VX800 SUZUKI

[Rick G]

QBS asked for my take on the VX800 and while it is somewhat similar to the Vision in basic specification, they're not much alike .
The VX has a almost 6 inches longer wheel base and this coupled with the fork angle , makes it handle slower.  It has 41 mm forks , but like the XZ550 , are too soft . Mine was worse than most , so I added a 3.5 inch spacer , to raise ride height and reduce nose diving, during stops . The rear shocks are adjustable , for both damping and spring preload, but I have them cranked all the way up and there non too stiff. ( I'm down to 235lbs from 268 , so I don't work the suspension as much)
It has a built in fork brace and a race type gas cap. The seat was awful, I ended up sitting on the pan after only 100 miles , so I cut the front 5/8 of s VX seat foam and cut a thin sliver along the sides, about 1 inch in on both sides , to match it to the VX pan. The seat is now wonderful ,just like my XZ !!
Many pieces were missing and these came from eBay and my local Suzuki stealer. I dipped the carbs and synced them , replaced the air filters , with after market , washable ones,
I rebuilt the forks and replaced a lot of missing and abused hardware, installed a new battery as well as all the rubber parts , such as tank mounts and plastic side cover mounts.
The RR was missing so I dug out a XZ one and installed it . (The VX has a G7 stator just like the XZ, much lower failure rate though) The signal flasher was missing too , so I added one from XZ spares.
The water pump is located low on the rear left of the engine and the starter on the top behind the cylinders. The carbs are  34mm, a  down draft for the front , the rear one is a side draft , both are diaphragm types.  
I had the wizard at Dream Machines, do the body work on the tank, as it had 8 dents and had been dropped on the right side. I painted it my self , using urethane and it came out very well. Tyres were replaced with Shinko's front is a 120 90 18 and the rear is a 130 90 17 ( stock is 150 70 17)  i wanted the taller tyre to increase the gearing and its smaller cross section to speed up the handling.
It has more low end torque than the XZ and the engine is slightly more flexable , but my feeling is that the XZ is quicker than the XV up to 70 or so. The long wheel base and  fork angle, make it a better long distance ride , but on Oatman road or Hi way 18 the XZ is definitely quicker. The VX feels clumsy in low speed turns by comparison . The VX comes into its own in high seep sweepers.
When I got it , a year ago it needed every thing , including brakes. I installed new pads a year ago and just replaced the front again . The rear disc was metal to metal and I lucked out in finding one in Montreal , for only 50 US + shipping. The front it a single disk with a two pot caliper (two differant sizes)   it out stops my XZ, which as an '83 double disk. Its a big disk

Its been a long road bringing it back , it took a month to get it on the road  and I have worked on it continually ever since
In many ways its the bike the Vision could have become , but in others its not very similar .  Its is held back by the cruiser engine , sourced from the Intruder. Still I enjoy it very much, but I'm going to try to start on the vision rebuild this winter.

[Lucky]

The VX has a G7 stator just like the XZ,

Fly like a G7
(Sorry couldn't resist :D )

[QBS]

Thanks for the report Rick!