Thinking about downgrading to a VX800.

[gentlemanjim]

VX's are hardto come by, but I found me a XV920 Virago I'm building along the lines of a cafe. I love aircooled twins, simple to work on torquey and sound great. I spost some pics when I get further along on the project.

 

[drgonzo]

Ive always wanted an XV920RH. Cool Vtwin roadster!

 

[gentlemanjim]

That's the direction I'm heading slightly rear set pegs low bar, flatter seat, bobbed front fender. Just suttle enhancements to make it look, handle and feel more sporty. XS650's are getting harder to come by; I'd get another if I found one ata reasonalbe price. I guess all of our enthusiasm has priced us out of our own market. Another bike I'd like to get is an XT500 equallly pricey for their age - would make a sweet cafe Norton clone.

 

[Travis]

Hey Classic, being that this is an older thread, did you every buy a VX800?

 

[Purplezinger]

I've been thinking about getting a more modern motorcycle and the only bike that suits all of my needs appears to be a Suzuki VX800. High torque, sporty but not uncomfortable, aftermarket support, watercooled, and under 900cc. I would love to hear from people who have seen or ridden one. They seem to go for about $1,400 in my area and I was wondering if it would be worth it. If you guys know of any other bikes that meet my criteria please let me know.

One of my riding buddies had a VX800. He used it as a do anything ride. Short runs, commutes, and long distance touring. He had it about 4 years, very trouble free except I think his fork seals leaked a little similar to what the others said and I always though the ride was a little stiff. As I remember VX800's didn't sell well so there are not many to choose from.
I very much recommend the Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic. Very comfortable ride, can be used for touring, excellent around town road manners, stone ax reliable, 54/55 mpg. Lots of good examples out there, We had ours for 10 years, sold it last year.

 

[Travis]

^ ever since a buddy had a Vulcan (750 I think) that had a bad stator which damn near required pulling the engine to replace, I've stayed away from them. I don't know which displacements and years that pertained to, but I've stayed away from all them just to be safe!

 

[Purplezinger]

^ ever since a buddy had a Vulcan (750 I think) that had a bad stator which damn near required pulling the engine to replace, I've stayed away from them. I don't know which displacements and years that pertained to, but I've stayed away from all them just to be safe!

The Vulcan 750 is a completely different animal. It has shaft drive, different engine and chassis.

 

[Travis]

Well that's good to know I guess. I knew I was probably being unreasonable about my fear of Vulcans.

 

[JAXN]

My first new bike was a 1989 Honda Hawk GT, Honda's 650 v-twin naked sport bike with single sided swingarm and gorgeous looks. Those were the factors that drove me to the Hawk over the VX800, which was second on my list. I'd love to know if you ever found a VX and, if so, what you think of it.

 

[Classic]

Hey Classic, being that this is an older thread, did you every buy a VX800?

No, they are not the bike for me. The engine is lifeless, the bike doesn't have much get-up and go, and the gearbox is harsh in comparison to the XS.

 

[Travis]

So you found one on Craigslist and took it for a test ride and hated it???

 

[tonyc]

The bike you rode had problems because these bikes are known for their roll on quickness. Do some research and read about them. Mine was very quick once in second gear. As I stated earlier, the only problem was fork seals and maybe gaitors could have helped.

 

[Classic]

Found one at a dealer and took it for a spin. It had good power down low but I was expecting it to be on par with the XS. After looking at a ton of dyno charts I realize that the VX's torque from 2000-3000RPM is noticeably lower than an XS. I imagine that gearing is a factor as well as having a redline of 6,500 instead of 9,000.

 

[Purplezinger]

The VX800's are shaft drive and they were never very popular, so any mods are going to be difficult at best. I still recommend you test ride the VN800 Vulcan Classic and Drifter. Very nice rides. A popular bike, many sold, good gas mileage, stone ax reliable, lots of good ones still out there at reasonable prices.

 

[tonyc]

Zing the VX800's were extremely popular in Europe. They kept producing them long after U.S. quit importing them.

 

[kamike]

FWIW I have owned three VX800's. Have used them for commuting and touring (30k miles on one of them). IMO they are a terrific value. In fact, I am selling my current VX800 due to financial hardships.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100948048032839139390/1991VX800ForSale?authkey=Gv1sRgCK_V9MWry-yNaA

It has Race Tech gold cartridge emmulators and progressive springs in the front (one of the few faults of the stock bikes was the mushy front end), Work Performance rear shocks, Corbin Saddle, and full GIVI rack/hard case system, to name a few upgrades.

If anyone is interested, I'd be glad to tell you more and work out a deal. Shipping to anywhere is not a problem.

 

[Purplezinger]

I've been thinking about getting a more modern motorcycle and the only bike that suits all of my needs appears to be a Suzuki VX800. High torque, sporty but not uncomfortable, aftermarket support, watercooled, and under 900cc. I would love to hear from people who have seen or ridden one. They seem to go for about $1,400 in my area and I was wondering if it would be worth it. If you guys know of any other bikes that meet my criteria please let me know.

One of my riding buddies had one years ago. Great bike for short rides, not a good choice for long tours. Transmission shifted nice. There is shaft drive reaction to throttle input. I.E. don't expect to knee drag corners. If it has original factory jetting, it will be severely lean until warmed up. The factory seat was 1st cousin to a 4x4. Not many sold, so there was little aftermarket support. Stone-axe reliable. Don't pay a lot of money for one, they are rare but not valuable.

 

[Furious D]

You might think about the Yamaha Vision. Its also a water cooled V-Twin but only 550cc. I picked one up in the fall cheap but have not had much time to ride it. One of the most unique sounding bikes made, It almost has an F-1 car tone.

They can be found reasonable but the prices seem to be rising because someone out there called them "collectable". Only made in 82 and 83 but it shares parts with some of the other Yamaha's that era like Seca's and such.

Black and gold, I didnt care much for it on the Midnight Specials either. If I decide to keep it I think it will have to go all black with charcol wheels.

 

[tonyc]

Kamike are you able to keep forkseals in it?

 

[TheRepairMan]

Take a test ride on a new Yamaha raider. They also have a new one called the stryker that was announced last week.

New Raiders can be had for 10,900 OTD used for around 8k. 113 CI. Mines running around 96-100HP at rear wheel and 120ft lbs torque. Fast as heck and very comfortable. Best option out there for power cruisers.

If that's out of your price range maybe a warrior or vstar 1300. Bob them out.

Probably out of the OP's price range still, but I looked hard at one... even took the test ride. I really liked the Raider, and like you said, nothing short in the power department. I'd like to think I'll own one someday, but I couldn't trade my FZ1 in primarily because of the difference in cornering clearance. I thought the Raider turned in easily enough, but I was caught off guard at how quickly it started scrubbing the peg feelers. I don't recall the 650 ever doing that. Overall, the Raider is a really nice big bike, though. Gotta love that motor!

If I had the money...

Sorry I got off topic a bit.

-Roger