Who has the highest mileage Vision?

[QQBS]

Bought '83 used in '84.  Estimated 87,000 miles(exact milage unknown because we're on our 2nd speedometer).  Heads have never been off.  Adjusted valves and replaced plugs maybe three times.  Replaced starter oil seal once at 10,000 miles.  Current stator is #4.  It's about 7 years and 40,000 miles old.  Connection is via solder.  Cheers.

[Jeff]

29000 miles on my 82, thougt I would break 30000 before winter but darn stator went again :'(....guess I can't complain this ones been in for 10 years.. maybe I'll get it back on the road after holidays.
Jeff

[Rick G]

Mine is pushing 33,000   and its reliability amazes me ( knock on wood)

[sdinino]

Bought mine 2 years ago with 35k on the clock... guessing I'm over 40k now, but it's hard to say for sure since I've ridden a lot without a speedo cable and the speedo itself was swapped.


SteveD

[zayanteman]

My 82 has 30,500 miles.  The bike was purchased by my neighbor in 85 and he put 23,000 miles on it between 85 and 97.  I got it from him (for free!) in 2000 and worked on it for a year, before putting the remaining 7,500 miles on it in the last year.

Interestingly, the only problems my neighbor had with the bike in 23,000 miles were 1 stator, 1 gas tank kreem job, and 1 starter.  When the starter went out, he let the bike sit for 3 years as punishment, before offering it to me.  To get it back on the road required a lot of work, and the bike hasn't been the same since.  Nothing but problems.

Keeping it on the road has required 3 regulator/rectifiers, 3 starters, 1 thermostatic fan switch, 3 carb rebuilds, another gas tank kreem job, 4 OEM exhaust gaskets, 3 brake pedals (bike has gone down 4 times on its right side :-/), 2 seat re-covers (that cheap vinyl keeps cracking and tearing), 1 front brake system rebuild (coming this winter), 1 complete engine gasket replacement (coming this winter), along with the standard consumables:  gas, berrymans, fuel and vacuum line, oil, brake fluid, brake pads, final drive oil, fork oil, grease, cable lube, coolant, spark plugs, tires, tlc.

I think letting this bike sit is about the worst thing one can do.
Got to keep them movin'!

Apart from the electrical unreliability, and the finnicky carbs, its been a lot of fun.  And there's no greater satisfaction than passing the Silicon Valley yuppies on their big money bikes with a twenty year old (unreliable) dinosaur that I got for free.  It's like beating the system.  

Zman  

[RobTx]

Well, Zman, now that you've found this site, there is no reason for anymore repairs!  Clean all electrical connections, and hard wire the stator.  Make sure all grounds are good and run an extra one to the r/r.  Don't use Berryman's in the tank if it's been Kreme'd.  Buy a fuel filter.  That should end the carb and tank problems.  Put a new seal on the starter and do the started clutch fix.  Don't know about the exhaust gaskets, hmm, just make sure everything is torqued correctly, that goes for replacing the engine gaskets as well.  As for the brake pedals...errr...don't fall!  Good luck, I'm pretty much doing all those things over the winter on my recently purchased Vision.
Rob

[zayanteman]

Hey Rob,

Thanks for the tips.  Looking back, I did clean all the electrical connections, and hard wire the stator.  And I also checked the grounds, but I didn't run an extra to the R/R.  At first, Electrex had sold me the wrong R/R and told me to wire it directly to the battery (there weren't the same numbers and colors of wires to wire it in normally).  So after about a year, the R/R melted.  But Electrex was good about warranty and concluded they had sold me the wrong part.  The new R/R they gave me doesn't make nearly the same output (somehow) and barely keeps the battery charged.  Forget about aux. lights and heated vest!  So I'm not sure what to do about that yet.

I didn't know not to use Berryman's in the tank if it's been Kreme'd.  That's good to know.  Somehow I missed that one. And I did buy a fuel filter.  The carbs haven't needed a rebuilding since installing the filter.  But they did require four cans of Berrymans.  Hope that didn't melt out the Kreem.

The exhaust gaskets were worn and wouldn't seal. Tried aftermarket seals, but they were of low quality and didn't seal properly.  OEM seals did the trick, but what a pain to torque those rear exhaust flanges!

Having Jason (referred to him by Lucky's website) do the new seal on the starter for me, since I don't have the time or inclination right now.

This BB has been great for information (I've stalked for about 2 years), as has Lucky's site, but I've still had to do the work myself - one of the "joys" of owning an old bike, I guess.  ;D

The aforementioned neighbor went in for a new Interceptor, and I almost did myself last week, when this last starter failed (already rebuilt once, before I knew about the seal fix).  But reason prevailed, and I realized how much I love spending all my time and money on my little Stealth bike.  Actually, I realized that I'm just a few more fixes away from actual reliability.

(FYI, my Vision is solid Black, except for the chrome exhaust, YICS cover, and a little bit of the forks.  The engine, swingarm, various metal parts, forks and wheels are shiny black, and all the bodywork is flat black.  So because of the understated appearance and all the toggles and switches for various things like aux. lights, heated grips, voltmeter, etc., people have taken to calling the bike "stealth bike" and ask me which toggle is for the oil slick, and which one is for the rocket launcher...  if they really knew! ;) )

Owning this particular Vision has been a manic-depressive experience.  Totally happy when zipping down the mountain roads one minute, broken down on the side of the road the next.  Everyone I know (except my girlfriend) tells me to get  a new bike or a car.  They don't understand how good the highs are.  

Zman

[RobTx]

Sounds like you're addicted Zman.  Good luck to both of us sorting out our Visions.  Lucky and his website have been invaluable, without it I would have torn out my hair.  Electrical problems are one thing my bike doesn't seem to suffer from (knock on copper!), just mechanical things, but the Ignition FAQ is there if I ever need it.
Rob

[QQBS]

Ztman.:  You mentioned weak alternator output, suggest you put a voltmeter on your battery at 2500 rpm.  If you don't see at least 13 volts suspect a failing stator.  A stator with only two of it's three coils still intact will put out enough amps to marginally charge a battery.  If you have appropriate voltage suspect a failing battery.  Either way do the stator coil grounding test as described in Haynes for a more definative evaluation.  Cheers.