virago help

[oldgoat]

hello every one a friend of mine rode down to see me about 2 hours ago. well he went out side to start his bike and it just went whirl klunk klunk . now it wont turn over? we checked oil. its full. we cant push start it it acts like the motor is locked. going forward in gear. but we can push it backwards some and then the motor turns? push it forward again and it turns then stops? im thinking a stuck starter? as when he came here the bike was running great. 1984 1100 virago i think? he just went home about a half hour ago. and i coverd the bike up and let him take the maxim i got home. im seroiusly thinking about takeing some kind of motorcyle repair course. saw one on line but wonder if its a scam? any way thanks out there if any one can give us a clue as to what to look for.

[camos]

When you say the oil is full do you mean over full as in more than half way up the sight glass? If it is that full the pistons could indeed be locking up. Open the oil filler cap and see if there is a gassy smell. It is not unusual to have a float stick and let fuel dribble down the pistons into the oil pan. If that is the case, sit the bike on the centre stand and tap the float bowl to see if that will free the float. Drain the oil, change the filtre and put fresh in no higher than 3/4 up the sight glass or less.

[oldgoat]

yep its past the half way mark on the site glass while its on its side stand? tomorrow we will put it on its center stand and drain the oil. and check it out. he just had the oil changed at a dealer ship not more then 245 miles on the fresh oil? he did have the petcock worked on also? he said that last year the carbs where worked on as they dripped gas? just another dumb ? could he have a bent fork shift in side? its in first gear and we when rock it like i was saying. we cant get it past 2nd gear? he had a new clutch cable put on when they did the oil change as old one was fraying? and just by luck he has a parts bike with a fair engine in it. but was wondering how to put it in and not have problems with the DMV on getting it registerd if he should have to drop that engine in.

[buddy]

I know their not fun to get too ( starter) Pull the starter and see if you can push the bike and get any movement in the motor? It could be several other things???

But I would start with the Starter and check the Bendix . And check to see if you have any bad spots on the starter and ring gear teeth.. Lets hope its nothing major.

You can do a bench test on your starter at O'reillys or AutoZone for free..

[camos]

yep its past the half way mark on the site glass while its on its side stand?

Past halfway on the side stand is normal. The oil needs to be checked while on the centre stand on a level surface. If the top of the oil level can still be seen in the sight glass there is not too much oil to run the engine. If the level is above the top of the site glass AND smells of gas then change the oil otherwise it is not necessary.

 

could he have a bent fork shift in side? its in first gear and we when rock it like i was saying. we cant get it past 2nd gear?

It's possible but unlikely to have a bent shift fork. To my knowledge the usual cause of a bent fork is kicking the shifter when it gets difficult to shift. This difficulty is most often caused by a dirty and/or dry outside shift linkage. A cleaning with WD40 followed by a shot of clean engine oil or grease will fix that before hard shifting or damage occurs.

 

It's normal not to be able to shift past second without the engine running or without the bike moving. It should easily shift down into first or up into second though. Sometimes neutral can be a little difficult to find without letting the clutch out a bit first to give it a bit of a jolt.

 

The engine should be able to be started with the side stand up and the clutch pulled in.

 

With the clutch pulled in the bike should be able to be moved even when it is in gear. Possibly the clutch is not properly disengaging.

[MiCarl]

Motorcycle transmissions are very difficult to shift when things aren't moving. The different relative motions of the gears in the gearbox let the tabs and slots slide together to engage. When it's stationary the transmission will only shift if everything happens to be perfectly aligned. Attempting to shift while rocking and working the clutch will often let you get to that next gear.

 

It's entirely possible that in 2nd gear you didn't have enough leverage to turn the engine through a compression stroke. It's also possible that he has a leaking float valve and it filled a cylinder with gasoline while he was parked and hydro-locked it. I would pull the spark plugs and try to push start it (kill switch off) to clear the engine of any pooled fuel. Of course if he has a cylinder full of fuel he needs an oil change too.

 

The noise you described sounds like failed starter clutch though. Very common on the early Viragos I understand. It doesn't have a "bendix", but a clutch behind the rotor just like on the Ventures.

 

Oh, the clutch is a one way affair. Even if the starter was stuck you should be able to push start it.

[RedRider]

yep its past the half way mark on the site glass while its on its side stand? tomorrow we will put it on its center stand and drain the oil. and check it out. he just had the oil changed at a dealer ship not more then 245 miles on the fresh oil? he did have the petcock worked on also? he said that last year the carbs where worked on as they dripped gas? just another dumb ? could he have a bent fork shift in side? its in first gear and we when rock it like i was saying. we cant get it past 2nd gear? he had a new clutch cable put on when they did the oil change as old one was fraying? and just by luck he has a parts bike with a fair engine in it. but was wondering how to put it in and not have problems with the DMV on getting it registerd if he should have to drop that engine in.

 

Virago's are known for questionable starters. Sounds like it is locked up. IIRC, it is fairly easy to remove the starter. I didn't have any trouble getting it off my 750 Virago.

 

As for the DMV, they check the VIN number on the frame, not the engine. You can put a new engine in a titled frame and they don't care.

 

RR

[rod]

Check for a jammed starter, also pull the plugs and check if it will roll them, they can leak gas from the pit cock and hydrolock. Good luck Rod

[oldgoat]

wow what a PIA but we pulled the starter. checked the oil while on center stand. while starter was off we pulled the plugs. put her back down on the ground 2 friends gave him a push while plugs where out he dropped it in to 2nd gear and motor turned over thank god. so we drained the oil. yep sure enough it had gas in it? i would say that the oil catch pan we used holds 8 quarts. well it over filled while draining the oil. so we checked his gas tank and he was down past a half a tank he filled it up about 12 miles before he got to my place yikes!!!!!!! so i said lets try something we pulled the fuel line from the carbs i tould him turn the petcock to off or whatever shuts the fuel off. well no matter what position he placed it in fuel ran??? so off to the yamaha shop. got new fuel petcock. he had this worked on before. while there the service manager said hey wheres the screen on this petcock? we said have no clue? we emptied the tank shook the crap out of it and found no screen. he said hey we worked on that bike about 2 weeks ago. put the starter back on and leave the tank off. i will personaly come and get it. we here believe in our workmanship. he picked it up at 10 am called us at 2pm and said shes ready to roll. they put in a brand new fuel pet cock. and did some kind of work on the starter? something to do with a shim? put new battery cables on the bike. new plugs. we went to get it expecting a hell of a bill. total cost for repair was 5 bucks for plugs and 5 dollars shop cost. now thats a yamaha shop. its leopolds in ottawa illinois . they also said if he wants to do the engine swap. they will do it for around 300 bucks and that includes putting the good parts from one engine to another?

i then asked them if they would work on a old venture from 1984 they said sure. we do tires oil changes and we will sync carbs but hourly cost is high. and we will bleed your brakes if you cant get it done yourself. he then said was that the venture sitting next to the virago i said yep. he said fix it. i have 2 of them . 1985 and 1988 so i said hey check out this place. we are a great family here and he said consider it done. so i hope he at least checks us out.

[RedRider]

wow what a PIA but we pulled the starter. checked the oil while on center stand. while starter was off we pulled the plugs. put her back down on the ground 2 friends gave him a push while plugs where out he dropped it in to 2nd gear and motor turned over thank god. so we drained the oil. yep sure enough it had gas in it? i would say that the oil catch pan we used holds 8 quarts. well it over filled while draining the oil. so we checked his gas tank and he was down past a half a tank he filled it up about 12 miles before he got to my place yikes!!!!!!! so i said lets try something we pulled the fuel line from the carbs i tould him turn the petcock to off or whatever shuts the fuel off. well no matter what position he placed it in fuel ran??? so off to the yamaha shop. got new fuel petcock. he had this worked on before. while there the service manager said hey wheres the screen on this petcock? we said have no clue? we emptied the tank shook the crap out of it and found no screen. he said hey we worked on that bike about 2 weeks ago. put the starter back on and leave the tank off. i will personaly come and get it. we here believe in our workmanship. he picked it up at 10 am called us at 2pm and said shes ready to roll. they put in a brand new fuel pet cock. and did some kind of work on the starter? something to do with a shim? put new battery cables on the bike. new plugs. we went to get it expecting a hell of a bill. total cost for repair was 5 bucks for plugs and 5 dollars shop cost. now thats a yamaha shop. its leopolds in ottawa illinois . they also said if he wants to do the engine swap. they will do it for around 300 bucks and that includes putting the good parts from one engine to another?

i then asked them if they would work on a old venture from 1984 they said sure. we do tires oil changes and we will sync carbs but hourly cost is high. and we will bleed your brakes if you cant get it done yourself. he then said was that the venture sitting next to the virago i said yep. he said fix it. i have 2 of them . 1985 and 1988 so i said hey check out this place. we are a great family here and he said consider it done. so i hope he at least checks us out.

 

Now, THAT's customer service. Glad you got it taken care of.

 

The shim they put in the starter is to prevent/eliminate the 'box-of-rocks' sound from the starter. Virago's are notorious for it.

 

RR