If you are looking to buy a clip clamp like what’s in the video, I put some periodically out on ebay when I get time to make them: www.ebay.com/usr/stevesdiys I also added a listing that includes the left side cover gasket so both can be ordered together…here’s the link to that listing as well: www.ebay.com/itm/225482801892?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sfmcIdagSM-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=sfmcIdagSM-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Thanks for watching !!!
Steve, just saw your video. It is the most comprehensive look at the starter gear issue that I have seen. And I've watched as many as I could find. The video of the gears engaging is something I hadn't seen before. Nice work. I'm on my second XV920 and am still trying to sort the starter out. It's encouraging to know it can be done. Thanks for all your efforts and posting. I bought one of your clips and am anxious to finally improve my starter.
Brian Archer , thanks man ! It was really interesting for me as well seeing what was going on and why two of my xv750’s really struggled to keep the gears engaged without grinding out. Mine are still going strong on starting with the mods and have had good reviews on the clip helping so it doesn’t grind out and make you have to try again. Thanks for letting me know about buying one 👍. eBay pinged me so I’ll be shipping it out tomorrow...hopefully it will work for you as well. All the best ! Steve
I just machined my engine cover today with an angle grinder since i dont have access to a lathe and i dont have a router. It was a little challenging to achieve a level finish but after a few hours of grinding, i did it and now my bendix gear doesnt grind. works amazing! Thanks for sharing this Steve!
Thanks man ! That’s a good idea to use an angle grinder if a router or access to a mill is not available 👍👍👍. Glad the video was helpful and all the best ! Steve
Thanks for a well detailed and in depth testing of the mods. will apply the clip this week once i get the new dynamo cover gasket also. Thanks for making this.!
Thanks man ! Yep, it’s crazy that adding the right additional resistance to the Bendix wire clip can make such a difference for sure👍. Also, thanks for commenting as I didn’t realize my link to the eBay listing had expired in the comment so I updated that for folks 👍👍👍. Glad it helped yours out as well and all the best ! Steve
thanks steve i really appreciated the video and just ordered the clip clamp. hope to get it installed as soon as it comes in i have been dealing with that nasty box of rocks everytime i start my bike for the last 5 years. thanks again mike
Hey man ! Thanks...glad the video was helpful and thanks for ordering one 👍. Hopefully it will help your’s out as well like it’s done for quite a few other folks that have gotten one. It is a pretty bad design they came up with for sure on these starting systems, but it was Yamaha’s first try at an electric start for these so I guess we can’t ding them too bad after 40 years later, lol. All the best and I’ll have it headed your way as soon as I get back home this weekend. Steve
Thanks man ! Yep, it was an interesting study for sure figuring out what might help these old starters. So far the three 1st Gens are still starting great after the mods 👍. All the best ! Steve
Huge appreciation of your time in doing all of these tests dude. I’m sure every single person watching this with starter problems took something away from this. Thanks 👍🏽 out of curiosity, where can we find the clip? Or any other suggestions? Metal zip tie???
Thanks man ! Yep, it was an interesting study for sure to see what might help with these grumpy starters. I figured if two out of three of my 1st Gens were grinding like this, there must be thousands out there having the same problems and a little video might help folks to see just what it’s doing. When I did the first slow-mo of the gears jumping out and reviewed the slow-mo, I was amazed at how it jumped and bounced around, lol. For the little clip, I put some out on eBay for folks wanting one www.ebay.com/itm/224435547617?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338273189&customid=&toolid=10001&pub=5575378759&icep_ff3=1&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg , but anything that can provide some additional consistent clamping to the wire clip should work 👍. Glad the video was helpful and all the best ! Steve
Has this mod stood the test of time? You put a lot of work into this video and the bike and appreciate it. I’ve got an 84 motor that sounds horrible and been on verge of scrapping it. Seems to be same setup. My brain would never conjure up something like this but it sure seems logical. Yamaha still sells the clips for the gear. Manual says to replace when less than less than 5 lbs of force to move. Anyway, thanks for all you do.
Thanks man 👍. Yep, they are still holding up and starting good with no gear grinding even after several years. I don’t think I’ve had one missed start on either the bobber or the cafe (I did both of them as their starter bendix gears were really bad on both. Thanks again and all the best ! Steve
Man... you are a legend, thank you thank you thank you for making all these videos. I used your carb sync video to get my carbs dialed in on my 1100 and holy crap what a difference. I'm pretty sure you've done a video on the AIS removal, but I think I may have found a decent 'bypass' that you dont have to remove and cap each head. I plugged the bottom of the box (far left of the AIS panel) that the 1 s-shaped tube comes out of the bottom of, with a big bolt and some teflon tape to seal it, INSTANTLY fixed my exhaust decel pop (baffles removed on stock exhaust). Going to take it on a real test run today after the exhaust shield for the wiring that runs along the right side of the crankcase by the front header, my starter wires have some wiggle to them and i'm afraid its too close to the exhaust for my comfort. If it all works out ok, ill make a video and post it and give you a shoutout. thanks again man, because of @steve'sdiys and @Kensworld videos, my 94 xv1100 is in the best shape of its life at 28yrs old and 46k miles and with some proper maintenance hopefully she'll see another 50k
Thanks man ! That’s great you got it running sweet again and glad the videos have helped along the way 👍. Yep, when these old bikes are dialed in good and the cylinders are not fighting each other, the power difference is really noticeable. No telling how many owners are not getting to experience the full power they have as the motors are very forgiving and will still run pretty good even out of tune. Lots of people seem to feel that for the bikes years or miles, just running is good enough, but these seemed to have been designed very robust so they can still run like new when all dialed in. That’s good to know on how to bypass the MCV without having to fully remove it…especially for folks that live in areas of the world that the regulations don’t allow the actual removal of an emissions related feature. Leaving it on, but making it non functional would be the best way to go for sure. Let me know how it goes and I’d love to see a video once you get it all finished up 👍. All the best ! Steve
@@StevesDIYs For sure! that was my intention was to just disable it and still have it functional for the next guy when finally decide to part ways with it and also like you'd mentioned its a great solution for those in areas that require the emissions systems to be 100% functional, and can remove the plug whenever needed to get inspected. And Im sure you can probably get away with just taking the s-tube off and covering with tape, I was just troubleshooting different things and found that that was the only place the AIS system was able to pull in air to even be able to send to the exhaust to create those pops. The bike did get a touch quieter, due to the raw intake sound no longer coming from that AIS tube, but I'm sure the sound can be brought right back with an aftermarket air intake. Ill post the video probably next week sometime after getting a little testing this weekend.
Thanks…no problem 👍. It was nice to figure out what helps these noisy starting 1st Gens some so the gears will stay engaged better. All the best ! Steve
Nyk K , 👍. From the study, it did look like shortening (or removing the spring like you say) helped some for sure. The gears in this motor are really bad so clipping the gear clip got it to the point that it would stay engaged much better for this one. It also has the 4 brush starter so it cranks hard...just has crappy worn gears, lol.
Nyk K , nice ! I’ve been wondering how these do with a single carb...I’ve read good stories and bad ones. This parts bike came with a single carb intake, the stock dual carbs and also a spare single carb. It’s soon to be a Cafe Racer to go along with my stock ‘81 xv750 and the ‘82 xv750 bobber I did. I was thinking to do a side by side comparison on single vs. dual so it’s good to know it will work if setup right 👍.
Steve’s DIYs nice! Do it! That’d be a cool video and I’m sure useful to anyone with a virago. I watched every video I could find when I bought mine. And this video is the best I’ve seen on the starter issues
Excellent video! I did most of those things except milling the case. The thing that I found made a huge difference was a 4 brush starter. Spins quicker and throws the gear out constantly.
Thanks man ! Yep, the 4 brush starter is the way to go for sure when replacing the starter motor I found too (it’s a 4 brush in the video as well). It’s was hard to tell on this one since it was a non runner when I got it, but sometime in the past it had been given a good starter, but the gears may have been so bad by then that it just kept eating them away to the point they wouldn’t stay engaged anymore. My original 2 pole on my stock bike cranks a lot slower than this motor fir sure. Glad you liked the video and all the best ! Steve
@@StevesDIYs There is also a guy who swears that fitting a particular voltage regulator resolves this issue in as much as the engine fires as soon as it turns over. He says that normally the starter soaks up so much power there is not a strong spark and with the regulator added it allows for a good spark.
@@Sorcli , yep...he called the final fix or something like that, but I think I would have called it the electrical fix vs the final fix, lol. He is correct on the starter pulling the voltage down and causing the TCI not to load up and then spark when it should (I did a video on me installing one on my bobber that’s on the channel as well to show what it does ), but if the gears won’t stay engaged more than one rotation, nothing is gonna help. Even for mine, that I keep tuned up and they normally start within a crank or two, there are still days (colder days or after I run them hard then stop for a minute then restart), that it cranks several times before hitting. I think combining the mechanical improvement along with adding the voltage stabilizer for the electrical seems to make for much better starting. I’ve been gear grind free for a couple of years now and actually no longer hold my breath when I hit the start button after stopping somewhere...thinking everyone there is gonna cringe when it sounds like it’s gonna come apart as I tried to start it 🤣🤣🤣
@@Sorcli , here’s a link to the video on the voltage regulator if you wanted to see it. My bobber has a small battery on it so it can’t put out the amps like the bigger normal battery and causes the voltage to drop so low the TCI wouldn’t control the spark release once the battery had a year or so in it. The 4 pole starter does pull more juice from the battery as well so it helps with the gear grind out like you said, but kinda hurts with the voltage drop thing if the battery is getting older (or a smaller one in my case) it seems. ua-cam.com/video/W9m97oR3Wi0/v-deo.html
@@StevesDIYs I know that feeling. And yes I agree that you need the mechanical fix first. That’s all I have and when I ran the bike everyday it started straight away. Haven’t done the electrical fix and as I have had to sell my bike now that I’ve moved back to the UK and have a child I will never know what it’s like 😞
Chiefpep , thanks 👍. My three bikes only have a groove on one side on the gear so I couldn’t add a second spring clip to the other side. Mine must be really early in production for the Gen 1’s or something.
Very comprehensive video. Would have liked to see what inside crankcase cover looked like after the routing of the edge? That's a big job with little margin for error. Also, make some clip clips, I'm sure folks will buy them (for a reasonable price).
Thanks 👍. I actually did make a video of me routing the actual case cover I’m using on this motor (the one in the video was a “test” one to see how aggressive I could go with the router and still control it with the different shapes it had to cut through (it’s not a continuous surface so I thought it might grab a bit). I haven’t finished editing it yet, but hope to tomorrow so I can get it posted. It will have a close up of the surface as well as the test out on the motor with the finished case and the other mods. The clips were pretty easy to make and install, but really haven’t thought making them to sell. I guess people might buy a “kit” so to speak that had a clip clip, new cover gasket, and some instructions or a link to a video on what to do, might make it easier on folks if they wanted to try it 👍.
Ryan Price , yep, their first attempt at a starter on these Gen 1’s didn’t go very well, lol. Probably would have worked ok for lower cc motors, but with 750cc’s on twin cylinders, the push of the piston from the compression even when it doesn’t fire is faster than the starter goes. I modded one of my motors and added Compression Releases (Reducers) for giggles just to see if I could eliminate the jumping gear. It actually did work very well, but is a difficult mod so I doubt anyone would go to that much trouble (there’s a video on the channel for the Comp Releases)...I just wanted to see if it could be eliminated and had some free time to play, lol.
Steve my Virago is a 750 1992 and sometimes the starter just crunches and it’s painful to listen to. Hopefully I’ll get something done this winter with it. I’ve subscribed to your channel so hopefully catch up with older videos and any new stuff you have coming out 👍🏻
Well from an engineering and scientific point of view that was an amazing video. I think some of the noise might have been quieted with oil in the box. So the end result is an extra spacer in the back shorten the spring and add the clip? Seriously great research on your part appreciate you taking the time.
Thanks man ! Yes, it was an interesting study to see what was going on with the mechanism and things that help it some. The shortening of the spring and the cover machining ( and adding the spacer on the motor side) helped quite a bit on getting better gear engagement depth. Adding the extra tension to the wire clip with the clip clamp seems to do two things...it slows the flywheel rotation down when it goes past TDC and naturally speeds up as well as it seems to keep the starter's speed more in sync to the flywheel speed. Both of those seems to help with keeping the bendix gear from flying back out and getting out of sync to the speed of the flywheel gear. From the slow-mo videos, it still looks like it disengages for just a fraction of time, but since they stay in sync, it just jumps back in vs. getting out of sync and grinding out. Thanks for the comment and all the best ! Steve
Thanks for the video, I have an XV in the workshop now, in the UK, the gears on mine are pretty worn through years of grinding, are replacement gears still available ?
Hey man ! I think there are aftermarket bendix gears being made, but not sure of the quality of them as I haven’t replaced any with them. Adding the clip clamp as well as cutting one curl from the spring that’s around the bendix barrel has corrected mine so even with chewed up gears, they are still doing fine. For a couple of the motors, I also removed some of the side cover metal to let the gear engage better which also helped out in those as they had really worn gears. Unfortunately for the flywheel gear replacement, those are not being made as they are not removable from the flywheel so those have to be obtained from a parts motor if they finally get chewed up too bad. I did put a video out on the channel on the differences of the different flywheels (basically the pickup plate length) so it might be possible to find one from a different model bike that might be more common. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
MrBoobob77 , thanks man 👍...it was an interesting study for sure. Maybe I’ll get a few less cringes from folks as I fire them up when leaving from somewhere 🤣🤣🤣
Very nice and well explained video! We don’t have a clip on the 1100, and we do have a starter issues too. It’s rubbing quite a bit, do you have trick for us?😊
Thanks man 👍. For the 2nd Gens I have, neither has had any issues for the starting so I haven’t really looked at them to see what the weaknesses might be. If they ever do give me trouble, I’ll definitely take them apart to see what might be improved though lol. Sorry I couldn’t help any, Steve
Hello. Thanks…I really appreciate it 👍. I took about 2.1mm (.0825”) from the lid as this was the thickness of the additional shims I added behind the gear on the motor side of the shaft. The important part is to first push the bushing that is in the side cover (lid) as far as it can go and then make sure not to contact it when removing the aluminum. I also did this for my ‘82 xv750 Bobber after I had obtained a mill for the shop. It was much easier to machine it on the mill, but using the router (this video) worked fine too. Here’s a link to doing the same setup using a mill…I show measuring the shim thickness to determine how much to remove in this video: ua-cam.com/video/A64v-i2W6F4/v-deo.html . Thanks again and all the best ! Steve
One side of my starter gear is worn think I can flip it around? Also thank you so much your video best way to correct this issue. I have an 83 xv920 with about 40000 miles on it. What would you recommend to do as far as rebuilding it goes? I don’t know where to find parts or where to start really
Hey man ! I’ve seen where folks have flipped the bendix gear over and claim it fixed the issue, but the lead-in on the back side of the gear is not made to engage the flywheel gear so it’s just going to chew the flywheel gear up even more. As for rebuilding the motor, I usually will put new rings in as well as de-scale (not hone) the cylinders to add the cross hatching back into the cylinder walls if the compression is getting low, then just replace all of the gaskets if there’s no issues with oil pressure or bottom end clunking noises. If the oil pressure is low (like less than 10 psi at 1000 rpm idle and hot oil), I will pop the cams and rockers out and inspect them for wear as these are the first parts to go due to higher mileage. If they check out ok, but the oil pressure is still getting low, then I’ll go ahead and split the case and do a full rebuild (connecting rods, all new orings and gaskets, etc. A good place to look for the part numbers for the components is a site called csmnl.com as they have all of the diagrams for the bikes and sell OE parts as well. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
I could not see if you had the side cover gasket in place at assembly it seems like you would not have to machine the cover down if the gasket was in place. I have a 1981 I am trying to assemble right now the previous owner tried to fix the starter but never finished. really appreciate your videos, thanks.
Thanks man ! Glad the videos are helpful 👍. For the side cover machining, it’s not necessary except to get just a bit more gear engagement...I was mainly trying to see just what did the most to improve the design. Shortening the spring by one curl helps some with the depth of the gear engagement as well, but adding the extra tension with the clip clamp seemed to do the most (plus it is easy to do vs. machining the cover for sure. In the long run, machining the side cover out a bit will probably help, but it’s something that has to be done carefully if using a router...both from a cut depth perspective as well as a safety perspective cutting aluminum with a hand router.
Hey man, I thought I noted the amount in the video…maybe not, but yes it is basically the thickness of the two additional shims from the spacer with the rubber inside removed 👍
@PaulCTownsend hey ! The one I showed is a 1st Gen (81’-83’) xv750, but the starting system and left side cover are virtually the same (if not exactly) for the xv920 👍.
Thanks 👍. Yep, I think most folks just add the clip and shorten (or remove) the spring since both are easy to do and there is no risk of accidentally damaging the side cover during machining. I had tried removing the spring completely, but I could hear a faint clicking sound were the Bendix gear was still bumping into the flywheel gear after the motor started, so I felt it better to just shorten it a bit to gain the extra gear engagement. That way it is still there to push the Bendix gear away from the flywheel gear after the motor starts. Thanks again and all the best ! Steve
Amigo, que tal, yo soy de México y también tengo una 920 de 1983. Jusot estoy tratando de arreglar este problema, recién abrí para solucionarlo, gracias por tu video. Me gsitaria comentrte que cuando abrí, estaba lleno de rebaba metalica el iman que va por debajo del bendix, asi que lo limpié tanto como pude. Una duda, ademas de tu consejo de agregar una rondana extra y acortar el resorte, qué opinas de poner el engrane bendix del lado contrario? Osea, darle la vuelta, veo que mi engrane tiene mejor dentado del lado contrario al que originalmente está colocado. Ojala me peudas responder. Te agradezco mucho. Saludos.
Yep, for sure the biggest problem with these 1st Gen XV’s. Still makes noise even after the improvements, but at least the gears don’t disengage and grind out.
This is the most interesting and frustrating video on youtube for me. Myself and my friend a qualified motor engineer experimented for months on a Virago 750 starter improvement / modification, We tried everything you tried plus made up some manual application to physically hold that gear in through pushing a lever through holes drilled through the casing, We never came to a clear understanding of what keeps throwing that Bendix gear out ? The outcome to our work was NOTHING long term changed, There was moments we thought we had made improvements to it but it was just wishful thinking. The bottom line was that we decided in mutual agreement that the Virago starter motor is the biggest piece of shit engineering to have ever been made on a starter motor, Why oh why did Yamaha not use the roller type starter used on most other bikes of the time ?
Thanks man 👍. Yep, so far there doesn’t seem to be a way to actually fix the poorly designed mechanism…just ways to make it better so the gears at least don’t fully jump out and grind. Best I can figure, they based it on how a kick starter works, but Yamaha didn’t think about how the starter motor only turns at a fixed rate, but a persons leg can accommodate the speed change needed to keep the gears engaged during a complete kick. My three 1st Gens are still working fine after the modifications and don’t grind out, but that gear still jumps back and forth during the rotation and they still make a ton of noise from all of that slapping around. Maybe one day I’ll revisit it if they finally give out and see if there’s anything else that might work to fix it. I actually made a prototype kick starter just to see if I could kick one over (the videos are out on the channel and it did work actually, lol !), but was a 1 to 1 ratio connected directly to the crank on the left side so it was difficult to find the compression stroke. Proved that this motor could be kicked over, but not very useful. Next will be the final kicker version one day when I get some more time to play again 👍.
Hey man ! It would probably be possible to grind down the damaged edges of the gear (they are hardened so you would have to grind them), but I would say that you would also have to put some angle bevels on each gear tooth as well to allow it to engage properly. With sharp edged gear teeth, it would probably damage the flywheel gear each time it engaged (similar to what happens when the gear is flipped over like some owners had done in the past).
Hey man ! Yep, I was out of town for work last week so I had to pause the listing on eBay. I’m back now so it’s active again…here’s the link to them: www.ebay.com/itm/225189843486?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sfmcIdagSM-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=sfmcIdagSM-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY . All the best ! Steve
Hello, yes I still have the for sale out on eBay…there’s a link to the item in one if the comments on this video that should take you to them. I’m away from the shop for a couple of weeks so I have the eBay sales on hold till I get back. All the best ! Steve.
Hey man, actually I’m not very sure but judging by the wire size and how hot it will get if continuously cranked I would say some where in the range of 80 to 100 amps.
Hello, I removed 2mm from the side cover (basically the thickness of the shims I added to the other side behind the gear that is driven by the starter motor gear). Here’s a link to another video on the channel where I did the same for my bobber, but used my milling machine versus the router that may be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/A64v-i2W6F4/v-deo.html . All the best ! Steve
I actually made it for the test, but just did the same mods for my bobber that had a grinding starter as well. I made a few extras thinking someone might want to try and see if it would help their gear engagement as well so I have like 6 extras. Just gotta edit the “how to install the clip clip” video I made to help with how to put them on the bendix clip and I’ll put them out on eBay. Some guy is selling something similar with a starter shim for like $150 USD which is crazy IMO. Even with accounting for lathe time and shaping them to fit the bendix clip snugly I was gonna post the extras up for like $16 each which still covers shipping and what eBay and PayPal charge for posting and managing the payment, lol. Once I get them on eBay I’ll comment back to you with the title if you think you might want one 👍
Tyler , hey man ! I put the extra ones out on eBay if you wanted to try one. Here’s the link: www.ebay.com/itm/225092976055?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sfmcIdagSM-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=sfmcIdagSM-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY . All the best ! Steve
Hey again, yep, I have them listed out I eBay for folks if interested. There’s a comment with the link pinned to the top of the comments section of the video.
Hey man ! Glad to hear the starter stuff is sorted out 👍. Yep, the carbs can be a bit of a pain till you get them all cleaned up and set right for sure. I’m sure you’ll get it figured out...just gotta be clean, the floats set right, no leaks on the carb boots (including capping off the little extra tube on the side of the boot for the emissions thing if you took that off), and the air/fuel needle adjusted. Believe me, I got good at taking the carbs off mine when I was first getting them running, lol. (Thus all of the videos on setting the float height and doing the carb sync prior to putting them back on the bike, lol). You’ll have it purring in no time I’ll bet 👍. All the best ! Steve
Hello Steve, how do you recommend : removing the rubber from the motor side of the gear or the rubber from the cover side of the bendix gear? I just machined the cover, I received the new gear and the new spring to which I put a clip clamp. the old and new gears have only one groove for spring- i have european model. Thank you!
Hey man ! I removed most of the rubber from the cover side of the gear, but left a thin amount just so it wouldn’t go metal to metal and potentially make noise when it hits the cover, but still lets it move just a bit more. That’s interesting that yours has only one groove but it’s a European model...up until now, everyone has said the non US models were given two grooves for two wire clips. That makes a bit more sense to me as I’ve sold quite a few of the clip clamps to other countries and I always wondered if they were putting them on as well as having two wire clips 👍. Thanks ! and all the best ! Steve
@@mariusc6423 , that’s great !!! Thanks for letting me know it was a success 👍. Hopefully the modifications will also make the new gear last a whole lot longer as well. All the best ! Steve
It seems that having two grooves in the Bendix gear varied from country to country on the 1st Gens (or maybe the first revision Yamaha did only had one groove for the spring wire friction clip). Anyway, none of my three bikes have the second groove so there is no way to put two two spring wire clips on. The metal clip added does act similar to adding a second wire clip as it just adds resistance. If folks have the gear with two grooves, adding an additional wire clip could be an option as well. All the best ! Steve
Hey man ! Yep, it’s really common on these Gen 1’s for sure. I have 2 running bikes, one I’m building, and a spare motor and all four would only make about 2 rotations of the motor before grinding out the gears. There’s a video on the channel on how to make one of the clips I put on or I have them out on eBay for sale as well for folks that would rather just buy one.
Auston maiers , hey man ! Not sure if you saw the video on the channel about the starter disassembly, but there’s a little tab in it that prevents the ring gear from spinning that may have gotten eaten or something. If the bolts get a little loose it will twist the starter body and eventually loosen things up. If it was me, and it was still cranking strong, I’d take it apart and see if the tab was still in there and if it was ground down. Changing the starter out is an option too, but it might be something easy to fix. Here’s a link to the starter disassembly video in the motor rebuild series. ua-cam.com/video/gd9NB3YJirY/v-deo.html maybe it will help a bit 👍
Auston maiers , yep, the ring gear is not supposed to rotate. The center shaft of the motor rotates between the two little gears that run around inside the ring gear...they drive the starter gear. If the ring gear loosens up it will catch and stay still for a second, then break free and start rotating or if it’s loose in there it will rattle around and make a ton of noise. In the past, people put some shims between the ring gear side and the motor face plate to prevent it from rattling and rotating, but I haven’t seen anyone selling any other than someone that wants like $150 USD for a fix kit that has them...for that someone could just buy a new starter, lol. Getting the ring gear to stop spinning (by the tab..some folks had even drilled a hole and pinned it or even welded it in there) would be the key to making it less noisy I think.
Damon Talbert , there’s not really a way to fix them “right” that I know of...only things that help to make it better other than to swap the side cover and starting system for the Gen 2’s that has the solenoid. I was mainly testing the different theories (shortening the spring or adding a clamp to the bendix clip) that are common things people have done in the past to see if they actually do work. Machining the case is not something people have tried, but just wanted to see if it would help as well.
Damon Talbert , these issues are mainly with the 1st Generation Viragos where Yamaha was learning how to make a V twin. After the first few years they changed the starting system completely so a ‘91 wouldn’t have any of these issues on starting. You should be good 👍
@@F3nrir125 hey man ! I’ve thought about converting one of my 1st Gens over to the 2nd Gen starting mechanism, but haven’t found a donor motor yet to do it…maybe this winter when folks start cleaning out their garages of abandoned projects I can find one, lol. From what I’ve read, to convert one you would need the side cover, the gearing, starter motor, starter motor clutch, and the solenoid and linkage that pulls the gear. I don’t believe the ‘81 1st Gens have the extra boss on the left side motor case that’s needed for the pulling fork, but both of my ‘82 750s have this needed boss inside the case for the mechanism. I would assume the ‘83 would have it as well. Hopefully one day I’ll find a donor and I can convert one just to see what all is involved and can make a video of it 👍. All the best ! Steve
If you are looking to buy a clip clamp like what’s in the video, I put some periodically out on ebay when I get time to make them: www.ebay.com/usr/stevesdiys
I also added a listing that includes the left side cover gasket so both can be ordered together…here’s the link to that listing as well: www.ebay.com/itm/225482801892?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sfmcIdagSM-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=sfmcIdagSM-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Thanks for watching !!!
Steve, just saw your video. It is the most comprehensive look at the starter gear issue that I have seen. And I've watched as many as I could find. The video of the gears engaging is something I hadn't seen before. Nice work. I'm on my second XV920 and am still trying to sort the starter out. It's encouraging to know it can be done. Thanks for all your efforts and posting. I bought one of your clips and am anxious to finally improve my starter.
Brian Archer , thanks man ! It was really interesting for me as well seeing what was going on and why two of my xv750’s really struggled to keep the gears engaged without grinding out. Mine are still going strong on starting with the mods and have had good reviews on the clip helping so it doesn’t grind out and make you have to try again. Thanks for letting me know about buying one 👍. eBay pinged me so I’ll be shipping it out tomorrow...hopefully it will work for you as well. All the best ! Steve
I just machined my engine cover today with an angle grinder since i dont have access to a lathe and i dont have a router. It was a little challenging to achieve a level finish but after a few hours of grinding, i did it and now my bendix gear doesnt grind. works amazing! Thanks for sharing this Steve!
Thanks man ! That’s a good idea to use an angle grinder if a router or access to a mill is not available 👍👍👍. Glad the video was helpful and all the best ! Steve
Thanks for a well detailed and in depth testing of the mods. will apply the clip this week once i get the new dynamo cover gasket also. Thanks for making this.!
Thanks and glad the video was helpful 👍. All the best ! Steve
And this video was the reason I bought that clip. Small item - big difference!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and time!
Thanks man ! Yep, it’s crazy that adding the right additional resistance to the Bendix wire clip can make such a difference for sure👍. Also, thanks for commenting as I didn’t realize my link to the eBay listing had expired in the comment so I updated that for folks 👍👍👍. Glad it helped yours out as well and all the best ! Steve
thanks steve i really appreciated the video and just ordered the clip clamp. hope to get it installed as soon as it comes in i have been dealing with that nasty box of rocks everytime i start my bike for the last 5 years. thanks again mike
Hey man ! Thanks...glad the video was helpful and thanks for ordering one 👍. Hopefully it will help your’s out as well like it’s done for quite a few other folks that have gotten one. It is a pretty bad design they came up with for sure on these starting systems, but it was Yamaha’s first try at an electric start for these so I guess we can’t ding them too bad after 40 years later, lol. All the best and I’ll have it headed your way as soon as I get back home this weekend. Steve
Good trouble shooting Steve!! Nice work on getting vidieo of the starter engagement through the oil fill hole.
Thanks man ! Yep, it was an interesting study for sure figuring out what might help these old starters. So far the three 1st Gens are still starting great after the mods 👍. All the best ! Steve
Huge appreciation of your time in doing all of these tests dude. I’m sure every single person watching this with starter problems took something away from this. Thanks 👍🏽 out of curiosity, where can we find the clip? Or any other suggestions? Metal zip tie???
Thanks man ! Yep, it was an interesting study for sure to see what might help with these grumpy starters. I figured if two out of three of my 1st Gens were grinding like this, there must be thousands out there having the same problems and a little video might help folks to see just what it’s doing. When I did the first slow-mo of the gears jumping out and reviewed the slow-mo, I was amazed at how it jumped and bounced around, lol. For the little clip, I put some out on eBay for folks wanting one www.ebay.com/itm/224435547617?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338273189&customid=&toolid=10001&pub=5575378759&icep_ff3=1&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg , but anything that can provide some additional consistent clamping to the wire clip should work 👍. Glad the video was helpful and all the best ! Steve
Has this mod stood the test of time? You put a lot of work into this video and the bike and appreciate it. I’ve got an 84 motor that sounds horrible and been on verge of scrapping it. Seems to be same setup. My brain would never conjure up something like this but it sure seems logical. Yamaha still sells the clips for the gear. Manual says to replace when less than less than 5 lbs of force to move. Anyway, thanks for all you do.
Thanks man 👍. Yep, they are still holding up and starting good with no gear grinding even after several years. I don’t think I’ve had one missed start on either the bobber or the cafe (I did both of them as their starter bendix gears were really bad on both. Thanks again and all the best ! Steve
Man... you are a legend, thank you thank you thank you for making all these videos. I used your carb sync video to get my carbs dialed in on my 1100 and holy crap what a difference. I'm pretty sure you've done a video on the AIS removal, but I think I may have found a decent 'bypass' that you dont have to remove and cap each head. I plugged the bottom of the box (far left of the AIS panel) that the 1 s-shaped tube comes out of the bottom of, with a big bolt and some teflon tape to seal it, INSTANTLY fixed my exhaust decel pop (baffles removed on stock exhaust). Going to take it on a real test run today after the exhaust shield for the wiring that runs along the right side of the crankcase by the front header, my starter wires have some wiggle to them and i'm afraid its too close to the exhaust for my comfort. If it all works out ok, ill make a video and post it and give you a shoutout. thanks again man, because of @steve'sdiys and @Kensworld videos, my 94 xv1100 is in the best shape of its life at 28yrs old and 46k miles and with some proper maintenance hopefully she'll see another 50k
Thanks man ! That’s great you got it running sweet again and glad the videos have helped along the way 👍. Yep, when these old bikes are dialed in good and the cylinders are not fighting each other, the power difference is really noticeable. No telling how many owners are not getting to experience the full power they have as the motors are very forgiving and will still run pretty good even out of tune. Lots of people seem to feel that for the bikes years or miles, just running is good enough, but these seemed to have been designed very robust so they can still run like new when all dialed in.
That’s good to know on how to bypass the MCV without having to fully remove it…especially for folks that live in areas of the world that the regulations don’t allow the actual removal of an emissions related feature. Leaving it on, but making it non functional would be the best way to go for sure. Let me know how it goes and I’d love to see a video once you get it all finished up 👍. All the best ! Steve
@@StevesDIYs For sure! that was my intention was to just disable it and still have it functional for the next guy when finally decide to part ways with it and also like you'd mentioned its a great solution for those in areas that require the emissions systems to be 100% functional, and can remove the plug whenever needed to get inspected. And Im sure you can probably get away with just taking the s-tube off and covering with tape, I was just troubleshooting different things and found that that was the only place the AIS system was able to pull in air to even be able to send to the exhaust to create those pops. The bike did get a touch quieter, due to the raw intake sound no longer coming from that AIS tube, but I'm sure the sound can be brought right back with an aftermarket air intake. Ill post the video probably next week sometime after getting a little testing this weekend.
Thanks for illustrating the problem.
Thanks…no problem 👍. It was nice to figure out what helps these noisy starting 1st Gens some so the gears will stay engaged better. All the best ! Steve
I have a 81 xv750. I removed the spring completely and bought a 4 brush starter. No problems starting anymore
Nyk K , 👍. From the study, it did look like shortening (or removing the spring like you say) helped some for sure. The gears in this motor are really bad so clipping the gear clip got it to the point that it would stay engaged much better for this one. It also has the 4 brush starter so it cranks hard...just has crappy worn gears, lol.
Steve’s DIYs nice work!👍. I also just went to a single mikuni hsr42 carb. Bike rips now!
Nyk K , nice ! I’ve been wondering how these do with a single carb...I’ve read good stories and bad ones. This parts bike came with a single carb intake, the stock dual carbs and also a spare single carb. It’s soon to be a Cafe Racer to go along with my stock ‘81 xv750 and the ‘82 xv750 bobber I did. I was thinking to do a side by side comparison on single vs. dual so it’s good to know it will work if setup right 👍.
Steve’s DIYs nice! Do it! That’d be a cool video and I’m sure useful to anyone with a virago. I watched every video I could find when I bought mine. And this video is the best I’ve seen on the starter issues
What is a 4 brush starter?
Excellent video! I did most of those things except milling the case. The thing that I found made a huge difference was a 4 brush starter. Spins quicker and throws the gear out constantly.
Thanks man ! Yep, the 4 brush starter is the way to go for sure when replacing the starter motor I found too (it’s a 4 brush in the video as well). It’s was hard to tell on this one since it was a non runner when I got it, but sometime in the past it had been given a good starter, but the gears may have been so bad by then that it just kept eating them away to the point they wouldn’t stay engaged anymore. My original 2 pole on my stock bike cranks a lot slower than this motor fir sure. Glad you liked the video and all the best ! Steve
@@StevesDIYs There is also a guy who swears that fitting a particular voltage regulator resolves this issue in as much as the engine fires as soon as it turns over. He says that normally the starter soaks up so much power there is not a strong spark and with the regulator added it allows for a good spark.
@@Sorcli , yep...he called the final fix or something like that, but I think I would have called it the electrical fix vs the final fix, lol. He is correct on the starter pulling the voltage down and causing the TCI not to load up and then spark when it should (I did a video on me installing one on my bobber that’s on the channel as well to show what it does ), but if the gears won’t stay engaged more than one rotation, nothing is gonna help. Even for mine, that I keep tuned up and they normally start within a crank or two, there are still days (colder days or after I run them hard then stop for a minute then restart), that it cranks several times before hitting. I think combining the mechanical improvement along with adding the voltage stabilizer for the electrical seems to make for much better starting. I’ve been gear grind free for a couple of years now and actually no longer hold my breath when I hit the start button after stopping somewhere...thinking everyone there is gonna cringe when it sounds like it’s gonna come apart as I tried to start it 🤣🤣🤣
@@Sorcli , here’s a link to the video on the voltage regulator if you wanted to see it. My bobber has a small battery on it so it can’t put out the amps like the bigger normal battery and causes the voltage to drop so low the TCI wouldn’t control the spark release once the battery had a year or so in it. The 4 pole starter does pull more juice from the battery as well so it helps with the gear grind out like you said, but kinda hurts with the voltage drop thing if the battery is getting older (or a smaller one in my case) it seems. ua-cam.com/video/W9m97oR3Wi0/v-deo.html
@@StevesDIYs I know that feeling. And yes I agree that you need the mechanical fix first. That’s all I have and when I ran the bike everyday it started straight away. Haven’t done the electrical fix and as I have had to sell my bike now that I’ve moved back to the UK and have a child I will never know what it’s like 😞
Really informative and useful video. I just need to get a clamp on the clip made up!
Thanks 👍. It was pretty interesting to see why these starting systems are so noisy and how to help them a little. All the best ! Steve
You can ad two clips on that gear. Same effect as the tightening. Good video! 👍
Chiefpep , thanks 👍. My three bikes only have a groove on one side on the gear so I couldn’t add a second spring clip to the other side. Mine must be really early in production for the Gen 1’s or something.
@@StevesDIYs hmm... strange. I've heard that before. All the gears I have do have that groove. Maybe it's a US or EU thing...
Chiefpep , ah...yep, that could be the difference 👍.
Very comprehensive video. Would have liked to see what inside crankcase cover looked like after the routing of the edge? That's a big job with little margin for error. Also, make some clip clips, I'm sure folks will buy them (for a reasonable price).
Thanks 👍. I actually did make a video of me routing the actual case cover I’m using on this motor (the one in the video was a “test” one to see how aggressive I could go with the router and still control it with the different shapes it had to cut through (it’s not a continuous surface so I thought it might grab a bit). I haven’t finished editing it yet, but hope to tomorrow so I can get it posted. It will have a close up of the surface as well as the test out on the motor with the finished case and the other mods. The clips were pretty easy to make and install, but really haven’t thought making them to sell. I guess people might buy a “kit” so to speak that had a clip clip, new cover gasket, and some instructions or a link to a video on what to do, might make it easier on folks if they wanted to try it 👍.
Good Lord Yamaha rolled all models out with this for years... actually seeing the flaw is crazy
Ryan Price , yep, their first attempt at a starter on these Gen 1’s didn’t go very well, lol. Probably would have worked ok for lower cc motors, but with 750cc’s on twin cylinders, the push of the piston from the compression even when it doesn’t fire is faster than the starter goes. I modded one of my motors and added Compression Releases (Reducers) for giggles just to see if I could eliminate the jumping gear. It actually did work very well, but is a difficult mod so I doubt anyone would go to that much trouble (there’s a video on the channel for the Comp Releases)...I just wanted to see if it could be eliminated and had some free time to play, lol.
Fantastic video 👍🏻
Stewart McNally , thanks man ! It was an interesting study to see what would help the grindy old starter for sure 👍.
Steve my Virago is a 750 1992 and sometimes the starter just crunches and it’s painful to listen to. Hopefully I’ll get something done this winter with it. I’ve subscribed to your channel so hopefully catch up with older videos and any new stuff you have coming out 👍🏻
Well from an engineering and scientific point of view that was an amazing video. I think some of the noise might have been quieted with oil in the box. So the end result is an extra spacer in the back shorten the spring and add the clip? Seriously great research on your part appreciate you taking the time.
Thanks man ! Yes, it was an interesting study to see what was going on with the mechanism and things that help it some. The shortening of the spring and the cover machining ( and adding the spacer on the motor side) helped quite a bit on getting better gear engagement depth. Adding the extra tension to the wire clip with the clip clamp seems to do two things...it slows the flywheel rotation down when it goes past TDC and naturally speeds up as well as it seems to keep the starter's speed more in sync to the flywheel speed. Both of those seems to help with keeping the bendix gear from flying back out and getting out of sync to the speed of the flywheel gear. From the slow-mo videos, it still looks like it disengages for just a fraction of time, but since they stay in sync, it just jumps back in vs. getting out of sync and grinding out. Thanks for the comment and all the best ! Steve
Videos have been very helpful. Thank you
Thanks man 👍.
Thanks for the video, I have an XV in the workshop now, in the UK, the gears on mine are pretty worn through years of grinding, are replacement gears still available ?
Hey man ! I think there are aftermarket bendix gears being made, but not sure of the quality of them as I haven’t replaced any with them. Adding the clip clamp as well as cutting one curl from the spring that’s around the bendix barrel has corrected mine so even with chewed up gears, they are still doing fine. For a couple of the motors, I also removed some of the side cover metal to let the gear engage better which also helped out in those as they had really worn gears.
Unfortunately for the flywheel gear replacement, those are not being made as they are not removable from the flywheel so those have to be obtained from a parts motor if they finally get chewed up too bad. I did put a video out on the channel on the differences of the different flywheels (basically the pickup plate length) so it might be possible to find one from a different model bike that might be more common. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
Awsome video, Steve!
MrBoobob77 , thanks man 👍...it was an interesting study for sure. Maybe I’ll get a few less cringes from folks as I fire them up when leaving from somewhere 🤣🤣🤣
Very nice and well explained video!
We don’t have a clip on the 1100, and we do have a starter issues too. It’s rubbing quite a bit, do you have trick for us?😊
Thanks man 👍. For the 2nd Gens I have, neither has had any issues for the starting so I haven’t really looked at them to see what the weaknesses might be. If they ever do give me trouble, I’ll definitely take them apart to see what might be improved though lol. Sorry I couldn’t help any, Steve
Greetings friend. Thank you for your dedication to make this video. Could you tell me how much you machined the lid please.
Hello. Thanks…I really appreciate it 👍. I took about 2.1mm (.0825”) from the lid as this was the thickness of the additional shims I added behind the gear on the motor side of the shaft. The important part is to first push the bushing that is in the side cover (lid) as far as it can go and then make sure not to contact it when removing the aluminum. I also did this for my ‘82 xv750 Bobber after I had obtained a mill for the shop. It was much easier to machine it on the mill, but using the router (this video) worked fine too. Here’s a link to doing the same setup using a mill…I show measuring the shim thickness to determine how much to remove in this video: ua-cam.com/video/A64v-i2W6F4/v-deo.html . Thanks again and all the best ! Steve
One side of my starter gear is worn think I can flip it around? Also thank you so much your video best way to correct this issue. I have an 83 xv920 with about 40000 miles on it. What would you recommend to do as far as rebuilding it goes? I don’t know where to find parts or where to start really
Hey man ! I’ve seen where folks have flipped the bendix gear over and claim it fixed the issue, but the lead-in on the back side of the gear is not made to engage the flywheel gear so it’s just going to chew the flywheel gear up even more.
As for rebuilding the motor, I usually will put new rings in as well as de-scale (not hone) the cylinders to add the cross hatching back into the cylinder walls if the compression is getting low, then just replace all of the gaskets if there’s no issues with oil pressure or bottom end clunking noises.
If the oil pressure is low (like less than 10 psi at 1000 rpm idle and hot oil), I will pop the cams and rockers out and inspect them for wear as these are the first parts to go due to higher mileage. If they check out ok, but the oil pressure is still getting low, then I’ll go ahead and split the case and do a full rebuild (connecting rods, all new orings and gaskets, etc.
A good place to look for the part numbers for the components is a site called csmnl.com as they have all of the diagrams for the bikes and sell OE parts as well. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
I could not see if you had the side cover gasket in place at assembly it seems like you would not have to machine the cover down if the gasket was in place. I have a 1981 I am trying to assemble right now the previous owner tried to fix the starter but never finished.
really appreciate your videos, thanks.
Thanks man ! Glad the videos are helpful 👍. For the side cover machining, it’s not necessary except to get just a bit more gear engagement...I was mainly trying to see just what did the most to improve the design. Shortening the spring by one curl helps some with the depth of the gear engagement as well, but adding the extra tension with the clip clamp seemed to do the most (plus it is easy to do vs. machining the cover for sure. In the long run, machining the side cover out a bit will probably help, but it’s something that has to be done carefully if using a router...both from a cut depth perspective as well as a safety perspective cutting aluminum with a hand router.
@@StevesDIYs have you or anyone out there tried the 4 Brush starters?
Yes, I have a 4 brush starter on my bobber and on my cafe build I’m doing right now 👍. My stock bike still has its original 2 brush starter.
How much did you remove from the case. And what was the final thickness of the two shims behind there You took the rubber out of.
Hey man, I thought I noted the amount in the video…maybe not, but yes it is basically the thickness of the two additional shims from the spacer with the rubber inside removed 👍
My friend said that his Bike is an 84 Virago 920 is that set up different than what you showed on your video?
@PaulCTownsend hey ! The one I showed is a 1st Gen (81’-83’) xv750, but the starting system and left side cover are virtually the same (if not exactly) for the xv920 👍.
Nice video, I don't have the tools to grind off the cover, would a clip and shorter spring then be the way to go?
Thanks 👍. Yep, I think most folks just add the clip and shorten (or remove) the spring since both are easy to do and there is no risk of accidentally damaging the side cover during machining. I had tried removing the spring completely, but I could hear a faint clicking sound were the Bendix gear was still bumping into the flywheel gear after the motor started, so I felt it better to just shorten it a bit to gain the extra gear engagement. That way it is still there to push the Bendix gear away from the flywheel gear after the motor starts. Thanks again and all the best ! Steve
Amigo, que tal, yo soy de México y también tengo una 920 de 1983. Jusot estoy tratando de arreglar este problema, recién abrí para solucionarlo, gracias por tu video. Me gsitaria comentrte que cuando abrí, estaba lleno de rebaba metalica el iman que va por debajo del bendix, asi que lo limpié tanto como pude.
Una duda, ademas de tu consejo de agregar una rondana extra y acortar el resorte, qué opinas de poner el engrane bendix del lado contrario? Osea, darle la vuelta, veo que mi engrane tiene mejor dentado del lado contrario al que originalmente está colocado.
Ojala me peudas responder. Te agradezco mucho. Saludos.
this is xv-problem nr 1 ! no more bag of stones!
Yep, for sure the biggest problem with these 1st Gen XV’s. Still makes noise even after the improvements, but at least the gears don’t disengage and grind out.
This is the most interesting and frustrating video on youtube for me. Myself and my friend a qualified motor engineer experimented for months on a Virago 750 starter improvement / modification, We tried everything you tried plus made up some manual application to physically hold that gear in through pushing a lever through holes drilled through the casing, We never came to a clear understanding of what keeps throwing that Bendix gear out ? The outcome to our work was NOTHING long term changed, There was moments we thought we had made improvements to it but it was just wishful thinking. The bottom line was that we decided in mutual agreement that the Virago starter motor is the biggest piece of shit engineering to have ever been made on a starter motor, Why oh why did Yamaha not use the roller type starter used on most other bikes of the time ?
Thanks man 👍. Yep, so far there doesn’t seem to be a way to actually fix the poorly designed mechanism…just ways to make it better so the gears at least don’t fully jump out and grind. Best I can figure, they based it on how a kick starter works, but Yamaha didn’t think about how the starter motor only turns at a fixed rate, but a persons leg can accommodate the speed change needed to keep the gears engaged during a complete kick. My three 1st Gens are still working fine after the modifications and don’t grind out, but that gear still jumps back and forth during the rotation and they still make a ton of noise from all of that slapping around. Maybe one day I’ll revisit it if they finally give out and see if there’s anything else that might work to fix it. I actually made a prototype kick starter just to see if I could kick one over (the videos are out on the channel and it did work actually, lol !), but was a 1 to 1 ratio connected directly to the crank on the left side so it was difficult to find the compression stroke. Proved that this motor could be kicked over, but not very useful. Next will be the final kicker version one day when I get some more time to play again 👍.
could it be posible to machine down the worn surface of the idle gear?
Hey man ! It would probably be possible to grind down the damaged edges of the gear (they are hardened so you would have to grind them), but I would say that you would also have to put some angle bevels on each gear tooth as well to allow it to engage properly. With sharp edged gear teeth, it would probably damage the flywheel gear each time it engaged (similar to what happens when the gear is flipped over like some owners had done in the past).
Hey Steve you selling those clips again any time soon mate? I need one
Hey man ! Yep, I was out of town for work last week so I had to pause the listing on eBay. I’m back now so it’s active again…here’s the link to them: www.ebay.com/itm/225189843486?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sfmcIdagSM-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=sfmcIdagSM-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY . All the best ! Steve
Good morning. Any chance you have some more clios for sale?
Hello, yes I still have the for sale out on eBay…there’s a link to the item in one if the comments on this video that should take you to them. I’m away from the shop for a couple of weeks so I have the eBay sales on hold till I get back. All the best ! Steve.
Noted.Thanks.
Hi Steve, I was wondering what is the starter motor Max Amps draw at start. I am thinking about an electrical solution of this Virago starter problem.
Hey man, actually I’m not very sure but judging by the wire size and how hot it will get if continuously cranked I would say some where in the range of 80 to 100 amps.
Hi, Steve! How much metal did you remove? in millimeters?
Hello, I removed 2mm from the side cover (basically the thickness of the shims I added to the other side behind the gear that is driven by the starter motor gear). Here’s a link to another video on the channel where I did the same for my bobber, but used my milling machine versus the router that may be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/A64v-i2W6F4/v-deo.html . All the best ! Steve
Where do I get the sliver clip that you used?
I actually made it for the test, but just did the same mods for my bobber that had a grinding starter as well. I made a few extras thinking someone might want to try and see if it would help their gear engagement as well so I have like 6 extras. Just gotta edit the “how to install the clip clip” video I made to help with how to put them on the bendix clip and I’ll put them out on eBay. Some guy is selling something similar with a starter shim for like $150 USD which is crazy IMO. Even with accounting for lathe time and shaping them to fit the bendix clip snugly I was gonna post the extras up for like $16 each which still covers shipping and what eBay and PayPal charge for posting and managing the payment, lol. Once I get them on eBay I’ll comment back to you with the title if you think you might want one 👍
Tyler , hey man ! I put the extra ones out on eBay if you wanted to try one. Here’s the link: www.ebay.com/itm/225092976055?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sfmcIdagSM-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=sfmcIdagSM-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY . All the best ! Steve
Can we buy the clip from you.
Hey again, yep, I have them listed out I eBay for folks if interested. There’s a comment with the link pinned to the top of the comments section of the video.
Geniooooooooo
Obrigado! Tudo de bom! Steve
Well the starter work is complete and successful. However the front cylinder carb is not getting fuel. I can't win.
Hey man ! Glad to hear the starter stuff is sorted out 👍. Yep, the carbs can be a bit of a pain till you get them all cleaned up and set right for sure. I’m sure you’ll get it figured out...just gotta be clean, the floats set right, no leaks on the carb boots (including capping off the little extra tube on the side of the boot for the emissions thing if you took that off), and the air/fuel needle adjusted. Believe me, I got good at taking the carbs off mine when I was first getting them running, lol. (Thus all of the videos on setting the float height and doing the carb sync prior to putting them back on the bike, lol). You’ll have it purring in no time I’ll bet 👍. All the best ! Steve
This work on virago 920 as well?
Hey man ! Yes, the mods would work for the xv920 as well since they have the same starter setup as the 1st Gen 750’s 👍
Hello Steve, how do you recommend : removing the rubber from the motor side of the gear or the rubber from the cover side of the bendix gear? I just machined the cover, I received the new gear and the new spring to which I put a clip clamp. the old and new gears have only one groove for spring- i have european model. Thank you!
Hey man ! I removed most of the rubber from the cover side of the gear, but left a thin amount just so it wouldn’t go metal to metal and potentially make noise when it hits the cover, but still lets it move just a bit more. That’s interesting that yours has only one groove but it’s a European model...up until now, everyone has said the non US models were given two grooves for two wire clips. That makes a bit more sense to me as I’ve sold quite a few of the clip clamps to other countries and I always wondered if they were putting them on as well as having two wire clips 👍. Thanks ! and all the best ! Steve
@@StevesDIYs I did these three operations: machined cover, shortened spring, spring clip and in addition the new gear ... brilliant start :)
@@mariusc6423 , that’s great !!! Thanks for letting me know it was a success 👍. Hopefully the modifications will also make the new gear last a whole lot longer as well. All the best ! Steve
Do you have an email im trying to figure out this starter problem i have a 97 1100 and could use an opinion please and thank you
Hey man ! My email is stevesdiys@gmail.com. I don’t currently have a Gen 2 bike, but always happy to try to help 👍.
your actual problem is that clip you modified....... there should be one on the back and the front of that gear and your bendix spring was wore out.
It seems that having two grooves in the Bendix gear varied from country to country on the 1st Gens (or maybe the first revision Yamaha did only had one groove for the spring wire friction clip). Anyway, none of my three bikes have the second groove so there is no way to put two two spring wire clips on. The metal clip added does act similar to adding a second wire clip as it just adds resistance. If folks have the gear with two grooves, adding an additional wire clip could be an option as well. All the best ! Steve
Thank you, and your not even a Japanese engineer 👍
Thanks man👍. Yep, what’s funny is that I’ve even sold the little clip clamps I make to bike owners in Japan, ha,ha! All the best ! Steve
I have same problem:(
Hey man ! Yep, it’s really common on these Gen 1’s for sure. I have 2 running bikes, one I’m building, and a spare motor and all four would only make about 2 rotations of the motor before grinding out the gears. There’s a video on the channel on how to make one of the clips I put on or I have them out on eBay for sale as well for folks that would rather just buy one.
My starter sometimes kicks out and free spins in the actual starter what's the best way to go rebuild or just buy new
Auston maiers , hey man ! Not sure if you saw the video on the channel about the starter disassembly, but there’s a little tab in it that prevents the ring gear from spinning that may have gotten eaten or something. If the bolts get a little loose it will twist the starter body and eventually loosen things up. If it was me, and it was still cranking strong, I’d take it apart and see if the tab was still in there and if it was ground down. Changing the starter out is an option too, but it might be something easy to fix. Here’s a link to the starter disassembly video in the motor rebuild series. ua-cam.com/video/gd9NB3YJirY/v-deo.html maybe it will help a bit 👍
@@StevesDIYs so a small tab makes the starter run then after a few seconds sound like a bunch of marbles?
Auston maiers , yep, the ring gear is not supposed to rotate. The center shaft of the motor rotates between the two little gears that run around inside the ring gear...they drive the starter gear. If the ring gear loosens up it will catch and stay still for a second, then break free and start rotating or if it’s loose in there it will rattle around and make a ton of noise. In the past, people put some shims between the ring gear side and the motor face plate to prevent it from rattling and rotating, but I haven’t seen anyone selling any other than someone that wants like $150 USD for a fix kit that has them...for that someone could just buy a new starter, lol. Getting the ring gear to stop spinning (by the tab..some folks had even drilled a hole and pinned it or even welded it in there) would be the key to making it less noisy I think.
Why not just fix it right instead of trying a bunch of stuff?
Damon Talbert , there’s not really a way to fix them “right” that I know of...only things that help to make it better other than to swap the side cover and starting system for the Gen 2’s that has the solenoid. I was mainly testing the different theories (shortening the spring or adding a clamp to the bendix clip) that are common things people have done in the past to see if they actually do work. Machining the case is not something people have tried, but just wanted to see if it would help as well.
@@StevesDIYs that scary because I have a 91 virago that I'm going to be be fixing sooner or later
Damon Talbert , these issues are mainly with the 1st Generation Viragos where Yamaha was learning how to make a V twin. After the first few years they changed the starting system completely so a ‘91 wouldn’t have any of these issues on starting. You should be good 👍
@@StevesDIYs can you make a video of the gen2 starter system swap or make a grocery list of it. Also does it fix this gen1 problem entirely?
@@F3nrir125 hey man ! I’ve thought about converting one of my 1st Gens over to the 2nd Gen starting mechanism, but haven’t found a donor motor yet to do it…maybe this winter when folks start cleaning out their garages of abandoned projects I can find one, lol. From what I’ve read, to convert one you would need the side cover, the gearing, starter motor, starter motor clutch, and the solenoid and linkage that pulls the gear. I don’t believe the ‘81 1st Gens have the extra boss on the left side motor case that’s needed for the pulling fork, but both of my ‘82 750s have this needed boss inside the case for the mechanism. I would assume the ‘83 would have it as well. Hopefully one day I’ll find a donor and I can convert one just to see what all is involved and can make a video of it 👍. All the best ! Steve
Где бы тоже самое на русском языке посмотреть?)))
Hello, I have the video listed to allow translation into other languages, but I'm not familiar with how to translate it. Sorry, Steve
steve, lets do a whatsapp call now, im working on a tr1!
its a yama-ergency
Hey man ! I actually don’t have WhatsApp, but do use Facebook messenger if you have that. What’s up with our TR1?