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Post by justpassinthru on Jul 3, 2013 19:48:00 GMT -5
I don't have either anymore.
But it's not the CCs...that's only part of it. My BMW 1200 boxer got about 50 mpg; the same as my current Burgman 650. But had twice the power. And a 150 Honda PCX has more power than a gy-6 150...much more.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jul 3, 2013 17:45:19 GMT -5
[replyingto=prodigit]prodigit[/replyingto]Believe it or not, I had both. The Virago 250 as a re-starter bike; and a TU250 because I came across it, very-lightly used.
The TU is, very definitely, more comfortable for someone taller. Because it's set up like a UJB - just slide back to find the sweet spot.
But there is, very-definitely, LESS POWER. Not sure if it's gearing or if the engines are that different in output. But I couldn't hold 60 on the TU250. On the Virago, I was just getting comfortable; but I did have it at 65 on the freeway for a short leg.
The TU250 had to be run wide-open to hold 60; and mileage would drop from the high advertised figures (which it did hit in town) to about 50. I didn't see that on the Virago.
I can't say which to recommend. The TU would be more comfortable; and that's a LARGE part of ownership. But I think the Virago 250 engine would be the real performer in that size.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jul 2, 2013 21:28:06 GMT -5
[replyingto=prodigit]prodigit[/replyingto]I'm not sure where you're getting those facts from. I had, briefly, a Virago 250 - earlier name for the VStar 250. Used it to get back into riding after 22 years away. I found it powerful enough to keep up with traffic...and got over 75 mpg on it. Nice exhaust note, too. Only problem I had with it was, it was just TOO SMALL for me. I liked it enough I briefly considered a custom frame...but that was too much money and eventually I'd want more power.
Good starter bike if you fit on it.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 21, 2013 21:27:16 GMT -5
Meantime...I'm liking the idea of it naked, more and more!  Anyone got any idea on headlights? The headlight assembly I have is usable but has been leaking; and there's only two brackets that support it at the top, with tabs on the housing. The lower brackets bolted into the nose piece. If I could get Ruckus-style headlights, or even just a generic motorcycle forward light assembly, I'd be all set. Foot pegs will be easy, I think, with a bar across, in front of the radiator, bolted to the frame tubing. And rear lights I can make from anything. Just the headlight and mounting the speedometer.... |
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 21, 2013 7:49:44 GMT -5
[replyingto=trailheadmike]trailheadmike[/replyingto]The PDI was. It'll be more useful when/if I put it together again. As will be the other thread...thanks for the link.
Searching VOG gets nothing on the board, as a search has to be four or more letters. So you found these; I don't know how, but thanks.
Looking at the second thread...the thing actually looks pretty nifty with the junk off. I may leave it that way; and then I'll be actually able to DO maintenance!
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 20, 2013 22:45:14 GMT -5
And there ya got the glaring problem with scoots versus motorcycles.
Face it. A properly-done-up big scooter looks pretty slick...I favor the Burgman-style dressing, swoopy and rising to a bustle on the rear. And, all that storage space! How is it a conventional motorcycle has NO space?
But. I've dropped a bike...had a bulky load tied on the pillion seat; so I was folding a leg up to get over the gas tank. Didn't work, and down it went.
Scratched the exhaust pipe and muffler. Cry me a river, will ya?
Compare that to all this beautiful, flowing PLASTIC...that'll crack if you LOOK at it, hard. Haven't dropped a scooter yet. But as I note elsewhere, I broke up a lot of it just getting the tupperware off it in trying some repairs.
Not a big loss...this was after hitting a deer. And living to recount it; so I guess the glass is half-full.
But the loss of the VOG, or the money I paid for it...that hurts.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 20, 2013 22:32:51 GMT -5
The bad luck continues.
I started taking it apart...had some time today, not much. Near as I could tell, I couldn't peel down the sides and underskirt without first taking the nose apart...like dismantling a building. Start at the top, and all the way down and back.
Except it was up front that I had the collision damage. And, sure enough, the lower shell-frame broke in two...it was already heavily damaged, but it was in one piece. Until I started mucking with it.
Then...that wasn't enough. The top and bottom dash moldings, that meet where the top of the glove-box is...a big chunk of that was broken, also, wrapping to the edge of the glove-box door. The two seem GLUED together...I can see where they're molded separately, but the fasteners are plastic with no threads and are inside. I know they're two different molds as there was a lot of damage on the one side.
But I couldn't get the blingin' things over the handlebar! I was out of patience; and low on time...I took my Leatherman and cut two inches at the glued joint to separate upper from lower. Got them around the neck of the front fork that way.
Except of course, now I've completely farkled up the plastic. No going back; all the new tupperware will cost probably three hundred plus change. Three hundred...on a machine with no support; a machine with questionable mechanicals? My plan was to run it until the tires were bald and sell it for whatever I could get.
A local auction house already had it up there, in one piece...with a $750 reserve, it didn't sell. NOW...it's valueless.
But...I did get to where I could reach to the spark plug. I've more tupperware to break; but I was able to reach in. AND...find out, nope, the plug doesn't feel loose.
More removal before I can take it out and see what's what. Anyone ever try to rig up a VOG or Burgman, naked? What did you do for lights, especially headlights? How about foot pegs?
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 19, 2013 22:14:11 GMT -5
justpassinthru - there was a perfect thread on the old scoot dawg site to do this but all the pictures have been deleted. As luck would have it I printed it out long ago. Send me a personal message with your email and I'll scan it and send you a pdf. Check your PMs. I've got exactly half the miles you have on yours...I wonder. Will I make 8000 on mine?  |
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 19, 2013 21:23:44 GMT -5
To make the simple complicated, and a short story long...I'll begin at the beginning.
Or where I left off...where Vog, doe and me had a close encounter of the worst kind.
Busted tupperware but rolling...so let's run the snot out of it. Back and forth to work - I work in a dusty enviro.
Okay...good so far. But I started getting a funny exhaust-sound change.
This afternoon, on a cold start...it came together. Loose freakin' spark plug!
Except...I haven't had the tupperware off. Brand new, this thing had a cam chain fail. Back to (former) dealer; repairs took ten months.
I've changed the oil and THAT IS IT.
So...with no manual, no warranty, no dealer...how, short of an axe, do I get the fantastic-plastic off and the engine naked?
When I find the loose plug I know I will...what is it to be torqued to, with its aluminum head?
And...FINALLY...I'll just bet (after finding other shop damage) they may have stripped out the plug socket; and then jury-rigged it to get it off their property. IF that's the case, is there a repair, like a Heli-Coil?
If not, where can I find a head for a Xingyue 300, designed from who-knows-what?
Thanks to one and all.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 12, 2013 17:51:25 GMT -5
Okay. It's for sale, but I'm more interested in what its value is. CL and a local auction house are the next steps.
It's a Son-of-a-VOG, a 2011 Xingyue XY300t-4. Same package but the old VOG 260 was refitted with a 300cc FI engine. Don't know what the motor's cloned from; but it's an amazing combination of power and economy. As it now stands, it has 3200 miles.
I bought it from a dealer who had a Xingyue franchise. Due to his experiences with my machine, he no longer has that franchise. See, the engine needed a complete rebuild from a catastrophic failure at speed at 2500 miles.
He did it. It took him ten months to get parts and literature. I have it back and running great.
And I hid a deer. Broke up the tupperware on the nose cone. No, it's not naked; but there's big chunks missing.
So...what we have here is a machine I don't trust; a machine I don't have time or knowledge to work on when it has issues, as everything mechanical will and does. I now need a commuter machine; and a China scoot won't hold up and isn't reliable enough.
But...it's an amazing runner. Top speed of close to 80; fuel economy in the upper 70s.
Someone who knows the parts network; someone who wants to retrofit their old VOG; someone who wants to strip off the tupperware and have an end-of-the-world ride...this is the machine.
What is such a machine, a rolling wreck with sound mechanicals, worth on the open market? If it's got NO value, I'll just run it until the tires are bald and then park it or toss it. But if there's a place and buyers to sell it to...I'd like to know.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 12, 2013 8:20:03 GMT -5
[replyingto=jarlaxle]Jarlaxle[/replyingto]I have been. Scooterfinds supposedly locates all CL listings; and there's no VOG, Xingyue XY300t-4, XY260t-4 Tank Touring or BMS cycles of that generation up there now.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 11, 2013 12:48:42 GMT -5
Ahhh. The plastic was lost...in little pieces, I think. Came off on the road in a fog, and I was late for work. So there's no doing the Humpty-Dumpty with this.
The BMS is the same basic machine - it's the VOG, the Tank Touring, all of those. But the headlights and front are a bit different.
I would need to replace headlights as well as the nose plastic. The whole cowl is farkled up...headlights are okay (they're two piece, with the clear being part of the nose molding) but I'd have to get exact replacements - or a full set of tupperware and headlights.
I'm in no hurry - I can weigh the options. I figure if I haven't found a way by the time the tires wear down, or something else pops up - then I'll just sell it for what few dollars I can.
Ka-ka happens. If I'd gone down the machine would have been a write-off; as it is I'll get a summer out of it, broken though it is.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 11, 2013 9:02:36 GMT -5
Bad news is, I hit a deer with my Son-of-a-VOG, my Xingyue 300.
Good news is, I didn't go down. Don't ask how I was that lucky. Happened that the herd thought crossing the road in the middle of a fog bank would be pretty kewel...fog would hide them from those predators, ya know.
I slowed to 45 for the fogbank but didn't want to stop and get run down. So I did the running-down. Caught a deer on the hips.
And yes, the air was filled with tupperware. The nose-piece of the scoot is...well, it's securely fastened still. But the right side is broken with a gaping hole.
Now...this is the Xingyue that I had an engine failure on, under warranty. I haven't been in evidence here, as the thing went into the shop in July - and came back in May.
That's right. TEN MONTHS to get engine parts, instructions, and install them. The dealer deserves a medal for sticking with it and doing me right.
But I don't trust it. And now, with this damage, I can't sell it.
WHERE can I get used, or new, tupperware for a VOG? I think the VOG 260 would be a bolt-on.
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Post by justpassinthru on Jun 11, 2013 8:54:56 GMT -5
I owned one for a year.
It's a superb-quality piece. Always starts immediately, thanks to FI. Attractive mini-me Triumph styling. Light and easy to through through traffic.
BUT.
It's small. Small in the frame...a big guy (34" inseam) has to push way back on the saddle. Small in power...I couldn't get it over 67 mph with my 245-lb bulk. And that just sucks the joy out of it.
I don't know why the manufacturers can't put some of the power and versatility of the touring scoots, the Burgman-clones, into a bike. But they can't.
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