74tx500

also got another question. the vacuum sensors on the 1100s(also called a boost sensor or pressure sensor) are they a real sensor(send a varying signal voltage to the ignition box) or are they a switch(on/off)? i'm taking this bike on a week long vacation and would like to get this figured out before I leave if I can. I know there is a test in my shop manual to test the sensor but as a auto mechanic I've seen parts fail and test okay via the test in the shop manual.

Hello, got a question. my 1995 virago1100 runs great but once I run it down the highway shut it off and continue on the highway(after the first fuel stop ect) it hesitates. so if I cruising along let off the throttle decell for a few seconds and hit the throttle again it falls flat on it's face and then takes off like a rocket. but after a while of running like its it lacks power(doesn't feel as powerful as it should). I fixed a broken vacuum cap which helped a little. any thoughts or common issues that can cause this? I plan to clean the carbs(hoping to find something simple like dirt or aluminum corrosion flakes in a jet). any help would be great!

Hello, well i have a question about the clutch setup on my 95 XV1100. do the diaphragms wear out? i'm replacing the clutch cable and adjustment parts at the handle due to someone(before me owning it) bending the adjustment hardware and the clutch cable starting to rub through. but whats happening is when i ride the motorcycle is this. i'll warm it up ride and the 6 miles to my buddy's house. all is good shifts fine shut it off hang out for a hour or so go to leave and now it clunks into gear and is hard to shift. is the diaphragm collapsing and causing this disengagment issue? is it a major adjustment issue? i bought this motorcycle from a person who lived in the city and only rode it locally(all city riding). any help would be great.

Hello, been a while since i've been on. got a 1995 Virago 1100. and the fuel pump acted like it went on it so i replaced it and now it does the same thing. here's the problem. first time i turn the key on in the morning the pump primes just fine but after riding the bike for a little while(few miles) the pump slows down till it's almost not pumping at all. i know with a test light i have power to the pump haven't gotten around to checking the voltage to the pump. my shop manual said this thing has a fuel pump controler. do these controlers fail ever? cause this coming sunday i want to take this bike for a 500 mile ride. thank you for any help!

well i was bored and on ebay(i know never a good idea). and i noticed on the 84 and newer viragos they had the foot controls moved forward. can i put these foot controls on my 1982 virago 750? it would be great if i can. maybe my knees would stop hurting.

cool! i was hopping the petcock would flow enough to feed 2 carbs. if i can make a luggage rack from scratch i think i can rig up some fuel hose. on the rearend. awesomeness! i hope that will bring me down rpm wise enough so i can get closer to 40mpg. my speedometer shouldn't be off right? since that's run off the front wheel not the rear. on the engine it was a thought. more power lower 5th gear better mpg. and on the starter. i had that fixed. it stopped working at church. had a friend push me acrossed the church parking lot to get it started.

well i have a few questions about parts interchange and if i should even try things. well i bought a 1982 XV920 fuel tank since it holds more fuel then the stock 750 tank. question #1: the 920 tank has 1 petcock my 750 has 2. can i use one 750 petcock to feed 2 carbs? i'm willing to make a place for a second petcock on the tank but if i don't have to that would make things more simple. next question (#2): i bought a use 920 rear end(bike is shaft drive). i know the 750 have a rear gear ratio of 3.21:1 and the 920 has 3.14:1. can i swap the 920 rearend in? i trying to lower my RPMs on the hwy. and well if i math is right even if i am math tard i should drop around 200-250RPM. would this be a bad idea? last question is about parts and if i can use parts from a newer engine/tranns in a older engine/tranns. i want to make my 750 into a 920(engine swap). my 750 is using around 1 quart of oil every 1,000-1,500 miles. which isn't super bad. but i'd like to rebuild a 920 engine but use newer tranny gears so i can get the lower 5th gear ratio used in the 84 and newer viragos. can i do that? as i said before i want to make this bike into something i could take on a trip wothout having to fill up every 120 miles. any help would be great! saying i'm crazy works also.

here's the problem. the rear cylinder is working more than the front at idle off idle the front kicks back in. i know it's a carb issue. things i found. if i turn the rear cylinder throttle stop screw all the way down and turn the front up a little the front kicks in at idle. mostly the pop..pop.pop...pop.pop. not as smooth as the rear. i'm replacing the cracked intake boots this week. which i hope will fix some of this. i also installed a dynojet stage 1 kit. the bike has aftermarket pipes which are mostly open. here's my question. do i need a carb tear down cleaning and sync or just a good sync job? i lost my job on friday and well can't pay someone to work on it. i'd like to get it fixed myself so i can use the bike to drop off resumes.

well i found that if i adjust the throttle stop for the rear cyclinder i can get the front to work. i have a feeling someone turned up the rear cyclinder so it would idle good. it may just need a good sync job and that's all. i set the pilot screws the the setting in the dynojet instructions. and it idles on both cyclinders(rear is stronger than the front). and doesn't back fire as much if not at all. i'll have to make more adjustments after i get my new intake boots and such. just happy i got it running better!

well anyone have a idea? i got it back to a setting so it will run but back fires on decell and at idle sometimes. i know it's running rich. i'm just fed up with carbs not working right.

i have a 1982 virago 750. and well when i bought it. it had aftermarket pipes and such. well i re-jeted the carbs for the pipes(last owners didn't). well even before the jet work it idled on one cyclinder(rear). well now that i jeted it it runs like poop and well since me and carb don't mix too well anymore i'm at a loss what to do. i check compression and the non-idling cyclinder has more compression the the one that does work. i checked for a valve being too tight. the intke valve was a tad too tight but not by much. if i mess with the syncronizing screw the front cyclinder starts to work a little but then the rear starts to die out. the after a few seconds the bike stalls vapor locks and won't start .and well i've tried to dump it off at a few bike shops by me and well they do the "virago! we don't service those anymore". any thoughts? what would happen if i tried to set it up for one carb? would it work?.i want to keep the bike for maybe 3 years and then get something with fuel injection!

howdy howdy. well i mocked up the carbs on the 1977 head. they fit just fine. the shape of the 1974 and 1977 intake ports are a tad different. but not by much(openning wise). so i think maybe monday i'll drop the head off. and get the ball rolling on this thing and get it done. other thing on my list are fixing the carbs(one got plugged up and getting the float level right) and some wiring stuff.

thank you for the links there! i added them to my favorites. well update! got the head yesterday! i see no cracks and it's pretty clean to me. so maybe next pay check i'll drop it off at the machine shop and have a valve job done and have it resurfaced so i know i have a flat gasket surface.

i'll have to look into those kits. i've bought 4 kits off ebay already(2 kits per carb). but if i need jets it's nice to know a place that sells them. does that company have a website? well for a update not much has gotten done. still waiting for the parts i bought on ebay to be shippend and/or arrive. i'll speak up once thing start to move along.

well on the head work i get a discount since i'm a mechanic and well i'm taking it to the machine shop we do busieness with. they said $75 for the whole job. i hope there are no change in the pistons cause i put new ones on the rods already with new rings. well i'm hopping the new one piece head is just made better and such. and it'll swap on with some form of ease. and yeah i know the feeling of buying it to learn on and to fix. so far i haven't broken anything myself. the last owners did all the breaking for me. i'm learning this bike rather run like poop than to run good. i have to pull the carbs a part to fix one of them. right now i wish i could get both carbs to work at the same time. i don't know if jets are available for these bikes anymore. and i'll see what the thing runs like after i try to sync the carbs. which i'm hopping is another reason it runs bad. i know the new gas doesn't help me much either. well thank you guys for the help so far. i'm going to bed here before i fall a sleep infrom of the computer.

well there is a story behind those cracks. before i bought this lovely gem of a bike. the last owner left the old gas in it over winter. and could only get it running on one cylinder the next spring. well he got it so hot it turned the exhaust on one side blue. well that's why it's got such bad cracks. well i bought it thinking it would be a great first motorcycle. you know learn how to fix it and then ride it. well i've done more fixing then riding. last season i put a whole 600 miles on it. more down time then up time. well i'm hoping this season i could put a lot more miles on it. well if i can swap the newer model head onto my older bike it would be great. if it's redesigned to make it better. well that's a plus too. by clearances what do you mean? piston the head? i have new valves for the old my old head. don't know if they will work in the new head. it would be nice if i could. i plan to have a valve job done on the new head and have it resurfaced so i know the sealing surfaces are flat. now some carb questions. i'm running the stock 1974 carbs. is there anyway to make them function better? i mean i have to futs with the idle speed screw all the time at stop lights and stuff. and if i crank it wide open in 5th gear it bogs out and slows down. i can't ride it on the hwy(65mph or above) cause it barely goes 60mph(the fastest i need to go on my way to work). i know i need to adjust the float hieght since i have gas dripping from the carb vent hoses. well thank you guys for the help so far.

hello, well i'm a newbie to this forum. and well i have a 1974 TX500 i got from a guy for $500 and well since i got i've dumped around $1500 into it to make it safe and somewhat reliable(miss spelled that i know). well i pulled the engine due to low compression(should have 150psi i had 100psi with oil in the cylinders). well the head had 4 large cracks in it(i could messure them with a feeler gauge if i wanted to). well here come the questions: i bought a used 1977 XS500 cylinder head the one piece design off ebay with the valve cover. will this work on my older 1974 engine? and will my older carbs work on this head? i know the carbs on the older 500cc DOHC engines were junk. and i've put up with that last season. but i would like to make some kind of return on my investment with this bike. and is there some way to make these junk carbs function reliable enough? i mean i take them a part blow air through all the passages and it still has one dead cylinder at idle. and every so offen that cylinder will cut out while riding. and it runs massively rich (i think the floats are too high). so far this is what i've done to it: new tires,new wheel bearings and seals, new fork seals and dust boots, new brakes front and rear, added fuel filters, MSD blaster coils, K&N air filters, luggage rack and sissy bar, highway bars with foot pegs, windshield, new drive chain and sprokets, tune-up, XS750 brake master cylinder, and rebuilt the carbs like 3 times. well if anyone has some ideas or knowledge on these bike please help. i want to get this thing back on the road before the summer is over.