Virago No-Start Checks after Restore/Rebuild

Things tp check if a parts bike restore or bike rebuild won't start. Covers the basics on what's needed for a motor to run and also run right.
I did forget to add one common one for folks swapping out handlebars or going to clamp ons...be sure that the handle bar is grounded as the starter button needs to go to ground to work. If they are fully painted, the button doesn’t have a ground and won’t work. All the best ! Steve

[@anthonyarmstrong9508]

Thank you so much sir, your steps helped me got my 1984 virago xv750 to run now. The problem was as you said which I by passed, the switch of coil connectors. Before my bike was just cranking, popping and not firing. I'm so happy for your education sir. It took me 4 years to get It started I'm glad I've found found your channel, God bless you sir. You've gotten a Trinidad subscriber. 😮👍🔥

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks man and glad the videos help some with keeping the great bikes on the road 👍. All the best from Tennessee USA ! Steve

[@001Slan1]

I am trying to get mine to start. 1981 750se. No one to help in my country, I am left with nice guys helping from KZbin. Thank you for the video!

[@StevesDIYs]

@@001Slan1 , thanks man and glad the videos help some 👍. If everything checks out and it still doesn’t want to hit, I will usually remove the rubber elbow that goes from the frame to the carb and put my hand over the end of the carb to “choke” the air as sometimes they are very grumpy to start the first time after rebuilding. If it fires doing that, I then open my fingers so there are gaps between them so I can meter the air manually until I can get the mix needle set correctly (or close enough that it will stay running). The choke lever on these is actually a fuel enricher so if the cylinders are already flooded or getting too much fuel, the choke lever only makes it worse. Thank again and all the best ! Steve

[@001Slan1]

@@StevesDIYs, thank you for your help. No luck today. I will try again in a few days. Fingers crossed. Thank you so much for your help, you cannot imagine how kind it was for me to receive your support. God bless. Pierre

[@StevesDIYs]

No problem...glad to try to help some 👍. Sometimes it does take one or two times of cleaning and adjusting to get one running again. If you haven’t found them, there are several other videos on the channel that go through setting the fuel height for the carbs as well as synchronizing them that make the first startup much easier. Let me know how it goes once you get it fired up again and running...I love to hear success stories when folks get one back in the road again 👍. All the best ! Steve

[@MakerDent]

Another awesome video!! I’m getting really close to getting my motor fired up. Accidentally filled the front cylinder up with gas because I left it’s petcock on prime. If it won’t fire, I’ll check compression and timing. Went through the whole harness and added inline fuses so I don’t have the fuse box up front, and now I have spark!

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks man 👍. Sounds like you are really close indeed. Hopefully it will go well without any more issues 🤞🤞. All the best ! Steve

[@MakerDent]

@@StevesDIYs got it running today!!! You were right in your other videos about adjusting the floats, I had to clamp off the gas lines to keep it from flooding. Thanks a ton for the vids, they’ve been a huge help!!

[@StevesDIYs]

@@MakerDent thanks man and congrats on getting it fired up 👍👍👍. Glad the videos helped some 👍. All the best ! Steve

[@paulrobinson3406]

Fantastic video Steve , Got an 85 750, its been messed with in the past, been trying to get it fiing for 3 months ! carbs clean, compression 120 and 125 psi , good spark , valve clearences checked ,not fired once !!, going to try swapping the coil wiring round tomorrow ,Great channel, Regards from England

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks man ! Yep, sometimes they are really grumpy when trying to get them to start for the first time after a rebuild or if they have been sitting, These are very prone to flooding so using the choke (enricher actually) is a delicate setting until the air/fuel mix can be dialed in on the carbs. One trick I learned was to not even try with the choke to get them to start up the first time, but instead use my hand to actually choke off the air to the carb. I remove the big rubber elbow that connects to the end of the carb, and then put my hand over the carb and crank it. Most times (if everything else is good for timing and spark), it will hit a little…then I separate my fingers to control the air to keep it running while I adjust the air/fuel needle till it will stay running on its own. They will actually run on one cylinder if the other cylinder’s plug is removed (ground the removed plug to the motor so it still sparks) which allows one carb to be adjusted a bit easier one at a time. Let me know if you get it going and all the best ! Steve

[@paulrobinson3406]

@@StevesDIYs Hi Steve , sorry for the 2 week delay, been on holiday ! just want to say a massive thank you , I switched the coil wires round this morning , bike started 1st time !!! Thanks again mate , your an absolute star, I would never have thought of doing this . cheers Paul

[@StevesDIYs]

That’s great to hear !!! Glad I could help some 👍. From what you mentioned before on the compression and things it sounds like it’s gonna be good runner 👍. All the best ! Steve

[@raypikus5053]

Well allriiight, thanks boss, 98 XV1100 from Palo Alto, CA

[@StevesDIYs]

Lol ! Thanks man 👍. All the best !

[@RedMo46]

I pray I never have to do a full tear down or rebuild but if I do, Im fortunate to be very spoiled with resourses such as yourself at my disposale

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks ! Glad the videos help some on working on these cool old bikes👍. All the best ! Steve

[@brittdol7118]

Givin good advice while lookin good too brother

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks 👍

[@marcusvienneau3556]

Amazing video! Very informative! As always!

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks man 👍. All the best ! Steve

[@Ayadw7]

Hi Steve. Will faulty oil level switch prevent the bike from spark?

[@StevesDIYs]

Hello, I don’t think the oil level sensor is tied to the safety circuit for the TCI or CDI so I don’t think a faulty one would prevent spark. You might try disconnecting the wire to see though…connects up by the back of the motor to the wiring harness with a single wire connector.

[@Ayadw7]

Thank you buddy will let you know

[@LividAxis]

Just to add this for anyone that is having issues with the 535, the bike WILL run with the coils swapped backwards. Poorly, but it will run.

[@StevesDIYs]

Good to know 👍. I’ve never worked on a 535 so that’s very interesting. All the best ! Steve

[@firebird14420]

Hey bro! My 95 535 timing when I took covers off and checked both were a 1/4 tooth off from the dot. I couldn't get it to be exact. Do you know why? Only 8000 miles. Did rev hard a few times back in the day.

[@firebird14420]

I need to check with a timing light.

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey man ! Yep, I don’t think I’ve ever checked the timing on one and the marks lined up exactly lol. For higher mileage bikes it seems to relate mostly to the chains stretching, but since the two plastic guides/tensioners are both bowed in the centers and only contact the motor surfaces on the ends, I suspect they may loose some of their bow over the years just from the tension on the chains. The reason I think it might be this is that the little tensioners that push on one of the guides are like little ratchets and automatically tighten in, but have to be backed back up with a screwdriver to get them to loosen. If the chain lengthens just a bit (like when the motor is run hard and it gets hot for example), the tensioner tightens up the chain, but then cannot back out so it little by little takes the bow out of the guides each time. Just a crazy theory possibly, but I have noticed that some motor’s guides have a nicer bow in them than others. Either way, fortunately, being just a little off on the mark doesn’t seem to affect anything as the cam lobes have quite a bit of movement at TDC.

[@livinlikelarry8782]

This might save my 300$ virago 750

[@StevesDIYs]

Hopefully the video will help some to get it back going again 👍. All the best ! Steve

[@kastimizillion]

Was hoping this would help me identify what in my safety circuit is preventing me from starting my bike after a front end swap. Great job going over stuff, but after checking everything, still can't starter button working....

[@StevesDIYs]

Thanks man 👍. You didn’t by chance put painted bars on it vs. chrome or isolate the handle bars with rubber? I was doing a build a few years ago and didn’t even think about the run/stop/run and start button needing to be grounded and it stumped me for days. I finally realized it and hooked a wire to one of the screws that clamps it onto the handle bar and grounded it to the frame and it started right up.

[@kastimizillion]

@@StevesDIYsI totally swapped with parts that were painted. I'll have to try this.

[@kastimizillion]

That was totally it! Thanks so much, Steve!

[@StevesDIYs]

@@kastimizillion , no problem man...glad that was all it was 👍. I probably should have mentioned that as well in the No-Start issue list for the video as it’s a hard one to diagnose and acts just like a safety circuit issue now that I think about it. Maybe folks that watch the video will have a look at these comments and can check that as well 👍. All the best ! Steve.

[@anthonyarmstrong9508]

Ok good sir I have anew problem, my rear cylinder running rich even when fully seated with air/fuel screw. Help please?

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey man ! I actually ran into that issue on my last build and mine turned out that my mix needle felt like it was seating, but the threads were cut wrong on it and was actually several turns out. Might not be the case on yours but worth checking if you haven’t. Other things could be that the choke plunger’s little rubber end is not sealing off or the choke linkage on the carb is holding it up. Not sure what all you’ve checked or replaced, but could also be the main jet is a bit big, the main needle was raised up with a shim a bit too high or maybe the fuel height is a bit too high. Here’s another video on the channel if you haven’t seen it that I did when I figured out my mix needle felt like it was seating, but wasn’t: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKO6pXysfp2ZrNk . Some how it must be getting more fuel than it should as the cylinder should shut off at idle when the mix needle is turned all the way in. Sorry for the long reply, but hope it helps some 👍. Steve.

[@anthonyarmstrong9508]

@@StevesDIYs thank you Steve sir, it's similar to what you've said. I've fixed today, apparently the air/fuel mix screw gasket o ring was bad, I didn't have a spare or could get in my country, Trinidad, so I had cut a piece of rubber, pierced with a pin, then used the mix screw to go through the rubber, then carefully cut the rubber ends to fit into the mix screw hole and set it to specs and my problem was gone. Thank God!! Thank you so much for helping me with the problems I've faced and through God's will I met you and you took me out from having a not working Bike to a healthy running bike, waiting to roll on the asphalt again. Thank u so much Steve, be safe out there.🙏😄👍💗

[@StevesDIYs]

@@anthonyarmstrong9508 , that’s great news and glad you were able to find the problem 👍. You have very good skills to be able to make that small oring by hand 👍👍👍. I’ve always said that if the videos are able to help just one person then it was worth making the video so I’m happy I could help some. All the best from Nashville Tennessee USA and God bless ! Steve

[@russellburns9480]

I get so much from your videos. I would love to support you with a donation if I could. I have an 82 920 Virago. I am chasing a back fire problem on the front cylinder.

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey man ! Thanks for thinking about supporting with a donation, but just knowing that the videos help people is thanks enough 👍. I like working on my bikes and figured a video of some of the things I run into might be useful or interesting for folks so I’m glad they help. Also, people have to tolerate the ads that KZbin puts on the videos now that I have enough Subscribers that it runs ads, lol, so if folks watch the ads without skipping them, KZbin gives me a little portion of the revenue as an incentive 👍. For the back fire...from what I’ve encountered, If the carbs are popping back up into the carb, there might be a small air leak in the boot or diaphragm leaning it out or maybe the carbs might not by sync’d and one is over powering the other forcing the one getting less fuel to rotate faster than it wants to. The same holds true for back firing out of the exhaust in that one cylinder is forcing the other to rotate faster than it wants to and is getting too much fuel causing the fuel to ignite and pop in the exhaust. It could also be a little out of adjustment on the idle air/fuel so one is getting more fuel than the other. If you haven’t done a carb sync on the bike yet, there’s a video out on the channel in the Virago playlist on sync’ing them (you may have already seen it though). It’s kinda hard to tell exactly what is causing them to pop or backfire, but typically it’s something to do with the carb adjustments or a little leak throwing the air/fuel mix off (similar to not having the carbs adjusted just right). Thanks again 👍 and just let me know if you have a question on any of the videos. All the best ! Steve

[@russellburns9480]

@@StevesDIYs The bike will sync at idle and are 3000 RPM with the choke on. With the choke off, The rear cylinder has a much greater vacuum than the front. Pulled the plugs and the back is running very rich and the front has unburnt gas on the plug. I think I need to pull the Carbs off again and check the choke circuit and I think I have a vacuum leak between the boot and the cylinder head.

[@StevesDIYs]

@@russellburns9480 Hey ! Yep, the choke circuit is actually an enricher circuit on these (if the carbs are stock) so by choking it, it opens up the passage to allow more fuel to come in through the carb vs. choking the air off. Since the choke linkage is really sloppy and loose, it may not be opening the enricher plungers for each carb the same so being sync’d on choke may for sure be different than with the choke off. If you can keep both cylinders firing with the choke off, syncing them may balance them out enough that you can then adjust the air/fuel needles and level them out.

[@williamhart2344]

Hey Steve, I'm unfortunately still having issues with my xv750. Just when I thought I had everything synched and tuned things seem to be running completely different. At idle it will bounce back between 1000 and 1500 with one cylinder seeming to have trouble and then it will occasionally shoot up and maintain a very high rpm all by itself without any throttle input. When you do blip the throttle at idle, the rpms will not immediately drop back down either. It almost feels like the motor its a runaway motor. Any ideas on what's going on?

[@StevesDIYs]

Hey man ! That sounds like it’s leaning out for some reason (like it’s not getting enough fuel) so the rpms hang up high. If choking it (giving it more choke bit by bit) will allow the rpms to start dropping properly, I would suspect it’s not getting enough fuel (fuel height in the bowl, mix, or even something crazy like a stopped up petcock filter). I can’t remember if your’s is a 1st Gen, but mine have a filter stack on the petcock that is up inside the fuel tank.

[@williamhart2344]

@@StevesDIYs Thanks for the input! I'll be trying to narrow it down to one of those shortly. Always so helpful.

[@williamhart2344]

@@StevesDIYs Hey Steve, I've only managed to narrow down the problem to my front cylinder. I was also wondering if the issue could be from an exhaust leak. I noticed on the underside of the exhaust pipe for the front cylinder that there is a small hole about the size of a pen tip, a few inches before the pipe is mated to the cone shaped muffler. Is it correct to assume that hole isn't supposed to be there?

[@StevesDIYs]

@@williamhart2344 , hey man ! I don’t think a small exhaust leak would cause any issue in how the cylinder is firing. If yours is like my 1st Gen xv750’s, the front cylinder has the anti backfire emissions thing on it with the little hose that goes to the carb boot. Mine has popped the line off before and it will cause the front cylinder to lean out or not fire. I just capped the brass tube off at the carb boot on mine and did away with it. Might be something to check just to be sure if you haven’t already and yours has that as well.

[@williamhart2344]

@@StevesDIYs I ended up picking up a set of new Mikuni VM34s jetted for the 750. Do you think I still need the vacuum lines that hook up to the carb air boots from the top of the front cylinder or are those only for stock CV carbs?

[@StevenHolub-o1n]

I don't here no clicks and I changed the relay