I remember it was about 1981, and I saw the ad in cycle world, and I knew I wanted to check it out, I mean, v twin, liquid cooled, shafty, MONOSHOCK!, 4 cams, and it looked GOOD! I thought "yamaha just kicked honda's ass(cot) again!! hahahaha!"
I worked for berkeley yamaha as a tech, and got to tune a few, and take a couple for test rides, but you don't redline customer bikes, or pull wheelstands, or scrape pegs, so I never really got to RIDE one,,....but I thought "I'll get one of these someday"
it was several years later, I was riding a suzuki 550 triple, all cafe'd out with a 3 into 1 chamber, and mikuni flat slides, rear sets, and custom hand layed fiberglass fairings, and I saw a guy on an 82 all black vision, just NAIL it off the line at a stop light, and lift the front wheel shifting into 2nd, AND 3rd!,..AND 4th!! (okay maybe not 4th!) ,...and right there I knew this was a bike I wasn't going to be able to die happy, until I owned one
it only took 22 years after seeing that, to finally get around to getting one
I still say I waited 21 years, 364 days, 19 hours, 26 minutes and 12 seconds too long to get the V.
I got hooked when the '82s came out. I had a '76 RD400 with 22,000 miles on it and the Vision seemed like a likely replacement. However I got in to a job change and relocation and the bikes got put on the back burner. When the '83 Vision came out, I just had to have one. I got it in May of '83 and have had it ever since.
When the Cycle magazine article about the new Yamaha showed the engine disassembled with commentary by Kevin Cameron as a side bar.
I thought that it was just simply a piece of work that a nerd could dig...
8)
Coil
I like the torque, the quick steering, the lack of vibration, narrow profile, the standard position, the shaft, the monoshock, the high-tech engine. I had been riding a cb500, 750 sabre, gs 1000, this bike made an instant, v twin fan of me. The visionmeister had been riding one for awhile and he sugested I get one, he was right. I got it in 1990 in San Jose, I never think of selling it
For me it really was total luck (almost as good as Walt's luck of putting off buying new for one year ;) ). Some cage had helped me retire my first bike and I was out pounding the pavement looking for a replacement. While drving to go look at a bike, I actually drove by this one sitting on someones front lawn. I said to myself that I've got to check this one out too. Went and saw bike one, went back and bought bike two!
In the spring of 1984 most of the manufactures had alot of good deals on 81-82-83 model bikes that had not sold out. By this time my 1970 CB350 Honda twin was pretty tired AND I was concerned that all these bargin bikes were soon going to dissappear. I really wanted to move up to a bike that I could do most anything with BUT of course I only had so much money to spend. I think I ended up at a Yamaha dealers show room as there was a nice little dealer ship just across the river in Iowa (the dealership is long gone now). He had a new 82 Vision and a new 82 650 Seca. Will I had about $1800.00 or so to use (I hope my father has quite turning over in his grave as the money came from a paid up $2000.00 life insurance policy that I cashed in-that my father purchased on me when I was like one year old) The Seca exceeded my budget but the Vision fit in. The dealer said he would give me a $100.00 trade-in for the Honda if if actually made it to his place on its own power, which it did do! I liked the unique styling of the Vision, the promise of power, handling and no maintenance shaft drive. The bike was a nice size, not to big, not to small.It appeared to be and has proved to be a nice do it all bike! At least during my warranty time the little two man shop addressed several issues with the bike, the petcock went first leaving a pool of gas-he came over and picked the bike up. The valves got like a one or two thousand mile check up, I believe I complained about antifreeze weeping from one of the cylinders (headgasket). But of course most of the other usual Vision problems came up after the warranty period ended, namely gas tank problems and the famous Vision lag. So I soon learned how to take the carbs off, Kreemed the gas tank, some different jetting and carb restrictor plates (from ROV about 1986-7-I do not have the factory carb improvement kit, but I think what I have does sort of the same thing). Anyway put 20,000 or so miles on, it was my daily work ride and went on several trips. I rode with a local CMA chapter for several of those years and always felt I had the most unique bike of anyone-although I could sure envy to load carrying capacity of some of the other members Goldwings-pulling trailers, etc. I remember one rally where I thought for sure I and my daughter had the slow race rapped up-couldn't believe how another rider on a tank of a Goldwing beat us-oh well! Then in the fall of 1994 the stator went out, still drove it summer of 95 with no working stator (just made sure I didn't have to start it more then 3-4 times between battery charges-and no night driving-pulled the headlight fuse) starter went out fall of 95, went to my closest Yamaha dealer who quoted me prices of about $800.00 plus for a new starter and stator, managed to not shit in my pants with that news, tried not to cry as it appeared my motorcycle days were now over for an unknown time and the bike sat till summer of 2004 (I did make sure it was stored out of the sun and rain all that time). Then thanks to the current ROV, fixed starter, cleaned carbs, changed stator and RR, and was back on the road in the spring of 2005 and hopefully will be for years to come! The saga of Don's silver V! Hey, we have spell check again, thanks Ron!
Was originally only interested in off-road riding. Bought a Kaw KDX175 new in 1980. Rode it for about 2,000 miles over the next 2 summers. Gradually, all my dirt bike friends either quit riding or switched to street bikes. I saw the early ads for the Vision in 1981 and really liked the bike then. Was also looking at the Honda CX500. Really liked the idea of high tech v-twin & shaft drive. The price of new Visions in '82 & 83 kept me from buying one. Nearly bought a CX in the Spring of 1981. It was while contemplating this purchase that I saw the first Vision ads. Immediately decided against the Honda at that point.
Summer of 83, the KDX spent most of its time just sitting forlorn in the back yard. Nobody I knew was riding off road any more. Began looking for a street bike a little more seriously at this point. Finally, in June of 1984, Yamaha announced special pricing on bikes left over from previous model years. Thunder Motors (in Steamboat Springs, CO) had two 82 Vs, an 82 Seca 650, and a couple others that I don't recall. Dealer said he sold his last '83 (the only one he had) a couple weeks earlier. Timing was perfect. I had some money, finally, and some difficult personal times required that I get a fun toy. (Won't bore you with details here, but it wass the final factor in giving a strong sentimental attachment to my V.)
A friend of mine & I each bought a Vision at the same time. Price was $1300! Dealer threw in a free Bell Tourstar II helmet. Not bad for a bike that 2 years earlier had listed for $3299. The dealer tried to sell me the full fairing kit at the same time. He said there were only a couple left in the US & if I wanted one, to act now. D'oh! I decided on ordering the matching shark fairing & case guards. Cost was a major factor. Full fairing was somewhere around $700. The shark & guards was closer to $200. Had to wait about a week for them to arrive. Anyway, we signed the papers, got the safety speech & rode out of the dealership together on our new rides. He bought the leftover black one & I got the silver one. The odometer on mine showed 6 miles the day I bought it. We rode all over northern Colorado & southern Wyoming that summer. My first road trip was to Breckenridge, CO to purchase a set of Yamaha soft luggage which I still use. That was the only time I had buyer's remorse. That dealer had a leftover 83 Turbo Seca he was trying to sell. As I recall, he wanted about $2,000 for it. He had been using it as his personal ride for a few weeks so it had a few hundred miles on it. At the time, that was the only bike I wanted as much as or more than the Vision. Would still like to have a Turbo Seca . . .
Put about 2,000 miles on the V before the season ended. That same fall, my friend enrolled at the University of Colorado. He was riding on I-25 and totalled his V, going about 90 MPH. :'( At least his injuries were very minor. I've since lost track of my friend, but he was always a crazy, fast driver. Probably one person who shouldn't have been a motorcycle rider - at least not at that time.
Over the next 15 years or so, I was in & out of college, law school & had other things occupying my time. The V sat neglected & improperly stored (always indoors) for several long periods of time, getting sporadic use. Carbs got gummier & finally fuel tank rotted in the usual points. Looking for a replacement led me to this forum - where I lurked for a couple years before signing up & posting. Thanks to this site & especially the great people here, my V now runs & rides better than it did when new.
H2O
I'm not hooked, i can quit anytime i want to...
really i can...
i think...
maybe not.....
I remember as yesterday. Early 1982 the first XZ550's came on the roads in Holland. I just had bought a new 1981 Honda 250 single with 4 valves and a balancer shaft and the XZ was parked in a street in Leiden where I worked at that time. It was a lovely spring morning and I remember the precise spot very well. It was a naked red XZ with white striping and I saw the watercooling, the shaft, the 4 overhead camshafts, the double discs (the Euro models had that already in 82).
I stood there for 10 minutes, and I think those minutes hooked me. Certainly I was hooked after I read the specifications, for the instance the balancer shaft I had not noticed, the 65 hp of the sports-engine. I remember that I thought at that time: it is slightly too heavy and it lacks a kick-starter.
I was interested in the CX500 and I thought, wow, Yamaha beats Honda here with this wonderful bike. A few weeks later I saw a white and red XZ with a fairing (sold as the 550S in 1982 in Europe) and I was equally impressed by the styling and the heating of the fairing.
When I sold the Honda 250 a second car had to come to the family because of job requirements and I was for a long time without a motorcycle.
When I was thinking of a motorcycle again, the first dream was an XZ. After I bought the first one, a second came to donate to my son-in-law (who was hooked after his first XZ ride, I still remember his eyes!), a third came because I dreamt on the idea of an XZ with sidecar. Then a fourth came for parts, etc
See xz550.nl for the bikes. At this moment I have a stripped XZ400 engine side by side with a stripped XZ550 engine on my workbench to study in details the differences. Again, job obligations are more pressing this year, so not so much time to spend in the garage and report to you the wonderful details of the 400 internals. But that will come.
I have only XZ's, and I want to keep it that way.
In another post I "confessed" that I think I am in love with this bike. I like this bike for its functional aspects but also for something beyond that, and I even like its (many) bad aspects. Feeling very happy after the horrible job of valve adjustment, struggling for hours with the 8 shims (why did those ....... not make 5 mm more clearence between the cylinder head and the top frame tube!#!#!).
I hope to keep riding at least my XZ without sidecar and driving my XZ with sidecar for the next decade. Dream to have an original 400 that was never sold new in Europe. Dream to have an original 1983 XZ550. I never saw one in Europe up to now.
XZv2
i got my vision when a friend "forgot" what he did with my bonnie kidney buster---
somehow , the bike i left in his care was gone,,, so i tossed around for about three years on 4 wheels, saw a guy riding a bolt on queen at wal mart one night, and asked if e knew where i could get a cheap bike-- he sold me my first vision-- lot of work in fixing it up, but it was sweet when done. i got second one for parts, but moved it up to primary after i broke the brake rod bolts on the dragon.
since then , i ride in a more cautious manner, and am no longer in a hurry. still like the bike, but wish i could make it lower still---- but - short of going full hard tail- this v is as low as it will get as for selling it- i just dont think it is for sale,ever.
Wow, thats some pretty impressive stories. I know I can't come close, but I remember my experience well too. Just over two years ago, when gas prices started going up rapidly, I told my wife that I was going to buy a motorcycle. Before I could get the words out of my mouth, I was hit with a very stern "NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT. You are NOT buying a motorcycle." Well, I figured that that was the end of that. About a week later, while I had some company over, a very redfaced wife brought me my cell phone and told me that there was somebody on the phone that I called about buying a motorcycle. I swore up and down that I did not call anyone, but she stood there while I talked to the guy. It turned out to be a wrong number. Anyway, the next day I was telling the story at work and one of the guys I work with asked me if I wanted a bike. I told him that my wife had put the whammy on that idea and would not let me buy a bike. Well he said the magic words "I'm not selling it. I'll GIVE it to you". So here I was thinking to myself....hmm self, the wife said I couldn't BUY a bike but Erick is GIVING me a bike and giving and buying are two totally different things....right??
So, he told me it was an 82 Yamaha XZ550 Vision that he got from another guy that we worked with (who later hung himself in jail). And that he hadn't ridden it in about 12 years because it had issues that he just didn't have the time to work out. I went over his house the next day and you wouldn't think it...well, you all actually understand....I fell in love with it. It was stored under his deck. Had a small tree growwing up through the swing arm. Was covered with who knows what but I had to sand most of it off and had a lot of rust. But, I saw nothing but potential ad lots of it. We loaded the bike up in his truck on a rainy day in March two years ago and took it to my house. On the way home I though tto myself.... Self, you forgot to mention this to the other half.....oops.
Got the bike unloaded and hosed it off and dried it. I parked it in the garage and immediately went inside and started Googling. I found the ROV and Lucky's site and some stuff from Dave/Leather. Signed up on ROV, read a bunch of posts then took some pictures.
Then I heard the garage door open.....oops, I'm in trouble.... But honey, I didn't BUY the bike, it was GIVEN to me. :o
I was off work for a couple days that week and as things have it, started looking into the problems with the bike. By the time I was done, there were boxes, piles, parts, supplies, tools and everything else taking "my" side of the garage. Every time I found what I thought was the problem, I would find something else. Then I would clean something and something else would look dirty so I would clean it too. It took about 6 months to do everything but about 5 minutes before my wife got home one summer night, I knew I was ready. I primed it, snapped the throttle three times, turned the ignition on and hit the starter button. IT STARTED!!! Right as my wife was pulling inthe driveway. She knew it was running becayse the garage and house were full of smoke because I squirted motor oil down into the cylinders the day I got it home, but it was running! After several more weeks and more tweaking and cleaning I had a rideable bike. I took the MSF course and got my license but spent the rest of the year mostly working on the bike. Now, after and untold and pretty much uncalculated and not to be revealed (ever) sum of money, I have a great bike that rides like its new.
I think the best part though is all the people that I have met here on ROV and in person...particularly Lucky, who lived a stones throw away from me in Rhode Island when I was younger...but we never met, and now lives "just down the road" from me here in TN. ;D :)
David
Quote from: DaveTN on January 31, 2007, 09:09:13 PM
...So, he told me it was an 82 Yamaha XZ550 Vision that he got from another guy that we worked with (who later hung himself in jail)...
I don't think you ever mentioned that part to me before...
by the way, your bike is haunted & Penny is freaking out....
Topic: do you remember when you got hooked?
I believe I was hooked around 7k RPM
no, maybe it was 9 ;D
Quote from: Lucky on January 31, 2007, 10:28:33 PM
Quote from: DaveTN on January 31, 2007, 09:09:13 PM
...So, he told me it was an 82 Yamaha XZ550 Vision that he got from another guy that we worked with (who later hung himself in jail)...
I don't think you ever mentioned that part to me before...
by the way, your bike is haunted & Penny is freaking out....
It gets even better. Jim, the original owner killed his FIL and was sentenced to life w/o parole. For us that knew him and his family dynamics, we don't think he did it but was covering for his son. Some of us even think he (Jim) knew he had a terminal illness and that is why he covered for him. Anyway, it was a relatively short trial and evidence was suppresed and he was sentenced to life. About two days before he was to be transfered to his final home in Nashville, he was found hanging in his cell.
As for Erick who sold me the bike, he's a normal guy...and good friend too. No problems with him.
When Jim owned the bike, it was red. Erick painted it black and of course, now that I have it, its yellow....not even my favorite color but it looks cool. Hence the name "Yellowjacket!".
David
PS. sorry to go a bit off topic but its a bit of "historical significance" about my bike. ;D
My brother in law bought his red vision in late 83 for $1,500. with the fairing. He rode it for a couple of years, put 7000 miles on it and then brought it down from Chicago and parked it in my garage, I covered it up in a corner, and forgot about it. When my son Dustin turned 16, Uncle Rick gave him the title to it and me a winter project. I can't leave anything stock, four years later Dustin and Carlie are both riding visions, I have 4 in the garage, my buddies laugh at my vision habit.
Quote from: DaveTN on January 31, 2007, 09:09:13 PM
I parked it in the garage and immediately went inside and started Googling. I found the ROV and Lucky's site and some stuff from Dave/Leather. Signed up on ROV, read a bunch of posts then took some pictures.
Then I heard the garage door open.....oops, I'm in trouble.... But honey, I didn't BUY the bike, it was GIVEN to me. :o
I was off work for a couple days that week and as things have it, started looking into the problems with the bike.
You'll have to fill in the LARGE gap in your story here someday. Were there bruises? How long before Vicki talked to you again? Did you lose weight from lack of burgers ect. ect. :D
Mutt
"Now, after and untold and pretty much uncalculated and not to be revealed (ever) sum of money, I have a great bike that rides like its new." from DaveTN
Same here buddy, don't ever let the wife know HOW much money I have soaked into the V during its refurbishment!
I think the proper phrase is 'yadda, yadda, yaddy and I was really tired the next day'!
I got my V completely blind. I was tooling around on Craigslist not looking for anything in particular and found an ad for "bikes $50" so the next weekend, my buddy and I hop in my truck, drive an hour to Orlando where we find a towing company and a shipping container full of impounded bikes. some were wrecks but the V was just hangin out in front of the trailer. It looked halfway decent, nothing terrible was obvious, so we bid $50. they came back with $350 for the V and 200 for the Honda CB400 my buddy was lookin at. They came down to $400 for the pair. We told them we only had $375 in cash with us and they took the deal. $225 for the V and $150 for the honda. We loaded them up in my truck, drove home and started playing. Turns out, aside from a few missing parts (like a key and a fairing) and that classic starter full of oil problem, it needed new spark plugs and a hotwire, and we rolled it down the street, popped the clutch and she started right up. since then we have found more little issues that are quickly getting cleared up.
I have to say that I love the bike, but I'm not entirely sure why. She looks pretty good for her age, and i'm doing a bit to make her look better. I like what I consider to be a half crotch-rocket/ half cruiser look. The lines are nice, its not flashy but it makes a statement. And hardly anyone else has one (present company excluded)
I was driving home one evening just as it was getting dark and I drove past this junkyard that always had old refrigerators and a maze of old washing machines and driers. In fron of the small shack of a building was a motorcycle and it looked like it was complete, so I slammed on the brakes and pulled a u-turn and looked at the bike in the semi-darkness. My first impression was to get my sisters truck and steal it in the middle of the night. It was in the middle of nowhere. But deciding against that, I convinced a friend to go with me the next day and see what was up. The lady said I could have it for $50, but then she changed her mind and said $80 (with a wierd glint in her eye), and I didn't feel like haggling so I bought it and trucked it home. I knew absolutely nothing about it. It just looked cool and I can't resist tinkering with machines.
So, over 4 years, I'd slowly pull it apart, and did some research and found it was an '82 Yamaha XZ550RJ. The more I read about it, the more i fell in love with it. The most I'd ever worked on a bike was my old '78 Suzuki RM125. When I came to the conculsion that it wasn't impossible to fix, I disassembled it (in pittsburgh) , shoved it in my trunk piece by piece, and started rebuilding it in my bedroom :D :D :D :D
Of course, you guys have made it a more enjoyable experience.
When I purchased my first Vision it was fall of 1984. I had just started a rebuild of an XS750D that I had thrashed for 42.000 miles.
I was at the Yamaha shop for parts and they had the Visions on clearance sale for $1500.
I had always thought they were a cool bike and it was cheap enough so I bought a red one.
I immediately liked the powerband and smoothness coupled with the comfortable riding position. But the handling was not the greatest due to the stock shock deficiencies and the small stock front tire and weak brake.
By the next spring I had a set of new Pirellis, a fox shock and a steel braided line for the brake.
I was out for a ride on Merced Falls Road when I came across a sport rider on a GPZ1100 Kawa. He was in full leathers and trying to hang out his knees even though the speeds did not warrant it. As we crossed the bridge over the Merced River and headed towards Hornitos I went on around him and started gassing it. Merced Falls road is full of high speed sweepers with hills that loft your front end at speeds of 85mph+. The GPZ fell behind at every turn but could catch up on the straights where the V could only get to about 110mph.
The last few turns into Hornitios he fell behind to where I couldn't see him any more.
I stopped for a break at Hornitos and he pulled up and said "What is that thing?".
Then I was hooked. I felt I had found the ultimate sleeper of the times.
I had to sell that V to go to school. But in 1988 I found another red one with 3400 miles on it that the owner could not sell. I got it for $850 and have been riding it ever since.
around 1984, my mother owned one (a 1982 with full fairing). However, I was in college and couldn't afford one. Not until I got a job was I able to purchase my 1983 (in April of 1986). I just found my original receipt a few days ago. That was 21 years ago, and 40,683 miles.
Brian
It must have been in 82 reading a test in a motorcycle magazine. I loved the lines, the shape of the engine, the specs. My bike at that time was a gs550e which I had to sell because I couldn't afford both a car and a bike.
After twenty years without a bike in the winter of 04 there it was again. There was this add with the pic of a xz550 on the internet. I bought it. A half year later I bought a second for parts. Did a full restauration in the winter of 05. Last year got me another which I am rebuilding in cafe racer style.
Frans
:)...I came across my "V" by pure luck, really...by accident rather than design, as they say... ;) I hadn't owned a bike in over 20 some odd year's, but had never lost the love of the thrill I used to get on the open road...It was back in July '05 that I went to see a prospective client on business...as I was leaving his shop I spied a motorcycle under a cover and the conversation turned to two wheel's... ::) The bike under the cover was his new ride, an 1800 Kawa' all dressed up...niiiiiiice looking ride...as the conversation wore on the guy informs me he still has his first ride, which he rode for a year after getting his license, but had went to a police auction with a buddy, who wanted to buy an old police cruiser and ended up with him buying a "bargain" B.M.W. X-cop ride that had recently been fully overhauled. The Beamer went on the road and his first ride went under wrap's...for six/seven year's...sound familiar!!!
So, he had just advertised it in the Auto Trader. "Interested" says he, "sure" says I...off comes the cover and sitting there all nice and clean was...a 1982 Yamaha XZ550rj Vision... ::) "A what" says I... ???...anyway, as it was 6.30p.m...'ish and only a couple of mile's from my home, we sat down had a beer, talked "turkey".......and the rest is history,as they say... 8) First thing I had to do, once I got her home...Joe was kind enough to put the "V" in his pick-up truck and run her over to my place...where we had another beer... ;)...was to get a bike license :D :D and drop the "V" off at a shop to get serviced, tuned and safetied...From the first ride I new I was hooked again...an old love affair had returned that stirring in the loin's... 8) The love for the Vision wasn't far behind and like a new love it had its share of up's and down's... ;D ;D ;D :D :D :D :D... 8) Since that first "date" with "The Mistress" I have acquired three donor "V"s, which have helped a few Visionaries across the globe, as well as my own, to keep running and in the last few month's I have added two more to my harem...another '82 "The Black Panther"...which should be ready to go to a new home soon and "The Canadian", an '83 red 'n white with less than 10,000 mile's on the clock. So, "hooked" you say...I can't disagree ;D ;D ;D :D :D :D...but the doctor thinks, with some treatment I should be O.K...No doc' not the needle again...I don't like needle's...please doc Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ;D ;D ;D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D... 8)
8)...I have to mention that, had it not been for "The Family", I may have not made it this far... 8) soooooo, its
ALL your bloody fault that I'm so hooked...
THANK-YOU ALL for your help....... 8)
8).......TIGER....... 8)
My story isn't quite as exciting as some, but it has the same happy ending. An old friend of mine, AKA Tailwheel, stopped by the airport where I work and showed me his three newest toys. Here on his trailer were some of the coolest looking bikes I had ever seen. Being a gear head and a long time rider, I was a little shocked that I knew nothing about these odd machines. A friend of mine had a Kaw 500 H1 which I had ridden on several ocassions. I had owned a Honda CBX, a Yamaha XS750E triple, a couple of Kaw KZ's and a couple of other Hondas. I was drawn to this latest discovery by my friend. He told me about this forum so I started visiting and gaining knowledge. I love something different and definitely something better, so these bikes wer an immediate hit with me. Dav and I talked regulary and I dropped the hint htat I would be interested in a vision if he were ever so inclined to part with one. Well, the day came and my only obstacle was my loving, but too practical wife. We really couldn't afford another toy, but after hearing the price and seeing that glimmer in my eye, she gave in. I really didn't need another project, I kept telling myself. But, this was one of those deals a guy like me can't afford to pass up. After picking the bike up on Saturday afternoon, I took her home and began assembly. Dave had undertaken the replacement of the front valve cover gasket. It looked like a lot of parts, and I hadn't disassembled them, but Dave gave me the manual as well. So in a couple of hours, I was riding. And you know what, I haven't had to do anything else except put gas in her and air up the tires. Dave had told me that it was a good running bike and he was right. I'm hooked. And I'll agree with one of the previous writers, it is the perfect size. Most of my riding is done under 60 MPH. The bike has really grown on me and I have no intention of parting with it.
Airplane Steve
I got my 82v in 1984 from dealer fresh out of high school never owned a bike bfore and the black Vision was the nicest looking bike I could afford $1200.I rode with buddies who all had top bikes of the time 750GPZ,750GSXR,750FZR,900Ninja.I got to ride their bikes and they rode mine,which they all agreed it was a fun bike,but nowhere near as fast as theirs. I've not had many problems other than fuse box,exhaust leak (which is probably from me or friends redlining to much),.. in 8500mi.My bike then sat for years at a time between rides.It would start right up everytime with some starting fluid. I'd ride a few times then it would sit...... the last time for 4 years.Well the last time it wouldn't start so I take it to "stealer" to have carb cleaned and $300 later it starts and idles great... but tons of bog at various higher r's...... but as long as you ride normal its fine.....advice on what to look for still needed. Waiting for spare to rebuild or replace current carb. I did however just aquire full fairing/most brackets.... but was badly damaged and cost me over $300/shipping.....wish I would have known about the fairing back when,,,,, as I would have bought one.. new..... back then...Oh well.A fairing just makes for a more comfortable ride and extends the season.I came across the ROV a year ago, right after carb debockle,And with their help I will be able to keep it going another 25 yrs. Good Luck with your V Greg
the bog (we call it "Vision stumble") is 2 things:
clean carbs, & adjusted carbs (pilot & synq)
--Lucky
8)TTT for a great thread :)
Quote from: Lucky on January 31, 2007, 10:28:33 PM
Quote from: DaveTN on January 31, 2007, 09:09:13 PM
...So, he told me it was an 82 Yamaha XZ550 Vision that he got from another guy that we worked with (who later hung himself in jail)...
I don't think you ever mentioned that part to me before...
by the way, your bike is haunted & Penny is freaking out....
My vision's title came with a death certificate stapled to it... o_O
Something overall creepy about the way almost all of us have gotten our visions. They haunt us, or just appear, or migrate to the top of the ad pile, or to a pile of bikes... weird.
My aquisition story isnt nearly as cool or as long as others here... I was cruising craigslist thinking 'damn, i need a street bike' and saw my black beauty on there for 400 bucks. Looked good, sounded good, later that day i was picking it up, and until yesterday it's been a driveway queen!
My first vehicle was actually an 82 back in my senior year of HS 91. Road the hell out of it for a summer and fall but in chicago it gets cold fast so I garaged the bike and got a 79 AMC Concord. That fall I was oggling a CBR600 and decided to sell the V and put 100.00 down on the CBR. Needless to say I couldn't get financed on a brand new Honda so I went without a bike.....for 13 years! By then I had moved to NYC and I got a bug to do an internet search for a 1982 Vision. Found a for sale ad on a Forum that had not had any new posts for nearly 2 years. I emailed the guy anyway and asked if was for sale and got a reply. So off to VA to get my V#2. I never got it running right and developed an electrical problem so it sat for another season. Then in 2005 there was a posting on this site for a V for sale (new member). I followed up and found out it was in mint condition and only 563 miles. Apparently the owner had died but it just sat in his basement for nearly a decade prior to that. He stopped riding after his friend got killed on his bike coming home from the dealership. So my V has 2 fatalities attached to my getting it. Now I have 2 Visions and got an 01 Triumph Sprint ST since the V isnt so great for 2 Up riding. It's a great bike and I love the uniqueness. It always gets looks at stop lights and can still keep up with the newer bikes unless we are doing the straights.
Traded ny '73 RD350 on an '82 Vision in 1984. I was looking for something with shaft drive and power characteristics more suited to touring.
I was reminiscing about this thread and found a picture in a cigar box from the day I yanked my bike from the junkyard. Thought I'd share.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a5/munkyfistfight/Bikeage.jpg)
The vision! My buddy bought one from a friend that bought and sold old bikes it was in the back of the barn i think he got it for 100 bux. both tires where trashed the gas tank was really rusted in two it was a very sad sad looking bike at first... and i laughed when he bought it!! but being the friend i am i helped get it started for him. we strapped a small fuel cell to it, sprayed the carbs "clean" bought a battery did a little tinkering and finally got it to run and after i heard the sound come out of those rusted out mufflers i thought to my self i got to have this bike!!@!! it sounded great... so i keep hinting to him i wanted to buy it from him for about a year by then i had found a new gas tank and new tires for him then out of the blue my birthday came around and he came to me and said hey heres your gift!! and he handed me the KEY!!! i was shocked amazed and excited so that week end i went to the local parts dealer and started buying every thing i thought i needed for it...started puttin it together and realized all the little problems this bike had lol :o and till this day it sits and every weekend i try alittle more to get it going and this weekend i will PORing my gas tank ,, re-dipping the carbs syncing the carbs and see if i can have any better luck after all is done i will have a nice rideable "V"