jester3681 Posted September 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thanks Matt- good to work with you too! And you're not as bad a train driver as your name indicates. I appreciate the kudos - means a lot to a new guy.Well, should have an update later today on here - not too much going on, but did get some stuff in the mail today, so we'll get into those boxes. Plus I need to get the last round on eBay... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Damn, John...you weren't joking when you said you had a project going on!!No way could I keep all that straight!Someday when we're both off, I'll have to come check it out.Good working with you too the other day.Best new guy(less than a year) I've ever worked with!Thanks Matt- good to work with you too! And you're not as bad a train driver as your name indicates. I appreciate the kudos - means a lot to a new guy.Well, should have an update later today on here - not too much going on, but did get some stuff in the mail today, so we'll get into those boxes. Plus I need to get the last round on eBay...You two work together? And the small world gets smaller... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted September 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 You two work together? And the small world gets smaller...Yeah - no kidding! We're sitting on a train stopped, so I break out my Cafe Racer magazine. Matt's like, you're into bikes? So we get talking about that... before too long, OR comes up - he's like wait a minute - who are you? Come to find out we've had conversations on here before . Ha! And it sounds like you two know each other from the V-strom world. I told Matt that you and I went to Jr High and High School together. Nuts, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Yeah - no kidding! We're sitting on a train stopped, so I break out my Cafe Racer magazine. Matt's like, you're into bikes? So we get talking about that... before too long, OR comes up - he's like wait a minute - who are you? Come to find out we've had conversations on here before . Ha! And it sounds like you two know each other from the V-strom world. I told Matt that you and I went to Jr High and High School together. Nuts, right?That's funny as hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadTrainDriver Posted September 26, 2011 Report Share Posted September 26, 2011 Yea...we totally had a moment at a stop signal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Well, haven't had an opporunity to work on the bike, but have been doing a lot of planning. It's funny how projects have a way of evolving as we work through them... I'm leaning more towards a street fighter style than a cafe racer. I've been tracking down items from a TL1000R/S to graft on - first the forks, now I have a rear shock and damper. I also plan to use the front wheel and brakes, and rearsets.Instead of making two Virago style wheels (front one custom with a TL1000R hub, Virago style spokes and rim) where both front and rear are 16", I'm going with TL1000R style wheels (rear one custom with a Virago style hub, TL1000R front wheel spokes and rim) where both front and rear are 17". This will allow for more modern tires, although with a 3.5" rear width and the Virago swingarm, I figure I'm limited to maybe a 140 or 150.I'm re-christening the project 4X7R - 4X7 is the Yamaha model code for the Virago 750.Once I get in on Monday, I should end up having a couple of days off and I have a garage full of new parts to lay with! Pics soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2011 Today I took a few minutes to take eBay pics and pics to send the wheel shop I hope can build my wheel. Just wanted to share the pics of my plans. Rear wheel, hub will be from this:XJ1100 rear wheel. The spokes and rim will be this:And he needs to fix this bend in the lip:If I have some time tomorrow, I may fit up the rear shock. More to come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 At the risk of sounding wishy-washy, I've taken a healthy dose of reality with my motorcycle budget. I simply don't have the money to spend having every part on this bike built as a custom piece. I still want to do a bit of custom work, but the amount of work needed to graft these newer pieces onto this old bike is just too much. I'm headed back to basics here, using parts that were contemporary to the bike. Good news is, most of it is sitting in my garage already, and what I don't have is pretty cheap.So here's my big struggle. I'm still not happy with the wheels. I'd like to somehow have the same diameter front and rear - it looks like 16" will be the way to go, since I already have the 16" rear fitted pretty well. I'd like to do something with the front - stock front is 19" and some guys are using the rear wheels just bolted up with a single front disk. I might play around with that, but the spokes look goofy since they're offset on one side to make room for the shaft drive.Here's my thought - if I took a rear wheel (I have 3 now, but one is in use as the rear wheel) and cut the spokes out of it so I end up wth a rim only, then take the front wheel and carefully cut the spokes down to match up with the rim I've now made, then weld them together, I'd end up with a 16" front wheel, right? Does anyone weld aluminum on here? I'd measure like a million times and cut big and machine down to make sure everything fits together and it's not all wonky. Is this nuts? I mean, if I f-k it up, at the end of the day, $40 later I have another stock front wheel from eBay.*sigh* We'll see, I guess. I still need to get a work bench built. Hopefully next week once my eBay auctions end and I have some more money in the bike fund... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbgt89 Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Why are you wanting a 16 inch front? You COULD probably cut and splice two wheels together, but i would think just finding a nice 17 inch off any semi modern sportbike would fit with the theme, and be a hell of a lot easier. Hell, just throw a complete front end on, probably would be the easiest way to go. Or are you wanting to keep that spoke pattern?16 inch front wheels never looked right to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motociclista Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I can't imagine a 16-inch front wheel would look right. They don't have the best reputation for providing great handling, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Why are you wanting a 16 inch front? You COULD probably cut and splice two wheels together, but i would think just finding a nice 17 inch off any semi modern sportbike would fit with the theme, and be a hell of a lot easier. Hell, just throw a complete front end on, probably would be the easiest way to go. Or are you wanting to keep that spoke pattern?16 inch front wheels never looked right to me.I'm looking to get away from the modern front end - I just decided to sell off all that stuff. The Virago is a shaft drive, so I'm limited by the rear wheel. I'd like both wheels to match, and I actually kind of like the stock spoke design. I just don't care for the look of the smaller rear, larger front wheel with the cafe racer body lines.I suppose the other option would be to use Virago XV535 wire wheels, which would be just about the height of the cafe look. I could just get matching rim diameters and relace them. Heck, I can go buy new rims and lace them to the hubs... the hubs on the XV535 are 36 spoke, which is pretty common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I can't imagine a 16-inch front wheel would look right. They don't have the best reputation for providing great handling, either.This one has the two 16" wheels. Builders say they handle as well as stock, just need to stagger the tire size like you would with any other size rim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motociclista Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 What the heck size is that front tire in the photo? Is it just an illusion or is it like a 100 aspect ratio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbgt89 Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 If you're trying to make it look like an old school cafe, Spokes are hands down the direction you should go. Didn't realize they made a spoked virago. Why are you ditching the modern front end? It looks sweet on there. A few guys on sohc4.net have successfully built front ends for bikes with USD forks, modern brakes and spoked wheels. Really awesome looking, if you can find brake calipers that will clear the spokes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motociclista Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 You've probably already thought of this, but IIRC, there were some other Yamahas of that era that had wheels with that spoke pattern. Any of them available in a size that would work for you? Maybe even a rear wheel off a chain-drive model that would be easier to modify into a front? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I think this guy has 110 and 130 tires on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'm not that far from convincing myself to go with spokes... my big problem is I have a garage full of wheels for a Vriago that are non spoked... I guess that's why we have eBay, right? And to be honest, if I use the XV535 rear wheel, I'm pretty much unlimited for the front - I can really use any spoked wheel, so I could use a Goldwing front end, or who knows what. I guess, the more I think about it, the more I think this is the way to go. I'm thinking the aluminum recycler is about to get a shitload of motorcycle rims... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 One with spokes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rctaylor Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 You could probably raise the forks in the triple tree and get some of that handling back.Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Cafe racer=go spokes. Although that two rear wheel bike looks bad ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Guys, I think I may have found wheels I like. The early 80s XS models with a shaft drive had an 11 spoke wheel similar to the Harley XLCH model. 18" rear, 19" front. I can live with that. Bolt on, black them out... I think we have a winner. Spokes would be great, but would have ended up being too much money and headache. Thanks for talking me through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbgt89 Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Will the XS wheel work with the virago final drive? I can't imagine that it would just bolt up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbgt89 Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 One with spokes...Love this one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Will the XS wheel work with the virago final drive? I can't imagine that it would just bolt up.It shore will! The drive and gears were all pretty much the same back then. I have an XJ1100 rear wheel on it now. XS1100 was pretty much the same as the XJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester3681 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Love this one...I love it too, but I found out something about it this evening while researching wire wheels. This one is actually an XV920, not a Virago. The XV920 was a chain drive. There just aren't any pictures of this bike from the right angle to tell that. Humbug, right? Oh well, I think the XS wheel is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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