XV920 "Short Bus"

bvander said:
What about a plank of wood with half a plastic bowl stuck to the back, or an old skateboard deck might do the trick.

That was hilarious by the way. I think I'll make a cafe seat with a colander riveted to it and see if I can't fund my retirement on eBay. I'll just type 'Dunstall' thirty times in the body of the ad.
 
Looking better the lighter it gets:

dxRU4BAl.jpg


Definitely room under the tank to run wiring - I plan to run a small 'Bates'-style light, so no loom in the bucket (Sorry, Kiley.)

eRd62ROl.jpg


Carb sticks out pretty far. That may take some getting used to.

MKCdT75l.jpg


For Shamus:

XGlmiwZl.jpg


Tapped the frame and mounted the TCI under the tank opposite the battery, and tapped several grounds. Need to tear down the carb - probably tomorrow night and leave it for a day or two to soak. Tomorrow's exciting updates will include the rear brake switch mount, switching the giant Virago footpegs for those from the CB750, and probably starting the wiring harness. Don't touch that dial.
 
Re: Re: XV920 "Short Bus"

Kanticoy said:
No problem man...I understand...square lights are only for the hardcore.

You sound like a man with a headlight to sell
 
Nice start "Mr. Ard"!
So you do have some options on your shafty rear wheel...
Yamaha is awfully good about cross-pollination and often juggling take off parts makes something pretty amazing. I happen to have a servicable 18/19 XS750 wheel combo with a good pumpkin and driveshaft that I have been thinking of using on an XV but may not get to it soon as I'd like. You may be able to simply swap pumpkins, maybe even just the spline drives. Not entirely clear, it's been 10 years since i messed with a 'Rago shafty. Something to look into, luckily the parts are out there cheap.
Another option would be the spoked rear hub from a V-star 1100 laced to whatever size rim you want. Something to think on.
I am enjoying your......personal brand of insanity, regarding body work..keep it up!
 
Swagger said:
Nice start "Mr. Ard"!
So you do have some options on your shafty rear wheel...
Yamaha is awfully good about cross-pollination and often juggling take off parts makes something pretty amazing. I happen to have a servicable 18/19 XS750 wheel combo with a good pumpkin and driveshaft that I have been thinking of using on an XV but may not get to it soon as I'd like. You may be able to simply swap pumpkins, maybe even just the spline drives. Not entirely clear, it's been 10 years since i messed with a 'Rago shafty. Something to look into, luckily the parts are out there cheap.

You're dead on, Swagger - I know that in '84 the Virago was available stateside with spoked wheels in greater numbers, and that I can swap it from the end of the swingarm back. I will look some more into the XS swap, though, and see what matches up.

Another option would be the spoked rear hub from a V-star 1100 laced to whatever size rim you want. Something to think on.

Not on this budget, mostly because it would mean a swap to disc brake in the back - but it's a possibility down the line.
 
Evening started with everybody's favorite motorcycle-related task:

kjYq941l.jpg


With that done, I lit a cheap cigar to match my skills at metal shaping/fab. And after a few hours of alternating between cursing and grinning, I have my seat pan just about squared away and think that I have just about figured out how the subframe will mount up.

Little welding here:

MSpxDkhl.jpg


Little, uh, actually making the subframe here:

2MPpMotl.jpg


And it should start to look something like this:

Mrqd2bPl.jpg


cFbL3nNl.jpg


jioKmRMl.jpg


Should even leave me room - if i'm playing this right - to put the license plate on the back of the subframe-covering 'box' under the seat without danger of it looking like I'm trying to hide it.

I have a 4 1/2" lamp coming in the next few days - my wife keeps telling me I'm crazy but I think it'll really make sure that the body of the bike is what draws attention and everything else (for example, the wheels) will not.

Thanks to those of you who have bought stuff from me the last few days; makes it a lot easier to put this into action.
 
Thinking out loud:

I remember reading an interview, with somebody who hid their battery in a similarly difficult-to-access spot, noting that they ran a 'jump point' out from underneath the tank so that jumpstarting the bike didn't mean removing the tail, taking off the tank, etc. So - gotta remember that.

The way I have this organized - with everything kind of bolted together, from the tank to the seat - rather than put an electronic tray oriented so that the wiring is in a box with the opening facing the sky, that it makes more sense to put that box under the bolted-on seat/subframe in such a way that if I need to get to it, all I'll have to do will be to undo the M10 nut that is holding the seat/subframe on at the tank mount point, loosen the two that hold it to the backbone frame, and then swivel the whole thing toward the rear tire to expose it.

Will mean adding a 17mm wrench to my roadside tool kit.

Back to it.
 
YZF shock mounted straight up - it might be a millimeter shorter. Nice not to have to worry about the air-assist stuff, and a new progressive spring is available for under a hundred bucks.

MXZoAv6l.jpg


Electrical box is bent up. It'll be welded to the lower subframe:

YQjcdkdl.jpg


And it'll swivel backwards with the seat; will put the fusebox in here and it'll give me a place to mount an ignition switch, solenoid and probably a 12V out to run my phone for GPS (even though I spend a lot of my time drawing maps at work, I get lost a lot).

7hKszGll.jpg


Other little stuff - switched the Virago footpegs out for those from the CB750.

Another note to myself: putting the battery box there means I need to (a) make sure I will have clearance to get a 17mm socket underneath in order to loosen the nut on top, or (b) I'll need to weld that bolt in place and open up the hole at the top of the subframe bracket so that it clears the bolt.

And, uh, I screwed some turnsignals into the giant engine mounts that are definitely the ugliest feature of the Virago. In stock form, there's a big plastic shroud that goes over it; I am pretty sure that I'm going to put the signals here, as they somehow seem to make it less obvious that, well, there's a big metal box underneath them.

3Be3ngDl.jpg
 
“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.” ― Hunter S. Thompson
 
Rolled the Virago on down to Checkered Past Cycles this afternoon for several hours of being made fun of as well as about fifteen minutes of welding.

WArW2fWl.jpg


We got most of the seat/subframe figured out:

0jPI5rKl.jpg


Pretty fancy, huh? The plan is to gusset the long square tube underneath, and 'tee' it toward the tank to accept bolts for the front of the seat pan.

vESyVUwl.jpg


Much simpler solution than what I had planned beforehand and it will make the seat/subframe almost invisible. It does mean that it'll be a pain in the neck to get to the electrical if I need to do so roadside - seat will have to come off entirely in order to pull the seat/subframe back to expose anything - but I like how it's coming along.
 
so your going to be sitting on that shaft? sorry... couldnt resist.

Pretty good solution... plans for a rear fender?
 
Rear fender will most likely be a Goldwing front fender. That was on the list of things to work on today and it was trumped by being the butt of jokes all afternoon.
 
Back
Top Bottom