I'm going to say the same thing others have said... this SEEMS like a good idea, because when you look at the chewed up side of your starter gear it just looks like rounded off edges... but originally it actually had a 45 degree bevel on the leading edge. If you modify the other side to be the same, then sure, it would work. However, the other side IS NOT cut at an angle and it is flat. This will most likely cause more damage to your flywheel gear.
Great fix just flip it after modifying the gear due to flatness! I'm buying a 920 for $800 and the owner was complaining about the parts cost for a starter & gear. Good news is he upgraded the electrical fix with a better voltage regulator so the spark plugs get full power on startup. For those who don't know the starter draws a lot of power & the upgrade creates a faster better start up.
The rev-counter takes its signal from the rear-plug and robs it of power, disconnect it, the spark-plug-caps corrode between the resistors etc , replace , index the plugs and replace with iridium, plus put high-speed bearings at the end of the cams . Drill-out the breather-holes on the petrol-cap , open the exhausts-up and like-wise the intake-filter . All these simple-mods , made just over 10-hp extra on the dyno and made the new-clutch slip, requiring h/duty springs . That is the Cheapest HP-gain... ever , not necessarily-more than stock-new claims, because many came out of the factory , producing 15hp LESS than claimed , while others were fine . My bikes are 1981's, European-Market 981cc TR1 , Roadsters(XV1000) chain-drive rear-wheel-model, but are virtually the same engine as the 750, 920 (USA) and the later 1100 Virago Cruiser-Style bikes ,so most of this still works . Dave NZ
Hi, I know this is an older video but I'm sure there should be a spring between the end of the inner worm gear and the gear that engages with the fly wheel, this spring would help with the gear moving up the worm gear by suppling a resistance along with the clip springs resistance, then when the starter motor is disengaged the spring helps the gear to return to the idle position. Hope this is of help to somebody . Dave
I was gonna do on my 82 920, but after reading about the damage it would do to flywheel in a few short months I opt. against that idea. I was thinking too about why one side had a beveled side while other side was flat. Makes sense now. Thanks for the info. on that part LoganPicks.
I have the same bike. Would like to sell it. I was lucky enough to find metric threaded rod which I used for the starter. This allowed me to use opposing nuts to make is so I can get great torque, placing pressure on the ring gear solving all my slip issues.
There’s a voltage stabilizer sold on eBay for $14 that I installed on my virago xv700 that connects to your TCI and never had a starter problem again. Gets rid of marble noise. If you do this, your gears will mess up
@@spidermonkey199711 Should work just fine! Adding a negative line from the bottom bolt of the starter to the negative on the battery, cutting the spring about 180° off, and adding that stabilizer should help a lot.
i agree and there's a way to file the gear to sharpen the edge as well to get it to grab better,also when you flip it around it will move in to the flywheel and give better grip when engaged.
Only a temporary "fix" and it causes much more damage and more expensive repairs a few months down the road. The back side of the idler gear isn't cut right to match the flywheel, and this destroys the flywheel.
The clip loses its tension that puts drag on the gear which centrifigually throws the gear into engagement, I grinded my gears rounded edges rather than reverse the gear, I also removed the spring that keeps the gear from engaging.
This post is older but to all the people out there still looking this up: it does work but the problem still exists that this l bendex type starter is all together flawed. If both gears are chewed up, then why not flip it around. Also take of the drag spring(that's what I call it) and make it tighter to the gear. It needs resistance to make the gear travel up the worm. I have worked in over 50 of these and some make it a while longer and some I have done work even worse!! You can buy a new gear but it will wear out too........ good luck!! Best advise is buy new parts!
Good idea, in theory, but please don't do this to your bikes. While the idler gear does physically fit flipped over, the edges of the teeth are cut flat, not bevelled like the proper side. This is almost a guarantee to destroy the mating teeth on the flywheel, which is much harder and more expensive to replace. It will seem "fixed" for a few months, but wind up causing much more costly damage.
There is a magnet just below these gears that collects the shavings, my magnet was so full of metal shavings it resembled a tiny porcupine, my clip was broken and part of it was ready to fall into my engine!
Absolutely, under no circumstances, flip the gear around. You will ruin the flywheel and you’ll end up having to buy a new bendix after all. This guy is fake news.
I am thinking of replacing the #2 gear because of comments that say the other side is machined flat and not beveled like the proper side, however my gear seems to be beveled on both sides. Its a 1983 750. Also, if anyone knows a source for the parts and also the case cover gasket I would really appreciate it. Struggling to find one.
Sue this guy who seems to give fake advice. Anyway, I hate people who do such a temporary fix just to sell their bikes. People who ride bikes should help each other, not rip them off. Just don't do this "free fix". It does cause a very big and expensive headache.
Great idea!! But did it work? Can you follow up with a video of you starting the bike please... It appears that there is room to flip the gear around... I'm real close to trying this method out...Thanks!
Sorry Alex, but this isn't a good idea. Selling the bike is about the only thing this method is good for. If the new owner rides regularly, I can almost guarantee the flywheel is now destroyed, causing much more grinding, and a much more expensive fix to now do it right. One of those great idea's, in theory, but not so much in practice. With some machining of that gears back side teeth, it could be viable, but not just simply flipping it over.
Does this Virago starter flaw affect all years, all models? I'm looking to purchase a 1998 xv1100 and when researching I've gotten conflicting info with some sources saying only the 750s were affected and others saying the problem was engineered out in the late 80's. Anyway, great video!
Mostly affected the earlier version, 81-83, and the first redesign 84-85. After that, they changed the starter system to include a clutch gear and a throw-out arm to "fix" the problem. It still affected the later bikes, but to nowhere near the extent.
To be fair... I haven't ever worked on bikes. That being said, this "tip," is more of a bandaid. It doesn't solve the original problem. Although it does seem to extend the life of that particular gear, got any ideas as to what causes the excessive wear? Like a bad angle, or spacing by the starter? I'm thinking of buying one of these, & any quirky info is appreciated.
the problem is a bad earth wire, put an extra earth wire from your battery to your starter, another problem is starting the bike on a low battery , , just make sure your battery is fully charged. Thank you Alex for your info Rein de Groot
Yamaha actually stole this design from harley, and did a bad job of it, there are kits that somewhat fix this issue with a heavier spring washer spacers and such, I did a few back in the day, Yamaha rarely comes up short but sadly disappointed me with these particular viragos 750 920 with this crappy starter setup
Hey guys. could any of u help me out here please. I got a 1999 virago 125cc. The starter wont start the bikeIt wont even make a noise nothing. I have to hit second gear and run with the bike to get it to turn on. After its turns on everything works geart and when it gets hot the starter will work just fine... I changed the battery spark plugs cleaned out the carburetor and i even took a part the starter from the handel bars apart and cleaned it. Nothing is working and i reallly dont know what else to do here. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!
Don't do this. Its horrible advice and will destroy your flywheel. The backside of that gear is not cut right and not meant for meshing with the flywheel teeth.
