Question1981 Yamaha Virago 750cc
I am a newbie to motorcycles I bought my first one used 5/22/05. I was told it needed a battery and it would run, well that was wrong. First I purchased the battery and had to fill it (with the fluid that came with it) but the voltage never reached 12V it got to 10.3V. I am going to buy a charger to see if I can get it to 12V. Well I wanted to get the bike to turn over so I installed the battery even though it was only at 10.3 V. I first had a friend push me to see if we could "pop the clutch" and start it manually, that didn't work at all. I then hooked jumper cables from my 2003 chevy s-10 to the motor cycle battery and tried to get the bike to turn over. Ign on, kill switch on , and pressing the start button the bike tried to turn over. Finally it turned over but it backfired so loudly I let go of the throttle and it stalled. I kept trying to restart and I it turned over once more then stalled quicly agian with more backfiring and then it just cranked. I then stopped pressing the start button and the bike continued to crank, so I took the key out and the bike continued to crank. The bike did not stop cranking until I disconnected power from the jumper cables. Also when I first turned on the IGN the headlight did not come on though the taillight did and the right turn signal came on solid (not blinking) so I moved the turn signal selector and the only time the right siganl would go off was when the left would come on and niether blinked. I have the repair manual with the wiring diagram and I am buying a volt/ohm meter today. The only thing I could think of for the ign was the starter relay went bad after I tried to jump start the bike. I figure the lights I will be able to sort out with the wiring diagram. I guess my questions are 1) Why won't the bike manually start when pushed and the clutch popped in 1st gear. 2) Is there anything else you could recomend checking in the IGN system after the starter relay 3) Why is the bike backfiring and what can I do to stop it.
Thank you for your time and any help that you can give.
Jeremy Smith
jeremy_leef_smith@yahoo.com
AnswerHi Jeremy,
1) Why won't the bike manually start when pushed and the
clutch popped in 1st gear.
A: Could be a variety of reasons: Carburetors could be varnished, plugs could be fouled, engine may be too cold natured to start, other problems...
2) Is there anything else you could recomend
checking in the IGN system after the starter relay
A: Check the starter motor and starter clutch. Inspect for defects and wear. If the motor's carbon brushes are worn, it will not operate properly. Do you know if the starter motor has the shim kit installed?
3) Why is the bike
backfiring and what can I do to stop it.
A: Backfiring could be fouled plugs, ignition problem, weak or defective battery, valve timing problem, lean air-fuel mixture, etc...
Visit the following websites:
"www.viragotech.com" A good Virago resource
"www.yamaha-motor.com" To view microfiche parts on line
Respectfully.
Mark Shively
