Toutsuite

Hell, those fuckers even try to kill me when I'm driving my car!

As long as the saddlebag doesn't touch the exhaust, airflow should keep it cool enough. Just don't get them too big and droopy!

Hi Phil, if the chrome is in good nick, with little or no scratching, then you don't need to polish it. A good car shampoo will keep it clean. My best tip is to get one of those ultra-fine microfibre cloths designed for window cleaning. The results are amazing. Something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/GBPro-Premier-Microfibre-Window-cleaning/dp/B005BCMXMU If there is a bit of scratching you might want to try good ol' Autosol. Use it sparingly mind. Oh yes, saddlebags: http://www.westendmotorsports.com/luggage-c-1843.html They're in the States but mostly work out cheaper even with import duties. Alternatively try: http://www.customcruisers.com/Custom2005/customshop2005/index.html or http://www.metriccruisers.co.uk/

A crime against both Nature and motorcycling.

On the uk site, they're only offering the 1300 custom under the cruiser section. The Bolt (950) has been moved to the heritage section.

Las, if you're thinking about getting a winter hack, might I suggest a non-cruiser? Maybe a Yam faser, or a Honda CB? Something that can take all the winter crap? No cruiser really is a good winter bike. (too much shit to polish!).

Suuhweeeet! Nice one meatloaf! IF you're looking for aftermarket pipes (of course you are!) have a looksy here: http://www.westendmotorsports.com/stryker-exhaust-c-303_3574_3580.html Bear in mind some of these will be really fuckin' loud, so you might want to try the "quiet" baffle options (i.e. slightly less really fucking loud).

Well at least the handling ought to be sharper, and you'll be able to lean the bike in a bend without scraping pegs (much!). Also I'm assuming it's lighter, so will have a bit more go?

The cheap, obvious and easy things first: is the air filter and the air filter box assembly seated correctly? Check for any air leaks. By backfiring you mean exhaust popping I take it. Does this happen with the throttle open, or when the throttle is closed?

Hey Ttasky, why the rebuild? Is this the wife's 2001 draggie, or your 1999?

Why shouldn't it though? The engine is fairly understressed, as a low revving v twin, as long as it's taken care of (regular servicing, good fully synth oil) it should last way longer than 40k.

Well perhaps that is a combination of both, as could be my case. The monoshock seating could have been designed better so that cleaning it would be less vital (though still necessary in the long run - snapping at 150k miles is better than snapping at 45k). Similarly, clearer documentation from Yamaha could alert owners to the necessity of lubing both ends of the shaft. Just checked the manual again. Nothing beyond 40,000km (except annual servicing), and just one mention of generally keeping everything lubricated. The cam chain is supposed to need replacing at about 80k miles isn't it? My nearest Yamaha dealer won't touch the bike. Because of the aftermarket pipes, apparently. Moaned about some previous owner trying to sue him because he didn't get the fuel mixture right.

You think breakers obey Keynesian economics? :-)

Another clue that the 650 dragstars might be particularly susceptible to shaft gear failure was when I was looking on eBay for 2nd hand hub assemblies. Nothing under £320 from american breakers, even more expensive from uk or European sources. EBay would throw up hubs from other bikes, like the odd 1600 Vulcan etc, and those would be stupidly cheap, like £15 to £40. Even the 1100 dragstar, though more expensive than the others was still much cheaper than the 650, at about £120 to £150. So I suspect there's quite a market for the 650 hubs, whereas not much for other shaft driven bikes. Now can it be that draggie owners are more feckless than others?

With equal respect, where in the owners manual does it mention anything about greasing splines, and *which* splines to grease in particular? I had assumed the splines referred to by various bods on the interwebs were the ones you could see at the end of the shaft when the wheel came off. I had no idea about the internals of the hub, or where or how the shaft attaches to said gear. And I suspect the average mechanic wouldn't know theres greasing to be done inside the hub either. Fault or no, I am merely sharing what I've learnt from my experience with others so that they may avoid the hassle of breaking down by the roadside, and\or saving themselves a ton of cash should they have these same problem.

The job is done! Using the specially machined socket in the pics above, I swapped both worm-gears of the virago hub and installed them in the draggie hub. Lubed everything up with molly lithium grease, all bolts got a nice spot of coppaslip, all put back together, and she's back on the road. So my advice is: grease the splines. You draggie owners have heard this advice before I'm sure, but perhaps what you're not aware of (as I wasn't) is that you need to remove the shaft off the hub (there are 4 bolts to undo to take it off), and give the shaft end, the gear end and the connecting gear (just a short tube with splines on the inside) a good greasing once every couple of years at least. You can ask your local tyre shop to do it, or do it yourselves if you've got a bike jack and some axle stands. This thread might be worth a pinning in fact as this is a common fault with the draggies.

Now if they could do all that without the goggles, that would be awesome!

Got a bloke on ebay to machine me the neccessary tool: about £40 for the 65mm socket and £20 for the long handle from Halfords. the worm gear has now been swapped! Just waiting for the weather to clear up to put it all back together again. Anybody need this in future (and you draggie owners will!) let me know and I'll hire it out to you. Gotta make some of that cash back!

Part has arrived. Gears look to be in excellent condition. However I'm currently hampered by my inability to remove the bearing retainer (as seen in the link in the post above). Don't suppose anyone has the specialist tool lying around?

I've ordered a 2nd hand hub off a viggy 535. The gears are identical apparently: http://650ccnd.com/webslinger/Mods/RearEnd/XV535Reardriveswapfor650Vsta.pdf

Ta for that mate, but that's the front wormgear (engine to shaft). I need the rear one that pokes out of the hub. May have found a solution, will keep posted...

As for failure cause, I'd say its Yamaha not lubing their internals properly. When the rear wheel comes off for a tyre change, its only the splines on the shaft that go into the u-joint and the wheel that get a bit of grease on them. The internals don't. I plan to give everything a proper molly lithium grease once a year from now on. And save up for a 2nd hand hub.

Currently, the only option should the worm drive fail, is to get a hub 2nd hand off eBay, from america. £300 to £370. Haven't been able to find just the gear anywhere yet.

http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xvs650ppc-2002_model11084/partslist/C-11.html#results part no 26 is the one that failed. the part between nos 7 and 8 is the one that I'd ideally also like to replace but it has no listed part no.

Right, went to Machine Mart today, invested in 4 axle stands and a cheap trolley jack for cars. Managed to jack it up on three axle stands and the front wheel, so the back wheel was well off the ground. Actually rock solid compared to when it's on its two wheels and stand! Anyhoos, got the back wheel and shaft off. The front bit seems ok, no obvious signs of extreme wear, no sheared off splines or anything, some residual grease on it. The back bit on the other hand, bingo: the shaft itself is ok, but there's a coupling gear that mates with the shaft and the gear sticking out of the hub. It's banjaxed, stripped bald, splines completely gone on one side of it. The other side is fine, as is the shaft splines. So I found the culprit. £21.10 delivered from Fowlers for the part. The gear coming out of the hub however is showing some signs of wear. It was mated to the stripped side of the connector after all. It's not too bad, and I think it's still got quite a bit of life left in it. The trouble is it's not listed as part number on the fiche, which means I'd have to get a whole new hub if that ever goes.