Bringing an '83 Vision back to life in Indianapolis.

[jchaplin]

So my main bike is an MV Agusta Brutale 1078RR, my 2nd bike project is a '77 kz400 cafe racer, 3rd project is a '67 Bultaco Metralla and now the 4th is the cool little gem I found tucked away in the back of a garage hidden under boxes of Christmas ornaments. An older gentleman owned it. Has had it since new, title and all. 100% complete, 20k miles. He said he went out to the garage once day back in the early 90's, went to ride it to work, hit the start button and nothing happened and that was the last time he touched it. And the last time it had life until today in my garage when I get her to turn over.

Exhaust is rusted, one of the headers was rusted through and broke off when I tried to remove it. Starter was full of oil, rebuilt that. Replaced the solenoid just in case, reg/rectifier to. Used dielectric grease on all electrical contacts. Changed oil, flushed coolant, new air filter, new battery, new plugs. Tank is rusted a bit and dented. Found a used but fresh painted one online for less than it'd be to fix mine. Found a black 2-2 Mac exhaust that'll look good so it's in route.

A small tear to fix in the seat. Hopefully, she'll be up and running in the near future. The wife isn't a fan of the overly torquey stupid powerful MV and all the others are single rider. Hopefully she will be a fan of this old girl.
The fuse box was shit, tried to clean the connectors and they just started breaking off so I rewired a whole new box that took blade fuses. Was pretty happy when I turned the key and everything came to life, all lights and signals work. Turns over fast and strong. Original plate still on it. Dated Oct, 1990. with the original dealership's bracket holding it on.

[QBS]

Good for you!  Sounds like the '83 has found an excellent home.  Get the history of whatever upgrades the bike has experienced.  At 20k miles a non upgraded starter clutch attachment should be making serious knocking sounds.  If your engine is quite, the clutch has probably been reattached.  If not installed, you need to install a fuel filter before you try to start the bike in earnest.  Your wife may find that the passenger foot pegs vibrate a bit.  Welcome to the group.  Please keep us apprised of your progress.

[Rikugun]

Nice little eclectic collection you've got there. I saw a MKII listed on bultaco.com for $12,000!

Sounds like you've addressed some of the important items right off the bat. I'd agree with QBS to take note of any unusual sounds indicative of starter clutch issues once you get her running. On that note I guess you've still got the fun project of carbs ahead of you?

Keep the updates coming.  :)

[jchaplin]

I'm learning as I go on this. First Jap bike I have had in pieces. Not the first I have owned but just never had the guts to tear them apart before. But that was a very long time ago. Now I've been messing with the MV quite a bit so I know it inside and out. But this bike is a whole different monster. So pretend I am Yamaha retarded and explain the starter clutch issue a bit more for me if you would. Maybe how difficult it is to replace or fix. Also, I have no issue figuring out how to get the carbs off, but just hooking them back up might be an issue. There is a guy I know who could rebuild them fine. When the exhaust gets here I'm going to see if it starts. Who knows, might get lucky.

[fret not]

The starter clutch works loose and eventually damages the threaded holes in the flywheel where it is attached.  it is far better to make the repair BEFORE it is needed, otherwise you may need a 'new' flywheel.

The fix is to remove the flywheel with a puller, the starter clutch is attached to the flywheel.  Remove the original bolts and replace them with new ones that are slightly longer and peen them over.  A cold chisel may be used to make a X on the end of each bolt to spread the end so it won't come loose.  You will have to grind this part of the bolts off if you ever need to remove them.

These are Allen (hex socket) head bolts, metric 8 X 1.25 X 20mm. 

Do this before the starter clutch cracks and is useless, and before the flywheel is ruined.

Somewhere in the vast archive is at least one very thorough discussion with pictures. 

[QBS]

The starter clutch issue is a factory defect that is focused on the screws Yamaha used to attach the starter clutch to the back of the flywheel and the method employed to secure them.  All Vs have the defect and once it is addressed the fix is permanent.  My '83 had its starter clutch reattached at 23k miles and has needed no further attention since then.  Current mileage is approx. 88k miles.

Fix early or pay later.  The archives should be chock full of posts regarding this issue.  The hardest part about the fix for most Vnarys is flywheel removal.

Also, the reattachment process requires removal of the right side engine cover.  This gives you the added benefit of being able to evaluate the potential crispyness of your stator coil.