I have a 1981 yamaha 750 virago which sat for about 2 years now, Today i tried starting it.........Heres how it went.

had the battery charging for a week now(out of bike) and put it in this morning and absolutly dead (i kinda expected as much, battery also sat for 2 years). So then i stupidly pushed the bike over to the riding mower and and proceded to connect my battery via jumper cables to the battery in the riding mower.............yay the lights came on and i gave the horn a quick beep.

as it always has done, the tach goes up as soon as i turn the key to the on position. then i turn the switch to "RUN" and start cranking it over.

Within about 30 seconds of cranking(mind you slowly) it stops cranking over and all i get is a loud hum coming from the starter and continues to hum even when i turn the kill switch to off and turn the key to off.

Disconnected the jumper cables and pushed the bike back into the garage and walked away in shame.

also my tach no longer does its usual jump up when the key is turned on.

Any idea or suggestions would be very welcomed..........Thanks.

If it started after two years Id die of suprise. Empty the fuel tank and flush out, may have fuel deposits. A carb clean is also almost a certainty. Check airbox for nests and it may well be worth while to change the oil.

Worse thing is trying to start a bike (elecy boot) with a part charged battery....

Get a proper full charge batery & try again.... A part charge one puts strain on the strater... its not enuff to turn it, but enuff to put current (& heat) into it... whcih can cause problems.

I don't think you did anything bad, I think Pigford is probably right. Drain the fuel and put in fresh, close the plug gaps a little or better yet put in new plugs properly gapped and giver it another go. There's a pretty good chance it will fire up but remember that after two years there is also a chance that the carbs are clagged up with fuel varnish. If that's the case, you will get no starting or hard starting and then rough running. If that's the case, get back to me, I can suggest some easy, out-of-the-can options.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

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Hi,

I'm almost sure your starter relay is the cause of your problem, I used to get the same problem with my XT, the starter would still run after everything was turned off when I tried to strat the bike after a fews weeks left outside and discover that the relay was stuck in position run even with swith and key off!!
I'm not a expert in virago but assuming it's old yamaha tech, I would not be suprised that's the answer of your problem
So if I were you I would order a new one!

gwel

Think you've nailed it Gwel....

The starter relay is connected directly to the battery - so its the one thing that can remain live with ignition off

Hi I forgot,

Evertime it was becasue my battery was part charged and for some reason it seems to put too much strains on the relay wich remains stuck in running position so that the starter kept running with key and switch off until the battery goes totally flat
I came to that conclusion after "burning" 3 relay with an old battery that I kept recharging over and over

gwel