[md86]

Yeah , it was just the first gens that had that REALLY cheesy starter design , which they changed in .....'86 I think . Added a selenoid thingy that pulled the gears together instead of relying on centrifical force . What I had/am working on is an 82 (bad design) , but has an '87 engine (better design) . But the thing had the '82 starter arrangement in it when I bought it . Since I gave it to my dad , he's gotten the '86/'87 engine cover to accomodate the "new" design , and that's what I'm slowly putting back together for him . But that thing has the BEST seat I ever sat on .

[JohnbliYayzzy]

Yah it is a comfortable seat. So the update: Yesterday we put the carbs back in, got them all hooked up, and put new plugs in, gapped at .032. Primed it for about 30 seconds, then went for the start.....IT STARTED, without much effort at all! No choke needed! The problem is that when it runs, it sounds VERY VERY Valvy....like a valve tapping noise, and has bad throttle response. So my question is, because we have not synced the carbs yet, could this be the reason for the valviness, or is the timing off, or..?

[Black_peter]

Kind of off topic,
an ex girlfriend bought an XS650..
I worked several hours a day for several week ends trying to quiet the engine. It started and ran fine but it was loud as hell.. Anyway a few years later I ran into a guy with a Norton. He started it and I was like
dude why is it so loud?? (valvi like you say) It sounded like is had loose change in the engine.
He replied that his was not only one of the smoother Norton's he had heard but it was just rebuilt..

I figured at that point that the XS was supposed to sound that way...

I don't know if that is true... But It made me feel better..

[JohnbliYayzzy]

No way..dont say that! I don't want to hear bad news! Black Peter, don't be the deliverer of bad news.....

I am not believing that this is supposed to sound this way...it is EXTREMELY Valvy, like sickly sounding, and furthermore, I never adjusted the carbs after my friend thought it would be a good idea to completely remove the carb adjustment screw while trying to take off the carbs. So I know the carbs aren't synced, cuz I just screwed that carb sync screw in a little and figured we could adjust it once the carbs were on the bike.... So could the carbs being out of sync cause this extreme valviness? or is this a timing issue?

Thanks,
John

[JohnbliYayzzy]

Ok, the bike runs............there are 2 cylinders, and one (rear) plug looks fine, the other (front) is extremely fouled. The bike dies after running for about 10 minutes, and then wont run again until put a new plug or clean the fouled plug..then it runs again.....comon now...we know that both a/f mixture screws are exact amount of turns out, so why would one plug be fouling and one not?

MD86?? Comon I know u want to see one more Virago on the road..hook me up brotha!

[Black_peter]

We you do know oil fouls plugs too...

Bad valve seals? Rings? Engine?

[JohnbliYayzzy]

dont say those things..i want an easy fix, something simple..a screw turn, maybe a hose unhooked...comon..dont be giving me all the hard solutions..

[Black_peter]

dont say those things..i want an easy fix, something simple..a screw turn, maybe a hose unhooked...comon..dont be giving me all the hard solutions..

Shoe lace untied? Switch under the seat labeled "Foul/Unfoul" ??
Check the fan belt?

[GytRDunKat]

dont say those things..i want an easy fix, something simple..a screw turn, maybe a hose unhooked...comon..dont be giving me all the hard solutions..

Shoe lace untied? Switch under the seat labeled "Foul/Unfoul" ??
Check the fan belt?

Sorry, that cracked me up

[notec]

http://viragotech.com/phpBB/portal.php

Sign up here..........anything you need to know about Viragos is here. Im a moderator, but havent been on much since I bought the Kat. Viragos arent as bad to work on as people think. I restored an 83, and it ran quite well.

Have you synced your carbs yet? If not start there.

[Black_peter]

http://viragotech.com/phpBB/portal.php

Sign up here..........anything you need to know about Viragos is here. Im a moderator, but havent been on much since I bought the Kat. Viragos arent as bad to work on as people think. I restored an 83, and it ran quite well.

Have you synced your carbs yet? If not start there.

Johnny You found yer man!!!

[notec]

Viragos are great bikes. Here is a link to a before and after baffle work I did to my bike.

http://media.putfile.com/baffle-work

And here is just a joke I did for the members of the forum.

http://media.putfile.com/4psi

The 4psi was a refrence to the amount of pressure needed to supply gas to the carbs

[md86]

Hell , I may need that Viragotech page soon myself . Gotta get back to the '82 for my dad . Those carbs are a BIATCH to get out . I thought I read that the way they were assembled , the weren't meant to come apart , and thus didn't need synching , or something . Maybe the front cylinder don't need as much gas . I know on my Kat it seems that all cylinders want a different pilot setting .....

[notec]

Both carbs have to be synced on the viragos or they just plain wont run. Now what you want to do is a rough sync to get it running. Turn the screw out a little at a time and see if it will run. Count the turns. If it doesnt turn it back to where you started and turn the screw the other direction now.

Make sure you have a fully charged battery, or jumpers to a good battery. These bikes are fussy, and wont start if the battery isnt at 100%.