Hey ! Yep, it is extremely handy for screws that are stuck and will most likely strip out (it’s almost a must for the three that hold the left side round cover on as those are on very tight). Since it rotates as it’s hit with a hammer, it keeps the bit fully seated in the screw head when it breaks it loose. All the best ! Steve.
Hey Steve, long time since a video on Viragos. So you got 5 more? Nice. One reason so many screws on Japanese bike get buggered up is because of using US Phillips screwdrivers on those screws. Anyone having a Japanese bike should do themselves a favor and order some decent JIS screwdrivers. Make a very big difference. I expect you already know this, but I wanted to make sure watchers were aware that although they look like Phillips screws, they are not. They are Japanese Industrial Standard and the fitment in the screw head is different. Good video. Removing Virago carbs needs patience. 🙂
Hey man ! Yep, ended up getting 5 more non running Viragos a couple of months ago…two 1st Gen 750’s, one ‘85 1000, an ‘87 535, and this xv1100 that turned out to be in decent shape (other than the rusted out tank). They even came with a spare xv1000 motor with only about 5000 miles on it. For sure I’d say the majority of the JIS screws are ruined by folks thinking they are Phillips Head screws 👍. I have a set of Black and Yellow handled JIS screwdrivers that are off limits to everyone that I keep in the shop, lol. The impact driver uses 5/16” bits, but I was also able to find that size in the JIS design. Funny thing is…the JIS bits also seem to work really well on Phillips Head screws, but not the other way. Thanks again and all the best !
@@StevesDIYs You have enough spare bikes that you could put an 1100 motor in a gen 1 frame. Will the 1100 motor bolt into an early frame, or are some of the dimensions different? I always liked the early mono shock frame. Drop in an 1100, put on a dual disc front end and have the best of all models. Did you ever see that Virago that, I believe it was a fellow named Hagerman built for Billy Joel, based loosely on the old Vincent Black shadow styling. Very nice looking bike.
@@seniorrider9337 that would be interesting to do ! I actually do have the other running xv1100 that I got last year that has a badly rusted out gas tank. After getting it running and riding it for a few weeks, I started smelling raw fuel in the garage and after poking around on the tank, discovered it was riddled with holes. One of the 1st Gens I just got was missing the carbs and the motor and transmission was locked up so it got took apart already for spares, but I haven’t had a look at the other 1st Gen to see what it’s tank looks like inside. If it’s good, it might be a cool idea to combine those 👍
You have some great videos. I have a question about a 1986 Virago carb. The idle screws are extremely hard to turn. I got them out and tried new ones and I couldn't get them to screw in either. It feels like they are different thread pitch. Have you ever run into something like this.?
Hey man ! Yep, I’ve had several that wouldn’t thread in and felt tight…mainly aftermarket ones that they didn’t do the thread diameter right (the thread pitch was correct, but the OD of the threads was too big). Does yours have the Hitachi’s or the Mikunis on the ‘86? If they are the Hitachis with the needle on the bottom by the bowl, here’s a video I did that shows a cross section of the needle port. There’s really only the threads that keep the needle from going in easily…except if the larger part of needle where the oring is was made too large. th-cam.com/video/wfNjnu3wRsY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=FzKz4X1o-e3bb1uF For the Mikunis, there is a tiny oring and washer below the spring towards the needle tip…if either of those are turned sideways in the port, it will prevent the needle from going in straight and will bind it.
afternoon, i have a question about the two hoses that were attached to the back side of the carbs, and were sticking out of the two holes on the ais plate that came off of the left side of the bike. on my set of carbs, the hoses go the opposite direction, and the carbs are hitachi.. would you know if there is a specific place for the hoses to go if they are facing out tword the filter side, (right) opposite of what you have here?
Hello, yep the two larger hoses are just vent pipes for the slides so having them end anywhere where the air is clean and won’t suck debris in should be fine. With one of my bikes no pods on the bike, I just lengthen them and stuck them under the tank up by the frame. If you do decide to put little air filters on them, be sure it’s just foam or something that doesn’t have any restriction as they will cause the slides not to lift correctly.
2 questions. One how do you know if the AIS system is failing? Two, would you remove it? Because it seems like extra stuff to go wrong thats not really needed. I still have it one mine and rebuilt my carbs from your videos (thanks for that, real life saver) but its having problems running. I would like to remove AIS to rule it out if possible. My rear jug is getting to much fuel. Enough to cause a nice fire ball when i give it throttle. I do have the cobra exhaust on it but they are stright pipes. No baffles.
Hello, a failing AIS system will usually make it so that the motor won’t idle very well if at all when the system is not blocking off the exhaust gasses. If there are leaks on the control side (the vacuum lines), it will cause the motor to run rough and very lean. These vacuum leaks can also cause a buildup of unfired fuel that will blow flames as well since the cylinders may not be firing every time. I’m not 100% sure, but having low back pressure pipes on one with the AIS system still installed may do some odd things as the AIS system was designed to pull some of the exhaust gasses back up for a reburn when the rpms are up. Not having much exhaust back pressure may be pulling the unburnt fuel back around with good oxygen back up the pipe and making things very difficult to diagnose.
Hello, for some reason, I can only see one sentence of your last comment “Also battery is fully charged and brand new also”. Not sure if there was another part or comment that had a question? Thanks and just let me know, Steve
For the old, hard rubber boots that were giving such a problem, is there any kind of spray that can rejuvenate and soften the rubber a bit (like how WD40 helps loosen bolts)?
Hey again ! Yes, if they are not torn in the sealing area, I use petroleum jelly (Vaseline) and a hair dryer to soften them back up again. Put some on the surfaces and then warm them up with the hair dryer and then wipe the excess off. Repeat 3 or 4 times and they tend to soften up very well. I was actually able to soften these really hardened ones up for this bike and reused them. There’s a 3 part series I just loaded onto the channel that details out the disassembly, cleaning, and rebuild of the carbs and at the end of part 3, I fire it up using these boots and they did fine.
Hey man ! It’s the emissions reduction system that is inside the left side chrome bug eye pod on the bike. Stands for “Air Induction System” I believe and works like an EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) system on cars and trucks. Now that the bikes are pretty old, lots of owners just cap the pipes that go to the exhaust ports and cap the vacuum lines that go to the AIS mechanism and then just remove the system. This bike still had it on so it was nice to be able to show how to get it out of the way to pull the carbs. It actually still functions on this bike so I’ll just leave it on the bike for now. Hope this helps some and all the best ! Steve
That impact driver is really cool.
Hey ! Yep, it is extremely handy for screws that are stuck and will most likely strip out (it’s almost a must for the three that hold the left side round cover on as those are on very tight). Since it rotates as it’s hit with a hammer, it keeps the bit fully seated in the screw head when it breaks it loose. All the best ! Steve.
Hey Steve, long time since a video on Viragos. So you got 5 more? Nice. One reason so many screws on Japanese bike get buggered up is because of using US Phillips screwdrivers on those screws. Anyone having a Japanese bike should do themselves a favor and order some decent JIS screwdrivers. Make a very big difference. I expect you already know this, but I wanted to make sure watchers were aware that although they look like Phillips screws, they are not. They are Japanese Industrial Standard and the fitment in the screw head is different. Good video. Removing Virago carbs needs patience. 🙂
Hey man ! Yep, ended up getting 5 more non running Viragos a couple of months ago…two 1st Gen 750’s, one ‘85 1000, an ‘87 535, and this xv1100 that turned out to be in decent shape (other than the rusted out tank). They even came with a spare xv1000 motor with only about 5000 miles on it.
For sure I’d say the majority of the JIS screws are ruined by folks thinking they are Phillips Head screws 👍. I have a set of Black and Yellow handled JIS screwdrivers that are off limits to everyone that I keep in the shop, lol. The impact driver uses 5/16” bits, but I was also able to find that size in the JIS design. Funny thing is…the JIS bits also seem to work really well on Phillips Head screws, but not the other way. Thanks again and all the best !
@@StevesDIYs You have enough spare bikes that you could put an 1100 motor in a gen 1 frame. Will the 1100 motor bolt into an early frame, or are some of the dimensions different? I always liked the early mono shock frame. Drop in an 1100, put on a dual disc front end and have the best of all models. Did you ever see that Virago that, I believe it was a fellow named Hagerman built for Billy Joel, based loosely on the old Vincent Black shadow styling. Very nice looking bike.
@@seniorrider9337 that would be interesting to do ! I actually do have the other running xv1100 that I got last year that has a badly rusted out gas tank. After getting it running and riding it for a few weeks, I started smelling raw fuel in the garage and after poking around on the tank, discovered it was riddled with holes. One of the 1st Gens I just got was missing the carbs and the motor and transmission was locked up so it got took apart already for spares, but I haven’t had a look at the other 1st Gen to see what it’s tank looks like inside. If it’s good, it might be a cool idea to combine those 👍
You have some great videos. I have a question about a 1986 Virago carb. The idle screws are extremely hard to turn. I got them
out and tried new ones and I couldn't get them to screw in either. It feels like they are different thread pitch. Have you ever run into something like this.?
Hey man ! Yep, I’ve had several that wouldn’t thread in and felt tight…mainly aftermarket ones that they didn’t do the thread diameter right (the thread pitch was correct, but the OD of the threads was too big). Does yours have the Hitachi’s or the Mikunis on the ‘86? If they are the Hitachis with the needle on the bottom by the bowl, here’s a video I did that shows a cross section of the needle port. There’s really only the threads that keep the needle from going in easily…except if the larger part of needle where the oring is was made too large. th-cam.com/video/wfNjnu3wRsY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=FzKz4X1o-e3bb1uF
For the Mikunis, there is a tiny oring and washer below the spring towards the needle tip…if either of those are turned sideways in the port, it will prevent the needle from going in straight and will bind it.
afternoon,
i have a question about the two hoses that were attached to the back side of the carbs, and were sticking out of the two holes on the ais plate that came off of the left side of the bike.
on my set of carbs, the hoses go the opposite direction, and the carbs are hitachi.. would you know if there is a specific place for the hoses to go if they are facing out tword the filter side, (right) opposite of what you have here?
Hello, yep the two larger hoses are just vent pipes for the slides so having them end anywhere where the air is clean and won’t suck debris in should be fine. With one of my bikes no pods on the bike, I just lengthen them and stuck them under the tank up by the frame.
If you do decide to put little air filters on them, be sure it’s just foam or something that doesn’t have any restriction as they will cause the slides not to lift correctly.
2 questions. One how do you know if the AIS system is failing? Two, would you remove it? Because it seems like extra stuff to go wrong thats not really needed. I still have it one mine and rebuilt my carbs from your videos (thanks for that, real life saver) but its having problems running. I would like to remove AIS to rule it out if possible. My rear jug is getting to much fuel. Enough to cause a nice fire ball when i give it throttle. I do have the cobra exhaust on it but they are stright pipes. No baffles.
Hello, a failing AIS system will usually make it so that the motor won’t idle very well if at all when the system is not blocking off the exhaust gasses. If there are leaks on the control side (the vacuum lines), it will cause the motor to run rough and very lean. These vacuum leaks can also cause a buildup of unfired fuel that will blow flames as well since the cylinders may not be firing every time. I’m not 100% sure, but having low back pressure pipes on one with the AIS system still installed may do some odd things as the AIS system was designed to pull some of the exhaust gasses back up for a reburn when the rpms are up. Not having much exhaust back pressure may be pulling the unburnt fuel back around with good oxygen back up the pipe and making things very difficult to diagnose.
Also battery is fully charged and brand new also
Hello, for some reason, I can only see one sentence of your last comment “Also battery is fully charged and brand new also”. Not sure if there was another part or comment that had a question? Thanks and just let me know, Steve
For the old, hard rubber boots that were giving such a problem, is there any kind of spray that can rejuvenate and soften the rubber a bit (like how WD40 helps loosen bolts)?
Hey again ! Yes, if they are not torn in the sealing area, I use petroleum jelly (Vaseline) and a hair dryer to soften them back up again. Put some on the surfaces and then warm them up with the hair dryer and then wipe the excess off. Repeat 3 or 4 times and they tend to soften up very well.
I was actually able to soften these really hardened ones up for this bike and reused them. There’s a 3 part series I just loaded onto the channel that details out the disassembly, cleaning, and rebuild of the carbs and at the end of part 3, I fire it up using these boots and they did fine.
What is the "AIS System"?
Hey man ! It’s the emissions reduction system that is inside the left side chrome bug eye pod on the bike. Stands for “Air Induction System” I believe and works like an EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) system on cars and trucks. Now that the bikes are pretty old, lots of owners just cap the pipes that go to the exhaust ports and cap the vacuum lines that go to the AIS mechanism and then just remove the system. This bike still had it on so it was nice to be able to show how to get it out of the way to pull the carbs. It actually still functions on this bike so I’ll just leave it on the bike for now. Hope this helps some and all the best ! Steve