Question time...

[h2olawyer]

I think that's a trade-off.  With one disc, you get some twisting between the forks under braking, even with a fork brace.

H₂O

[kiawrench]

i think the best thing i have done is building a new wiring harness from scratch and the redundant grounds. this ended all electrical problems,including the magical rotating light bulb popping syndrome i had .  more when this goes to open idea  section

[Scott_Mc]

try searching for "steering head bearings", or "steering stem bearings"

he's not smoking anything, 83 Visions have dual brakes up front, take a close look at my bike, or any in the gallery & you'll see 'em., but i doubt they are taxing the forks...

--Lucky
Go Red Sox!!

As much as I do not know about these bikes, the basics between the the `82 & `83 MYs I do!  For example, I've known that I've owned the inferior model for many years now!  I just found it hard to believe that the extra brake disc/caliper would make any difference.  Hey, I'm a newbie so what do I know :D  Thanks for the search tip! 
Lucky did you get my email?

-Scott
GO PATS!

[Tiger]

 8)...OPEN SEASON...Pick out another one, or more, of your up-grade's, boy's 'n girlies... ;)

8)...I gotta tell you all, the "new" shaped seat is very good. I wanted a single seat look, you know, cafe racer style, but needed something that, on the odd time my wife came out for a run, would serve the purpose intended.  Useing the info on Lucky's site...thank-you Lucky...I had a guy remodel the original one. He took a wee bit off the front portion, I'm a short ass!!! built up the passenger bit. I asked for Corbin material for the two seat portion's and regular on the rest...all in black. What I was after was: Style, look's and of course comfort...3 out of 3's not bad, eh... 8) and all for $150.00 Canadian... 8)

                            :D.......NEXT....... ;D

[h2olawyer]

Now that its open season on upgrades -

The full fairing & 83 brakes / suspension (F & R) are my favorite upgrades.  The braided stainless lines & Avon Super Venoms were the icing on the cake.  The bike runs, rides & handles much better than it did when new!  Think I'll like the 83 tank upgrade when I finish it so I will have a fuel gauge, but that's really just window dressing, like the 83 speedo was.  For safety, the auxilliary lights I put on last fall look nice & make me more visible.  Plus, they really light up the road at night.  Thought the Silverstar bulb was good but the extra lights are awesome.

H₂O

[Night Vision]

open season favorite is definately:

83 risers and rearset pegs on my '82. riding position is perfect. aggressive, but not stupid....

going back to an '82 standard feels like a chopper!  :D

next year I'll let you know what I think about the Euro gears when I plug them into the project bike

[Brian Moffet]

  For safety, the auxilliary lights I put on last fall look nice & make me more visible.  Plus, they really light up the road at night. 

Tell me more, I want to put on some extra lights.

Brian

[h2olawyer]

I went to AutoZone & purchsed a set of small (2.5 - 3" diameter) driving lights for about $35.  They are 55w each & have a very blue tint to them - made by Pilot.

To install them, I made some "L" brackets that attach between the front turn signal stalks & the fairing.  The horizontal portion of the L comes out under the signal stalks & the lights hang from them.

To wire them in, I installed a new fuseblock by zip-tying it to the fairing frame.  Ran red 10 gauge wire from the pos terminal of the battery to the fuseblock.  Also installed a bus bar next to the fuseblock & ran black 10 gauge wire from there to the battery negative.  The lights didn't come with a relay & just an inline fuse.  I cut out the inline fuse & used a 20A fuse in the new fuseblock.  Wired it according to the instructions that came with the lights but substituted a rocker switch for the toggle style the lights came with.

As of now, the new power center on the fairing frame is not controlled with the ignition key but I will be putting in a heavy duty relay and wiring it into the harness so that the accessories will turn off with the key so I don't forget, leave the lights on & drain the battery.

The lights give off a very narrow beam - not exactly what I wanted, but they are more for daytime visibility.  Have only been able to go on a couple rides since I installed them but they don't seem to knock the voltmeter down too much.  It is a noticeable drop, but only about .5V on my gauge.  Still plenty to keep the battery charged.

I posted a couple photos to show what it looks like.  Sorry for quality - just did a couple quick pics, shook a little & didn't spend time getting focus perfect.  Getting the fairing off to show the new power center is more than I want to do at present, but I'll get pics of that setup when I'm doing other maintenance - after my garage gets back into the 40s!  It's cold out there right now.

H₂O

[YellowJacket!]

Fork Brace
SS Brake Lines.
Shark Fairing
Avon Super Venoms
Engine Guards
POR-15
Multigauge - Volts, time, temp.....
83 risers

Things I want/need to do
Driving Lights - already have them but need the motivation and time to install them
Hard bags/saddle bags
Upgrade fuse block
Progressive front springs or 83 front end

SOmething that would be cool
Carb conversion

David

[Lead_Deficiency]

Stainless brake line, oooo so nice to have brakes. (and don't forget about  getting rid of the melting stator connector)

[Tiger]

 :) In the 18 month's that I have owned my "V"...

8)...Full fairing...Certainly makes for a more comfortable ride... 8)

8)...New seat...Style, look's and comfortable... 8)

8)...S.S. Galfer Brake line...Stopping power, 'nough said... 8)

8)...Master cylinder sight glass...Now I can see the brake fluid level... 8)

8)...'83 riser's...More forward stance gives me more "feel" & control... 8)

8)...Set of quality handlebar grip's...Cut's down on vibration...giving comfort and safety... 8)

8)...Throttle rest...the heal of your hand sit's on it, great for highway riding... 8)

8)...Fork Brace...Takes out the fork flex, therefore makes a huge difference to the handling especially on twisties... 8)

8)...Volt meter...Dieing stator, stuck miles from home, towing $$$...Voltmeter installl, priceless... 8)

8)...R/R moved to left rear footpeg...Now a happy electronic "Cool dude"... 8)

8)...Up-graded OEM fuse's/fuse box with modern style A.T.O fuse's/holder's...Easy to buy replacement fuse(s), but more importantly, takes out a weak electrical area... 8)

8)...Modern headlight bulb...Suppose it helps to see in the dark...and be seen...anytime... 8)

8)...'83 rear shock...ByeBye to the old '82 pogo sticking of the rear end... 8)

8)...Taper head bearing's...Gives you a lot more "feedback" than the old oem ball bearing's... 8)

8)...LED rear tail/stop light...Help's ease some elec' load which help's with elec' add-on's...and safety... 8)

8)...Chopped rear fender, installed license plate holder with LED light...More cosmetic than need... 8)

8)...Backrest...for the wife...but really for my new touring bag's that strap onto the backrest!!!

8)...Saddle bag's...How can you tour with-out them ;D :D ;)

8)...Fixed louvered air vent in the lower rear inner fender...allow's hot air to evacuate from in between the bat'/coolant bottle area and away from the other electrical component's housed in there... 8)

8)...Battery Tender Jr. wiring harness...No flat or prem' bat' sulfation... 8)

8)...Starter clutch bolt's, replaced, red loctited, torqued and "shamrock" peened... 8)

8)...Balancer shaft nut blue loctited, retorqued, locktab's seated...NO MORE ringee dingeeee... 8)


8)...Driving lamp's...sitting on the bench...waiting for installation... ::)

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

[MotorPlow]

H2O,
You mounted your lights is the exact same place I did (http://motorplow.blogspot.com/2006/05/another-switch-on-dash.html). I have had mine there for just under a year now and think they are great. The rocker switch I have for them is in a sucky position as I can't turn them off fast enough when I encounter oncoming traffic. I would like to wire them inro the "High Beam" wiring so I can just flip 'em off with my thumb. That will be an upcoming project for me.

~MotorPlow

I went to AutoZone & purchsed a set of small (2.5 - 3" diameter) driving lights for about $35.  They are 55w each & have a very blue tint to them - made by Pilot.

To install them, I made some "L" brackets that attach between the front turn signal stalks & the fairing.  The horizontal portion of the L comes out under the signal stalks & the lights hang from them.

To wire them in, I installed a new fuseblock by zip-tying it to the fairing frame.  Ran red 10 gauge wire from the pos terminal of the battery to the fuseblock.  Also installed a bus bar next to the fuseblock & ran black 10 gauge wire from there to the battery negative.  The lights didn't come with a relay & just an inline fuse.  I cut out the inline fuse & used a 20A fuse in the new fuseblock.  Wired it according to the instructions that came with the lights but substituted a rocker switch for the toggle style the lights came with.

As of now, the new power center on the fairing frame is not controlled with the ignition key but I will be putting in a heavy duty relay and wiring it into the harness so that the accessories will turn off with the key so I don't forget, leave the lights on & drain the battery.

The lights give off a very narrow beam - not exactly what I wanted, but they are more for daytime visibility.  Have only been able to go on a couple rides since I installed them but they don't seem to knock the voltmeter down too much.  It is a noticeable drop, but only about .5V on my gauge.  Still plenty to keep the battery charged.

I posted a couple photos to show what it looks like.  Sorry for quality - just did a couple quick pics, shook a little & didn't spend time getting focus perfect.  Getting the fairing off to show the new power center is more than I want to do at present, but I'll get pics of that setup when I'm doing other maintenance - after my garage gets back into the 40s!  It's cold out there right now.

H₂O

[h2olawyer]

MP -

I remembered your post & decided to emulate it.  I liked your easy mounting idea so I stole it.   ;D  Good ideas get passed around.

I really like mine, too.  At least they ae only 55w each - the same as the low beam.  Since I'm using them to enhance my visibility in the daytime, I have them aimed pretty low, more along the lines of fog lights.  Haven't had anyone flash high beams at me yet - day or night.  I mounted my switch in the dash, to the left of the center mounted volt gauge.

Mine were just quickly installed & the mounts need paint, the screws that hold the light flange to the mount need to be changed to nuts & bolts & my whole front power center needs to be run through a relay.  Then the wiring needs to be put into a plastic loom of some type.  All easy, inexpensive projects but I need a little more warmth in the garage before I tackle it.

As for all the modifications I've done so far:

83 forks, brakes & air caps
sbs brake pads
DOT 4 brake fluid
Braided stainless brake lines
83 rear shock
Tapered steering bearings
Avon Super Venoms (F&R)
CPU cooling fan on R/R
Manual cooling fan switch
Voltmeter
Driving lights
Sylvania Silverstar headlamp bulb
Formotion clock & thermometer
83 full fairing - painted to match 82 Star Silver & vents repaired
Wood grain dash panel
Fork brace
Travelcade seat cover
83 speedometer
Engine Ice coolant
Starter nose seal replacement
Starter clutch bolt fix
Electrosport stator
Balancer nuts tightened
Shift Shaft seal replaced
Interstate sealed, maintenance free battery
Powerport for running video equipment & maybe future heated clothing
Yamaha 1984 vintage Soft luggage - tank & saddlebags
Grab-On foam grips
Vista-Cruise throttle lock
83 shortie handlebar risers
Battery Tender Jr. wiring harness

I have a few more additions yet to go

Waterpump mechanical seal replacement
83 fuel tank to de-dent & POR
install 83 fuel gauge
full repaint
headlight modulator
shorter turn signal stalks
83 carbs

No wonder I like the bike even more today than the day I bought it!

H₂O

[Brian Moffet]

I really like mine, too.  At least they ae only 55w each - the same as the low beam.  Since I'm using them to enhance my visibility in the daytime, I have them aimed pretty low, more along the lines of fog lights.  Haven't had anyone flash high beams at me yet - day or night.  I mounted my switch in the dash, to the left of the center mounted volt gauge.

I decided to splurge, and bought the small 40.00 square ones.  They're pretty bright, and I'll probably mount them on brackets which fit drop below the turn signals or something.

Considering some of the other ones go for 200 +, these seem pretty nice.

Brian

[Tiger]

 :) Princess auto had a sale on light's, a few week's back, and I bought a nice looking set for only...$10.00!!!...and yes, they do have bulbs in them...55w halogen's... 8)

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

[Scott_Mc]

:) Princess auto had a sale on light's, a few week's back, and I bought a nice looking set for only...$10.00!!!...and yes, they do have bulbs in them...55w halogen's...

Maybe a novice question here but hey I am a newbie...  Why would you add a substantial load to an already fragile electrical system?

[Lucky]

good question, decent assumption, but no.

the biggest contributor of early stator failure & related components is heat.  the system shunts unused wattage to ground, producing heat as a byproduct.  more lights simply give the charging system more to spend it's surplus energy on. like anything else, there are limits, but this system aparently can handle a lot. heated vest, grips, extra lights, guages, etc.

for those of you who are really knowlageable at electricity & electronics, don't get on me for over simplifying it...

--Lucky

[Scott_Mc]

Hmmm, thanks for the reply :)

[kiawrench]

my two favorite mods are my super lowered seat, and lucky's oil cooler mod.


my feet reach the ground, and the bike hasnt overheated once , and that is saying a lot ,as i ride any time i am not sick or hurt (90 percent of the year riding )

[Cdnlouie]

My Vision modifications:

My favourite is anything to do with handling and that included a fork brace. Secondarily, an 83 shock and air suspension to the 82 front end (waiting on the brake lines).

Secondarily is comfort, which included a customized (frame modified to support under cowling fixture)removable passenger backrest.  This makes the Vision a great two-up touring rig and adds knapsack carrying capacity (on back side) for laptop going back and forth to work.  Also, found a new original seat to restore a very comfortable riding style.

A black half-fairing (aftermarket of some type) looks really nice with a smoked windshield provides good wind protection but without the additional bulk of the full fairing.

A real bonus is my 12 volt accessory plug added between cylinders on left side of frame for easy electric glove harness plug-in. I have an optional voltmeter that installs for long distant voltage monitoring runs with LEDS to warn of charging system failure.  It provides a digital readout which is nice.

Thirdly is reliability: Complete carb cleaning, new tank, balancer nut tightened, a couple of new stators and clean connections, new fuse panel has given me a totally reliable bike for many thousands of exciting kilometers.

Cheers