jester3681

My not so helpful helper saying "Cheese!" So after we got her inside, I started tearing down the tail section of the bike. I plan to do the tail and rear wheel swap first, so here we go: Took the side covers off. And the seat, followed by the passenger footpegs, rear marker lights and the sissy bar. EBay, here we come! Got a new motorcycle jack at Harbor Freight today - Motorcyclist Magazine had a coupon that made it $59.99. Not too shabby! Unfortunately, the exhaust has to come off for the bike to set on the jack, so we'll be working on that next. These bolts were easy to get loose, believe it or not. Unfortunately, the two sides are molded together at the collector, so I have to get the rear header and both mufflers off too. Another day...

My wife wants to know where you found this recipe, Ben?

This is what really bothers me about being a rider in Columbus. I know that at this point I can trust myself. But there are times I'm terrified in a car where I'm reasonably well protected. Now, I hate to just blame Columbus - I've lived here now for almost 12 years and I've riden for much of that time. Technology has come a long way - there are cell phones in every pocket and iPods for music and whatnot. So is it Columbus or just modern life? Don't know. But I can say that drivers down here don't pay attention to anything at all and it's scary. And I grew up with Michigan drivers... am I right Ben?

Had both ME880s and Z6 RoadTec from Metzler, loved them both. Great handling, rode well. Also heard great things about Avon. Plan to run ME880s or RoadRiders on the Virago. I wouldn't go cheap on tires - you only have two. Save money on car tires, spend money on your bike.

I forgot about the Lightning... now I'm double tempted. Thanks a lot, jerks...

Both bikes were riding two up? And these guys were in their 40s?!? Holy moly, people. Lucky that ONLY one person died. Hate to sound harsh, but that's just bad decision making...

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/aug/14/motorcycle-crash-near-crew-stadium-kills-1-ar-685032/ Not much in the way of details - trying to picture this area and fiqure out what happened... Sorry to see another one down. Thoughts and prayers to family and surviving injured.

I better not, then. Momma gave me the death stare for a week when the Virago came home. Probably doesn't help that the kids keep trying to play with it. In fact, my 3 year old daughter made it all the way into the saddle before my wife grabbed her. *sigh*

Guys and gals - anyone done any pipe bending in their fabrication projects? Just curious what tools work and what tools don't. I hate to use the "H" word, but Harbor Freight and eBay both have multiple styles and sizes. Looking to bend some 1" steel round tube, 90 degrees or less. Thoughts would be appreciated.

I had a SuperHawk that I Colin Chapman'd (added lightness). Carbon fiber this and that, aluminum nonsense. Me and the bike together with a tank of fuel weighed about 600 pounds and it would shit and get. Here's what I can tell you about it. At 135, the front end gets squirrelly. Not sure, but to me it felt like the 3/4 fairing's dynamics were causing the front end to try to lift. But from 0 to 80, it was a monster. Here's my deal - I no longer have any interest at all in going 135. Or 105. Or really even 85. And 75 will be saved for passing. So I'm building my 750 cafe based on an early 80s bike with about 50 hp. Fast enough to get me on the road, but slow enough to keep me out of most trouble. What are you looking for? If you want a bike to enjoy on the streets and with your friends, get a 600. Maybe a 750. And here's Mr. Practical - if your girl riding on the post is a concern, don't get a sportbike. Get a Goldwing or a Road King or some other bike that's really designed to have multiple riders, not just with a credit card sized slap of padding and a couple of pegs thrown on. If you want a track bike, get a 600. Maybe a 750. I don't want to judge the riding abilities of other members, but I can say I doubt there are many of us who can truely ride a 1000 to it's ability. Not saying we suck as riders, but let's be honest. If we were track riders, we'd be touring with Honda and Yamaha and not posting to OhioRiders at 10 on a Saturday night (man, I'm a loser). But above all, get what you want. Don't get a SuperHawk because you want the power or speed. Get it because you think it's a sweet bike. I did, but it almost cost me my life. Close calls like that change your priorities and your tastes quite a bit. Right now, my plans for my bike will be to make it one that will draw a crowd at QSL on Wednesdays, and then let that crowd pass me on the way home since I'm doing 45 down Sunbury Road instead of 120 down 71. Rant over, just my 2 cents. Had a little bit of everything, so I have a few opinions :-)

Bob, sorry but you're officially obsessed with SuperMoto. May be time to trade the VTX...

I used to run a junk yard on the south end and thieves were a way of life. Daily we'd catch someone and I'd get called down 2-4 nights a week in the middle of the night. I developped an intense hatred of thieves. By the end, guys and gals, I wouldn't even call the cops. It's frustrating, but our society doesn't seem to care enough to fix the problem.

Flame on guys, but I've always been a Ford Truck guy. But I think the styling has slipped a bit since the 97-01 styling. That black HD edition earlier looks pretty sharp - this new one - meh, take it or leave it.

PM me.

I used to do title work at my old job - did literally thousands of titles, but never came across anything like this.

Just saw the next post - it's a 750cc twin.

Don't tell momma, but I put $600 into it. And I looked (off and on) for about two months. Made offers on a couple, even had a few deals fall through, but found this one. All I can say is don't be afraid to make an offer, even a low one, even in summer. This one was listed for $1000 OBO. Your thoughts were mine exactly. I've always liked the early 80s bikes (just check my signature if you don't believe). My tastes have been evolving a bit, and I really like the naked bike/cafe racer look, I like air cooled engines, and I like V-twins. That pretty much leaves the Virago and a Harley and I can't quite afford Harley money yet, so here we go, right?

Yeah, I'm not going to lie and say I'm doing a bunch of original things either - I just plan to take ideas from other bikes I like and moosh them together into one bike.

No, Tim - this bike definately has a 17-digit VIN on the frame sticker. But it also has an 8-digit frame and engine serial number stamped on both the frame and the engine - this is the number on the title.

Hey all, just got a new (to me) Virago, got the title work done, brought it home... and realized something. The title lists the frame/engine number, not the 17-digit VIN. How big a deal is this? This is the number that was listed on the original 1984 title, so I didn't even think about it until I was cleaning her up and taking pictures. I think 1980 or 81 was the first year for the 17-digit VIN so maybe it just wasn't common practice to put it on the title yet. The title does match the bike, just not the way it would if the bike was titled in today's age. Thoughts?

Hey guys! Well, the search is finally over. Tuesday night I brought home a new (to me) bike to the stable - a 1982 Yamaha Virago XV750 with about 7900 miles on it. It is complete and runs, which is a rarity with my bikes - here are a couple of pics: Plans for it, you ask? Cafe it out, of course! I love the Zero Engineering tribute Viragos (do a search for Virago Cafe and you'll see them), but I'm going to do mine my own way - XS1100 front end and rear wheel swap to go from one disk, one drum to three disk; custom tank and tail; custom subframe. I'll keep y'all posted on this thread as I make progress. Remember, though - I'm a railroader, so I'm not in any kind of hurry to get this done.

Pic of the whole lot:

Hey guys - I have a single sided swingarm setup I bought for a project I'm not going to complete. It's from a Triumph Sprint ST, year unknown. I have the swingarm, hub/eccentric, sprocket, brake rotor. Maybe axle? I have one that supposedly went to this bike, but the guy I bought it from was pretty flakey. Do not have caliper, shock or wheel. Some small hardware missing. I've got about $150 in it, and I'd like to get that back out, but I'm open to offers too. I'm in Columbus and can meet someone, and I also work runs to Willard and Walbridge/Toledo, so if you can be patient, I can bring the parts up there too. PM me if you're interested.

Pretty slick!

How much is a new screw? That may be the way to go - get it all the way out, then clean up the threads.