New Pipes
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The pipes I have on my bike are Double D's, made by Hard Krome. Rather they WERE made by Hard Krome. These beauties are no longer available anywhere at any price! The only way I know of that you can have a set of these pipes on your bike is to have them custom made. It's a shame how our Virago is no longer supported by the dealer or any aftermarket manufacturers. |
In an effort
to try to solve my backfiring problem, I wanted to replace the copper gaskets
sitting between the exhaust manifold and the pipe flange. Imagine my disappointment
when, in removing my front pipe, the hanger fell right off. I guess it just
got fatigued from the vibration of the engine. Anyway, I needed to get new pipes.
My search didn't go very well. Most of the pipes available were slipons. As I had bought the bike WITHOUT the stock exhaust installed, I needed to get a complete set. My friend Gary had a set of pipes that were made for the Virago 750. The 750 doesn't have a fuel pump (like the 1000 and the 1100) As a result, the rear pipe is able to take a different route in getting to the back of the bike. It comes directly out from the right side of the engine cavity. On the 1000 and the 1100, the rear pipe is routed under the swing arm. I'm mentioning this because Gary had a set of Double Walled pipes (Hard Chrome Double D) that was ordered for a Virago 1100, but it turned out that, because of a misprint in the catalog, the pipes are actually ment for a 750. I saw these pipes and knew they were for me. I took them home and started working on the problem of getting around the Fuel Pump. In the end, it was simply a matter of mounting the pump behind the battery. There's an open area there that fits the fuel pump just fine. I had to add a bit of wire to the hookup on the pump, trim and re-route the fuel lines under all of the electrics and finally just wedge the fuel pump in there with the "in" and "out" on top. It seems to be working, but I guess time will tell.
How do the new Pipes sound? Check out these .WAV clips.
WARNING: Here's an update.
When I first moved the pump, everything worked great for a year or so. At some point though, the pump died on me. I figured it was old and that it just gave up. I got a second pump, used. I ran that pump for about half a year. That too gave up. Well, it was used after all. After the third pump died, I figured that the pump didn't like being in the new location. It was getting VERY hot. I don't think it's a matter of where it is, rather it must be how the pump was orientated. I had the thing sitting upright. I think it's meant to be operated lying down. It must seize up or something? Anyway, I am now running my bike WITHOUT a pump at all. The only downside to this configuration is I no longer have a reserve. The pump was only meant to get fuel from the side tank up to the carburetors. The main fuel tank, being above the carbs can feed fuel using gravity. Once I run out of fuel, in the big tank, there's no way to get fuel from the side tank UP to the carbs. So far so good. :-) I may look for an aftermarket pump to replace the missing one, but I don't know.
| Want to see what they look like? Check out the Photo Album. |  |
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