What's left? Is your V "done" yet?

[Dave T.]

Just wondering for all U's peeps out there. Mine is finally done. I have done about every possible fix there is to do on it over the last 3 years. I swear it's cost me $2000. ?:o

How much have you got into yours? How much left? ?;D

I've done this in 3 years...

Por 15 the tank,
Clean and "adjust" the carbs multiple times.
3 stators
2 R/R's
Front fairing install
New seat cover
Fuse box replacement
Steering head bearings
2 headlamps
2 new tires
New "used" front rotor
Goodridge front brake line braided
Repair starter clutch
New piston rings, valve job, mill heads, top end rebuild
New "used" gauges (tach didn't work)
Grips, bar ends
Tank stickers
Uni Air filter
Starter seal replacement, new brushes, weep hole
Got rid of stock turn signals, put smaller ones on
Added voltmeter
1983 bar risers (short ones)
Near homemade exhaust
New "used" footpeg covers
Water pump rebuild
Free Dyno Run
Factory manual
Spark plugs, wires and caps
Got rid of YIKES! and all new hoses


WHOLLY SHEET! ?:o

[kiawrench]

oooooooooo ? ? ? k ?!
 ? i just thought i had run up some parts bills,,,,
 ?mine runs, was riding great, just have to fix a couple of things ,,, and let foot heal for a week,,,, then am at it again.
 ?surprising how many people are riding rockets and want to hop an old bike at a red light . ?then when they catch up,,, they just stare like a teletubby.

[Don Minor]

 ::)Well,
   I've had to replace a set of fork seals and clean the carbs. Of course I had to have tires.Other than that my $350 investment in the V has been I'm sorry to say cheap(I got 3 for $350).I ride it everyday.Everyday that I'm not out at sea doing my Navy job.I came back from westpac, put the battery back in and went for a ride.The little V is not the best looking bike on the street,but I couldn't get more BANG for the buck.
Don

[nvdranger]

Just started I'll let you know if my cheap bike turned into not so cheap after all.  Lets see clutch cable, rebuilding carbs as we speak, fork seals (bought need to be installed), battery, tci (came w/o one), need headers/y-pipes, gauge housing, uhm not sure what else I need yet.  Still not as much as a running bike but we will have to see about that.

Ken

[Rick G]

When you buy an old bike, much of the "good  " will be gone  (in varying degrees) so you must put back some "good " in order to get some "good "out of it. To expect an old bike to be perfect in all ways,  is foolish, I know I work on old bike all day long! Some times you luck outr and the repairs will be minimal , some times you need to lift the gas cap and run anew bike under neath it!

My first Vision , cost 500.00 and cost me 400. to get on the road. tires, wheel bearings, speedo cable, water pump rebuild, to name a few things. I then picked up a parts bike for 120.00 and later anouther for 200.00 .
A visionary in MAdison Wi. offered his two for a trade , a twelve pack of Sumit Pale Ale . I drove 500 miles round trip and spent 100.00 in gas  to pick up his rider and parts bike , both with titles.  The 500.00 one is now parts and the fellows rider is now my rider.
Over the past 4 years, I've bought 3 sets of tyres  and a battery,  a clutch cable ,  and other odds and ends . I've rebuilt  the water pump,the  starter clutch, replaced the stator and RR. modified the handle bar mounts added a fairing , and still haven't spent half as much and a second hand SV650 suzuki would have cost. And i like this bike better.
A tune up on a new bike,in a name brand dealership can run 200. and up. If you learn to repair and maintain your bike you will be way ahead of the game , espicially in this era of 2.00 a gallon gas. Your old Vision can pay for it self.  
One last thing , T.A.N.S.T.A.F.L.  There ain't no such  thing as a free lunch, it hidden in the price of the beer.  

[Lucky]

Amen.

[wolfman]

Let's see in the last 12 months (6 of which were no ride time winter) ?Not in order...

Tank HOLES fixed and tank POR15'd
Replaced seat (EBay like new for $29.00)
Carbs removed and cleaned/adjusted
YICS box repaired
Crankcase flushed out with 3 gallons of gas when I misassembled the petcock
New "used" OEM seat
New Battery
Repaired vent door on fairing
Installed 83' Fairing (EBay! ?yes i paid WAY too much)
Installed chrome dual OEM 83' ?exhaust (macpipes were rusty and too loud for my taste..EBay much cheaper )
Replaced fuse box with "PEP boys special"
Obtained and installed dash panel for Fairing (it did not have one when I bought it)
Changed all fluids
Removed fairing, tank and all body parts and painted the same color
New used front fender to replace the one I ruined doing the above
New tires
New Stator
New R/R
Rebuilt starter clutch
New front fork seals
New used left front turn signal when I let it fall over and smashed it.
Installed volt gauge in dash panel

I think thats all....she's road ready and ridden whenever I have the time and it's warm enough! ?Hopefully be my ride to work (weather permitting) SOON. ?I'm starting to polish the cases now a little at a time.

Ooops...I forgot the spare basket case set of carbs I bought for parts...just in case...
 

[Dave T.]

 

When you buy an old bike, much of the "good ?" will be gone ?(in varying degrees) so you must put back some "good " in order to get some "good "out of it. To expect an old bike to be perfect in all ways, ?is foolish, I know I work on old bike all day long!

A tune up on a new bike,in a name brand dealership can run 200. and up. If you learn to repair and maintain your bike you will be way ahead of the game , espicially in this era of 2.00 a gallon gas.Your old vision can pay for it self. ? ::)
One last thing , T.A.N.S.T.A.F.L. ?There ain't no such ?thing as a free lunch, it hidden in the price of the beer. ?

Gotcha on that one Rick. Imagine if we here had all these repairs done at our local dealer!  :o I think about 10% of the people here have actually brought their bike to the dealer for repairs. Then they say, "Are you sure you want to spend that kinda money?" "It's not even worth that much!"  ::)

[Dave T.]

Crankcase flushed out with 3 gallons of gas when I misassembled the petcock

Doh!  ;D At least your not afraid to admit it... ;)

I ruined my Cam when I rebuilt my top end trying to get the bolt off. Cost me $100 to get a used top end..  :P

[GA_Wolf]

In last couple months...
Soldered stator wires, moved R/R to left rear peg, replaced lost bolt in rear exhaust pipe hanger, swapped out steel rings in rear cylinder "Y" pipe (freebee).  Need to do's...refurbish and swap  out swing arm (freebee).  Install driving lamp to fork, (freebee)  buy and install volt meter, then misc. cosmetic work....like bought a cb750 luggage rack to adapt to the "v".

[Silver_Bullet]

Let's see.....In past 3 yrs starting with the purchase of the Vision, I did:
valve adjustment (with help of mechanic shop)
carbs rebuilt (thanks Lucky)
bought '83 fairing, gastank, and body panels on ebay for 2/3 the cost of the Vision itself, but well worth it.
completely stripped everything off frame and POR'd it
new coils, plugs, wires, grommets, screws, fittings, etc.
new tires
new paint (original Yamaha Silver) Thanks, Budget Paint and Body of Port Barre, LA.
new battery/R/R ( which I still have with new Stator, hardwired in old R/R which works fine)
Still have a few, but minor things to do:
carbs are leaking fuel (float stuck open)
polish and clean up everything on bike (don't know what'll work on those cases)
maybe change brake pads (not bad yet)
Fix starter clutch
For a total of under $3,500 including purchase price and insurance, a lot of motorcycle. ?Not to mention the satisfaction of doing much of the work myself. ?

Mark

[PeteN]

Geez, I just got it last week, but it runs great, seems to charge the battery, doesn't rattle, and looks pretty good.  I'm going to clean my caliper and bleed the brakes again, then go for a ride! I'll do the starter seal and check the starter clutch when I change the oil, get a fairing and set of pipes, but I'm in no hurry.  This bike is great and I don't regret not getting an SV650 at all. (well, maybe just a little)  ;D

[kiawrench]

i guess if we are doin' the what did i do for winter fun list:
new stator in first week ?
have replaced regulator twice
 replaced wiring harness with one fom Lucky
water pump and thermo ?
front brakes ?
flywheel /induction magnet (beause i was not ?carefull when did starter clutch )
 have done the valve adjustment - ?
 repair of fuel tank ?
replacement of all rubber hoses ?
had to get radiator tanked and sealed ? ?
"shark nose" fairing ?
seca II hard saddle bags
new fork brace ?
pirrelli tires, less than 100 miles on them ?
factory seat and ?
recovered seat with radical foam reduction ?
luggage rack, solid , from cb 750 ?
back rest , custom, covered to match low boy seat ?
just recently painted tank,fairing,sidecovers and saddlebags police car silver ,
added in custom graphics and logos .
Engine blacked out ,high temp high gloss --sweeeeeet!
added in my fork mounted fog lamp set (wal-mart,19.99)
just bought a new fairing to replace one damaged friday night ?and am working on swapping for low boy risers ?

 ?willing to swap good set high boys for set of low boys,,,, europe a bit out of my mailing ability due to rates, but am working on that (finland)
 will still have to repaint just the left rear saddlebag and have graphic remade to apply, and am wanting one of those super bright headlights,, just for SUV drivers
and am going to find set of heavy weight gaiters for front forks,, ultra black,,
all in all,, even after thinking i was way over budget,, i still have not invested over 1100.00 ,thanks to forum members,good trading at the boneyard and some abract thinking on my part .
best part is ,
i did save 27 percent by switching my insurance to geico,,,, no joke ,

[Dave T.]

?This bike is great and I don't regret not getting an SV650 at all. (well, maybe just a little) ?

At the dyno runs there were 2 SV's there, one made 65 HP and the one with the pipe made 70 HP! ?:o I think I would trade my V in, but since I bought a condo last year, I can barely afford to keep the V runnin'. Gotta make the most of what you have.... ?:P

[MotorPlow]

The only money I spent on the V besides the $450 price for the bike is:
$100 +/- for a Carb Cleaning
$20 new air filter
$20 oil and filter
$180 Tires
$20 R/R
$23 Stator
$18 VoltMeter
$6 Radio Shack Alternator check device
      $5 for quick clip connectors to mount while riding
$9 Stator cover gasket
$17 Front brake pads

Now just need to be off work long enough to install tires, R/R, Stator and front brakes.

Enjoy,
Chris

[Walt_M.]

All I have to do is the starter clutch fix, not yet noisy but it will be, and put in the Euro primary gears. I'll get to it probably in June or July. And, yes, I know I am very lucky that I got it running again before it got really bad. I've had it back on the road for about 10 months and, May 25 is her 21st birthday!

[Jeff]

Well it's been a long winter down here and I'm trying to keep one on the road and get another one on the road.
Soooo;
 My original is finally running better than it has in over 10 years.  I kept finding little problems that apparently have been haunting me.  My last find was a bad spark plug boot.
When you change your plugs, check the set screw in the boot...I pulled the boot and the resistor fell down by the plug and the set screw stayed on the top of the plug..After checking the boot inside, I found it's been bad for awhile because the inside is all warn away.  Thank goddness I have a parts bike because don't know how much that would cost.  I also had some good carbon wire's that I switched over to.
So far so good she's running great.
 New plugs and wires
 New brakes front and rear
 Case guards
 water pump rebuild
 thermostat
 Now I have a pin hole in the exhaust on the crossover right in front of the tire... :(

No 2 has fresh paint and needs carbs done.  I tried a couple times but no change so need to send them up North...

[supervision]

   Having done all the required fixes to my v over the years, hopefully now maybe I can get around to things like greasing  wheel bearings and swingarm bearings..   My friend cb has this idea he throws out from time to time, he says why not turn the top of the airbox forward and bring in fresh air to it?  maybe even gain some extra voulume in the process... nice idea , nothing like free hp.     Oh I also need to go to bigger headlight, new seat foam and cover maybe going forward on the tank alittle  with the shape of it.  I'd like to redo my master clynder,, never been apart.  One thing I did for myself was construct a  work bench to roll the bike up on, this has been a major backsaver, biggest improvement to my garage, good lighting too.   Soon I want to put some emulators in my forks..   I probably will never get rid of this bike, I become attached to things, I still think you get alot of thrills per dollar and I can't see spending the money on a new bike.. it would feel silly having that money setting there, my wife wants a new pickup pretty soon.. see ya,, sv

[Dave T.]

Now that we all nearly have our V's done, we need to get together in person and swap stories, drink beer, do some wheelies and drag race. ?;D

Biggest group we had was 4V's when me Rick G. and 2 others from MN went to an antique motorcycle show around 2 years ago. Ahh, those were the days, the V stumbled like a drunken sailor and was hard to start. I didn't think I'd make it to the ride because it barely ran... ?:P

[Glyn Pickering]

Hey Don - do you live in NZ?

I Saw a ref to Westpac in your mail. Be good to swop notes etc.

Cheers

Glyn