[skippersusie]

Started my 1st wrenching project last weekend… repairing the starter clutch on my Virago 700. The starter makes this awful clanking noise and i found a popular fix online. was pretty bummed when it wouldn’t engage so I took the plunge. Hope all goes well. Took off the crankcase, pulled out the starter and will be doing a fix to the clutch this weekend. i was really intimidated but finally decided that I wanted to ride more than I wanted to let her sit collecting dust.So far so good… it’s in peices in the garage. Got the parts from the dealer today and can’t wait to finish her up this weekend.

I am really surprised at how relaxing it is working on the bike, I love it. I feel like I am really learning alot and it was imprtant to me to learn how motorcycles worked mechanically. Not that i want to be doing this every weekend….

Any suggestions in general when doing tuneups? That is the next project.

[Munch]

Lol…makesure to draw or place any bolts and nuts in a manner where they are easily recognised and known to be going back. Tune ups…. check for proper plug types…..hot…cold…..get correct tapping specs and torque.

[madjak30]

Either Haynes or Clymer make pretty good manuals that will help you through any repairs that you feel you can tackle yourself (including tune up procedures)…I am doing some similar work on my bike right now…had a small oil leak that was just one or two drips everytime I parked the bike…so I have been playing the find the leak game…started with a seal that looked like it was weeping, but that wasn’t it…then I found the main leak, the gasket for the left side crank case…ordered the part and picked it up yesterday…doing an oil change at the same time…replaced the oil filter and the seal for the cover…but the old gasket material is giving me some head aches, I need to get a razor to scrape it off before I do damage to the aluminum case cover…good luck on yours, and I will let you know how I make out on mine…

Later.

[skippersusie]

Thanks Munch… I did that and glad I did… too much to keep track of. I also took pics. Picked up the Clymer book, the PO had the shop manual so I have been going back and forth between the two. Luckily, the shop where I buy my auto parts have a few guys who ride and they’ve been a big help.

Hey Madjak,you probably know this already but they told me about a gasket remover in a can, looks and smells like paint thinner that was safe to use on my cover. It took all of about 5 minutes to get it nice and clean with a light touch of the razor after letting it soak in the stuff for 15 mins or so. No scarring!! I just made sure I covered up all the components attached to the cover to protect them from the overspray and we are good to go. I’m waiting for a new starter to get here… found an upgrade at a great $$ and decided to put it in. Let me know how it goes!!

Since the bike has been sitting for two weeks now, I think I am going to have the shop do the tuneup. I’m sure they can get it done much quicker… I want to ride!!

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