Paulwhite Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 ok m8, it wont hurt to try, might be lucky and it is just the carb was clogged (fingers crossed) only reason why i think its the piston rings is mine did exactly the same thing id try and start it with no luck and even with choke on full and me twisting the throttle it wouldnt catch and there was no smell coming from the exhaust and the plugs were dry, after cleaning the carbs and re-jetting, checking/cleaning ALL the wiering and getting a new battery the problem was still there, it would start if i bumped it and start on the switch when hot but if i left it for 3 min or more to cool down it wouldnt start on the switch and id have to bump it again. eventually it just wouldnt start at all, so decided to strip the engine to find the rings had gone and the crank was on its way out, (front con-rod had a little play in it = not good) fixed it up then the conrod went so had to strip the engine and put a new crank in it to find the head had gone (i did put dragster heads on it though) so yeah im left with a decent bottom end and no more cash to get a new head lol just got a new exhaust as well. and iv had a play with the exhaust and made a straight through single muffler pipe out of my old exhaust sounds well and seems to help the engine slightly (just cut the top muffler off and chamber then take baffle out and welded a plate on ). so yeah put it back together and give it a blast hope its ok m8 keep in touch. .Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridgedoc Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 Hi Paul did a reasonable compression test......hopefuly only the rings buggered...... I have taken the air filter off (black as yer hat) and the little covers on top of the front cylinder head....now I'm sure if I was told strip it or I'll blow your head off ......I would.......but thankfully for me you have the inside information ...ie. you have done it before, I will take you up on your kind offer of a blow by blow talk through on how to strip it down, I'm sure your knowledge will save me time and frustration. I promised by better half today would be last day for working on the bike as I have to sort the car out for our 5 hoour drive to Brittany, 2 weeks away, sunny, house almost on the beach, not mine but rented by the MiL lovely lady, she has lots of friends that live there (long story, another day maybe). So take your time Paul no rush, although we get back on the 14th I'm in hospital on the 18th for just the day I hope fingers crossed and its my birhday that weekend so I don't suppose I will get back to it untill the 23rd, Gosh!!! that feels like months away. Thanks again Paul Best wishes.....................Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulwhite Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 just pm me when your ready m8 and il go through it with u have a nice trip have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridgedoc Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 just pm me when your ready m8 and il go through it with u have a nice trip have fun Thanks Paul, very kind of you. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridgedoc Posted July 31, 2010 Author Share Posted July 31, 2010 Thanks Paul, very kind of you. Stephen Paul have sent you a pm Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridgedoc Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Hi Paul back from hols..... need to get stuck into stripping down the yammy so your assistance would be much appreciated, have got as far as taking the cover off the front cylinder Thanks........ Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViragoSwe Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 (edited) Hi Paul and Stephen! I am totally new in here. I am in Sweden and I have a Virago 125 that has been running great until this summer. I had not used it at all last year though, so I had to do a couple of small fixes and got it running again, and at first I thought that an old battery was the problem to a no-start bike. I have read this whole thread since I have similar problems and you guys wrote a lot of great things. Now I have a new battery, oil changed, new sparks and it still won’t start. I left it with a mechanic friend of mine that told me there was no or very low compression from either cylinder. Now, when I drove the bike to him I had to bump start it, but once it started it was driving just fine and reaching a top speed of 90Km/h with decent accelleration. Coukd it be piston rings issues or could it be something else? And if it is the piston rings, do we have to remove the engine from the bike in order to replace them? Thank you so much for your help! Andrea PS: UPDATE! I met the mechanic yesterday and we managed to start the bike in a couple of minutes by bump strarting it. He was baffled and so was I and now he also doesn’t have a clue why it would not start from cold without pushing it. It starts just fine with a warm-ish engine. we also removed the air filter (waiting for a new one) and the bike started (with a luke-warm engine) with a better response than before. I just tried starting it again with a cold engine and still no start. Any clues? Thanks! Edited August 18, 2020 by ViragoSwe Additional info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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