11/27/06

Welcome to  the Virago Frame  page.

Fixing up the "frame" was next. The main frame is  basically a couple stamped pieces welded together. there is a secondary frame inside this to strengthen it.

This is the only pic I have of the frame from that time. It was in the shed at the time and taken with a film camera. I scanned it in and airbrushed out the backgroung for claraty.

I had the bike on the center stand in the gravel driveway (mistake #1). I removed the handle bars, dash etc. Removed the nut holding the fork assembly in and turned around to clean and label parts (mistake #2). Now the front tire is on the ground so I assume everything is ok. Never assume. ( Just ask Tony Randall) Because there is no motor, and the rear tire is off the ground, there is a cantilever effect going on that I don't know about. As the grease in the front bearings gives way, the frame pops up in the front as the weight of the rear wheel pulls it down in the rear. Now 38 tiny ball bearings are free to find a new home, all while my back is turned.

 My thoughts were #$@@!# but I never actually said it so I know I'm ok there. Well, I haven't read the section on the front suspension so I get the book and find out there are 38 ball bearings playing hide and seek in the gravel, that same thought comes creeping back to mind.

So I mark the area with a circle of garden hose, remove the bike frame, settle in on the ground and start removing stones one by one ( I said I was cheap) down to where the gravel and dirt make a solid base. About 1/4 of the area is done. There's GOT to be a better way to find these, think, think, THINK! MAGNET! YES! I've got this bar magnet from an old microfilm printer's mag roller that is so strong you have a difficult time removing it from a metal surface. Waving this over the gravel and looking like I should be chanting some ritual produces quick results. Count the bearings, 25 so far . Maybe, if luck has it, 36 can be found, will 36 do the job safely? Search some more. Tick! there's another, tick, there's one more, tick, tick, two more. Pull those off and add to the bowl of bearings. Search for more, find more. Recount. Let's see, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38. No I must have counted wrong. 34, 35 ,36, 37,38 No one will ever believe this!
This is how the whole projects goes.
When the fork assemblies are cleaned and reinstalled, the rear swing arm is removed, cleaned, inspected and painted. I then remove the wiring harness and inspect for cracks and broken wires. All is OK. I reinstall the motor by myself. That is a really neat thing to watch, but not much fun to do. It's kind of like a circus balancing act. Then you remember you need to align that floppy u-joint at the same time. It gets done and I manage to keep my sanity