I own a 2008 Harley and a 1986 Virago 1100. I gotta say that they are world's apart. The Virago is powerfull and supremely comfortable. Handles like a conventional bike and is a joy to ride. I love my.Harley like a mistress, I love my Virago like a faithful wife. If you get the chance to get one do it. (The bike ,not the wife)
If you need a theme for popular shows, bringing back old iron is a big one. It does not matter what; old boat motors, motorcycles, cars, airplanes ;) I think I can speak for others in that we love that stuff.
I had to read the whole comment, not just the lead in wn I saw'old iron. That's bait 4me. Ur comment yeah I agree/// 6yeahrs ago f***k! Greetings friend. Good comments don't die, I'm here to resurrect them!
A motorcycle outside Mustie1's house for sale that does not run, they figure if you don't have it running no one can get it running. That is why no takers.
I was a yamaha mechanic in that era. The fuel mixture screw and carb sync had a major effect on those. 1/8 turn was often too much. We set the jetting with an exhaust gas analyizer. and had to install bungs into each exhaust pipe to get the proper Nox reading.
I had a ‘96 Virago 750 for about three years. Put about 20,000 miles on it and Loved it! Never spent a cent on any repair. Oil and gasoline. Air cooled and shaft drive. Very reliable. Sold it about five years ago for what I paid. It was red/white paint with the gold cast wheels. Just a wonderful bike. Great video Mustie. I knew that you could do it!!
What I learned from this video, keeping your tank full of good gas and little bit of stabile and starting your bike every month or so is worth it's weight in gold.
The problems encountered actually made it a great video. I have a 1978 Honda 550-4 K and getting those carbs in and out is a nightmare, now I just pull the bowls every now and then. I mix some Mystery oil with my gas on first start up to help loosen tight valves/rings, loosens grunge too.
You're like my favorite cousin. He can fix anything. Thanks for showing what you do. I've been inspired to fix my knocking lawn mower. And what do yo know....it was the f#$king carb! But I checked everything else first, thanks for the knuckle buster. Love your channe€
Mustie1 I wish I had your skills, garage, tools, confidence and overall abilities to restore old bikes like this one. You are very methodical and good at checking every issue that could be the problem until you find it, fix it, and make it run again. I also wish I could bring you my parent's old MC to get it running or wish you could teach me a thing or three since I have some knowledge but not on your level of skill or experience. Your Bike Sounds great! Keep up the Great Work and ride ON--Safely!
Always liked Viragos. A friend had one back in the mid nineties.We worked together in Rome. He put his bike on the train and traveled there. It was his daily driver to and from work. They are like Harleys, but better designed and built!
“Better designed and built”… Anybody who ever had a Harley knows that is pretty much gahrbash talk. I had a lot of Yamahas, but I have had a lot of Harleys too and the Yamahas were my go to metric but they are definitely not better than any of my Harleys. I still have the Harleys too, the Yamahas tended to wear out. I do still have one 750 Virago and I like it very much but Harley is a set of age old principles and they never wear out.
That is funny how, back then, you were worried that 44 minutes was a "long" video! We want MORE!! :-) Thanks, Dr. D, for all your excellent content. You do it all right. Camera angles, structure of video content, your skills and variety of projects.
I've watched a bunch of your vids. I share vicariously in the highs of your victories! It amazes me that you can maintain such an even demeanor in the face of frustration and continue to clearly examine and hypothesize and move forward on the path to success. I wish I had more of that quality. Again, thanks for sharing your wisdom, knowledge and patience.
Brilliant Video, thanks SO much. I have a 535cc Virago (89) with pretty much the same type engine and it had the same problems. Its only done 5k from new but I thought it might have been missing and back firing due to the diaphragms perished, (being un-run for 5 years) but you have given me LOTS of help, not least how to get the bottom tank off. That has NEVER worked since I got it, It only had a range of 20 miles (as it only ran on reserve switch.) Thought it might be pump in lower tank? I repeat, Brilliant video.. So grateful for this video.
Great Channel Darren? Darrin? Anyways.. Your projects bring me back to a time when I did much the same. Pulling engines out of VW buses and the like. I had this one that I would start on the shop floor, one day had the bright idea to hide a small fuel tank on the motor in an inconspicuous area, had the generator wired up to keep the coil "ignition" powered. A buddy of mine, and myself, we put on some welding gloves "doubled up", fired the motor up, picked it up by the pipes "by each head," and walked a short distance through the neighborhood with it running, "just going for a casual walk with our 1600 running." LOL, The neighbors never looked at me the same again... Fun times! :^)
This is my favourite Mustie1 vid..not a great bike fan but the patience and persistence is awesome..I learned a lot from this 1 visit. .so thank you..5th time I watched it..
Love that bike! (Also the fact that your were able to bring it back to life!). Been eyeing an 86 very similar. I'm not a rider... yet! But really been wanting to get on one... cheaply as I can! This stuff's encouraging!
Had one just like it! Had an XJ1100 as well. purchased them both as new bikes. what fun! I wanted to cruise until the tires fell off everytime I got on them. Thanks for the memories, Mustie1!
I loved this vid,i would like to start working on motorcycles , I have a couple in my area would like to work on , chilton manual and a good understanding of carbs. excellent video thx
That twin tank setup is very advanced. It makes the bike handle better by lowering the center of gravity and lets them put on a smaller upper tank without sacrificing range.
Great troubleshooting! The satisfaction of hearing both cylinders..... Priceless! BTW you are a brave man to pull the spark-plug boots off while running. I have landed on A$$ a number of times when doing that... Great video... Fred
Nice old bike love that style would make a great bobber bike , or if I owned it just clean it up and have a cool old ride . Motor sounds pretty good and strong .
Yes, sometimes I've found I just need to get away from it add give the brain time to assimilate. The answer often comes in the night when I wake up. Voila! Ronn
During the 80's Yamaha had problems with a green mold growing in the Carburetors, this developed while newly assembled bikes were in storage waiting to be sold to Dealers. It was a service nightmare for some dealers, having to clean the Carbs before the new machines could be put on the sales floor, as well as warranties from bikes already sold. This problem occurred in a number of models.
I'm currently riding a 1986 XV700 that sat for 9 years. It's been fun trying to get the carbs straightened out but it's finally starting to hit it's stride and it's a really fun machine.
+ Syberian Sensey Yeah they were. I loved Virago's nice bikes in their day anybody who thought they were crap there entitled to there own opinion I guess. I've owned alot of bikes and this was one of my favorites.
I..wish, i' was you,.. you have the best life... Turning shit into gold. Love to see you do more motorbikes and scooters. Keep up the great work you are a legend. Bro.
Agreed...I used to be a bike mechanic, and the several vacuum/air tubes on it easily get clogged with spider webs and insects. Ream them out, it might solve 90% of the running problems with the carbs. Incidentally, we called them 'barely goes', but if they ran, they ran well. Used to shudder when the starter (sounds like a coffee grinder with bolts in it) turned it over.
Thank you mustie1 that was a long video but it was definitely worth watching. Had a lot of good information in. I like the fact you didn't edit it out your mistake. That was awesome. Hope you're doing well. I hope curcumin is working for you?
I just bought a 72 Lemans for cheap because it wouldn't run right. It is a California car so it has no rust at all. I mean none. He put a new carb on it but it still wouldn't run. He even delivered it. I diagnosed the car with a mechanic friend of mine and found it was not the carb. It had a major vacuum leak. I found the intake gaskets were blown. I changed the gaskets, and the carb adapter gasket set. When I got it started, I warmed it up and set the timing, and carb, by vacuum. I now drive it every single day. It just turned 87,000 miles. I did it because I watch you fix almost anything. Love your stuff.
@@mustie1 It's an honor that you personally answered me. Thank you. I am picking up my Pontiac 400 in 2 weeks to make a 461, with a Butler top end, out of it. The average is 535 horse and 550 foot pounds of torque. I am going to be in a lot of trouble soon. LOL
cutworm59 If I was nearby, I would have paid $650 for that bike. It sounds right for an no-go with unknown problems. But getting it shipped to Australia wouldn't be cheap.
Great video...I had that same model 1100 Virago, and it was an excellent motorcycle with lots of power and decent handling..rode it up Mt. Washington in the rain once...yours will make someone a really nice motorcycle!!
I replaced a starter motor in one of those things...More that I expected it to be at first glance...Cool bike 'tho even if it is a YAMAHarly..Good fizin' Darrin.
Had one back in the mid 80s enjoyed every minute on it, but it did'nt matter what I did at storage time those carbs gave me trouble in the spring !! Great video Mustie.
Of all the Mustie1 I have watched this is 1 of my fav plus watched them all now.. Even passing on your skill and knowledge to others using on my own bikes. So thx for sharing your passion time and skills. 🇬🇧🏍️
Just watched Mr Mustie work on a small Honda outboard, Complaining "It was too easy, I hoped it would put up more of a fight." Careful what you wish for. This Yamaha certainly put up a fight! Well done Mr M and thanks for sharing.
Carbs are my Achilles heel, sometimes I get lucky cleaning them and sometimes, I've just gone a bought a new one. Would you consider rebuilding one, start to finish with your camera suspended over head so we can see both hands working it? I have an 86 Dodge D-100 slant six that the automatic choke is shot on and I need to put a manual one onto it. (I'm kind of dreading the job). But that's two stories, I digress. I'd love to see a start to finish carb. overhaul by you, because you're so easy to understand, and take the time explain what's going on in the background. Many thanks, I've learned a lot from watching your videos. Peace Gill
I had a couple of Slant 6 vans. Re-did the heads at 85,000 miles. The Virago I put on a single carb. According to the paper work the power drops off after 6000 RPM. Great! I didn't go much over that anyway. But the power up til 6000 was pretty good. The guy who made the carbs and sells them lives in Ontario Canada.
I had an 81 Virago. I finally got the carb to work right and accidentally pulled a scary wheelie. I don't ever do that. Scared the hell out of me. Was my favorite bike probably... (had a Suzuki GT-750 Tea Kettle that was a sweet ride also) Enjoy you vids...
Love that mad laugh that we all do when we have beaten some advanced machinery back into working order using our brains and determination to fix it ourselves. Great to hear it coming from you as well. Brilliant videos, Thanks..
Loving most of your videos, I'm a gear head my self, love tinkering and and from the seacoast area of nh, I've been looking for a cheap bike and liking this bike alot lol
I have an 84 vt500 that wouldn't run on two cylinders until warm. Turns out the same tube you showed was clogged up on one carb so bad I had to scrape it out with a sewing needle. I pulled the carbs on and off 3 times to find it, so it's nice to see even the experts have to do that sometimes! thanks for the great vids.