Total Motorcycle Community Forums

hey all,

im in the process of buying my first bike and today i looked at a virago 750. it was a 96 with only 11k on it. the bike was in very clean condition but the owner told me that yamaha used cheesy switches for the oil pumps(oil pump light) on this particular model and he had another one that had the same thing and the light would stay on, then go out at sporadic times. he said it isnt a problem nor anything i should worry about. i brought an experienced rider/friend with me to check out the bike and he seems to think the guy isnt being that honest about that. i have my eyes on a maruader at the moment in better condition for less money but was curious if anyone has ever heard of anything like that for the virago series. correct me if im wrong but isnt the oil pump inside the engine therefore making it a very expensive thing to even think about replacing? thanks

If you are telling us that the oil pressure light remains on, I would be unable to take his explaination at face value, and suggest that unless you can confirm by other means that the oil pressure is within specs ----- forget it.

Don't know of a specific oil pressure sending unit problem with that bike, but there very well might have been. If the sending unit is faulty, it's not a problem, except for the fact you have no real warning system if the oil pressure does take a dive. If a new sending unit fixes the problem, they should be cheap...?????, then go for it. But have him change it and make the deal dependant on that being the problem.

thanks for the tips. i stayed away since it sounded too shady to me to be honest.