1982 XV750 / 1100 resto-mod

[faffi]

INTRODUCTION
This story began about ten years ago, when I bought a second hand XJ650 Seca rear wheel with brake, because I had a desire to build something based on a first-generation Yamaha Virago. A couple of years would pass until a reasonably priced 1982 XV750 Virago with a bad engine turned up. The build could commence.

It never stops to amaze me how shiny bikes in poor condition can turn up in pictures:


And while the 750 was rather forlorn, the generation 2 XV1100 I bought for the engine and electrical system was a pure horror, but still not so bad in picture:


This is more indicative of its real condition - not just the bike, but also the wiring harness and contacts:


After quite a bit of work, I ended up with this at the end of 2016, fitted with the 1100 engine and most of the electrical system:


I rode it like that, even participated in a four-day Dirt Bike Rally with it in Sweden, riding among tons of Beemers and KTMs et al. I could keep up with the fast group surprisingly easy, particularly considering my non-existing dirt experience. The bike was a great help, stable as a train at 100 mph on gravel roads:


I continued to ride the bike all through the winter of 2017-18, but playing in the snow was just loads of work and not much fun, the bike being 550 lbs wet:

 
That winter was cold, full of snow and lots of salt on the roads to keep them clear. Salt is a killer for any kind of finish, and it does not get any better if you do not wash the bike:

Other than a two-minute job with a high-pressure washer, the bike was not cleaned until the fall of 2022. After the 2022 clean-up, the bike looked pretty good from 10 feet away:


Up close, the picture changed:


In the following chapters I will go through bits of the stuff required to bring the bike back to a new life. I can reveal already know that it turned out to become a chore.

[faffi]

Too much have been done to the bike, lots of tedious detail work, so I will focus primarily on the bigger stuff.

The plan had always been to build a new wiring harness for the bike. The harness lifted from the 1100 donor bike was in a terrible condition, many contacts simply broke off or even disintegrated when touched. Another issue was that the frames are so different, that nothing fitted on the first-generation frame. I ended up replacing the most badly damaged contacts and lengthened the harness where needed in order to be able to shift around stuff like the TCI unit, relays and more.

From the disassembly in the Fall of 2022:




In my wisdom, I had used silicone to mount the TCI unit and a master-relay inside the ammo box. This was so strong the TCI and relay broke apart when I tried to cut it free. Good excuse to buy a new custom-made TCI unit from the Netherlands later. The relay would be omitted and replaced with a two-prong flasher relay.


My plan was to finish off one section or part at a time, instead of just ripping the whole bike apart first. First project was to cut off 1/3 of the fork springs before heating and flattening the cut end. This would make the spring significantly stiffer, and much more suited to support the weight. Of course, long spacers had to be made from PCV to compensate for the missing spring length.


I also drilled the damper rods and fitted YSS emulator valves for more controlled damping without loss of comfort. I went from 35 cSt to 48 cSt. I think the oil could be slightly thicker, in the 55-60 range, for optimum control and to be a better match for the new shock to be talked about later, but it is very comfortable with the current oil. The forks lower were lightly polished and tapered bearings fitted to the paint stripped and polished triple tree.

The front brake caliper piston was in a dire condition, clearly killed off by the lack of cleaning and lack of brake fluid replacement – it was fine back in 2016. Of course, I fitted new piston and seals after a thorough cleanup. The brake master cylinder was brand new in 2016 and still in great condition.


Also back in 2016, I bought a very cheap set of replica switchgear from China, because the ones from the 1100 were flaky, faded, and downright terrible. I ended up using only two of the switches; the red kill switch and the grey dimmer switch. After cleaning up the contacts and spraying them with fresh black paint, they turned out pretty nice. Here with the old kill switch to show the before state.


The second-generation TCI is much bigger and totally different in design to the original one that sat under the fuel tank. Finding space for it on the first-generation frame proved difficult now that the ammo-box was gone. In the end, I altered the pillion portion of the seat pan to allow room for the TCI unit that was fitted on top of the rear inner fender. I had to remove the cover for the registration papers, then cut and bend the pan before welding in support with the help of a soldering iron:

[faffi]

After using paint remover to reveal the metal underneath, it was clear that the surface of the frame, subframe, swingarm and stands were mostly consisting of rust. Luckily, nothing that threatened the integrity of the parts. Here a sample of the center stand:


Exhaust system was also affected by the neglect, here the front downpipe:


After cleaning, polishing or sanding off the rust before putting on primer and topcoat, stuff is getting ready to be fitted:



Engine and main frame reunited:


Swingarm in place with new axle, end seals and needle bearings:


New YSS shock absorber adjustable for preload and rebound damping replace the worn XT600Z shock absorber that I fitted back in 2016. That shock again replaced the stock unit. Both the XT and YSS shocks offer about 50 % more wheel travel than the stock shock while raising the rear end of the bike 15 mm in addition to the gain from the taller rear wheel. I had to burn out the rubber bushings and then cut the shock eye and metal sleeves in order to get the XT shock off the bike, due to heavy corrosion.


Starter motor fitted after a complete going-through. The internals were in bad shape, and one of the brushes barely made contact with the commutator due to a weak spring. No wonder it struggled to turn the engine.


Triple tree in place sans stock black powder-coating that was a pig to remove:


Edging ever closer to completion, but still tons of work to do.

[faffi]

The carburetors looked terrible – this is after 6 weeks soaked in diesel and a round with a bristle! Even after several rounds of ultrasonic cleaning they failed to look pretty, but at least they are clean inside.


Like most bolts, nuts and plated parts on the bike, these were also cleaned up, soaked in muriatic acid and zinc plated in my DIY setup.



The seat foam had to be formed to fit the bulge needed to fit the TCI, but has also been totally reshaped to obtain a fairly flat profile by removing foam from the pillion and adding padding for the rider. Made my own seat cover on my basic Singer sewing machine.


Much larger and better R/R required a one-off bracket to fit, made from a piece of scrap aluminium.


Oxford heated grips with control pod bracket adapted to fit on the RHS due to the old-style design of the clutch lever/mirror bracket on the LHS. Handlebar from a Honda NT650V, including its vibration dampers.


Grab rail, sourced from USA, after removing the clear coat and giving it a light polish.


In the process of building a new wiring harness after removing all safety switches and all relays save one for the indicators and the one needed for the starter.

[blu guzz]

My friend, that is some impressive work.  A true labor of love and a fun machine to ride when finished.

[faffi]

Cut a piece off this cracked fairing from the NT650V, warmed it with an electric heating gun and stepped it as flat as I could.


I needed this bit to repair the RH side-cover; when I built the scrambler, I had to cut off the stock bulged front face of the side-cover in order to be able to fit the number plate. I welded the fairing part onto the frame of the side-cover after I had repaired the crack.



Side covers and headlamp shell painted in a Hyundai hue to match my helmet, with 2K clear on top. I use spray cans since I do not have the equipment to perform a pro paint job.


Front fender off an XJ750 Seca and universal rear fender from China after paint.



Fuel tank, first time I have attempted two-tone paint. This leaves you a very narrow window to mask up. My initial plan was to mimic the Yamaha R5 from 1972, but I quickly understood that was beyond my abilities with the timeframe at hand. So I can up with this on the fly, more panic than planned.



Finished product. Yes, I know my shop is a mess.





SUMMARY
Stripped bike completely other than engine, which remained mostly intact, but lifted frame the engine
Stripped frame and stands and fork lowers and grab rail and rear fender and triple tree and front engine mount and swingarm of paint and rust/corrosion
Painted frame and stands black
Painted lower triple tree silver
Lightly polished fork lowers and upper triple tree
Polished very dirty and rusty front header pipe and "new" second hand mufflers
Lightly cleaned and polished wheel rims
Overhauled the brake system with new pistons and seals
Fitted brake disc off a Seca 750, saving about 2 pounds of unsprung weight
Fitted front fender off a Seca 750, requiring mods to the brake line bracket
Fixed inaccurate rev counter by replacing seven capacitors
Drew up totally new wiring harness and built it, omitting all but two relays (for starter and indicators) and all safety gadgets
Ordered and fitted new TCI unit made to order in the Netherlands
No room for the TCI on the Gen I frame, so I had to modify the pillion portion of the seat
Fitted new bearing spacer/axle and end seals for the swingarm
Seat had already been fully reshaped by me in 2016, but made a new cover for it and made it fit the reshaped base plate
Fitted new tires, 130/80-18 rear (Seca wheel) and 100/90-19 front
Fitted handlebars off my in parts NT650V Deauville
Fitted two-way throttle twist handle so I could use both cables (open / close) for the second-generation carburetors
Fitted Oxford heated grips, with mount for control pod requiring mods to fit on the right since the old clutch lever holder is held with a single bolt clamp
Cleaned and zinc-plated lots of bolts and brackets throughout the motorcycle
Stripped and ultra-sonically cleaned the carbs
Made a new front face for the RHS sidecover, as I had earlier cut that off to fit a number plate. Used bits off the Deauville fairing, reshaping it and welding it in place with soldering iron
Removed, stripped, cleaned, fixed and remounted the starter motor - much more pain that it should have been due to the ¤&¤%#& starter system design
Made a new universal tail-light fit the fender
Made a bracket for the R/R
Fitted new YSS shock absorber after spending hours getting the old one off due to corrosion
Modified fork damper rods and fitted YSS emulator valves
Painted tank, fenders, head light and sidecovers and covered with 2K clear. The orange match my helmet that I painted a couple of years back
Repaired the hacked battery box by welding in new plastic bits with solder iron
Of course, new oils and filter and battery and lots other small stuff you tend to forget about

Engine fired instantly after the building process, which was a relief - I was afraid I had messed up the starter system and/or the wiring, but all was good. Save for the carbs, which had suffered damaged O-ring seals in dimensions not commonly (or uncommonly) sold, causing the engine to run way too rich. Neither the seals nor the part they sit on are listed as spare parts. I have modified some O-rings that are slightly too thick and hope they will work. Will find out soon, I just need a dry day to test-ride.

[faffi]

My friend, that is some impressive work.  A true labor of love and a fun machine to ride when finished.

Thank you for the kind words

I ended up struggling madly with the carburetors, which again made me buy the V9 Guzzi in order to not miss a whole season of riding at worst. And that again brought me to this place

[SIR REAL ED]

Great looking bike!

I always thought the earlier 750's were the best looking of the Virago series.  Yours is the best looking Virago I have ever seen.

 

[faffi]

Thank you, Sir

[SIR REAL ED]

Back in the day, Yamaha were selling Viragos and XS Specials as fast as they could make them.

It would have been interesting to give a small "Skunk Works" job shop a couple Viragos and some money to develop a competitor sport/touring bike for Harley Davidson, BMW, and Moto Guzzi based on the Virago 75 degree V-Twin shaft drive platform to see what they came up with.  I doubt it would have captured a serious share of the new bike market.

I always liked the XV920RH that was only sold in the US for one year.  It was a bit too heavy, expensive, and slow for the day.  Plus that that era a bit too early for the motorcycle touring boom in the US.

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[faffi]

Back in the day, Yamaha were selling Viragos and XS Specials as fast as they could make them.

It would have been interesting to give a small "Skunk Works" job shop a couple Viragos and some money to develop a competitor sport/touring bike for Harley Davidson, BMW, and Moto Guzzi based on the Virago 75 degree V-Twin shaft drive platform to see what they came up with.  I doubt it would have captured a serious share of the new bike market.

I always liked the XV920RH that was only sold in the US for one year.  It was a bit too heavy, expensive, and slow for the day.  Plus that that era a bit too early for the motorcycle touring boom in the US.

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I agree that a Virago-based sports-tourer would not be a likely candidate to take any market by storm. Pity, because functionally they were pretty decent.

Most of the world outside USA got the TR-1, basically an XV920R with bigger pistons (981 cc) and the not-so-bad starting system later incorporated into the second generation of Viragos. We also got the XV1000SE, a Virago Midnight Special that sold through 1985.