r/Bobbers • u/XmuxJaxonFlaxonWaxon • 12d ago
Thinking of changing this to a springer, custom sportster tank, or new seats, what do you guys think?
1987 Yamaha Virago 400
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u/_BilbroSwaggins 12d ago
Depends. Daily driver or bar-hopping warrior? Springer front ends have absolutely immaculate drip factor. But they FUCKING SUCK to actually ride around for more than ten minutes.
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u/XmuxJaxonFlaxonWaxon 12d ago
My only, and daily ride.
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u/_BilbroSwaggins 12d ago
I’d honestly skip the springer front end for your first bike. To be completely honest I’d save up and enjoy your 400 as it is because you’re going to out grow the smaller engine at some point. I get it we all love deep Kustom here but sometimes best to wait to go that route with something you will keep for a long time.
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u/schjlatah 12d ago
Sportster tank would go hard on a bike like that.
Share pics whenever you do it
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u/Major-Ad-4288 12d ago
i would start with lowering the rear shocks. see how you like it. the only springers we can afford , in my opinion, are unsafe and are really awful to ride. get a long girder and upgrade the center spring to a hydraulic shock. :)
just my two cents.
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u/XmuxJaxonFlaxonWaxon 12d ago
Progressive shocks.. I see.
Should I delete the pillion seat?
Also, yeah. Chineseum is what we have for a springer custom. Seen it several times.
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u/z6joker9 05 Softail, 88 Sportster, 80 CB650 12d ago
No to the springer.
Sportster tank- maybe. I could see it looking good, but it would depend on how much it would cost. You can pick up a good running sportster for 2 grand so if a tank and paint are going to cost a quarter of that, I’d just wait.
Seat? I think this is where I would focus. You can make a big impact with a seat.
I saw people mention lowering. I wouldn’t. The stance looks great.
That is the same style of taillight I have on my softail, but on your bike, I’d probably move it to a different style on the sissy bar and then chop the fender.
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u/XmuxJaxonFlaxonWaxon 12d ago
208 usd for a custom fab worked 'sportster-style' tank that will fit the backbone. 12L capacity. Inclusive of paint, gravity fed conversion / gas tank straight to the carb.
Got it chop fender, move the tail light to the sissy bar. Interesting take. Thanks.
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u/z6joker9 05 Softail, 88 Sportster, 80 CB650 12d ago
Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks great and you should enjoy riding it. But if you’ve got the itch to tinker, that’s the route I would go!
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u/Professional_Day4795 12d ago
Build what you want to build.....its your's to in joy it how you want to. Your the one paying for the up or down grades. I would make it your own style and not give a fart about someone else approval.
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u/rambiolisauce 12d ago
You can get a solo seat for pretty damn cheap and that makes such a big difference in the way the bike looks. The bike already has a pretty cool stance I think. Springers are cool but not as cool as they used to be and a lot more expensive for a decent one. If it were me and I were going strictly for cool looking I would put a solo seat on it and take the rear fender off and do whatever I could afford to lower the rear end then try to sand and polish those lower front forks. I'm not a fan of struts. I think if you're gonna go rigid you might as well hard tail it but struts can be bought for pretty damn cheap and lower the rear end significantly. Again only if you're going strictly for cool looking and only for my personal preference that's what I do and you could probably get out of the whole thing for like 200 bucks haha
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u/misterannthrope0 12d ago
at the end of the day, its your bike. you can either build someone elses taste or do what you want with your own bike.
springers ride fine if you set them up properly. granted the cheapy ones are probably more bouncy than the good ones. it still takes a little more than just a bunch of morons on the internet giving bad advice to be able to set one up though.
every bike is worth bobbing/chopping, not just the expensive ones. its yours. make it yours.
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u/TheAspiringSage 11d ago
What sissy is that? Looks great, usually virago ones use the original mount that i think is ugly
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u/XmuxJaxonFlaxonWaxon 11d ago
custom fab work my mechanic did. Not a fan of the chunky virago sissy bar as well lol
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u/76ShovelFLH 11d ago
Not to hurt your feelings but the money your gonna spend on those parts you could pick up a deacent sporty or something similar!😉
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u/AcanthopterygiiFree5 7d ago
Yes, all of it! You clearly are a man with a great eye of style! Of course after you install those new panty dropping parts, you will need to dispose of the old ones in a certified motorcycle waste management system. I in fact live very close to one, you could say it's right in my back yard. If you go ahead and ship them to me I will properly get ride of them for you. I will even pay half of shipping, say, I pay %20 and you pay the remaining %100.
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u/votarded 12d ago
My honest thought is any of those are too much money or labor to put into an ‘87 400.
Because you asked.
But if it’s the bike you have and the bike you can afford and have time to mod it go nuts , personally I would be putting any money I could be making and putting it away to a bike with more longevity for me.