XV920 "Short Bus"

Rich Ard

doin' the backstroke in an estrogen ocean
DTT BOTM WINNER
I am sick and tired of trying to find a DOHC 750 motor to fit my frame...and I don't feel like taking my CB450 down to the Spring Thaw in Kentucky.

So, as an exercise, I'm going to see how many CB750 parts I can stuff onto a 1982 Midnight Virago 920.

So far the CB750F tank fits.

KwcR9Hxl.jpg


Time to see if the front end works too. This thread will be an open space for all of you who have been the butt of my wiseass comments to pay me back.

Let's get it on.
 
SONICJK said:
Holy sissy bar batman!

You're right, Sonic - this thing is going to need a different seat. Like, maybe the big leather one off my wife's bike.

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I have a single-carb manifold for the 920 - these things not only have the worst starter system ever designed, the carburetors require a half-hour of cursing in advance to remove from the heads. So I'm doing away with that.
 
I have a CB750F seat and cowl that are sitting in my garage... interested?

1981 CB750K (a bunch of parts in boxes)
 
I don't claim to know anybody's taste on this forum... the range is pretty varied. You know how it is :eek:

1981 CB750K (a bunch of parts in boxes)
 
Re: Re: XV920 "Short Bus"

bradj said:
Ill paypal you 3 bucks if you put different wheels on that bike

I'll Paypal you another $3 to put a square headlight on it with an HID bulb in it.
 
bradj said:
Ill paypal you 3 bucks if you put different wheels on that bike

I'll send you fifty if you can get me a rear wheel that'll fit without a swingarm/final drive conversion...

I may fake a solid rear wheel on this with two rounds of aluminum if I put a different front end on.

[quote author=kanticoy]I'll Paypal you another $3 to put a square headlight on it with an HID bulb in it.[/quote]

If that shows up wrapped around the headlight, you're on. One way or another the big 'krome' one is coming off.

Only slightly more seriously:

The CB750F tank's bottom line actually works nicely with the Virago backbone frame, and I'm going to extend that line down toward the swingarm and run a brace from it for a solo seat. It needs to go lower than my fancy carboard mockup, and I need to look at how much room I can make underneath it in order to put the battery inside. I will need to weld a big U-shaped bracket to the backbone to hold the tank in place and will need to make sure it can clear a battery.

XSKmzFnl.jpg


On the fence right now as to whether I'm going to mock everything up and then take it to a friend's shop to weld or go pick up the cheapy flux-core wire welder that's on sale at Harbor Freight right now - half because it would be nice to be able to do quick weld repair at home (and there is zero chance of upgrading my electrical / purchasing a nicer welder in the medium term) and half because I think that a bike like this should really be put together with a HF welder.

Anyway I'm going to put my sawzall away and laugh at myself for a while.
 
Welding will be done at a shop with a decent MIG setup - after trawling craigslist and totalling what I would end up putting into what is at the end of the day a substandard welder I decided not to pursue instant gratification.

Instead, figured out where the LiFe battery will go - the tunnel on the CB tank is wide enough to accomodate a battery box on one side with the TCI unit on the other:

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Started mocking up mounts for the tank. The challenge there will be (a) bracketing the tank up off the body of the bike while (b) leaving a couple of solid mount points for a seatpan frame.
 
It works - I would have rather had it in the box that's going to be south of the fuel tank, but there isn't room for it along with the wiring that will need to be tucked under there. I will probably put a heat shield beneath it, as it makes me a little uncomfortable having the battery just above the motor.

Now to find a YZF600 shock to replace the reservoir shock that's in there now.
 
This is small beer for anyone with any experience in metal shaping, but I'm having fun:

XqDEPidl.jpg


Two brackets bent to shape - the upper will be welded to the backbone frame, the lower held on with M10 bolts. The upper will serve to hold the tank in place and both will be mount points for the seatpan.

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Fits up pretty well. I'm going to get as much ready in advance as I can and then take it in to weld.

I am loath to buy parts that I can make half as well - so while trying to figure out what I would do seat-wise I found this great thread on ChopCult - I have a leather couch that my kids have tried to burrow through the middle of and we'll see how thick the hide on the back of it is. If that doesn't pan out there's a Tandy outlet close to where I work.

ChopCult thread: http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1590

Waiting on a couple of parts to show up so I can get the bike tuned up. New rings and a .25 overbore recently and compression/leakdown is great but I can't tune the single carb until I can start it (missing the starter motor) and I can't do much testing until I can stop it (missing front caliper).

Starting to lean towards being mildly excited about how this will turn out. Mostly still silly though.
 
Couldn't walk away just yet. Solo seat will go above this thing - if I do it this way I'll need to cut a 1/2" outline of the box (still needs to be cut down and shaped) out of sheet metal and tack it on.

xTVBz2Ol.jpg
 
That tank looks awesome on that frame. I think a low cafe seat would look rad. Bitsa bikes are my favorite. The rear loop for my SR is made from a pallet jack handle.
 
I can't in good conscience put a cafe seat on this thing. Also it would cost money, which I'm trying to avoid.
 
What about a plank of wood with half a plastic bowl stuck to the back, or an old skateboard deck might do the trick.
 
How about I bend up this here sheet metal into something faintly ass shaped?
 
Rec/reg unit now has a bracket that also covers the big airbox hole on the LH side:

Q3peA8hl.jpg


Man, there are a lot of wires up in there. Time to get the snips out.

1994 YZF600R shock is on its way - should be a drop-in swap for the stocker shocker and eliminates the air lines and assist. I don't ride hard enough for it to make much difference, and this one's in rough shape anyhow.
 
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