06:44:04 PM
Quote from: not a lib on March 25, 2014, 06:36:09 PM
Viragos are V-twins... :pardon:
V-4, V-twin, tomato, tomahto. :rofl2:
I'm still trying to get past this statement. :scratch_one-s_head:
2, 4 - who's counting? it's all so cylindrical! Stay away from the V-8 though it's mostly 2-may-tow
Quote from: Bminder on March 27, 2014, 04:55:53 PM
As I look at all that's for sale on craigslist, I'm amazed how many are selling bikes with no title!
Those I stay away from. They all say easy to get, just take the bill of sale to dmv. If it's that easy, they should do it, then charge a little more to the buyer. Since they didn't, I figure it's usually cause they can't.
Quote from: novaraptor on March 28, 2014, 07:40:08 AM
Quote from: Bminder on March 27, 2014, 04:55:53 PM
As I look at all that's for sale on craigslist, I'm amazed how many are selling bikes with no title!
Those I stay away from. They all say easy to get, just take the bill of sale to dmv. If it's that easy, they should do it, then charge a little more to the buyer. Since they didn't, I figure it's usually cause they can't.
You're right.
I've look at the DMV website for Wyoming, and talked to the title office in my county, and it's very, very clear: Not title, no plates.
And to replace a lost title from a bike I'd bought, I'd have to lie and perjure to do it.
This is a little bit of a drive to pick up, but this would make a good around town bike.
http://cosprings.craigslist.org/mcy/4394973574.html (http://cosprings.craigslist.org/mcy/4394973574.html)
Fred
Quote from: aviationfred on March 28, 2014, 09:58:43 AM
This is a little bit of a drive to pick up, but this would make a good around town bike.
http://cosprings.craigslist.org/mcy/4394973574.html (http://cosprings.craigslist.org/mcy/4394973574.html)
Fred
Looks very nice. Wonder why the miles are so low? I sent the guy a message.
It's about 3 hours from Cheyenne.
The Nighthawk is a great 2 wheeled appliance, and I mean that in a good way. Hydraulic valves, mellow powerband, very little to go bad other than the exhaust collector boxes tend to rust out. I'd offer them $1700 and see what they say.
as I recall cam-chain tensioners were a problem with that motor, though not a difficult fix.
Yes I agree with Joe. They are a good reliable bike for the money. I have a 650 nighthawk and never had any problems with it. Dave
Quote from: Burns on March 28, 2014, 12:47:27 PM
as I recall cam-chain tensioners were a problem with that motor, though not a difficult fix.
Apparently all Honda's have cam tensioner problem except the SOHC CB750. :biggrin: That is a very practical bike with low maintenance needs. I would shim the carb needles .020, one size larger on the main and drill the pilot plugs out. Only problem I ever had with them is one guy who wanted Superbike type bars on it....the switch housings hit the tank with lower bars. OK...modify the stops for less steering lock and the keyed steering lock wouldn't engage. Anyway....a good utilitarian bike for sure.
Yes Honda has these things jetted on the very edge of lean to meet EPA emissions. My nighthawk won't run right if I even remove the air filter cover. If you want it to run like its supposed to the mixture needs to be richened. Dave
Quote from: Country Joe on March 28, 2014, 12:30:19 PM
The Nighthawk is a great 2 wheeled appliance, and I mean that in a good way. Hydraulic valves, mellow powerband, very little to go bad other than the exhaust collector boxes tend to rust out. I'd offer them $1700 and see what they say.
The problem with that engines was the alternator chain tensioner, not the distribution chain tensioner. Its a completely tear down engine repair. But don´t worry: after 2 revisions of the tensioner Honda got a unburstable engine and when Honda started to built the Nighthawk the problem was definitively solved. I know various SevenFiftys (like is known in Europe) with more than 200.000 kms
Looks like a GIVI Monokey rack on the back, a good sign and something you might use...
Quote from: JMR on March 28, 2014, 01:54:38 PM
Apparently all Honda's have cam tensioner problem except the SOHC CB750. :biggrin:
Mike, you would love this...I'm currently working on a K1 that has been in storage for 32 years.
I built the bike (Denver hardtail) 40 years ago, and I've forgotten just how marvelously engineered the Honda SOHC 750 engines are....I made a good choice years ago when everyone was putting those horrible AMF Harley's in the Denver frames, I used the K1.
Stored her dry, so some fresh gas, oil and battery, she fired right up.
Just an amazing engine....and quite beautiful. The engine that changed the world.
I post some Picts when I get her put together...
Quote from: Pat Conlon on March 28, 2014, 06:57:57 PM
The engine that changed the world.
Anyone old enough to have owned bikes prior to this would realise just how significant it was. That engine, indeed the whole bike, was the most important milestone in motorbike history and they did it in one fell swoop. I still have a crystal clear image in my mind of the first time I saw one in the flesh.
I had owned nothing but Pommy bikes at that stage but started my apprenticeship on them that year and got to ride them at work. I couldn't afford one at first, and by the time I could, I bought a new, second model Suzuki GT750, while still working for Honda. I was not allowed to park it on the premises.
After years of vibrating singles and twins the sensation of that 4 cylinder engine (the Honda) purring away underneath you was something else.
Noel
I had a 1978 Honda 750 F model with the stock 4 into one megophone exhaust. What a wonderful sound. However I liked my Suzuki GT750 for pure acceleration. It was a tall and heavy bike just won
derful to cruise on. After the end of 2 strokes in the US suzuki used that motor standing on end in their outboard motors for years. Dave
The engine that changed the world.
Most certainly.
It is the father of the UJM.
It's children include the namesake of this forum.