'82 Yamaha Vison- worth looking at?

[DClark]

There's a nice looking '82 Vision in the paper for sale with 21K miles for $600.
From what I remember, they were pretty sophisticated for the time, having a water cooled 550cc V twin, mono shock suspension.
Are they any good or are they mechanical nightmares? Looking for a small toss around bike that I could teach my wife on.
Here's is the ad:http://reno.craigslist.org/mcy/3391311880.html

[GSXFJim]

I had a vision.. what a POS. the start relay and the charging circuit were the weak links.. didn't handle well at all. mine had the full fairing.. it was black.. but it got nicknamed purple rain...LOL

[41 Redhawk]

The 82 model also had an air box mod that needed to be done to make it run right. If that mod has not been done I doubt you can find the kit or parts to do so.

[KatanaGSX92]

A 550cc bike with a top speed of 80mph? Surely that speedo was pinned most of the time.

[scottynoface]

I'd spend that money on an old ninja 250 instead.

[DClark]

Thanks for the feedback. It is snowing now, so I doubt anyone is going to look at it. If he reposts it with a lower price of $500,I'll go check it out.
I remember when they came out, they didn't sell. Back in '85, I'd see ads in the LATIMES classifieds from dealers selling brand new leftover Yammi Visions for around $1500. It was a strange time when some cool bikes could be had for 50% off retail, stuff like 550 katana's,etc.

[swapdip]

Did you end up buying it? I just picked up a Vision from the Tahoe area for $150, looking forward to getting it running again

[.408cheytac]

I loved my bike. I had an 82' but had to sell it because of space issues and other needs. I did not have any problem besides the charging system and overheating. The fist thing I did when I got the bike was install a toggle switch for the fan and that instantly solved the problem. Otherwise the fan wouldn't come on until it was too late.

2 Years after I sold the bike my friend said he got his first bike to learn how to ride and a small project. He asked me if I could pick it up. He told me what the bike was and what not. He found a red 82 vision. I told him that I once owned one as well and then was in for a surprise when I went to pick it up.

The instant I saw the bike I knew it was mine. He didn't believe me so when I walked up to the bike while we waited for the owner to get the keys and I reached the plastic pop out section that says vision and took out the spare key inside. It had not been taken care of and was in bad shape. After a few weeks and some work it was running well again.

I would say it's an ok bike if you can get it cheap enough. However I found it hard to find parts. Until my Kat I had only owned direct drive bikes so I already knew what I was in for and would never mess with it myself.

Good Luck!

[DClark]

Have to reply back (as op, it would be rude not to!). The seller dropped the price of the bike by $100, but the stories of carb problems and parts availability scared me off.
I didn't buy it. Seller even revised ad to say that if didn't sell, he was hauling it to the junkyard!