Just picked a vision... its definitely a project. **pictures up**

[GiftVision]

Where to begin... I am not new to bikes, or Yamaha's for that matter. What I am very new to is this bike, it perplexes me to see a v-twin 550cc like this... but none-the-less I am willing to try it... once I get it working of course. This was actually a free bike... so I took what I got in stride.

This is an 82 as far as I can tell...
It looks like it was birthed in a salt bath... rust and pitting everywhere.
the paint really isnt all that bad, it actually has a nice dark gray color mixed with the rust.
The good (as far as I can tell)
-It cranks when it has power **yay the engine is not seized**
-The lights work
-It has an ignition key
-It has tires that hold air *For now*
-The rear brake works
-Its a great project!
The Bad (again as far as I can tell)
-The master cylinder (F-brake) is locked up *one on order already*
-There is no key for the gas cap
-There is no key for the seat release (same key right??)
-The fuel tank is very very very rotted... did i mention very?
-I cant get the seat off! (the key issue remember?)
-I cant get the fuel tank off! (again with that damned key)
-I cant tell what else is wrong with it because parts wont come off yet!!
The okay but not so great
-Frame has rust
-exhaust has rust
-engine has white "pitting" on it...
-wheels have rust
-no battery *yet*


I am grinning ear to ear with this bike... I cant wait to hear this thing run. I have a set of priorities first, and of course you may interject if you think they are not in the right order...
-Get engine running
-Check all other fluids, etc.
-Check all wiring
-Fuel tank-> either fix or replace all together... gas cap too
-Brakes (entire system)
-Tires

[YellowJacket!]

Hi GiftVision and welcome to ROV.  Your story is similar to mine and many of the other members here.  With a lot of elbow grease, persistance and pain..well maybe not so much pain...you'll get her running and she will serve you well.
The good news is that you can get it to crank and run.  Thats a big plus.

You have kind of joined at a slow part of the year for us.  Most of us check in quite regularly but the conversations tend to pick up quite a bit in the warmer months.  We are a pretty close family and we have a few "groups" based on where we all live.  Several times of the year many of us get together to swap stories and ride together.

So, now that we know a little about your bike, tell us a little about yourself.  Mainly, where are you located.  There may be a Visionary near you who can lend a hand...or some parts...and go for  a ride with you.

welcome to the ROV family!

David
(Knoxville, TN)

[GiftVision]

Thanks yellow: however I do feel inclined to correct something that may be misread... it cranks but not runs... Maybe that's what you meant but I just want to make sure that is set as a baseline for this little terror I took on.

I am in New Braunfels Texas, 45mins south of Austin, 20 mins north of San Antonio on Interstate 35.

I am a Firefighter by trade, a Commercially rated pilot for fun, and an engineer student. I love machines, especially the ones that move quickly with me along for the ride.

I love to take things apart, and make new versions of them, and that is why i have taken on this project.

In case no one has seen my other post... I do need a fuel tank either fixed or replaced, so if anyone knows someone who has/does any of the latter please let me know.  ** very limited budget **

My daily rider is a 1985 Goldwing 1200 Aspencade, a mostly finished project bike.

[Tiger]

 :) Welcome to your new and extended family...the best place a Vision can bring its new owner  :D :D 8)

You will find just about everthing you need...help, advice, somewere to rant, part(s), etc...to get you and your Vision up-and-running.

First things first...There is NO such thing as a FREE Vision :o believe me/us... ;)

Contact "Lucky" here on the ROV...He has a great CD/DVD for sale, that contains: Part's/workshop manuals, helpfull hints 'n tips, etc, etc, an absolute "must have" if your going to wrench this baby back to life ;)

Do a search in the archives to help you find out more about specific "Fixes"... ;)

Ask as many questions as you like...there will always be someone here to help you out... 8)

Time, effort, TLC and some $$$ will get you a really fun ride...A bike that will have people asking you..

..."What the hells that"!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D... ;)

                       8).......TIGER....... 8)

[Night Vision]

rusted wheels? naw... they're alloy so you can cross that off your list...

....see how easy this is going to be ;)

don't worry about the tank, by the time you're ready.. I'll have a beaut that will match your other pits... it's solid, just not what you'd call pretty and should fit your budget

[Rick G]

Hi Gift,  The wheels can be cleaned up with  some 600 wet of dry sand paper , followed by some 1000 or 1200. Then polish them up with some Mother's . The engine  cases can use the same treatment ,but first use paint stripper to get the clear coat off. Polish them with the mother's used with synthetic sheep's wool pad,  turned by an electric drill motor. This is fairly low buck stuff and really makes the bike shine .By the way , I don't apply any clear to the cases (there's none on the wheels)  If I work that hard to get it off, I certainly don't want any back on.
The keys are all the same , UNLESS, the locks have been changed. On solution is to load the bike up and take it to a qualified locksmith, he can get them open and make keys too.

[Coil Coyle]

Take the seat hinge pins out on the right side after you pull the plastic trim peice that covers them. 2 ea 10mm hex head.
Hacksaw the side of the frame tab that the seat locks into, pry the tab apart enough to get the seat lock assembly free. Two bolts to the seat pan, too.
Take the seat lock to a locksmith that gives a shit about old projects and they will be able to look up the blank and the tumbler spacing on their web tools. The blank uses 4 tumblers for a Vision and 7 for a Japanese car, Nissan I recall.

Any way, the key that opens the seat lock will operate the ignition and the gas cap uses just two of the tumblers.

Have fun, welcome to Riders of Vision.

$0.02
;)
Coil

[Tiger]

 :) A couple of pointers for you...

RE:The Bad-The master cylinder (F-brake) is locked up *one on order already*

After laying around, the front brake caliper piston will be seized in and any brake fluid left in the system will have turned to a jelly type mess. Remove the brake caliper, strip, clean and rebuild with a caliper rebuild kit from your local Yamaha st dealer... 8)

The oxidization on the aluminum parts...engine, wheels, etc...is a fairly straight forward elbow grease job.

As long as the rust on the frame is surface rust, a rub down with scotch brite or a similar product will help get rid of it...and then touch up paint.

A new battery from WalMart will set you back about $35.00 but a good investment for your Vision long term... ;)

Once you have the gas tank removed the carbs will need to be removed, stripped, completely cleaned and rebuilt...and an in line gas filter installed between the petcock and carbs.

Take a look in Tigers parts list... in the swap shop....... ;)

Try and put some pictures of your Vision up...it will give us all an idea of the project in hand ;)

                   8).......TIGER....... 8)

[Walt_M.]

I don't know if you read my earlier post about the gas cap lock but, don't bother taking the seat lock to a locksmith. It doesn't use as many tumblers as the ignition lock so a key that works the seat lock or gas cap won't work in the ignition. Take the ignition lock to the locksmith and he will fix you up.

[GiftVision]

Hmm interesting part on the key... I will have to spray some WD-40 in the cylinders to see if that's all that is keeping the key from actually going in. I hope you guys know what you are talking about ;).

Someone will have to show me how to post a picture on here, in plain English... and I will put up the "Before" pictures.

Night Vision: There is actually rust on the wheels LOL, I figured they were aluminum/mag wheels but for some reason there is actual rust in there.

Tiger: I really cant afford to get all these rebuild kits yet... I will just have to see how I fare on my own. I am saving up money for a 2007 BMW R1100RT.

Coil: If I cant get the keys in tonight when I get home... I will definitely use that method. I was hoping someone had to break into their seat somewhere before. I have a lock pick set... but it doesn't want to open the gas cap or the seat lock... But I got the ignition **go figure**


** I just cant shake the feeling that the locks are different... I really cant get that ignition key into the gas cap or seat lock... the grooves on the key don't even appear to line up (the lateral grooves, not the pin grooves), guess we will wait to see!**


THANKS ALL FOR YOUR WELCOME ADVICE AND HELP

[blimp]

I have two separate keys for my vision, one fits the ignition, one fits the gas/seat lock.  Might have to take the whole bike into the key shop?  I've done that before...

[GiftVision]

Thanks Blimp, that is the post I have been looking for. I was pretty sure that there needed to be 2 sets of keys for this thing, but I will have to call the locksmith.

[GiftVision]

[YellowJacket!]

Looks about like mine did...maybe even a little better.  LOTS of potential.

David

[JDArgonaut]

Gift,
Welcome!
My 83 uses the same key for everything. Which reminds me, when I bought it, the previous owner only gave me one key. I suppose before my luck runs out, I should get another made!
JDA

[The Prophet of Doom]

Don't damage the bike, You may have a mobile locksmith in your area.  From experience they are no dearer than the shops and better at car locks than the ones with shops.

It's quite conceivable that any of the lockable parts could have been switched at some point. So there is no knowing whether you wll end up needing 1, 2, or 3 keys.  There are at least two different key styles for visions, and they won't fit into each other's slots. 

Getting blanks can be an issue here.  The larger key I got no problem at a auto parts w/house.  I haven't found a blank for the smaller style yet.  It might be easier where you come from.

If your locks all use the same key style (though it sounds like not), then they can be re-pinned to all fit the same key. 

[Tiger]

Tiger: I really cant afford to get all these rebuild kits yet...

The brake rebuild kit would be my choice...the carbs can, in most cases, be stripped, cleaned and rebuilt using the original parts...if your careful :o  ;)

My "V" has two keys...one for the gas cap & one for the ignition/seat lock.

Can you put some more pictures up...left/right side, front/back, etc.....

                         8).......TIGER....... 8)

[blimp]

I see you are near San Antonio, I've always had good luck with Cothron's as a locksmith, and they have a mobile unit in San Antone:

http://www.cothrons.com/location.php

Good luck

[GiftVision]

Im actually not close enough to that locksmith Blimp..

I will post more pictures when my upload limit for the month resets.

Yeah guys its two totally different types of keys from the ignition to the seat... i cant really see the slotting on the gas cap cylinder. I hope its not 3 keys. I will just have to attempt to rebuild the carbs with all original parts... thats going to be a great project.

I got the bolt off of the back of the tank (i was able to lift the seat enough to fit my ratchet in there) but now I cant really figure out how to get the damned thing off

If its anything like my OLD honda... the back bolt is the only bolt... and there are "L" hooks that are holding it on the front??? If so how far back do I need to slide the tank to get it off?? is there anything else I need to remove to get this to come off those hook points (not entirely off the bike just so that I can get it off when I remove the fuel crap)


BTW: I am surprised that noone has asked me what the wires are at the battery box yet.
from looking at pictures... as far as i can tell ... this thing has all its original parts with exception of the mirrors. I have no idea where the heck those went. I am duly impressed that its stayed together all these years.

[Night Vision]

tank needs to slide back about an inch to clear the ears on the inside of the tank... after the rear of tank is lifted about a 1/2"

I figured those "three wires" were part of your security system  ???