Hi folks. I have the chance to buy a very low mileage Vision very cheaply. It looks a great bike, but I live in South Australia and I'm worried about reliability and spares availability.
I currently ride a 1982 RD350LC and a 1978 XT500.
Am I mad to pick up this bike, or am I just widening my interests? Are these bikes reasonably reliable? Am I going to have to junk it because I can't get special air for the tyres?
Any advice welcomed!
Don't worry about a thing, I'll send you all the tire air you need, and for cheap too :P :P.
The V has it's little group of problems, and it is a 22 year old bike in the first place, but I think you'll find that all the people here will agree that it's totally worth it, and can be perfectly reliable given the proper care.
Make sure you read thru all the pages on Lucky's site (XZ550.com) and the ROV site. Read through the forum and you'll see all the major gotchas. If you follow all the pre buy checks and do all the post buy mods you should be set.
Hi Big Ross -
We're all a little crazy here. ?The Vision does have some standard weaknesses - stator & regulator / rectifier, starter clutch bolts, carbs that are difficult (but not impossible) to get clean, adjusted & synchronized & rusty fuel tank. ?There are other things but these are the major weaknesses. ?For more information, check out Lucky's fantastic site - //www.xz550.com. ?
Aftermarket stators & regulators are readily available but the pair run over $200 US new. ?Cheaper than from Yamaha but still not inexpensive. ?The other problems are usually fixed for a reasonable price and the willingness to invest some time sorting out previous owner's fixes & the degradation caused by 20 years of use & neglect.
Parts availability in your part of the world might be a little bit of a problem but there are other Vision owners in both Australia & New Zealand. ?I'm sure they have a better handle on the ease or difficulty of getting parts. ?Several people on this forum have a decent supply of parts and ebay is another good source.
The tires don't require special air - although, with the lack of ozone down there, your tires might rot from the inside out. ?;D
If the bike is in reasonably good condition, I'd say go ahead and add it to your stable. ?The Vision is a real kick to ride. ?Wide power band, very quick handling and unusual. ?I've had mine for 20 years & can't think of ever parting with it.
H2O
Thanks guys-I think you realised I wanted to be persuaded!
Still, I haven't bought it yet, but I like your forum-good advice and people smart enough to realise I was joking about the air!
Is it mandatory to keep that ugly headlight-or do we replace it with an RD350 number?
(Must go and do some more haggling with the vendor!)
Hey! Wait a minute! I've been browsing the gallery. I don't see a kickstarter anywhere! Does this mean I have to depend on electrickery? If so, goodbye folks, it's been nice knowing you!
Yup, no kickstarter.
Brian
I also miss my 1980 XT250 kickstarter, but my Vision's starter has never failed me. And in case of a dead battery, I'vwe always found a hill - or friends - to push me so I could start in second or third gear! Hope you'll be convinced...
Louis
I have known harley riders to have claimed the kick-start blew out their right knee...... I will push a button any day of the week and save my knee (I might need it someday)
I bet we could also find a Harley guy or two that blew up their thumb with a Harley push button, but that's American manufacturing... ;D ;D
If I remember correctly, Japs decided to do without their kick starts and only keep the electrical starter when bike weight was beginning to be a marketing factor (keep only one system, save weight), and their startors and electrical systems were reliable enough. That also made bikes less intimidating to potential new customers.
Lou
My right knee has made too many enemies with kick starts in the past. I'll take electric any day.
i myself prefer the push a button start method. i once owned a triumph 650 bonnie,,, full street chopper type, chopped, raked, straight pipes, trick carbs,,,, all of that still equaled the occasional toss over the forks- ever kick off a triumph and have it back fire on a kick stroke? will toss a 250 lb man into the headlights.
thanks japan for erasing the kick lever!!!!
but there is something sort of bull macho about tossing over a leg and kicking a bike to life in front of giggling teenies in bikinis .
omg, I thought Id never see another ROV in adelaide
where in adelaide are you, im in the western suburbs
G'day Toad. I live in the city, near St Andrew's hospital. My email is eceabat@hotmail.com if you want to form a very exclusive club.
I've nearly made up my mind to buy the damn thing. (Thanks guys!) I've got four month's long service leave coming up-that should be long enough to hunt down the special left-handed bullet connectors that I no doubt need to connect the anti-phlogisten meter to the dippling inverter!
hey, get it right, it's a counter-reverse dippling inverter! ;D
Well, thanks a lot anyway guys.
I thought and thought about it: difficult spares, no kick start, friend whispering about an RD350A in a nearby shed-and I CHICKENED OUT!
I guess I'm just not made of the right stuff!
Hope you all enjoy your fascinating bikes, and congratulations on a great forum!
Who knows, one day I might develop enough intestinal fortitude to join you!
difficult spares??? certainly NOT.... u can buy another Vision for 200 bucks with a struck of luck and treat her as a spare support....
maintained properly = 100% reliable!!!
no kickstarer - u are talking about some bullshit here... enjoy your kickstarts ;D ;D ;D
Kickstarts are great!! Both of my Honda's start first kick. My 93 XR250 and my '78 CB750. I've also been known to kick my Vision when it does'nt start tho :o :-/ It makes me feel better, but it usually won't help it start.
Am I crazy??? kickstarter as a deciding factor?? - YES U ARE CERTAINLY CRAZY!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
Humber, I don't think you understand. Adelaide is a small city of about one million people. The Vision was never a popular motorcycle here. The chance of picking up a second hand one cheaply for spares is absolutely nil. I don't know how long you've been motorcycling, but a kick starter is an insurance policy-it never goes flat!
If you use it properly, it doesn't take any effort at all, and certainly doesn't strain your knee. If it does, you're doing it wrong. You rise up, straighten the leg, and then come down. That will start anything. I have a beautiful XT500. Many of these were bought, and then put into sheds, because people couldn't start them. My gain, their loss!
Adelaide is a small city of about one million people - don't know whether to laugh or cry??? ?::) ;D
Hrubieszow is the city where I live, hardly anyone knows anything of Japanese bikes here, 20 000 inhabitants... that's a lot comparing to Adelaide ;D ;D
By the way... you right is your right and I am not going to change your way of thinking... but.... sure u are not right about the electric starters... u can blame Vision for almost everything, stator related, tci related etc.... but for the starter??? CRAZY ;D ;D
Ross , I'm sorry you chickend out! I've had mine for five years and 21000 mles and only had to push it once. The electric leg is VERY reliable and dosen't eat your right leg. I swore off kick start levers a long time ago!
hey Big_Ross!
fellow Aussie here (way over in WA)
while not exactly common in our great land, I've managed to pick up three (more or less) complete bikes - all $300 each and one rebuilt motor (think that was about $200)
People just don't know what they've got in this bike!
The last one I bought is only just out of license coz the guys wife reckoned it had too much power for her and it just sat in his shed.
I really only wanted the exhaust but after lookin at her sittin on my back verandah I've decided to have a go at repairing the old exhaust and adding her to my running stable :D
Just gotta know where to look and be in the right place at the right time for spares I guess (although, you'd be competing with silicontoad for em over there ;D )
Guess what I'm sayin is don't disregard just coz she's not common!
That's what I love about my girls - I don't know anyone else that rides one.
Having said that tho, some parts are a tad difficult to get hold of - ahh well, ya get that
red
Also a newbie here. Bought a hybrid. A mechanic bought two visions for $100 each. He combined parts and sold the result to me. All the leftover parts were in the deal. The only thing he kept was the engine which went into a gokart.
After a few hours of searching I have found just about everything anyone could care to learn abut the 550 right down to the last nut, bolt and screw.
Most important things I have learned so far is to get rid of connectors and hard wire electric system to avoid a fused stator.
Rust proof gas tank. Seems like a problem with dissimilar metals.
Good luck
A V powered gokart, I'ld love to see pictures of that ;D.
I would love to drive that!!
Just to round out this thread, I got the RD350A very cheaply, so I'll be busy for maybe the next two years. Perhaps then, I'll be back. Enjoy yourselves guys! Great site!