Yamaha XV920

[JicJac]

Originally Posted by Zippydapanhead

Looks like some of the gold went away, too. You can slip the triple=trees down on the fork tubes a little while she's up there. You might have to go to some kind of valve caps because it can get tight to replace the rubber boots on the tops. It will take clubman bars without a fuss. I also ran clip-ons with dinging the tank. With the fender off and the grab rail/lock box gone... ya' see the nice air she shows between the seat and tire? Just think of salvage yarding a set of wheels, forks and brakes. Smaller and fatter... a longer shock and... even a bigger gap!

I forgot those funny little valve adjuster covers!

Zip, I think I can raise the forks (thereby lowering the front) an inch or so without interfering access to the valves. My question to you is, How do I lower the rear? I don't want the front to be down further than the rear. The rear shock is supposed to have 14-28 lbs of air. I let a little piss out and the pressure dropped to zero. I'll pump a little more in. What I'm shooting for is about a 28" seat height. I'm only 5'6" soaking wet, and I'm used to low-slung old-skool hawgs. I could eliminate the shock and run struts, but I don't think hardtail is the way to go. Thoughts?

[Zippydapanhead]

I think the preload is infinite rings once the cables are off from the adjuster knob. I'll check my old manual. I don't remember if the shock mount has adjustment in it either. I'll look. There must be a modern(er) mono shock with slightly less overall length and equal travel. Old YZ stuff was prepared for the weight of this bike, but... maybe there is inmate help on this.

I liked the quicker steering the fork tube drop gave and didn't look for an equal drop in the rear. You will contact the front fender, though, with heavy braking if you go too low. I thought it was too heavy to keep and went with a non-metal fender (I think from a TZ-250?) with a fork brace on the stock forks. Rear fender went, too, and that plastic tray under the seat. The side covers do stick out wide and it is a huge battery. I recall the side cover with the little scoop to cool the rear cylinder was two piece... and the insert could get rattlely. If your carb boots are old... they get crackie. It will also suck a boot on a non-start (until you open up the carbs or replace them) and you'll wonder what the hell went wrong until you find it (always on a hidden side). Since the frame runs intake air... I thought about pulling the covers and air box, relocating and downsizing the battery and running a single Harley bugcatcher filter right off the frame.

Bub made a 2:1 exhaust I didn't like much. Raask made rearsets for it back in the day, but the were not good for my use. Those foot peg brackets are heavy, too.

You mentioned a stone guard for the light. At the time the GS-1150 was the only other bike with that size. I don't know about now other than old sports car stuff.

[JicJac]

Originally Posted by Zippydapanhead

I think the preload is infinite rings once the cables are off from the adjuster knob. I'll check my old manual. I don't remember if the shock mount has adjustment in it either. I'll look. There must be a modern(er) mono shock with slightly less overall length and equal travel. Old YZ stuff was prepared for the weight of this bike, but... maybe there is inmate help on this.

I liked the quicker steering the fork tube drop gave and didn't look for an equal drop in the rear. You will contact the front fender, though, with heavy braking if you go too low. I thought it was too heavy to keep and went with a non-metal fender (I think from a TZ-250?) with a fork brace on the stock forks. Rear fender went, too, and that plastic tray under the seat. The side covers do stick out wide and it is a huge battery. I recall the side cover with the little scoop to cool the rear cylinder was two piece... and the insert could get rattlely. If your carb boots are old... they gat crackie. It will also such a boot on a non-start and you'll wonder what the hell went wrong until you find it (always hidden). Since the frame runs intake air... I thought about pulling the covers and air box, relocating and downsizing the battery and running a Harley bugcatcher filter right off the frame.

Bub made a 2:1 exhaust I didn't like much. Raask made rearsets for it back in the day, but the were not good for my use. Those foot peg brackets are heavy, too.

You mentioned a stone guard for the light. At the time the GS-1150 was the only other bike with that size. I don't know about now other than old sports car stuff.

Zip, you present a lot of food for thought. However, I will need to review your comments after my precious few scheduled daZe off. The whip and I are headed for New England in the AM. We work from home and have been hitting it hard for the past few months. Business is booming. Earlier today we dropped our dog Sparky off at our middle son's house in Columbia, SC. Since then, me and Mr. Jim Beam have been hanging. We'll (the wifey and I) be at the Charlotte, NC airport about 8AM and in Boston by mid-day. So...... I am in chillaxing mode, getting my off-duty head right. My ability to respond appropriately to your recommendations are diminished and blurred. If I tried, I'd sound like a babbling tard (if I don't all ready). I leave you with my thanks for offering quality input and request your patience while I go off grid till Sunday or so. JJ

[RedRocket]

Good luck finding a substitute for that shock, I think it's about 15 or 16" long and likely one of a kind, though a slightly shorter one will lower your rear some if you really want to.

[Highside>Lowside]

Originally Posted by axis power

okay,
i sold my 920 to John (highside-lowside), a member on this board. he came down yesterday from chicago to pick up the bike with his wife and trailer it home. had car trouble and made it to within five miles of my house. the car and trailer were towed to a repair shop where i picked them up. his plan, ride this virtually unproven bike with a slight front end noise 300 miles back to his house with his wife as passenger. i had ridden the bike a bit and new it started and ran good, plus it had a decent set of dunlops on it and i had just done a oil and filter change.
thank god he's an atgatt guy and brought leathers, a helmet, gloves and boots to test ride it before trailering it home.
so we had one set of riding gear for the trip but two people on board. i gave him a shoei rf700 helmet for his wife, a hi viz pull over sweatshirt and an ancient but good magnetic tank bag for the trip. left my house around four in the afternoon, and made it home around 11 pm. i talked to Mrs. John this morning and apparently the headlight was in-op but turned out to be just a fuse (whew).
my helmet is off to him and i'm humbled by their spirit. not many people (myself included) could take that turn of events in stride, say screw it, lets ride this old girl home. these two are true adv riders at the highest level!
http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t=DSCN1267.mp4

Thanks for the kind words.


And the beautiful bike. She rode great!

[Ruis_Rider]

Hey adventurers, I've had this XV for years waiting for some love. Just thought I'd throw up some pictures to show everyone the state of disrepair... I have all the parts in boxes, but have never made the time. Now with two kids, it won't be easy, but who said life was easy?








I got this bike from a friend for free about 10 years ago. At the time it had been sitting outside with a tarp over it for about 7 years. I briefly got it to run, it smoked badly from one cylinder, then the carbs caught fire (not bad). I took it apart and cleaned it up some, but it sat inside...now for years. Starter is toast. No spark last time I tried. I believe it is the #12 bike off the line.




















Time to do something with this thing.

Just to ride it as a rat bike, it needs:

• Front brakes redone (they are stuck).
• Starter.
• Battery.
• Carb rebuild.
• Possibly new rings.
• Tires.
• New ignition (no sparky)?
• A seat of some sort.

Anyway, I'd get rid of this thing but those bikes by Sepp Koch are just too sweet.

Words of wisdom appreciated.

[bk brkr baker]

Well, get after it.
At least it's inside now and the detoration has stopped.Try to get a picture in your head and work toward that.Doesn't have to be fancy just working and safe.

I bought this pile from an inmate this year.





He had no garage , so lots of weathered patina. No clear plan yet for this.



I do play with this '81.

[RedRocket]

Originally Posted by Ruis_Rider

Time to do something with this thing.

Just to ride it as a rat bike, it needs:

• Front brakes redone (they are stuck).
• Starter.
• Battery.
• Carb rebuild.
• Possibly new rings.
• Tires.
• New ignition (no sparky)?
• A seat of some sort.

Anyway, I'd get rid of this thing but those bikes by Sepp Koch are just too sweet.

Words of wisdom appreciated.]

You can do it. With all the usual distractions of life remember to have something, and some time for yourself. This bike can be it.

I'd start with the carb rebuilds and brakes. Take the calipers off, and soak them in Pine Sol, then rebuild them, it's not that difficult with a manual at hand, or a good website like the Virago forum. Decide what approach you'll take with the starter ( shim, rebuild, replace or upgrade ) and attend to that too. Unless it has a lot of miles it's unlikely that rings are needed, and the smoking was more likely related to sitting for so long. Some rings might be stuck and carboned up.

[AstroZon]

Someone may want to pick this up quickly:



http://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/3116101962.html

Abandoned by tenants and being sold for scrape by the house owner. Looks like an '81 XV920R

[AstroZon]

The Craigs ad above has been pulled, so the bike is obviously gone. Hope someone around here got it.

[hunter_greyghost]

That's a nice looking bike, gunna try and get one of the XV1000 models that came to Australia, we didn't get the XV920
Any that are out here are imported overseas models!!
Cheers
Baza

[thumpism]

Originally Posted by bk brkr baker

I bought this pile from an inmate this year. He had no garage , so lots of weathered patina.

Hey, don't call my ex-heap a pile. Having a neighbor's garage to park in the shade of is not nearly the same as having one of my own to park inside. I did actually rent a garage down the block for a year or so early on but it got broken into once and the bike was slightly damaged during the hamhanded battery theft. Surprisingly, it was never bothered while it was parked in my driveway. That's life in the city.

[bk brkr baker]

Originally Posted by thumpism

Hey, don't call my ex-heap a pile. Having a neighbor's garage to park in the shade of is not nearly the same as having one of my own to park inside. I did actually rent a garage down the block for a year or so early on but it got broken into once and the bike was slightly damaged during the hamhanded battery theft. Surprisingly, it was never bothered while it was parked in my driveway. That's life in the city.

Sorry. I guess I didn't know heap was higher on the praise scale than pile. I'm glad I got your heap. Lots of good stuff there.
I recently missed another complete bike that was on Craig's list for $350. Just too busy on the farm.

[bk brkr baker]

World Fastest XV920 ?

Nitros injected XV-920R Yamaha Virago with Custom Trailer I am selling this for my uncle who recently suffered a stroke, I do not know much about the bike, other than its in the history books setting a course Speed Record at Bonneville Salt Flats. I called it a "Barn Find" since it has been stored in a dry garage for past 10 yrs. 920cc bored to 1000cc Chain driven This streamliner set a 1000cc APS-F speed record of 201.655 mph in November 1997. Local pickup only in Pasadena, California is required. This bike set a Bonneville Course Land Speed Record in class 1000 APSF speed record of 201.655 mph. Motor needs work, does not start, possible broken piston, needs a rebuild. Thousands of man hours spent on this unbelievable machine. Many spare parts included in purchase, Full fairing thats not included in the picture, Two spare Cylinders, Two spare Heads, Two spare Clutch assemblies, Two Small (approximately 12") nitros bottles, Two spare CrankShafts. One large Nitros bottle (standard size bottle about 5 feet high, about half full of Nitros) Wood work bench with Jig to hold bike still, Custom single axle hauling trailer. Picture on trailer was taken before bike was put in dry climate controlled storage for past few years. Local Pickup Only

I found this on E-bay. On sale now.

Made the 200 MPH club . XV's are fast ,uh, hu.

[Pablo83]

A customer brought by his 920 bobber for some wiring work. Looks good. It sounds like he wants to sell it to fund another project, but i didn't ask what he wanted for it.