Parts shouldn't be too difficult to find for the bike. It is a bit old, but if you have good mechanical skill it shouldn't be hard to maintain. It may be difficult finding a shop that will do work on a bike of that vintage, so check around first if you aren't prepared to do the wrenching yourself.

Check the bike over well and ask a lot of questions before buying. Sometimes a cheap bike can become an expensive one really fast if you don't know what to look for.

The mileage seems extremely low for a bike of that year. Looks for signs of the odometer being messed with or excessive wear on parts of the bike such as pegs and hand grips that don't jive with it only having 10K on it.

 

I have one, that I paid 1200 for a year ago that wasn't in as good a shape as what you're describing.

It's a great beginner/intermediate bike. (I just needed an inexpensive used bike for this year)
The carbs are a pain to get to to work on myself, so I took it to a shop for a complete tune up.
No issues at all getting parts. Yamaha still offers most parts OEM according to my mechanic, a former Yamaha dealer.

Check it out, tune it up, and enjoy! I like mine so much, we will fix up up more and the wife will take it when I move to another bike again next year.

 

Pictures!

Here are Pictures of the Bike!

 

If mechanicals are as good as it's appearance, for that price if YOU don't buy it, tell me where I can go get it!

 

It seems like a Great Deal! I haven't seen it yet! So... there might be something the guy isn't telling me!

Arko it seems like from why you're saying the bike is a little tricky to work on. Is this right? Would this be an easy bike to work for a beginner? I do have experience working on cars and lawn equipment, but not motorcycles.

What about MPG? Does this get good mileage? I have read it can get around 40-50mpg. What are your insurance costs? Is it reasonable for this bike?

 

Depends on perspective I guess. I've owned several bikes, each has their share of knuckle busters. For me, and my relative low skill level, the carbs are a pain, tucked up tight. The mechanic I used also agrees. However, many other things are easy to get to and service, so its a trade off. For instance, the seat comes off easily, allowing access to wiring, etc. You sound like you're a better grease monkey than me to begin with though, so it probably wouldn't be bad for you.

I'm getting about 40mpg, but I'm a really big dude for it to haul around. You may do better.

 

It is an extremely reliable bike! The low end power is great for a beginner.

Eric

 

I had a '96 and loved it for what it was. Definitely no rocket, but a very comfortable cruiser that felt great on the highway. Make sure to start it and listen for a 'rocks in a coffee can' noise from the starter. I think your bike is included in the years that Viragos and XVs were notorious for bad starters, and it's a very involved and expensive process to remedy it. Sometimes the prescribed fixes from Yamaha don't always work. If it seems to sound normal during starting, it's fine.

Something else that plagued mine was dirty float needle seats and a leaking petcock which conspired to overfill the carb bowls. Keep an eye on your oil level. It it inexplicably rises, you have fuel leaking into the cylinders.

Something you should do immediately if you buy the bike is set the petcock to "ON" and pull the fuel line from the petcock and see if anything drips from the petcock. If so, disassemble, clean and re-assemble. That fixed mine. Even if your float needles leak, if the petcock works well, it won't allow the bowls to flood while the bike is off.

Sorry to ramble...just thought I'd pass on some Virago life lessons.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

Good advice, and the petcock leak is probably whats going on with mine. I'm going to check it out per your advice later.

As for the starter, I've read they're all loud, so don't let that trouble you too much unless it really sounds bad (the coffee can clatter).

 

If yours is one of the ones with the bad starting system, it's true....they will start, but usually always require a good battery to do so. If you begin to have trouble getting it started, replace the battery. And when you do replace it, give it a full charge with a charger before installing.

 

Looks can be deceiving! The bike could have some mechanical problems. I'll have to check for those things, but it is difficult being a beginner. Also not having to much experience working on bikes. I definitely need to see before I make any decisions about buying the bike.

 

Here are some pictures of a different 86 Yamaha Virago with 12,000 miles on it. It sounds like it's in good shape, but still needs some work. I was told there is some rust on some of the chrome pieces. The person was asking $1200 for this one I believe.

 

$1200 is a good deal if it's in decent shape mechanically, rust isn't such a big deal IMO.

 

The person selling the 86 Virago that's purple is actually asking $1500. They are negotiable though.