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Help I was recently trying to solve a problem of a misfire on my bike by cleaning all the terminals on the coils, plugs, wiring connectors etc but when I went to start it nothing happened!!. The starter motor does nothing although all the light, indicators ec work and they do not dim when pressing the starter switch. I have taken the switch apart, cleaned it and applied dielectric grease to protect it but still nothing. I seems as if there is a break between the switch and the starter. Can someone tell me if there is a solenoid or a starter relay fitted and if so where abouts are they? Using a spare battery and a set of jump leads can I test it by earthing the chassis and putting the live feed directly onto the starter terminal to try to see if it will turn over or is this asking for trouble with the electrics on th bike It was working fine up and until I started what I though was a maintenance job on it and now nothing but frustration!! Any advice would be greatly and most humbly receievd. 'Woody' Allan

Hi all Short while ago I had a problem with my Virago 750, it cut out and then proceeded to run but misfiring. After several suggestions from the members I have ventually changed the coils, the plugs and finally the battery after discovering that the old battery was too small. It has been running like a dream and yesterday I did a 50 mile ride out with friends and not a hint of trouble. This morning jumped on it to go to work and it started first time, no choke, sweet as a nut but after 12 miles it started to misfire badly and again when I came out of work it would not start but it was turning over lovely. It would appear that the problem seems to occur when it is wet but not damp. Could it be the air filter is getting damp or could it be muck in the fuel this time round as when it is mis-firing you can rev it up a little slipping the clutch just to get some power in it then all of a sudden it seems to give a spurt before mis-firing again. I am going to check the earth lead, coil cover and replace the spark plug caps to see if that will make any difference and perhaps I will drain the tank and clean out the fuel tap filter!! Any suggestions as I am finally thinking about admitting defeat and getting a motorcycle dealer to look at it but at the moment the wallet is bare and if I can solve the problem myself this will be agreat help. Here's hoping 'Woody' Allan www.woodyallan.co.uk PS If you are buying coils from the internet check them very carefully as the one that I bought had the terminals at the bottom and not at the top and I have had to modify the cover!!!!!!

Hi, I had a problem with my Virago today. She started fine this morning but stopping at a set of lights (yes I do sometimes) the engine just cut out, managed to restart her but she seemed very reluctant to run smoothly unless th rev's were reasonably high and also there was an occansional misfire as if it was only run ning on 1 cylnder. Came out of work tonight and she just would not start and eventually called out Green Flag and the mechanic went over it and eventually got it running although it would not stay running for more than about 30 seconds. He put a meter on the b attery and said that the alternator was only putting out about 10 volts and that was the problem. Could this be any other problem like a faulty rectifier or is the mechanic correct? Any help on this would be very much appreciated. Thanks 'Woody' Allan