twerth
Active Member
I’ve been working on this project for a few months, but I just recently found this forum so I’ve got some catching up to do.
I bought a pair 920 Viragos (an ‘82 and an ‘83) at the beginning of the year. The ‘82 was actually intended to be a parts bike since it came with a bad title. I was able to purchase a frame with a good title so I decided to go ahead and put it back on the road. It was missing several parts and I cannibalized some others to use on the ‘83. It had also been crashed at some point so there were a lot of scraped and broken pieces as well. This made it a prime candidate for something custom. I’ve always liked the look of flat trackers, so that’s the style I decided to go with.
I got the ‘82 running a few months ago and took its first test ride. It ran well and shifted fine (brakes suck though), so I started deconstruction as soon as I got it back to the shop.
The early Viragos have a huge backbone frame, so it’s hard to find a tank that fits. First I tried an XS850 tank (too long), then an XS650 tank (too narrow), but neither worked well. BTW, I still have these two tanks and would like to sell them if anyone is interested. I ended up with an ’89 Vulcan 750 tank and flat track seat pan/pad I found on eBay. The tank’s a little big, but overall the proportions are ok and I like the look. I should also mention that I swapped the 16” rear wheel for an 18” off a SECA 750.
After a couple of months of messing with the rear sub frame, rear sets, wiring, etc., I got it back together and on the road. I rode it to work for a couple of weeks, and it’s a real blast. It’s pretty ugly, and it gets a lot of stares. I think it scares other drivers
So, after I had put a couple hundred miles on it and had the bugs worked out, I tore it back down for paint. I got the engine done over the weekend, and I’ll be working on the frame and suspension this week. Hopefully I can start final assembly over the weekend. I’ll post more pics as I go.
I bought a pair 920 Viragos (an ‘82 and an ‘83) at the beginning of the year. The ‘82 was actually intended to be a parts bike since it came with a bad title. I was able to purchase a frame with a good title so I decided to go ahead and put it back on the road. It was missing several parts and I cannibalized some others to use on the ‘83. It had also been crashed at some point so there were a lot of scraped and broken pieces as well. This made it a prime candidate for something custom. I’ve always liked the look of flat trackers, so that’s the style I decided to go with.
I got the ‘82 running a few months ago and took its first test ride. It ran well and shifted fine (brakes suck though), so I started deconstruction as soon as I got it back to the shop.
The early Viragos have a huge backbone frame, so it’s hard to find a tank that fits. First I tried an XS850 tank (too long), then an XS650 tank (too narrow), but neither worked well. BTW, I still have these two tanks and would like to sell them if anyone is interested. I ended up with an ’89 Vulcan 750 tank and flat track seat pan/pad I found on eBay. The tank’s a little big, but overall the proportions are ok and I like the look. I should also mention that I swapped the 16” rear wheel for an 18” off a SECA 750.
After a couple of months of messing with the rear sub frame, rear sets, wiring, etc., I got it back together and on the road. I rode it to work for a couple of weeks, and it’s a real blast. It’s pretty ugly, and it gets a lot of stares. I think it scares other drivers
So, after I had put a couple hundred miles on it and had the bugs worked out, I tore it back down for paint. I got the engine done over the weekend, and I’ll be working on the frame and suspension this week. Hopefully I can start final assembly over the weekend. I’ll post more pics as I go.
Attachments
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A Day One.jpg103.7 KB · Views: 544
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E Engine 2.jpg287 KB · Views: 1,328
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E Engine 1.jpg294.4 KB · Views: 553
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D On the Road 2.jpg126.7 KB · Views: 635
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D On the Road 1.jpg155.6 KB · Views: 1,410
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C Reassembly 2.jpg265.7 KB · Views: 561
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C Reassembly 1.jpg313.1 KB · Views: 675
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B Subframe 2.jpg260.7 KB · Views: 616
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B Subframe 1.jpg103.5 KB · Views: 860