Hello, everyone!

[ChopperRage]

Hi! My name is Casian, I'm from Romania and I own a 1992 Yamaha Vmax 1200 with Vboost. I'm kinda newbie in forums, so don't judge me tough
I previously own more bikes, my first one was a 1992 Yamaha XV535 Virago, and after I sold it, I knew I made a mistake...and that is the reason I bought the Max, to always comemorate my little XV. I feel I was an Yamaha guy since I got bikes.
I'm really interested in a lot of topics from this forum. I plan to rebuild the engine, change to USD forks, some rear new shocks and basically, upgrade the "silly" specs this model has in terms of brakes, frame flexibility and suspension. After 6 bikes, I really feel that this one is my forever choice.

 

[CaptainKyle]

Welcome

 

[caseyjones955]

A fine looking machine, Yamaha sure did choose some great deep shades of blue. Welcome

 

[Dkid]

Welcome. Nice Max.

 

[ChopperRage]

Thank you, guys! ✌

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

My grandfather owned a 535 Virago. My grandfather was a self made millionaire. So after he retired at 45, he would take his motorcycle and scout for fishing spots. Once he found a spot, he would come back, get his truck with his kayak and go fishing for the day. Well, one day, he found his fishing spot and was returning to get his truck when he hit a deer on that bike. We know it was a deer because it was still wrapped up in that bike after he superman'ed off of it. He did survive that wreck but got messed up. He wasnt wearing full gear but did have a motorcycle helmet. The helmet impacted the ground and split around his head resulting in 180 staples to put his scalp back together. The next worst injury he had was on his hands. The impact tore his skin from the pinky knuckle to the middle finger knuckle. Then it was rounded out by road rash impact bruising and the like.

My uncle(my grandfathers son) and I ended up putting the bike back together for him. When he hit the deer, the forks bent and hopped up over the deer pinning the deer between the front tire and the frame. The handlebars both bent and came around crushing the fuel tank. Some wiring was damaged, a cable broke, mirrors were taken off the bike. After my grandfather was reasonably healed, we presented him with his bike. The smile was worth the work. But my grandmother(my grandfathers wife), never let him back on a bike after that.

The bike stayed in the family for some years after that until the bike was stolen. It was never recovered to my knowledge. But it was a fun Vtwin for the size. Nimble, peppy and fuel saving. And since I had my 1982 Virago, I have a soft spot for the old Yamaha Vtwins.

 

[Fire-medic]

Good on ya for getting Gramp's bike back together. That was a significant amount of trauma! Glad he recovered. Sometimes you have to listen to the wife to keep things civil. I understand her viewpoint, he survived one, the next, maybe not.

I had an XV920 Virago, w/the LCD instruments in the rectangular box, and the monoshock suspension. One of my acquaintances had a XV920 European edition, it had a fully-enclosed chain instead of the USA bike's driveshaft.

The XV920 had a good amount of torque, and it was fun to ride. At one point I had a Kawasaki KZ550, a KZ750, and several KZ1000's. Not all at the same time, but there was some overlap here & there. The KZ550 was a great bike for urban areas, fast-enough to get you out of any issues, light, maneuverable, and it didn't eat tires like the KZ1000's, which obviously is aligned with how you ride. It was easy to sneak into parking, and maintenance was low.

 

[ChopperRage]

My grandfather owned a 535 Virago. My grandfather was a self made millionaire. So after he retired at 45, he would take his motorcycle and scout for fishing spots. Once he found a spot, he would come back, get his truck with his kayak and go fishing for the day. Well, one day, he found his fishing spot and was returning to get his truck when he hit a deer on that bike. We know it was a deer because it was still wrapped up in that bike after he superman'ed off of it. He did survive that wreck but got messed up. He wasnt wearing full gear but did have a motorcycle helmet. The helmet impacted the ground and split around his head resulting in 180 staples to put his scalp back together. The next worst injury he had was on his hands. The impact tore his skin from the pinky knuckle to the middle finger knuckle. Then it was rounded out by road rash impact bruising and the like.

My uncle(my grandfathers son) and I ended up putting the bike back together for him. When he hit the deer, the forks bent and hopped up over the deer pinning the deer between the front tire and the frame. The handlebars both bent and came around crushing the fuel tank. Some wiring was damaged, a cable broke, mirrors were taken off the bike. After my grandfather was reasonably healed, we presented him with his bike. The smile was worth the work. But my grandmother(my grandfathers wife), never let him back on a bike after that.

The bike stayed in the family for some years after that until the bike was stolen. It was never recovered to my knowledge. But it was a fun Vtwin for the size. Nimble, peppy and fuel saving. And since I had my 1982 Virago, I have a soft spot for the old Yamaha Vtwins.

After I sold my XV535, the guy that bought it crashed it really bad, just 6 months after....since it was a bad crash with another car involved, he went in court to judge the trial...4 years later (2023), when the trial ended, I bought it back from the guy...I really missed her a lot...so, even it is pieces and even I got the Max meanwhile, I'll rebuild both.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

This is my 1982 Virago. XV750. When I rode it to New Mexico in 2005, something happened inside the engine. Tapping/knocking noise. To this day, I do not know what it was, but I theorize that it was either piston slap or wrist pin knock. After, I replaced the engine with an XV920 midnight engine. If I recall correctly, there is some slight power advantage over the stock ones. If you look closely, the front wheel has a rotor with no caliper on it. I was trying to primitively get a caliper on this bike to no avail. There is also another secret on this bike that most overlook. The rear wheel. Virago's had a 16" rear rim. This is a Yamaha Seca 18" rear rim. This VTwin on New Mexico interstates would scream at 5500RPM at 80mph. This rim allowed me to shed nearly 1000RPM off that.


I ended up bending the forks on the bike after it went down due to a transmission slick that was in the road. It was a big slick. Some truck had a bad day. The bike slid into the car and bent the forks. So, I replaced the front end with a Seca anti-dive front end. The only thing that prevented it from working properly was a Seca master cylinder. Virago one didnt have the fluid push for all the brakes and anti-dive. But the brakes still worked well with the smaller master. This is my retired Virago with 100,000 miles on it. So incredibly reliable, I didnt hesitate to jump on it to go cross country with it. This is the bike I also achieved my Iron Butt Association award on. Despite all the modification done to the bike, it still retains that classic Virago look.


The bike hasnt ran in over a decade due to a couple things. The main thing is the carburetor. The Hitachi CV slide rubber is unobtainium. No longer made. But since this is a 40mm carb, they have all types of options I can use. The second reason was I retired it when the front timing chain guide broke and caused the chain to roll. It ended up bending an intake valve. I have since replaced the cylinder head and had the bike operational, but the carb was not acting properly. My plan for this bike is to completely restore it to what I consider "My original" condition. The condition it was when I racked up all those miles all those years ago. But as always, I have too many irons in the fire. I am slowly knocking them out one by one, but a couple get added to the fire.

 

[ChopperRage]

Very nice bike, man! I really hope you will find the resources to rebuild it to your standards! I really know how it is to have too many things on "TO DO" list and to be unable to made them as you planned. Here in Romania, the minimum salary is like 450$ US Dollars converted.
Here a 1000 - 1200$ salary is considered "Exceptional"...That's my revenue as a Master Degree Automotive Engineer...probably, in 10 Years I'll finish to rebuild them =))) Plus that we don't have access to all the "good stuffs" here without overpaying shipping fees. That's the living style in a 3rd world country.

 

[Fire-medic]

I don't recall the Midnight Specials of any bike, and that was a popular mid-1980's option for Yamaha, by different displacements (and they were usually cruisers) had any different power output. I once had an opportunity to buy a XS-11 Midnight Special from a neighbor. The bike had been sitting outside, but on a covered porch for probably a couple of years. One detriment to that is it was a mile to the Atlantic Ocean, so humidity and salt in the air attack things like paint and clear-coat.

Kawasaki had a similar idea, theirs was the 'Spectre.' Also different displacements, and done to dress-up the LTD bikes.

I suspect the owner had issues with it, and he didn't have the $ to have it fixed. He was no one I really knew, though his dad I did know as a NYPD retiree. The one time I asked about the bike, he said he would ask his son about it. I tried to prime the pump by describing all of what would have to be re-done to return it safely to the road, and I stopped after the work surpassed $2K. The bike was in bad-enough shape from the non-use, the oxidation, the corrosion and whatever else befell it before I expressed an interest, that it was more of a parts bike. It wasn't operable in its current shape, and my offer to buy it would have been on the engine being able to turn over. It wasn't anything I'd invest much $ into, if I did get it. But I didn't. The father got back to me and he said his son wanted $2K for it, "as-is." Well, that was about what I figured it would cost, as a 'good-start, in parts to safely return it to the road, 'labor not-included.' I didn't acquire another abandoned ride.

There is another interesting twist to the story.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Not really the mid 80s was more like early 80s. If I recall correctly, there were Midnight Specials of the Virago, Seca, Maxim, and I believe the XS650s.

The Midnight specials were only for the 750s and 920s of this era. I have never heard of or seen blacked out 400s or 500s from this era. I also do not believe that they carried the badging from 84 onward.

If memory also serves, Virago was the only one with a painted black engine for the Midnight Specials. But I could be mistaken on that. Been a hot minute since I was that up to par with the older Yamahas.

 

[Fire-medic]

Here's a Virago for you.


The XS-11 Midnight Special




1101cc, 95 hp, 1981

 

[LouisCurtis]

Nice

 

[Trail Ride]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[marsmax85]

welcome to the forum !!