QuestionI could really use some help, man. I'm 19 and live alone in Pittsburgh, which isn't the best place to learn how to ride my first bike, a 1997 Yamaha Virago 750. I haven't been in any accidents but have tipped her over a few times, just learning how to ride. I passed the brc and have ridden a couple bikes. I'm a real novice, but I know what feels right and what doesn't. I bought the bike two weeks ago after having an independent mechanic inspect it; he said everything was solid. Everything felt solid for the first week and a half too. The bike was smoothe and strong. Three days ago i took my first long ride through heavy traffic and out of the city, without a hitch. That night, on another short ride, the trouble started. First she wouldn't start, regardless of choke setting. Once she did and I got ready to set out I met another problem. My friction zone seemed to have disappeared, and standard throttling just hurled me forward and then died, jerking me back as I was in first gear. It's like I was dumping the clutch, but i wasn't. Eventually I got her revved up to about 3500 rpms and eased out the clutch, at which point the rpms dropped to about 500, requiring me to roll on to the literal max in order to avoid stalling. As I was riding the problems continued. Every time I rolled off the throttle it felt like I was shifting from second to first at too high a speed, with that forced engine braking feel. The bike dies every time I come to a stop. This has been going on for three days. Everything was fine up until that night. Today the gas light went off and stayed on, even after I switched to reserve and even though I just filled the tank 40 miles ago. The oil light flickered on and the headlight flickered off. The long ride was flawless. If the bike was running perfectly I'd still be wary, as a novice, of riding 7 miles to the nearest bike center. As it is now, stalling at every stop sign and red light, doing so would be suicide in this city. Like I said, the bike got a clean bill of health two weeks ago and everything was fine for that first week and a half. What should I do and what's wrong with my bike? Thanks in advance.
AnswerSounds like a lot to handle for a newer rider!
I'm unfortunately not much of a mechanic, but it sounds like you've got an electrical problem or short that, among other things, is cutting power to one of your cyclinders.
(For example, if you took a perfectly running Virago 750 and disconnected one of the spark plug wires, I think it would behave as you're describing.)
I had a Virago 920 many years ago that backfired so badly once it blew the carburetor vacuum tube off, and running on one cylinder was very much as you describe.
Take a close look at all your wiring and make sure there's nothing broken or exposed or contacting anything it shouldn't. With someone helping you, get the bike started and running and then try disconnecting the plug wires, one at a time, to see what happens. If you pull one and the motor dies, you'll know it's the other one. If you pull one and nothing happens, you'll know it's that one. If you pull one and the motor starts to run differently, you'll know both cyclinders are firing and it's something else. (What, I don't know!)
It could be a fuse, it could be a wire, (it could be some gunk or something stuck in your carburetor or gas tank, for that matter) but the other electrical problems point to the wiring, possibly the regulator/rectifier, possibly the battery, possibly the central computer wiring harness thingy.
These things happen, it's a good way to learn about your bike and take some of the mystery out of it. Good luck, and please let me know what you find out.
Pat
