Yamaha Virago 1000 Restoration Video 1 - Removing The Fuel System 

That's a great idea! Your bike is a bit newer so I'm thinking your fuel lines between the main and reserve tanks might be a bit softer. There's a couple of good bends but I never thought about getting them out that way. I can't wait to see/hear the results. Thanks for the comment!

​@@KensWorldRestorations I liked your tip of tilting the tank to remove the hoses. BUT how did you reattach the hoses. I'm working on an '84 XV1000 as well and it's a real pain to reattach the fuel hoses. Great videos. Been really helpful for my renovation.

@@geoffnevin8592 It is a royal pain in the ass to get those two hoses back on to the fittings regardless of the method you use to get the tank on/off. What I find works best after doing it a few time is rock the tank back and forth/left & right rather than lift the front up. When you rock to the right, you expose good access to the left hose fitting and when you rock to the left, you expose the right side. I think I show this in a later video. Thanks for the nice comment and good luck with your restoration!

Hey Keegan...glad to see I'm not the only crazy one out there. I was going to start with something like "don't trust anything you see on the internet" but hey, we all have to learn the hard way. Thanks for checking things out. I should have had some more basic maintenance videos done before I tore it all apart. Like oil changes and stuff like that. I hope you find some helpful info here on my channel. Do yourself a huge favor and grab a service manual, you'll thank me for it later. If you prefer the pdf over paper, there's lots of options. They're a great bike and pretty easy to work on - they can be a bit temperamental but then again, all the old bikes (carbs) can be finicky especially with the addition of ethanol in gasoline. Keep me posted with your progress and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to reach out.

Hello!! Welcome! Well, you bought the coolest bike in the world...lucky you!! Hope you've got it home by now. There's a lot of good info on these bikes out there now - I think in Europe the 1986 was still a 1000cc too. So many variations it's hard to keep track. I just finished restoring my gauges and they look great - the gauge faces came from Venoxy in Poland. They look great. Enjoy!

I love comments like this! Thanks for the kind words and I hope you have a look through all the other videos too. I plan on doing more maintenance "how to" videos once the restoration is done. I'm glad the videos helped out.

For some reason...hahaha! I still can't figure out why either. But it's been a lot of fun. This video is now well over a year old and I can't believe how much I learned in the process of restoring it. It was a lot of work but it was worth it in the end. Have a look at all my videos and you'll see what was done. There's also. final reveal. I hope you get a ride in this year before winter closes in on you. I've found that after helping out dozens of people with old, neglected bikes, the fuel system is almost always the culprit - especially when it's been sitting around for a while. Get the carbs properly cleaned, and have a really close look at the ignition system. Good luck - hope you found yourself a little gem.

Very cool!! What a classic find...hope you're enjoying the bike and enjoying my videos. I've got a rolling chassis now and should have some some new videos uploaded soon!

Hey Tim! Thanks for the kind words. I think we all need some sort of inspiration from each other to keep us going. My friend just finished a 1990 Yamaha 750 Super Tenere - it was a basket case restored to brand new. I want to get this one done in a reasonable amount of time and since I already spent 6 months or so getting the bike mechanically in order, I'm hoping this will go smoothly. Don't give up on your project - even if you just do little bits at a time you'll always be making progress.

Hey! Thanks for the comment. There's one thing that bikes (cars, boats, airplanes also) don't like and that's sitting for long periods. You can look at it from a number of different ways - it could be a royal pain in the ass or it could turn into a love affair. The first step is always the biggest and the hardest. Where to start? If you want to work on it, just take it in sections. Start with the fuel system and then move onto another section. Take it slow and steady and don't try to put a deadline on it. There's lots to learn and the cool thing is you've got what's quickly becoming a pretty rare bike if it's stock. I have a full time job that takes me away from the restoration but keep watching and I'll keep posting more videos as time goes on. Hopefully the rebuild can inspire you to tackle the job and get your bike back on the road.

Wow...thank you!! But I think I'm just someone with a little bit of OCD having fun bringing my bike back to life.

And less stuff to go wrong!! Simple is better sometimes. I know some Virago 1000 owners who swapped the mail fuel tank to the larger 1100 fuel tank and got rid of the fuel pump and second fuel tank. Added a custom petcock and let gravity do the work.

Постараюсь сделать как новый! Спасибо!

Ha!! I hear ya...it looked good from a distance but there was a lot of problems too - gummed up carbs, rotted rubber everywhere and every bearing and bushing was shot. Buy yeah, it had really good bones. The pitting on the chrome plated aluminum was a nightmare to bring back to life. thanks for the comments.

Hi Dave - if you haven't already tried looking on FaceBook, there's a bunch of groups dedicated to Virago service and parts. There are always lots of bikes and parts for sale and you can list your own ad. Good luck!

Yep! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EeEHrxHz_EY.html

@@KensWorldRestorations ha ha, yes I just found it 😊👍

@@KensWorldRestorations my local garage, who do the MOT test, reckon it's a job I shouldn't tackle myself 🤔

@@mickleyland5057 Watch my video and decide for yourself. I think for the DIY folks, it's not a difficult job. Watching someone else do it and explain it really helps. However, even I had a bit of trouble when I couldn't get the lower allen bolts out (they seized) and the oil dampening rod kept spinning. There are plenty of videos explaining various methods of doing it - I used a wood dowel and some others fabricate their own tool. Otherwise, it's a pretty straightforward repair.

Here's another good video showing more of the disassembly and tackling the lower bolt. The lower bolt can be a problem if it gets seized. Check it out ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vH5s0GAkmIw.html

If the fuel system requires pressurization, then yes, you should hear the relay click as the fuel pump pressurizes the system. Once the system is pressurized, the clicking should stop. Turning the RES/ON switch on and off will sometimes cause the fuel control relay to activate but only when the pressure is low. Hopefully that makes sense.

@@KensWorldRestorations yes as of right now theirs no clicking sound coming from the fuel pump nor tapping feeling when touching it. I'll try removing the fuel line that goes to the carb to see if there's anything coming out of it. Thank you

That's a tough one...if the old needle jet is still inside then try backing it out and see if that doesn't help. It will depend on how bad the threads of the carb body are damaged. The body is aluminum/magnesium alloy and the pilot screw is brass so it's a pretty risky thing to try. If the pilot screw is out already, try getting a tap and fix it that way. Good luck.

@@KensWorldRestorations thank you so much for the reply and help

Hey Anthony. Viragos always ran rich - right from the beginning. Certification was done in California where the emission regulations are the toughest. The bikes just seemed to get worse with age with things like ethanol gas, higher altitudes and aging ignition components. Bogging down is usually a sign of a lack of fuel (clogged main jet) but you mentioned that the plugs are fouling to black so that's not pointing to fuel starvation. The idle (fuel) jet controls the idle mixture so it sounds like your idle jet is ok too. At wide open throttle (WOT) the bike is running ok too so that sounds like the main jets are ok. This actually sounds more like an ignition problem. Coil wires and caps/plugs can be a real nightmare on this bike if they're not 100%. You can get misfires especially at mid-range RPM. My bike did the same thing - the coils were marginal, the (rubber insulation) wires were starting to break down (shorting against the frame) and the caps were shot. I'd say take a hard look at the ignition system - the WHOLE system including plugs, wires, coils & caps (and those pesky resistors). Make sure you get this to 100% before trying to troubleshoot the carbs any further. I've got a pretty long-winded video on ignition coils and the problems I had before I got them repaired.

@@KensWorldRestorations thank you so much sir, I will look into the coil system and try to get a new set, also I've felt a bit of relief that it's not me doing something crazy or being one lol, that no matter what action I tried it was not working. Thank you so much for replying to me today so I could know and being in what I'm going to do tomorrow please God.😃👍💯💯💯

@@anthonyarmstrong9508 No problem...I'm not promising that this is the problem, it's just that I've seen a lot of ignition problems that caused plug fouling. Make sure you check the caps too. Make sure everything is spec'd the way it was supposed to be new. Make sure you have a look at my ignition coil video. That might help. Hopefully you get the bike running well again.

@@KensWorldRestorations thank again so much for sharing your wisdom and love. This is why I love the bike community very much. Ride safe out there as well.😎👍💯💯💯

Haha!! I hear that a lot - I've even been told I sound like Kermit the frog. I subscribed to your channel so I hope to see more of your work and the "new" XV1000. I spent about 6 months repairing this one before I started doing any restoration work but yeah, it was a diamond in the rough so to speak. It's only had 3 owners in 38 years and the long-time owner kept in pretty good condition.

I'm told this one needs rectifier and lights sorting to pass its MOT. I might ride it rough and ready until I finish my 2nd 535 which will give me room. I love your organised approach with the bags and tubs.