XV920 "Short Bus"

[Rich Ard]

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.



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.

[SONIC.]

Holy sissy bar batman!

[Rich Ard]

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.



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.

[kraptastic k]

I have a CB750F seat and cowl that are sitting in my garage... interested?

1981 CB750K (a bunch of parts in boxes)

[Rich Ard]

That would be ridiculous.

[kraptastic k]

I don't claim to know anybody's taste on this forum... the range is pretty varied. You know how it is

1981 CB750K (a bunch of parts in boxes)

[bradj]

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

[Kanticoy]

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.

[Rich Ard]

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.

I'll Paypal you another $3 to put a square headlight on it with an HID bulb in it.

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.



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.

[Rich Ard]

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:



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.