[Ep 02] Yamaha Virago XV920 Cafe Racer Project - Engine Disassembly

[@burgersquid]

Illestrator out here doing the lord's work with the weirdest bike he could get his hands on

[@Theillestrator1050]

In typical form! 😆

[@burgersquid]

@@Theillestrator1050 im in the same boat bro, i just picked up a VTR250 with ascot FT500 motor. Looks like the last owner got about halfway through the swap and just gave up on it. So yeah, lookin like I'm gonna stay busy this winter, haha

[@seeul8rwaynekerr]

Still far more reliable once rebuilt than any harley

[@foxhound5699]

I love your build videos cos they are the realist shit out here, no fancy workshop, $5k snap on tool chests and sponsors throwing high end parts at you. You build bikes like the rest of us, in a back yard with the tools you got while waiting till payday ti get parts and selling what you don't need. Big love my man.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Quite literally how these builds go lol. Glad they can fill a need for that kind of content!

[@stugixer57]

Nice watch, I’m currently building an XV750 cafe racer, a friend informed me that the rear cylinder is designated as number one cylinder, perhaps that’s the small confusion with the oil baffle plate🤔

[@jumar360]

StevesDIY is the man!

[@Theillestrator1050]

Extremely helpful for working on this bike

[@kdsowen2882]

Relaxing to watch . Dont mix the cams up , rear has different oiling ports/holes etc . Ditch the twin valve-springs (if this model has-them) use later virago 1100 single-springs, rev-better, less cam-wear and dropped-valves . Definitely change those cam-blocks to bearings, less-heat/wear on cams, better-revs and your valve-settings are constant . Also stops a lot of metal-filings (those bushings, plus dbl-valve-springs, destroy the cams , along-with too-low idle..oil-pressure.. ) You can modify and run a yamaha 600 dirt-bike pump if you want more-pressure , but the stock-pump has a huge-scavenge, so they're adequate for the job . Clean the 'Magnet' below the starter-gear assembly (designed to collect all the damaged starter-metal ! ) These are great-bikes when you sort a few things, as you mention, Steves DIY is an amazing channel . Don't run a rev-counter either, it steals rear-pot-spark . Replace the plug-caps or do Steves 'Mod' . Even 'indexing-plugs' helps virago's run better . I have a couple of TR1's, the 981cc chain-drive model, a little larger than US-spec 920's , Roadsters (different Rake etc) not cruisers like virago's . But the-same Beast at-heart , the Poor-mans Vincent (which yamaha dismantled and used as inspiration for this motor etc. ) These are bulletproof , set-up properly , check-out 'Skinny-Beast' kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJjOfYN9rbCaqa8 and Manfreds TR1 Dave NZ

[@kdsowen2882]

Also forgot to mention, the lower-oil-feed banjo-bolt, that starts the oil-feed up to the cams ,through the chrome-pipes , was sometimes faulty from factory .Run a 2.2mm drill through it to increase flow to the cams. Going too-large on this hole can badly-upset the oil-flow-ratio's , but some were nearly-blocked, allowing very-little through to the heads ,resulting in cam-lobe-wear/rocker-wear etc . Dave

[@rapturea4]

Could help me fix my virago xv920

[@ryanevans3603]

One of my favorite bikes. I had the version with the chain drive years ago. Round headlight, no CYCOM display (XV920RJ?). Better tech, worse styling than the 70s throwbacks, IMO. You did your research (roller bearing cams ftw), but I want to offer my experience anyway: 1. replace starter with solenoid-actuated version (on viragos up thru '96 IIRC). Good luck finding the starter gear you need, they're rare and crazy expensive. **The upgraded sidecover (also housing the solenoid) will hold the timing sensors proud of the stator by something like 7mm or 9mm. You gotta cut some tube spacers to place under the stator mount points. When you do this, you might want to upgrade the stator itself but I never got to that. I did end up replacing my 2-brush starter with the recommended 4-brush version. 2. toss that wiring harness and use an M-Unit. I'm sure you were already gonna do that. 3. RAM SHOX makes the cheapest/simplest replacement for this monoshock. 4. Cognito Moto blah blah GSXR front end. 5. Mikuni VM34 carbs (again, Cognito) 5. I'm jealous. Have fun!

[@itssanktime82]

As soon as the Illestrator music comes on my day is happier.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@itssanktime82]

@@Theillestrator1050 My man! 👌

[@grimsventure4439]

You always have a great story telling aspect of your videos. Always excited to see a new video.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Glad you like them!

[@ayherdofturtles]

That "nut rounder" looks an awful lot like an "adjustable hammer."

[@t.hhunfeld4321]

The front and rear timing chain covers are switched. The one with the rubber in it needs to be at the front cylinder.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Gotcha, I knew something was weird... that means someone was atleast in the very top of the engine.

[@DankoStojanovic]

Come on, RevZilla, use all the talents this guy has! How amazing would an Illustrator playlist be on RevZilla's channel?

[@Richard-tj6dx]

Shade-tree tip: auto parts store doesn't have a slide hammer? Yes, they do. It's in the paint and body section. It's a small Bondo brand "dent puller" and it's about $13. *The threads are a perfect match for a Mopar 727 Torqueflite front pump. I've been using the same one since your mom was thin.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Ah, interesting! Should come in handy next time. I guess it was for the best considering the end solution was free lol

[@eightbysixteen8144]

Nice, I decided not to split. Heads n jugs off. Honed cylinder s. Checked ring gaps. Jugs/heads vapor blasted. All covers hand cleaned n polished. Also, rocker shafts I used a bolt, socket, nut n washer. Just hold bolt head with a spanner and tighten the nut down which pulls the rocker shaft. Haha, yours was a labour of love bro.

[@blipco5]

WOW. Good on you for taking on the engine rebuild. 👏 I think your cams are fine. Sometimes the case hardening wears through to expose a hollow in the casting. No worries, it’ll still work. Here’s a tip I recently discovered… When it comes time to scrape the mating surfaces to remove the old gaskets.. instead of using a razor or any metal tool.. go to a hardware store (Home Depot), and buy a couple of two inch wide plastic putty knives for less than a buck. They are as sharp as razor blades and last surprisingly long and it is impossible to mar the mating surface. You can split them in half to get into narrow spaces.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Hey Blip, thanks for checking it out. Interesting comment on the cams, never knew about that, on face value they look rather chewed up. On the gasket surface, yes! I remember from scraping the cb550 I ordered plastic razors and a carbide scraper.

[@blipco5]

@@Theillestrator1050 My Kawasaki ZRX1200 had slightly pitted cams. They pitted within a few thousand miles. Most of them did, but 50,000 miles later they still looked the same. I wouldn’t worry.

[@AG-ki8pm]

Hey man, great job. Smart move to split the engine cases apart. I just picked up a 1981 Yammy XV920RH and have just noticed that there is a small oil leak coming from the bottom of the engine case where the gasket mates the 2 halves together. Cheers, A.G.

[@infesting]

The baffle on the cam is ABSOLUTELY supposed to only be on the rear cylinder.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Gotcha, so someone switched them around at some point

[@wilianamaral]

@StevesDIYs is the guy when talking 1st gen viragos. Good job as always, Illestrstor! Nice to see the tool arsenal growing

[@Theillestrator1050]

He really is. His videos are very informative.

[@tomek860]

Best narrated build videos 👍

[@cybcx404]

Dope dope dope I see your back to wrenching again. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Theillestrator1050]

Thanks as always!

[@luthaeris1]

Been waiting for an update, hell yeah!!👍👍

[@Theillestrator1050]

More to come!

[@FunWithAJ]

It's a good day when the Illest uploads a new build episode.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Thanks as always AJ!

[@alphatripduce]

Currently bidding on a MOTO GUZZI Daytona on BAT kind of hoping I get out bid but it's a steal at the curren price

[@Theillestrator1050]

Had to look it up because I don't really know my Guzzis like that... Looks like a really cool bike.

[@memybikeni9931]

Good video, it’s easy to tell which cylinder should have the baffle plates etc as it’s the only one that has the oil breather coming from it.

[@JGFXDK]

I have an '87 XV920 that has been garaged since 2008 when I got my first car. You bet ya I'll be returning to this video in a couple years when the boys are old enough to show some interest in this kinda thing. They're plenty interested in the GSX1250, so I bet on a little extra muscle for the Virago, soon. Also, much more fun smacking a TV in the garage and watch you do it, rather than flipping through the murderously boring Haynes manual.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Ha! Well whenever you do open up the XV920, I can recommend Steves DIYs as well. Guy is pretty much a Virago encyclopedia

[@edwardm9227]

I was interested to see the oil pump gear and chain, apparently it's a mod on T150 's ,I'm looking to rebuild mine over winter as the bottom end is grumbling! Good luck with the next session 🛠⚒🪓🤣

[@Theillestrator1050]

I love those weird cross bike compatibilities. Thanks and good luck to you on the rebuild.

[@starfox_wr-45e93]

It's really time to up your tool game my guy. Painful to watch you use Plumbing wrenches when a decent quality Ring combination spanner set and a 3/4" deep socket set costs about $30 all-in. Maybe less. Invest. It's always worth it

[@Theillestrator1050]

@Starfox Oh no I have the tools, save for some REALLY deep sockets to get past the head studs since you brought it up; but I tend to try to bring out as few tools as possible. I don't mind using plumbing wrenches if it means making less of a mess and it works.

[@Theillestrator1050]

@@SixWheelsDown Sorry to cause you any pain brother, hopefully it helps to know that the clutch won't be literally going back in the engine as it sits. If it doesn't, I don't really know what to tell you. As far as the Allen wrenches, no real comment there 🤷. I mentioned that some tools are older than me, when you say "clowning"... Is the criticism coming from a good place?

[@TheOutsideDev]

I enjoy your videos a lot man! Truly inspiring for those of us that are working on bikes in the same type of environments 🙌

[@benspeedschannel888]

The motor looks pretty good

[@ohn1234567]

Always looking forward to videos from this fookin' guy. Nice one!

[@Theillestrator1050]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@seth_iwant_toride]

Love your style bro. Looking forward to the rest of this!

[@Theillestrator1050]

Thanks for watching!

[@breadman1148]

All I can say is wow …..❤

[@reaganharper447]

So good! Awesome seeing you out there getting it done in the yard with what you have! You're so close to having the whole thing stripped down, feels like you could take a few steps further and go for the vapor blasting. It'd be your one shot to have that done now before it goes back together :) Whatever you decide, I'm pumped to see the progress on the build.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Its true, but to be honest I am just comfortable re-sealing everything and not pushing my luck with this...Kinda content with wire drilling the block and using the paint kit I already have. A full teardown can be saved maybe for a simple single cylinder later on

[@reaganharper447]

@@Theillestrator1050 Yeah, that's completely fair. I'm pumped to see how the bike turns out. Enjoy the journey!

[@hillishomesolutions3173]

Thank you for in depth info. Your music in the first part of the video reminds me of the music in the tv show match game from the 70s.

[@awdrifter3394]

He's back!

[@wesselbolt1550]

Love the series already❤

[@lucasazeredo1]

Hey mate, nice start, I'm doing similar thing but mine was already (poorly) modified, so I'm fixing what it has to be done.. how's the progress going, any news? looking forward to the next video.

[@belledejour2998]

love your builds.

[@dionrau5580]

Those motors are solid, I got a vs 1100 wich is basically the same as you got. I think the cams tell you somebody was slack on oil and filter changes, biggest problem I ever had with it was the starter clutch, and on the v Star it's a pain in the ass to change the oil filter, but I fix it with a spin on filter adapter kit. I'll enjoy seeing where you go with this one!

[@Theillestrator1050]

Thanks, they look kinda rough don't they. Another comment mentioned that it could be imperfections in the casting just being exposed. Trying to figure out what to do as far as cams go... And ah yes, the infamous starter situation lol

[@dionrau5580]

@@Theillestrator1050 every thing else looks good from here, ha ha. I'd probably replace the cams, s-s used to make some higher spec but maybe no more, check pacific Coast Star, maybe have some stuff they used to have alot of performance upgrade stuff for the 1100. Or replacement from Yamaha. Something to look at!

[@josephsamsor1698]

Almost missed this one since KZbin is being weird about actually sending me notifications even when I have “all notifications” on.

[@franciscoespinal3714]

Great job, how much would you charge for disassemble the the engine to be clean like yours and put back together.

[@jamesreed7358]

Great video, thanks for posting :)

[@ValusRose]

I've never clicked on a new video so fast lol

[@Theillestrator1050]

Hope you enjoyed!

[@Jabbekot]

Yeaaaaahh HE'S BACK 😊

[@Theillestrator1050]

Never left baby!

[@rapturea4]

Please I have the same bike and am having big issues with my starter is making me sick 😔 everyday so I have Park the bike. Can you sell the old part for me or you help me get a new starter and front shorks absorbed

[@aproductofboredom]

Yay

[@Theillestrator1050]

🎉

[@corywoods7808]

Yooo I just got the same bike anyway you can share with me what sequence the bolts need to go into the left side of the crank case cover, I got one with it tore apart can’t figure out where the few longer Allen head screws ones go

[@philly_phats_tv6809]

Love your vids…bro…keep up the good work

[@FairladyS130]

That cam drive chain is beefier than some car engines have, definitely not specced to a price.

[@stanmil5495]

Nice to see yamaha has always made fixings made of cheese

[@hellbilly6532]

Great video

[@Theillestrator1050]

I'm glad you enjoyed!

[@joef6858]

21:21. Lol. Now I can’t unsee it.

[@Theillestrator1050]

Lol

[@dubbleA100]

Yo tell me why I have those same joggers, a xv920 that I'm doing a cafe on and I just found your videos for the first time ☠️🤣

[@frosthe5502]

Nice project ! There is a french guy on New york also working on virago project. His main channel is in french, Tristan durand Bricole, but he also had an english channel. It could interrest you

[@Theillestrator1050]

I'll take a look, thanks.

[@plageran]

incase you don't upload again, Happy New Year Dude! Can't wait for the next upload

[@Theillestrator1050]

Thats a fair concern lol, you as well.

[@plageran]

@@Theillestrator1050 GG it's been a crappy year lol

[@dukiemoto8676]

This is going to be a good build series, and excited to see the direction you go aesthetically. Question, I’ve never taken an engine down that far so it seemed you already did 80% of the teardown why not go all the way, does the rest get too risky or just not needed and not worth it, even for the experience? Anyway really like this channel, always thoroughly enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work👏

[@Theillestrator1050]

Thanks for checking it out! Well the main reason I split it is just to reseal it so theres no crankcase leaks; the other reason is to get it blasted. The issue is there were many hurdles along the way and I foresee more of them if i begin really taking the engine down to nothing. I don't even feel comfortable doing it given my lacking workspace. I want the experience, but perhaps on a more simple engine, like a small single cylinder. Dont wanna press my luck and I'm comfortable just wire drilling the engine and using a paint kit I already own.

[@dukiemoto8676]

@@Theillestrator1050 Thank you for responding, and yeah that does make sense. Dude the amount of teardown you’ve already done would have me s#!ting bricks thinking about putting it back together, lol. Okay, keep up the awesome work👏

[@draggonhedd]

Do you have a set of JiS screwdrivers yet? You have enough japanese bikes to make them necessary at this point!

[@Theillestrator1050]

I don't have a JIS set because I pretty much just use an impact screwdriver on any JIS screw regardless of how tight it might be. But for thoroughness, I should probably get a set.

[@draggonhedd]

@@Theillestrator1050 tsk tsk.... 😉 Useful for the small screws on controls and ignition stuff too. My relationship with JIS is "use the right tool to remove it" and then replace it with superior fasteners like allen or torx.

[@chiefpepdesign]

I've seen that engine before...😊

[@Theillestrator1050]

Chief Pep!

[@pmg2590]

firing up youtube on my 30 min break, hoping for some cool motorcycle content. Ask you sha receive I guess! God damn adjustable wrench...rounded way too many nuts myself with that shit!

[@sv_cheats1970]

Awesome

[@Theillestrator1050]

🎉

[@joshwright417]

Lol I also use pet pee pads those things work great

[@BOMAco856]

theres room in my shop for you bro

[@sammeyers99]

rip the virago, well never see it done

[@audiogarden21]

Keepin' it ill.

[@TrentFalkenrath]

They truely don't make 'em like they used to.

[@Theillestrator1050]

They truly do not... Also, love and recognize your username lol

[@TrentFalkenrath]

@@Theillestrator1050 thanks. I've been a regular viewer of yours for a while, but when RCR made their Nissan Pao video, I decided to adopt that character name as a joke. Lol

[@rmcdudmk212]

Thanks for the update on the build 🎉

[@Theillestrator1050]

You bet, more to come.

[@rmcdudmk212]

@@Theillestrator1050 awesome news 🎉

[@rmcdudmk212]

@@Theillestrator1050 have you decided what style you want the bike to be? This could be a cool custom cruiser or even a touring bike 😁