28th Aug 2009, 22:27
I bought an '82 Virago XV920J in May of this year for $500 bucks with 10K miles on it. The only thing it needed was the calipers rebuilt. I am looking to customize it since I am not a short guy. I was wondering if anyone has put forward controls and a Mustang seat on one of these? I am having a hard time find any of these as aftermarket parts for this particular year and model. Tons of 750 and 1100 from '84 on up, but not for an '82 920.
Also looking to change from the Cycom to a standard speedometer, from rectangular lights to round, and also change the exhaust. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.
matthew1973@live.com
25th May 2010, 17:28
To the person with the fuel warning; mine also does that. I have not been able to find a new sensor, but there is a button on mine that reads "Warning Control". If you push that twice every time you start up the engine, the light will turn off.
31st May 2010, 23:36
My younger brother gave me his Virago 920. I rode it for a year, then decided to correct the starting noise problem. It took nearly 7 months to find the right stator. When all was ready, and I went to start my bike, my solenoid starting smoking. I've been tracing all wires and relay components, and can't find my problem. Can you?
6th Jun 2010, 18:58
I recently purchased a '83 Virago 920, the bike had 6,000 miles on it. There are the things that I have had done or I have done myself. First off, I had to replace the tires, front shock seals, all rubber hoses. Carbs sonically cleaned, gas tank cleaned, new iridium spark plugs. I put in Mobil One fully synthetic 4T Racing oil in it. New battery and now it is in the shop for the TCI unit going bad. The kick stand switch went bad and screwed up the TCI unit.
So far I have driven it about 75 miles and it's been in the shop or been worked on since I had purchased it. It is in excellent condition. I hope to have it out of the shop by Wednesday 6-9-2010. Then we shall see if I continue to work on it or get rid of it.
13th Sep 2010, 23:19
To the two that are having the fuel level indicator problem. Have you taken the float out of the bottom of the fuel tank? I was having the same problem, and I found that the float itself had slipped down on the float linkage. I fastened it back where it belongs, and it works fine.
9th Oct 2010, 13:14
To the person that can't get over 62. Mine was running great til one day it just wouldn't go any faster either. Ended up I had broken one of the timing chains on the rear cylinder. Still ran fine, but not over 65 or so. May be the same issue.
26th Oct 2010, 23:31
I have a 920J that I have been using as a eighth mile drag racer since 1995; that's fifteen years. It is one of the strongest engines I have ever had. One set of clutch springs and one blown head gasket, is all I ever put in it.
Virago carbs are fussy, so put a 1 into 2 manifold and use an old pre const velocity Harley carb (the one that gets thrown away for an s-s replacement). They are cheap and improve your quarter mile times by about 1 second. I am 200+ lbs., the bike does eighth at 8.26 and it is an air cooled v twin under 1000 c. so falls right in the old sportster classes, which it rules.
I am an avid racer, and think these bikes are bullet proof. They can be fussy; air temp is a problem; they run best when it is cold out (under 70 deg.)
8th Apr 2011, 22:34
Underneath the kickstand, there is a small hidden safety switch. A shot of WD-40 in the spring usually keeps it up to par!
29th May 2011, 01:09
Last June I bought an 82 Virago 920.
Great bike.
I just bought a new battery today, just to be sure it gets full power for the Virago starts. I took out the old battery, and see there is a "battery sensor" hole in old battery with a wire and probe that inserts into the battery. I have never seen anything like this on other bikes, and guess it may have something to do with the electronic speedometer etc. The new battery has no such hole, so I just ignored the probe and installed the battery. Now the battery light flashes when I run the engine. Any ideas what it is? Do your 82 Virago 920s have this? What is the news?
Can I run bike, or will it destroy some electrical equipment?
Joe.
18th Jun 2011, 17:01
To the gentleman with the battery sensor problem. I drilled one of the fill holes a little bigger, enough to accommodate the sensor, and placed duct tape over it. Works perfect.
7th Aug 2011, 18:01
Brand new carbs? They haven't been available for about 5 years. Where did you find them? Petcocks have a habit of getting plugged, or diaphragm in a petcock might be bad. Try running in primer position.
22nd Aug 2011, 20:41
The flashing light is just an indicator for the electrolyte level within the battery, way back in the days that you added water to keep the level up.
With the newer, sealed and maintenance free batteries, this is obsolete. It should not affect the running of the machine in any way, just kind of annoying.
One way to bypass it is to plug in a resistor, which is basically what that unit is. I can't remember the ohm rating that works, but Google it and I am sure you will find something.
26th Aug 2011, 17:50
I have the same issue with my bike as well, but now it won't start at all. The battery was good, but I think it might be drained. Started it one day, started fine, rode it about 2 blocks, shut it off for gas, then when I went to start it again, it would barely turn over. I tried a few more times, then the starter wouldn't even make it. I didn't want to do any damage to the starter, so I stopped. I have no idea what is going on, but when I jump it, it will start no problem at all. Any ideas would be great.
22nd May 2012, 15:49
Hey bud, if it's running ragged, try taking the carb off and having it cleaned, or sitting it in a bucket of carb cleaner overnight. Makes a night and day difference.
10th Aug 2009, 23:17
I have an 82' Virago. As I have read comments, I noticed that it grinds every time I start it as well as others I have read. Is it something I should worry about and get fixed, or just leave it? The owner before me said it's been that way since he has owned it in 93?
Also, I need to get a new gasket for my brake fluid. Any ideas on what I can do to replace it with a new one or some other type of gasket? What can I do about my front brake pads or rotors, or whatever it is that is squeaking like crazy? If I ride the brake a bit, it goes away.