Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: Displacement, harley sportster 883, virago line

Question
Hey. First, thanks for reading my question. I own a 1997 Yamaha Virago 750. I love the bike, but sometimes it just lacks power. I'm not looking for a Busa, I'd just like to be able to ride at highway speeds with a little more passing power. I've heard that my model Virago has the same engine as the 1100, but with sleeves that neck it down to 750. Would it be a good idea to get the sleeves pulled and throw in some new pistons? If so, how much would something like that cost and would there be any problems to worry about? Thanks.

Answer
Tony,

Thanks for the question.

Actually, the engine in the 750 is SIMILAR to the 1100, but has enough differences that making that kind of major modification will probably require so much time and expense, along with an unknown outcome, that you may as well get another bike for close to the same money.

While it was common to punch out Harley Sportster 883 engines to 1200 since they were IDENTICAL platforms, this is not the case with the Virago line.


The 750 and 1100 have different flywheels, different counter-balancers to quell vibration and different oiling needs. Also, valve sizes and carb specs were different as well. So you'd be looking at a huge project- it would be far cheaper and easier to just slot in a used 1100 engine if you could get the mountings to work out.

Even if you did the bore job and get everything to work, you might still end up with an 1100 that shakes so bad it would be intolerable for distance riding, and that would negate all the hard work.

Sorry to say the route of least resistance in your case is to go bike shopping. Lucky for you, there are about a billion used cruisers on the market, so you can have your pick.

Good luck!

Bill Roberson
920 Virago