Vision Data Base?

[Glyn Pickering]

Hi All

It's good to think we are riding unusual and rare bikes on a regular basis. Has a poll / rearch ever been done to try and record all the Visions/ XZ550's/ XZ400's which are still out there, either in roadgoing or spares form? I don't know if the factory data is available when ceratin engine no's were manufactured etc?

It would be neat to be able to find out how rare they are, and how many have been turned into meccano toys or similar by now.

Regards and safe riding.

Glyn

[Rob_OS23]

Hey Glen,
I don't have a whole lot to say, except to answer that although I don't know whether or not an accurate record of all acounted for Visions has ever been finished, there has been at least one or two started in this forum.  I started one based on Vin #'s(or maybe I didnt start it, don't remember), but I know there was one going.  Problem is, it gets too long.  Everybody leaves a post with there VIns, and before long, your scrolling through pages of posts.  We need something to arrange these numbers in order, with who has them.  I guess if people are interested in it, they can email me at rob_holley@hotmail.com and leave their VIN(s), bike year, and date manufactured, and I will put them in order, but only if people seriously are interested.   It might get confusing if people are leaving their engine and frame vins, so maybe just leave the frame VIN.  I would then post the entire list, after they stopped coming in.

[silicon_toad2000]

I think these bikes are getting around in the states (as evidenced by the number of people on the board that are from America) I know here in australia they are reasonably rare, the only place that knows they exist seems to be the dealership that sold it to me. Most wreckers i speak to swear that Yamaha did not made a v-twin of this capacity or at all of this vintage.
I rekon a database would become pretty large and then people would drop off the board and we wouldn't know where the bike is.

[Rob_OS23]

Yes exactly.  This is a more rare bike than most, but there are still a lot of bikes despite that.  I dont know, just for the heck of it the more common people who are here all the time could at least keep their own list.  We could never hope to get all the Japanese bikes on record, but if only for fun, we could still find out who has what.

[Lucky]

I think what would give us a better feel of where & how many bikes there are would be to:

1) get production & sales info from Yamaha, but as I understand it, they hold this info pretty close to the vest short of a court order.

Or

2) collect info from local registrys on Yamaha's  registerd with the starting Vin: 11H.  The problem with this of course is that it would be a monumental undertaking...

too bad we don't have the resources the Hardly Davidson ppl do...

--Lucky

[Rob_OS23]

Might be a dumb question...
Why is Yamaha so reluctant to volunteer info regarding a bike they released 23 years ago?  What are we going to do with this info.?  We are obviously the name in Visions these days, nobody else cares, you think they could help us out....
Just seems we are fairly loyal to them, and they don't give a damn....

[Lucky]

probably no one has asked in a long time...

I know they are headquartered in Ca, anyone want to give them a call?

[h2olawyer]

Just seems we are fairly loyal to them, and they don't give a damn....

Corporations are more interested in the present and near future.  If it doesn't benefit them & their stockholders, they will likely be very slow to respond.  After all, they sold these bikes at a loss 20+ years ago.  They'd prefer we just give up & ride something new like an R6 or R1 or V-star.

H2O

[Glyn Pickering]

Point taken. It would be a huge task which ever way approached and would be out of date, (in fact it would never be totally in date) constantly. I once had a BSA Rocket 3 and the club got full prod figs, dates etc from somewhere. If nothing else it would be nice to see the date that your particular bike was manufactures and where it was first shipped too etc.

I beleve mine is an 84 (Vin 16R-001360), but then maybe it's not?

Regards

Glyn

[Humber]

I would not suggest to introduce this idea to Europe. There are damn a lot of Visions here and for sure you would receive a flow of mails.

It was also one of the reasons I sold mine. Because in fact there is nothing special in it.. I invested a lot and I couldn't notice prices in adds rising... so.. why should I care???

For example... Let's take an old 79 XS650 which is regarded, I don't know why, as a purists classic and Germans have unreasonable prices on those bikes.

it is different with VIsion.. nothing exciting here.... look... I listed an 83 instrument cluster on DE ebay for 100EU. No one even dares to watch it. If it were a part from some old turbo weirdo pottyhead, it would go straight away.....

U have to admit it that.. Vision was never special and it won't be special because of its bad reputation. You will get no data for this model because it was mass produced... wasn't peculiar in any way.

Look for example for Honda NR750, the one with oval pistons. There is something that those bike share. Technical advancement at the time of the release, both of them are ahed of their time. NR750 was also produced one or two years probably in 1994 or 95.... german add price - 50 000 EU :o

Whe does the success come from?? It wasn't mass produced???

Some 4 years ago I remember I saw a ?BMW K1 in the Suzuki shop display. The red-yellow beutiful one. They didn't want much for it and the price was extremely low... I didn't inquire why but now I regret that I resigned from buying it. They asked sth like 1750 for it then. Damn... this bike is expensive. if it had some hidden faults.. I would cope somehow with my skills...

I was too stupid and too obstinate as for the Vision then....

[Superfly]

I hear a lot of people doggin' this bike.  But I love my bike.  If you are un-happy with the bike.  Sell it and shut up.

[Humber]

Firstly, I no longer have it man. Secondly, I invested in this bike more than 3700 dollars when she was in my hands so even if I am dogging, I make it consciously - I am aware of the value of this bike and she has no market value - can you deny it???. Finally, I expressed common opinion on this bike (your reaction confirmed that) and sheer facts, I am not going to favor Vision because she is close to my heart. ?Facts are facts... you won't make an ice cream from a piece of shit - that's what they say in Poland.....

by the way... I have an idea as for surveying those VINs. Maybe you could make a site with a kind of java script, or something like that, which would be able to catalogue those Vins, show some statistics eg. number of bikesin US, EU. With the fairing, without the fairing. AS for EU - 50hp or 65hp etc etc.... all of that displayed graphically

[Superfly]

Call me a freak, but the problems that the bike has are not that big of a deal to me.  The enjoyment I get out of it, and look on my daughters face when she is riding on the back of it, to me are priceless.  But then again, I have never judged my happiness in dollar signs....

[Humber]

I used the dollars to show you that I was not indifferent to this bike. And also I invested in it so much because it was close to my heart. I am going to overhaul the engine now for the new owner for free just because I would like to have it in my garage again. GOod old times;)

I just tried to explain why Yamaha is not interested in sth that was sold some 23 years ago and wasn't very successful.

This is the same reason why it is not popular now and will not get any attention. Unfortunately Yamaha is driven by CASH ?;)

[h2olawyer]

I know you love this bike, Humber - it is obvious from all the work you put in on yours.  It was obviously a labor of love.

Unfortunately Yamaha is driven by CASH

I thought that was what was supposed to happen in capitalism. ? :) ?We are witnessing one of the minor flaws in the system. ?Corporate 'vision' must remain future oriented to keep stock prices up. ?They must design obsolesence into their products. ?They need to encourage consumers to buy the latest & greatest offerings. ?I have no problem with that except when it comes to finding parts for their obsolete products that we enjoy and want to keep going. ?Still, given the other economic models, I'll take capitalism with all its warts every time.

H2O

[Wayne]

Some of us are like myself, we ride the Vision simply because we want to. I think hard headed is the word. Wayne

[gbranche]

The enjoyment I get out of it, and look on my daughter's face when she is riding on the back of it, to me, are priceless.

OK, I just hafta ask...

How do you see the look on your daughter's face when she's riding on the back of it (behind you, I assume)?

:-)

(Must be the parent's "eyes in the back of the head" option...)

Greg

[Lucky]

with the Visions mirrors the way they are, he might have invisible shoulders. lol.

[redxz550inoz]

If Superflys daughter is anything like mine, she'll still have the big ass grin from ear to ear when she gets off - and the eyes in the back of the head thing works too ;)

my two cents - I LOVE my vision.
Like silicon toad said, they're pretty rare down under. I'm educating my local yamaha shop...LOL. Lucky for me there's a local mechanic who has some familiarity with the bike. Between myself, hubby and the mechanic, my girls will be happily zooming along for years to come.

And I have to admit I get a real kick out of people checking her out and having to ask me what she is! :)

As for the register - wasn't that tried in some form already??
BIG JOB for whoever takes it on - good luck

Red

[Superfly]

All of us parents have eyes in the back of our head!!