Virago chrome cleaning

Supercell

I just got myself a Virago 125 second hand, engine is in really nice order, it purrrs..

However the owner never ever parked it inside and the chrome is is not the best, some patches of rust all over.

Its pretty thin, can be rubbed off with a finger in fact.

Any bikers got recommendations for bringing this beauty(imho) back to its former glory?

Will get it sprayed down which will clear the dirt off, but the suspension chrome looks particularily hard to shine, is there a spray or something i can use?

rymus

I have a tube of chrome cleaning stuff at home that I use on my bike. Wonderful stuff it is. Gives a mirror finish (assuming you wash the bike first). I'll post the name of it when I get home cos I cant remember it now. Never heard of any spray polishes tho.

Ohh and congrats on the new bike

Lets just hope those little bastards dont get near this one

Supercell

Thanks rymus, push bikes and me do not go together

Lets just say if they go near this one you'll see it on RTE ..."Crazed lunatic runs amok down O Connell street armed with baseball bat".

First order of the day is fully comp insurance....:)

rymus

The stuff I use is called 'autosol'. it comes in a gold tube. really good stuff. It cleans off rust spots and even brake dust sometimes.

That reminds me.. must shine up the old girl before I sell her

dogs

Yeah, Autosol is the best on that surface rust. Not
something you'd want to use on your bike every week though.
So you'll need to use a seperate chrome polish to keep the
rust off.

There's a couple bits and pieces on Viragos that tend to
wear down, like the "V Rubber"(?), it's a black rubber
thingy (that's the technical term) thats connected to the
two cylinders and goes up underneath the tank. The original
one will probably need to be replaced (if it hasn't been
already), even if you're bike is only a year or two old. If
you take a look at it you'll see if it's covered in lots of
little cracks or not. A new one costs about £50 and I haven't
seen any wear in the time I've had my bike. Also, the little
rubber mouldings that hold the side panels on tend to kinda
shrink over time, so whatch you don't leave one behind the
next time you take a panel off (...like when you're taking
out the toolkit). That's about it really, ooh, get a
decent set of tyres (those cheng shin ones suck) and you
can really get it over (well, as far as the foot pegs'll let you :])

dogs

While you're at it...

I changed the handlebars on my bike, put on a straighter
set, tried T-bars but they're all a bit too tall on it.
Makes a big difference to the feel of the bike (IMHO), and
I think it makes it look a lot nicer too (especially if
you take off the sissy bar and pillion saddle). I've had
other virago riders come up to me and ask if it's a 250

Other things... get a tyre pen for a couple quid, it's
a white marker for tyres, most boy-racer car shops have 'em,
and fill in the brand name and sizes on your tyres. Looks
dead sexy on a pair of Dunlops

Have fun

rymus

Originally posted by dogs
get a tyre pen for a couple quid, it's
a white marker for tyres, most boy-racer car shops have 'em,

And thats the number one reason not to buy one. Might be somewhat acceptable to put such things on an NSR 125 or one of those 50cc Aprilia's, but this is a custom bike. Quite a good looking custom bike at that. Tyres should be black, chromes should be polished and shining like mirrors and above all, no bloody stickers or 'go faster stripes' which are all too commonly stuck onto 'boy racer' bikes.

I'm not discrediting your suggestion, Its just my opinion. I love my custom bike and if I started blurring the line between custom and sport bike I might as well just trade it for a CBR 600 and not the Drag Star 650 which I am getting. (Roll on Feb 2002). Anyway, rant over.

dogs

The tyre pen DOES look tasty and not at all boy-racerish
when it's done properly (IMHO, etc..). See the harleys with
their white walled tyres ? jummy.

You're going for a Dragstar 650 instead of a CBR650, fair
enough... wouldn't be my own choice just out of interest,
whats the difference in insurance ? I was quoted just over
£3000 on a CBR600F (third party, provisional licence).
Hoping to go somewhere in between, got quoted just over
£1000 on a ZXR400, which seems fairly decent in comparison.

rymus

well it was either a bandit 600, a drag star 650 or a cbr.


I was quoted £1250 on the drag star a couple of months ago (21 years old, provisional license, third party). By the time I get the bike I'm guessing that quote will have gone up by at least £300 or whatever that is in the monopoly money were being given soon.

I think they said fully comp would be about £3000. I'm just going to have to be careful with the new bike cos im on fully comp insurance now.

Your quote does seem decent enough. Thats one thing about sporty type bikes tho, theyre nearly always in a more expensive insurance group when compared to their custom counterparts. Aon are nearly the cheapest in ireland for bike insurance I'd say (well, ever since Carole Nash went tits up).

Kegser

What's wrong with the CBRs eh?

Bear in mind that Insurance is going up by 20% on January 1st 2002... which is nice.

Also bear in mind that Aon is merely a broker for Hibernian, but in saying that they tend to get slightly cheaper prices on your premium.

And argh at Fully Comp. for a bike.... maybe for a Goldwing like.

Supercell

Thanks guys, lots to bear in mind there.

And argh at Fully Comp. for a bike.... maybe for a Goldwing like.

I'd maybe agree, but when there is a strong chance some little fúckwits will tamper (at best) or destroy my bike where i live i havent a choice :mad:

WhiteWashMan

get a 'NO FEAR sticker.

they rock and all the cool people have them.

Kegser

Yeah good man Eamo.... good point.

I remember reading about the little scumbags who burnt your bike... that wasn't particularly sporting of them was it.

Get a dirty great big angry Rottweiler and chain it to the bike.. that'll show the bastards.

Either that or go on a killing spree through the local flats.

rymus

or peel off the sticker thats on the fuel tank and replace it with one that says "If you mess with any part of this bike you better have very good life assurance. And oh yes, I already know where you live"

or, just chain a hungry rottweiler to your bike

(grrrrrrrrrrrrrr ruf)

Supercell

Heh, can i feed l gurriers to the Rottweiler as tasty treats after i'm done with them? -->>softened up a little ...JK

Grrrrr grrrr, and thats not the pooch talking..

rymus

just a quick bit of info for dogs. (not rottweilers). I rang the insurance broker and they want €1243.76 off me for cover from now till august and after august it'll be €1611 for the year or even lower if I've passed my test by then. I should wait till august so I wouldnt have to pay nearly a grand for a couple of months comprehensive cover.. but I cant wait that long.

Time is counting down till I get the new bike.. I'm aiming for the first week or two of feb