New Owner

[Shop Rat]

Greetings,

I'm new here. I'm signing on because I recently hauled an '82 XZ550 home from the barn it'd been left in for a decade or so.  My plan is to dismantle and restore it as a decent rider.  I'll have a million questions, I'm sure, and I hope I don't become too much of a pest.

About me: I'm 65, live in the Rochester, NY area, and have been riding for about 40+ years. I've always, until now, owned Hondas. 

Regards,

FC

[h2olawyer]

Welcome!  You've found the best group of folks I've ever been associated with.

Lucky has a CD with manuals, tips, tricks and tons of info.  I highly recommend it!

I know there's lots of posts, but reading through as much of the forum posts as you can will provide a very good education of all things Vision.  We've got just about every answer to nearly every question about any part, system, procedure, tool or whatever you need.  Don't be afraid to ask - we all love to hear stories about Visions rescued from years of neglect.   8)

H₂O

[Night Vision]

welcome aboard.... I'm near Syracuse... look out around 10:30am tomorrow and maybe you'll see me and Joe riding past going up to Tiger's... if you need parts... PM Tiger and we'll bring them home for ya  :D

[Tiger]

 :) Hi and welcome to the best place a Vision can bring its owner :o ;D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

We are all here to help each other get the very best out of our Vision's 8) You got question's...we got answer's 8) Need to know, just ask... ;)

I have three road worthy Vision's in my garage!! but none were when I got them... ::)

You need time, patience and a wee few $$$ to put back some of the good that has gone from your Vision...

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

[acee125]

Welcome to ROV!

[Rick G]

I'm glad your here! friends don't let friends ride Honda's  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
don't dismantle the engine, unless your very sure that it has to be done. Usually a carb overhaul and some remedial  work in the left engine cover will go along way.  Do get lucky's CD.

[Tiger]

...Do get licky's CD.

:o I think he means LUCKY's CD/DVD

[Rick G]

OOOOps  sorry about that . I have large hands and the i and u key are right next to each other, some times I hit both. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Night Vision]

...... friends don't let friends ride Honda's  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

good one Ricky  ;)

[Shop Rat]

I'm glad your here! friends don't let friends ride Honda's  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
don't dismantle the engine, unless your very sure that it has to be done. Usually a carb overhaul and some remedial  work in the left engine cover will go along way.  Do get lucky's CD.

I did get the motor to light up after cleaning the corroded ends of the plug wires.   I didn't hear any knocks or see any smoke, so I'm not inclined to tear into the engine beyond pulling the heads to touch up the valves and put new stem seals and replace any other age-hardened rubber parts.  I bought a set of 1983 carbs from ebay. Can these be used in place of the stock 1982 carbs?  Anything to be gained from doing this?

As for Lucky's CD, that's high on my list of things to do. 

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome.

FC

[h2olawyer]

83 carbs have a fuel return system that's not on the 82s.  You will need to make a modification to the 82 tank (an inlet above the top fuel level) or find an 83 tank & petcock to use the carbs.  Plus, you need to modify the lower half of the 82 airbox (or find an 83) and the rear upper engine mount must be modified as well.

If the carbs you bought on ebay were the ones recently sold there, you likely have another set of 82s.  The seller had a bunch of parts misdescribed as for an 83.  While many of the parts are either the same or easily adaptable, the carbs take the most work to install on an 82.

Rick_G often states that the 83 carbs were changed for a problem that didn't exist.  That is mostly true when dealing with "Vision Stumble".  The one improvement is the fuel return system.  It keeps cooler fuel running through the carbs & helps with the vapor lock issue that crops up on rare occasions.  I have experienced it when riding in hot weather in stop & go traffic.

I'm in the process of doing the 83 carb swap.  I found all the associated 83 parts including the fuel tank, petcock & gauges.  The 83 has a fuel gauge.   8)  The 83 carbs and associated parts are hard to find - like most 83 only parts.  I spent several years debating whether or not to make the change.  Well cleaned, tuned & synched 82 carbs work fine.  I've had my V at elevations from around 1,000ft. to over 14,000ft.  Other than the vapor lock issue I described above, I get the Vision Stumble once in a while & then only when the engine is hot, on a hot day.

H₂O

[Rick G]

Shop Rat, just don't pull the cylinders , with the idea of reringing it as rings are not available { although I know of a machine shop that can get them specially made) . The original rings are very hardy  and last very well. Also buy the head gaskets befor you tear it down. They have been out of stock acouple of times, but Yamaha seems to be willing to make them if someone orders them. If I could'n't get new ones I'd doctor the old ones up , with copper coat and reinstall them.

[kwells]

I just ordered one in January from www.dgy.com
11H-11181-05-00 is the part number....20.49 + 9.50 for shipping

[Shop Rat]

I'm pretty sure the rings are OK.  It didn't smoke when I started it, but maybe I'll do a compression test later just to see what I have to work with.  I didn't spot any oil leakage, either, but I'd rather replace whatever seals, etc., now and not after I get it road-worthy.  I'll be sure to get the gaskets prior to cracking the motor open. That's a good piece of advice.

Shop Rat, just don't pull the cylinders , with the idea of reringing it as rings are not available { although I know of a machine shop that can get them specially made) . The original rings are very hardy  and last very well. Also buy the head gaskets befor you tear it down. They have been out of stock acouple of times, but Yamaha seems to be willing to make them if someone orders them. If I could'n't get new ones I'd doctor the old ones up , with copper coat and reinstall them.

[Shop Rat]

Yes, the carbs came from a recent Ebay listing of Vision parts. The item No. is 230249801686.  I got them OK, but didn't compare them to the ones on the bike now. If they are '82, they're in better shape (outside, anyway) than the originals. 

Has anyone had any luck with adapting other carbs to the Vision motor?  I put some Mikunis on one of my old Honda 750s successfully, and there are lots of Harleys running a Weber. 

FC

83 carbs have a fuel return system that's not on the 82s.  You will need to make a modification to the 82 tank (an inlet above the top fuel level) or find an 83 tank & petcock to use the carbs.  Plus, you need to modify the lower half of the 82 airbox (or find an 83) and the rear upper engine mount must be modified as well.

If the carbs you bought on ebay were the ones recently sold there, you likely have another set of 82s.  The seller had a bunch of parts misdescribed as for an 83.  While many of the parts are either the same or easily adaptable, the carbs take the most work to install on an 82.

Rick_G often states that the 83 carbs were changed for a problem that didn't exist.  That is mostly true when dealing with "Vision Stumble".  The one improvement is the fuel return system.  It keeps cooler fuel running through the carbs & helps with the vapor lock issue that crops up on rare occasions.  I have experienced it when riding in hot weather in stop & go traffic.

I'm in the process of doing the 83 carb swap.  I found all the associated 83 parts including the fuel tank, petcock & gauges.  The 83 has a fuel gauge.   8)  The 83 carbs and associated parts are hard to find - like most 83 only parts.  I spent several years debating whether or not to make the change.  Well cleaned, tuned & synched 82 carbs work fine.  I've had my V at elevations from around 1,000ft. to over 14,000ft.  Other than the vapor lock issue I described above, I get the Vision Stumble once in a while & then only when the engine is hot, on a hot day.

H₂O

[Shop Rat]

Thanks. I'll bookmark them in my "Bikes" folder.  I've dealt with www.oldbikebarn.com for Honda parts and they have quite a few XZ pieces, but not cheap.  Now that I have my current Honda all set for the season, I can get busy with the XZ550 project.  I spent time looking over the gallery here and got a look at some great ideas.  I'm picturing this bike now with a round headlamp and blinkers,  a non-stock color and some touches here and there.  I'm glad you folks aren't purists.  :)

The seat is in great shape, so that stays as is. I think it's really comfy, and the riding positon suits me fine.  It feels just as good as my Honda does with rearset sport kit and Corbin seat. 

FC

I just ordered one in January from www.dgy.com
11H-11181-05-00 is the part number....20.49 + 9.50 for shipping

[Shop Rat]

Good to know there are some locals (almost).  I'm not familiar with "Tiger's."  Is that a shop or salvage yard?

FC

\

welcome aboard.... I'm near Syracuse... look out around 10:30am tomorrow and maybe you'll see me and Joe riding past going up to Tiger's... if you need parts... PM Tiger and we'll bring them home for ya  :D

[Walt_M.]

Tiger is one of our forum members from north of the border and several Visions have passed through his hands and have come out the better for it.
As for adapting other carbs, it has been done but you are probably much better off with clean, properly jetted '82s.
If you need to know about Vision carbs, get Lucky's CD and pay attention when he posts.

[Shop Rat]

I'll order the Lucky's CD.  Maybe a carb swap, if I do it at all, is something that can come later after I have some miles logged. 

One more question, then I'll shut up for a while: What does YICS do?

FC

Tiger is one of our forum members from north of the border and several Visions have passed through his hands and have come out the better for it.
As for adapting other carbs, it has been done but you are probably much better off with clean, properly jetted '82s.
If you need to know about Vision carbs, get Lucky's CD and pay attention when he posts.

[kwells]

YICS:  annoys Yamaha owners

but it's supposed to capture gas vapor left in the head on the intake stroke and redistribute it on the next stroke.   A sealed YICS SHOULD add some efficiency to your mileage.