XV 125 REAR SWINGING ARM Problem

[neversaydie]

I found a guy who I think will give me a solution...must take bike there soon..

Kelum, I think you should pause for thought here for a moment. You appear to have bought a machine that is unfit/unsafe to ride with risk of injury to you and others, you have no idea of the cost of making it roadworthy or the extent of repairs required, a machine which you say was serviced before you bought it but clealry wasn`t.

It could cost you an arm and leg to make it fit and safe to ride, and I sense that reliable, trustworthy workshops may not be commonly available to you in Sri Lanka.

Given that you have previously said that the roads over there are very poor, then before committing yourself to further expense, should you not consider a bike more suited to the conditions, like an off road bike, and put any money you would have spent on the Virago to somthing roadworthy and better suited to your requirements?

My concern is for both your safety and your pocket. Anyone else got a view on this, or am I out of order?

Ray

[Paulwhite]

i agree an off road bike would be better for the conditions.

kalum, my rear axle/ swingarm is all original, and the spacer counter sinks into the hub so only allows for a small gap between arm and hub, dont worry about the width of the swing arm, as long as you use the proper parts / measurements all will be fine.

because the arm is bent its not resting properly on the spacer so the back wheel is out of alignment.

that knock on the front suspension sounds like it bottoming out. one way to check if you need new seals is to see if there is any oil on the chrome bit, if there is lots of oil deposits then you need new seals.

now a quick fix to try and stop it knocking is to undo the nut at the top of the arm (front suspension forks) and top it up with "fork oil" you want it about 2-3 inch from the top, you will need to lift the front of the bike off the floor.

as to tools i normally buy the sets which have all the sizes then take out the ones that fit the bike.

also you said something like the FRONT tire is wearing out on the left and not in the middle? if it is, then that bike has had a car or something crash into the left hand side of it! and that is bad ...verry verry bad and not worth the money you will spend fixing it.

neversaydie has a good point, the bike sounds like it needs allot of work to get it perfect, plus you wont know what else might be wrong with it, so dont spend allot of money on it!

you would be better off getting an off road bike of some kind, as there designed to do what you want it to do.

how much do you think it would cost to import a bike from the uk?

[Kelum]

Kelum, I think you should pause for thought here for a moment. You appear to have bought a machine that is unfit/unsafe to ride with risk of injury to you and others, you have no idea of the cost of making it roadworthy or the extent of repairs required, a machine which you say was serviced before you bought it but clealry wasn`t.

It could cost you an arm and leg to make it fit and safe to ride, and I sense that reliable, trustworthy workshops may not be commonly available to you in Sri Lanka.

Given that you have previously said that the roads over there are very poor, then before committing yourself to further expense, should you not consider a bike more suited to the conditions, like an off road bike, and put any money you would have spent on the Virago to somthing roadworthy and better suited to your requirements?

My concern is for both your safety and your pocket. Anyone else got a view on this, or am I out of order?

Ray

Hi Ray thanks for the concern and reply...well here there are good roads in the most cases..you should be mindful when riding to avoid them..you can have a look at sri lankan road images here;

http://www.google.lk/images?hl=en&q=sri%20lankan%20roads&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1272&bih=600

As for the bike issues, yes you are right about the safety and all..but in addition to these shock problems all the other areas are in good condition..engine was checked with a mechanic and and all the electric items are working fine so far..am going to have a look at air filter and oil filter plus sprokets once I buy the tool set..with me she will be fine..

I should address swing bar and front sockets and hopefully that will fix the issues..so I should wait till those get done..if the problems going to persist I would consider selling it...

This guy I spoke about deals with all the shock absorber and axle cases in japanese vehicles..he's got tools...so let me try..I still do understand your point Ray..but I love the bike too much to lose it..I want a comfy ride and this has made me feel like am on a cradle...

[Kelum]

i agree an off road bike would be better for the conditions.

kalum, my rear axle/ swingarm is all original, and the spacer counter sinks into the hub so only allows for a small gap between arm and hub, dont worry about the width of the swing arm, as long as you use the proper parts / measurements all will be fine.

because the arm is bent its not resting properly on the spacer so the back wheel is out of alignment.

that knock on the front suspension sounds like it bottoming out. one way to check if you need new seals is to see if there is any oil on the chrome bit, if there is lots of oil deposits then you need new seals.

now a quick fix to try and stop it knocking is to undo the nut at the top of the arm (front suspension forks) and top it up with "fork oil" you want it about 2-3 inch from the top, you will need to lift the front of the bike off the floor.

as to tools i normally buy the sets which have all the sizes then take out the ones that fit the bike.

also you said something like the FRONT tire is wearing out on the left and not in the middle? if it is, then that bike has had a car or something crash into the left hand side of it! and that is bad ...verry verry bad and not worth the money you will spend fixing it.

neversaydie has a good point, the bike sounds like it needs allot of work to get it perfect, plus you wont know what else might be wrong with it, so dont spend allot of money on it!

you would be better off getting an off road bike of some kind, as there designed to do what you want it to do.

how much do you think it would cost to import a bike from the uk?

I get ur points..they are reasonable..but I spent all my saved bucks to buy this and lets see, let me try shock guy and see what he has to say..

Bike having some issues...nothing so far in the engine....except as you ride it say 30 kms...sometimes say I ride at 40kmph...engine suddenly pauses as if I hit breaks and in nearly 2 seconds start to run normally...I dont know what it is but problems other than the engine can be slowly taken into consideration..at the beginning I thought to myself I would bring this bike into superb condition..I bought this for 120,000 rupees which equals to around 1000USD...for that amount I think its cheap..

Cruiser bikes are not very popular here but already many have asked if I would sell it. At least I would be able to bring this bike to a good condition and if problems rise I would sell it.

I love to import a bike Paul but it would be huge money..also I prefer 125cc as they are fuel efficient, also you cannot import above 350cc bikes to Sri Lanka..police bikes here are 400cc so u cannot exceed their capacity..means they should be able to catch any civilian bike..I love latest bikes I see on Yamaha.com...but am not that good with money...I think Viragos are pricey in UK?

I will check front forks too with that guy..oiling would fix it hopefully, no oil coming out...will I get some hole to fill some oil once I unscrew top bolts of front forks?

I think this faulty swing arm causing front wheel to wear out more at left?

[Kelum]

Hi guys...the socket had similar dimensions on both arms...there were no cracks and the bushes were working fine..there was no misalignment in rear tyre..what the hell was causing shocks to bend..

will soon have to put new dust seals and oil seals for front shockets..

B)

[Paulwhite]

hi kelum you said you paid about 1000 usd for the bike! in the uk that is about £900 the price you would pay for a PERFECT one, with no scratches or problems! so i think you have been riped off, with the bike in the condition it is, it would only get £500 (pounds) if that.

in the pictures you posted, the swing arm is bent so have you got that fixed? once thats done you need to make sure the tensioner on both sides are the same, then that should sort out that problem.

if its still not right then get someone to hold the bike upright and put a long bit of wood either side of the rear wheel and line it up with the front wheel, if all is good then both pieces of wood should be straight. and run along both tires. by rights the center of the rear tire should line up perfectly with the center of the front tire.

if its out and they dont line up then....well lets not think about that for now and hope it lines up!

the shocks could bend if there really old or if they have been knocked, the previous owner could have dropped the bike causing the swing arm and shock to bend.

and when you undo the bolts on the forks there will be a hole to put the oil into (it only takes a very small amount of oil to fill them and as i said you want about 2-3 inch below the top.

[Kelum]

hi kelum you said you paid about 1000 usd for the bike! in the uk that is about £900 the price you would pay for a PERFECT one, with no scratches or problems! so i think you have been riped off, with the bike in the condition it is, it would only get £500 (pounds) if that.

in the pictures you posted, the swing arm is bent so have you got that fixed? once thats done you need to make sure the tensioner on both sides are the same, then that should sort out that problem.

if its still not right then get someone to hold the bike upright and put a long bit of wood either side of the rear wheel and line it up with the front wheel, if all is good then both pieces of wood should be straight. and run along both tires. by rights the center of the rear tire should line up perfectly with the center of the front tire.

if its out and they dont line up then....well lets not think about that for now and hope it lines up!

the shocks could bend if there really old or if they have been knocked, the previous owner could have dropped the bike causing the swing arm and shock to bend.

and when you undo the bolts on the forks there will be a hole to put the oil into (it only takes a very small amount of oil to fill them and as i said you want about 2-3 inch below the top.

Well Paul..tires are in line now..I need to keep dust and oil seals ready for the front forks..am going to buy them from ebay...

Tires are inline now..we removed the swing arm and placed it on a leveled floor..surprisingly enough both arms were at same level..however, the very end of left swing arm was kinda twisted somewhat..but tire was not affected..we corrected it..

Paul, I will be able to sell this at a similar or higher price..but for importing a bike lot of handling and freight charges plus taxes will e involved right..then the price will get closer to the amount I specified..or even higher..different countries have different import/export regulations/taxes etc..

But let me consider importing one someday...lets see if its possible..hope you will be around till then...

[Paulwhite]

ok m8 lol probs not the best idea to import one, and dont think il be going anywhere for a while

[Kelum]

Paul...I think I will need a more latest bike..normally I dont like old ones...I will consider this seriously...