RatBob

Hello Elffie and welcome. Let us know how it goes starting it up again once you've charged the battery. Sounds like you're doing pretty well on your own to be honest! You might want to check a few things, probably obvious ones, but stuff like air filter, carbs, etc. just in case the reason why it was a "non runner" is because of anything down the air system. Sounds like fuel, oil, electrics and engine are all fine. You've got compression because it it fired. The only other thing to check will be gears, further down the line. Have you looked to make sure everything is straight? Checked for bent frame, bent forks, misaligned front and back wheels, etc.? If that's all good I think you will quite likely have the last laugh on this one. Even better if you got it for a bargain. Edit: Just thought of something else; is there any oil leakage, particularly around the top of the engine? Just in case the gasket has gone to engine component heaven.

What ever you do Noise just make sure it's empty before you go cutting into it. And nice job mate, I like it. I think I would've added connecting tubes from the bottom tubes to the wheel nut, just to finish off the hard-tail frame. Other than that though it's definitely cool for being so unusual. Bet it's nippy as f*ck round bends! Oh, and high five for having the same handlebars as me.

Hey, not a bad start you've made. My bike wasn't particularly well looked after either when I first got it, so I can sympathise. At least yours still has indicators and a tail light. I've got a few suggestions for improvement, looks wise: -Solo hard seat, always cleans up the lines of a bike, gives a more vintage, chopper look. -Tyre hugging rear mudguard. Very simple job if you're able to use an angle grinder and a welder. Rat bikes often have very short rear fenders. -Matt Black VHT paint on engine and exhaust. -Black wheel rims. Bit of a pain to do but looks way better and a lot tidier as Yamaha chrome wheels ALWAYS rust. -Pretty much any chrome or silver alloy/finish painted black. Bars, fork ends, yokes, shocks, chain guard, foot pegs, etc. -Small indicators, I've used black bullet indicators on mine, you can't see them until they're in use and they really clean up the appearance of the bike. -Exhaust wrap. Pretty cheap and looks really rat. -Military netting over the fuel tank, great for keeping luggage in place. What sort of fork gaiters are you looking to use/make? I find the springy rubber ones look pretty cool on rat bikes, but I'm curious to know how you plan to DIY some.

Thanks dude.

Hahaha! I nearly spat my cig out when I read this.

When was the last time the oil was changed? What sort of temperature are we talking outside? Did this only recently start happening? If so, did you perform any maintenance on the bike prior to this issue? You've checked for issues such as fuel buildup where it's not supposed to be, water in the manifold, that sort of thing? You say this is happening specifically after the bike has been sat unused for a while. I'd say that narrows it down a fair bit. I'd say the good money is on it being something that's likely to be happening over time while the bike is sat that would make it hard to start, since you're saying it runs fine the rest of the time.

That's the one. Throttle at idle lets in lean but combustible fumes, throttle opens and the fresh air drowns it. Simple really!

Most pipes sold as aftermarket additions, particularly for the virago 535, are "road legal", and those rare few that aren't can be made legal with some simple additions such as baffles, straight through silencers, DB killers etc. But like I say, they are the rare exceptions. As for MOT, find your nearest custom motorcycle shop and ask them if they know an MOT tester in your area who is sympathetic to loud custom exhausts. I did exactly that and got mine through just fine. But keep in mind that while an MOT tester may declare your pipes okay for the road, the police might have a completely different idea, as they use a totally different and seperate set of laws to the MOT! I've heard stories of bikers being stopped on their way back from passing their MOT test and getting done for loud pipes. But that's just the exception I think.

Welcome to the forum Ross. And welcome back to the biker family. Lots of xvs 650 owners on here so you're in good company. I've only been here a short while myself and I've already found them to be a really helpful, friendly bunch.

Welcome to the forum! Everyone loves shaft drives, for some reason! A mate of mine has one on his Intruder 700 chop. Personally I prefer chains, but each to their own. What you planning to do with the bike? You gonna go custom, bobber, chopper, or restore it back to factory condition?

LOL. Aren't we getting a bit confused here? It says in my manual that it's the mounting point for the wild haggis deterrent horn. Part number YAM470/452. They're only standard on bikes delivered to Scotland. Hence the hole south of the border.

The only reason why I've been so outspoken about this is that I think anyone should be wary of anything that gives them a false sense of safety. Those crash bars are not going to offer you or your bike any protection whatsoever. Lets say you have a lowside accident, pretty common for a new biker. If it falls to the left it will still damage the handlebars and rear end, and if it falls to the right your exhausts will still get damaged. It might save your footpegs, but that's about it. The xvs engine is pretty well protected on it's own really. I speak from experience here, after a left lowside without crash bars. There was very little damage. I came off worse than the bike. The only way you'll know for sure if there's a performance difference is to try taking it out for a ride without the bars, and then with the bars down the same road, and see if you notice a difference. Having said all that though mate, it's not going to hurt to have them on. There's worse crap that people put on their bikes. As for the pillion seat, it's illegal for a learner to take a pillion as it is. If you pass your test and for some reason decide to keep the bike, I doubt you'd be able to get much over 35 mph with a pillion. And if you did, you'd probably have to be really flogging it for a good long time. Think about it. Would you seriously want to subject your passenger to such an intensely boring ride, forced to listen to your struggling engine? I know I'd be so embarrassed I'd probably drop my passenger off and go straight to the nearest motorbike dealership and trade it in for something bigger.

There's a bit of info in this thread here, if you haven't already read it: When I first saw the xvs 125 I thought the same as you, that the headlight looks a bit small, but then I got used to it and now to me it's about the right size. Depends what you're going for though. I guess if you want more of the cruiser look then a freight-train sized headlight is desireable, whereas bobbers tend to have smaller headlights, and prostreet chops seem to have those long slender cone lights. Have you thought about simply getting a headlight assembly from an xvs 650? I seem to remember they're a fair bit bigger.

Yes there are. You can basically add whatever headlight you want. Most the xvs range seem to be standard fittings, so at most you'd be talking some very minor modifications to fit one. The electrics are limited to a specific volt/amp range, I'm not sure what that range is specifically or how far you can push it to. Maybe someone else can jump in there. But chances are you might have to swap the bulb fixtures around. But I know people who have gone bigger and smaller with headlights on an xvs 125. I've seen at least one 125 that used a highway hawk or similar aftermarket headlight that was a one-size-fits-all for the whole dragstar range.

We're not here to put anyone off. Just to inject some reality into the situation. When you consider that a bobbed mudguard/fender takes off the massive steel support frame for the pillion (why have a pillion seat on a 125? Seriously?), I'd say it at least adds to overall fuel economy, if not a slight boost in speed. But each to their own. I've got stuff on my bike that probably slows me down. My sidemount number plate isn't exactly aerodynamic! But it still shifts pretty well for what it is. I just know that adding weight is the last thing you want on a 125, and them crash bars don't exactly look lightweight. Whether it's noticeable or not, if in doubt, leave it out. Crash bars appear to have become part of the "cruiser brigade's" (lol) lets-add-the-whole-highway-hawk-catalog-to-my-bike mentality. They're frustratingly underpowered as it is, why go adding more weight for the sake of something that doesn't offer any protection whatsoever? If you're in an accident bad enough that you need the crash bars, the bike is going to be a write-off anyway. What good is a working engine if every other part of the bike is a twisted mangled wreck? In which case I'd worry more about your personal protection, rather than the bike! Seriously, like I said, save the money for better tyres, better headlight, or better protective gear! Stuff that's actually going to save you when it counts. There's no point trying to make your bike into a tank, because it's never going to work like that, bikes are ALWAYS the loser in an accident, they always come off worse. Since highway hawk have yet to add a chrome dozer blade to their catalog, I'd say avoidance is key, no matter how shielded it is, a car or inanimate object will still wipe you out. If you invest in stuff to protect you personally, in a crash, or things that might prevent one in the first place, you'll be far better off. So maybe it's possible to get a cruisered up xvs 125 with all the saddlebag windshield crap up to 70, that's not the point. I'd say unless you personally want them because, in your own personal taste, they look good, it's not worth getting any false ideas about safety. And I'll repeat that for emphasis. If you like the way the look go for it mate just don't go thinking it will make you invulnerable.

I've already totalled the side mount once, when I did a lowside round a 90 degree left. Bent it back into shape, replaced the tail light bulb, put a new number plate on, and off I went again. No biggie. I don't believe in "show bike" vs "road bike", I think they're all meant to be ridden, abused, and then later patched up and pampered. That's why to me the average billet barge prostreet bling is "dead", because in my opinion it's only "alive" if the machine is being used. My inspiration comes from the Japanese bobber scene. I think they've got the right idea about style and looks, for the most part. As for too much black, my personal view is that pure black bikes are an interesting statement that you rarely see on the roads. Mine however isn't going to be entirely black. I'm gonna put some brown leather grips on there, the seat is being recovered in brown leather, and I'm also gonna be adding a small leather pouch just below the seat. The tank and the air filter are gonna have some artwork and lettering on them related to the name of the bike among other things, but it will be kept pretty simple. I might also go with whitewall paint, but I'm not entirely decided yet. The exhaust will be wrapped. There's going to be a few other colour keys here and there to break it up a bit, but the overall impression is going to be of a simple, mainly black bobber with a vintage flavour. Black Betty eh? Your 125 wouldn't happen to have been this Black Betty would it? I'm taking a lot of my inspiration from this particular bike.

I'm currently on 23k miles with no issues. Clutch had to be parted manually at one point due to old oil which had turned white! But that was due to it being sat for a year doing bugger all. And the previous owner didn't have a clue what he was doing. All good now though. I still think the £1550 I paid for it was way too much though. But I've learned for next time to be more cautious of ebay. When I bought it, it had a mudguard attached on only one side by a piece of aluminium strip, which used to ground out on the tyre because it was mounted to the frame instead of the swinging arm, and a tail light that didn't even work and pointed downwards, an illegal number plate side-mounted on an absolutely enormous piece of aluminium sheet, and no indicators! In all it's cost me about £550 to put it right.

Is there any reason why you can't just weld the silencer on? Shouldn't be too hard using tig or even mig.

To be honest I didn't expect it to behave like that. I always assumed that if it ran out of fuel, it'd just splutter and die, and then refuse to start. More than likely if it wasn't for the crash I would've assumed that it was out of petrol. Instead I was worried that it was something else. Ironically I was planning on stopping to get some fuel later on that night.

Hi folks, posted already on the forum, but my name is Scott. Nice to meet you all. I currently ride an xvs 125 bobber, gradually changing bits here and there. Basically the whole thing is going to be black, eventually, and the plan is to cut off the silencers, then fabricate some new glass pack straight-throughs. Once the bike's done I'm selling it, as I'm aiming to do my test and get a 250-400. There she is in a half finished state. I've since sprayed the engine black, the mudguard is black too, and all the electrics are on and wired up.

My advice is don't bother. 1. They add unnecessary weight. 2. They don't help protect anything in a crash, I know having personally crashed an xvs 125 without crash bars that the only damage is to the footpegs and handlebar ends. 3. They look butt ugly, which completely defeats the object of owning the xvs 125 in the first place, and when you come to sell it they actually reduce the value of the bike unless you take them off. Save your money, get yourself a better headlight, or some better tyres than the stock.

Okay then, turns out, I RAN OUT OF FUEL. For some reason it was left on reserve when it came out of the garage, so it didn't behave how you would expect once it ran out as it was just running on vapors. The battery started to miraculously hold it's charge again once the engine was run with the tank filled. And the footpeg was slightly bent from the accident, which meant that I was changing gears at the wrong angle, causing the gear selector to feel stiff. The mechanic bent it back. So if anyone is having "similar" problems, I suggest you put some petrol in your tank.

Piss easy day at work today, got everything done early and sat around doing not a lot until I clocked off. Picked the bike up from the garage and rode off to the pub to meet a friend. Stopped on the way back at a vantage point on caradon hill to overlook the twinkling streetlights of Plymouth and all the nearby towns and villages. And I got flashed by a cage driver trying to tell me to dip my lights when they were already dipped.

Problem solved! Cheers for the help guys.

Nice work mate. Not sure I like the giant can, but the wrapped exhaust and red rims are cool. That mudguard gives it an interesting cafe racer look. How did you find the painting of the rims?