VX800....Wow! What a bike....when it's working that is!

Hello peeps.
I'm Charlie, a grey-haired old git living in Somerset but from London originally.
I've played guitar in bands most of my life and have also been messing around on bikes for many a long year, riding them that is, never been that great at fixing them.
I've had my eye on the VX800 for a long time now, just think that they look so flippin' pretty, so a Month or so ago I bit the bullet and bought one off Ebay. The listing said 'no rust'....the seller lied....still, at least that meant I was able to get another £300 knocked off the asking, post-sale....which was nice.
Blimey! What a beast the VX is, I absolutely love it.
You see, the bike I had previously was a Honda CBF1000 and to be perfectly honest, it scared the be-Jesus out of me.
As I said, I'm old and I'm afraid to say that I've entered the age of the potterer, I want to potter on a bike, smell the bonfires and the farm pongs, take in the scenery, let other vehicles pass me if they get up my backside, yes I've had a ton out of the old girl which without a sensible screen was pretty damn torturous, she will go fast if required but mostly I like to potter.
You can't potter on a CBF1000 you look like a complete idiot, the VX is the ideal potterer's bike but it will also go like stink if you need it to.
It's remarkably comfy even with the stock seat, my bum doesn't go totally numb after an hour in the saddle, I don't feel like I've got hip dysplasia when I attempt to walk again after a ride either, there are no troublesome, numb hand inducing vibes through the bars, the engine pulls like a choo-choo and sounds lovely but above all I just love the way she handles, big and heavy she maybe (flashbacks to ex-wife there for a second....sorry!) but find the right line for the corners and she feels like she's on rails. The brakes are horrible after the CBF but with the shaft drive you can use engine compression much more to slow down....I'll cope I'm sure plus I guess some braided lines might help a bit.
The VX reminds me so much of the big old British twins I used to ride back in the day, my Bonneville, my Tiger 750 all spring to mind when I set off on the Vixer, it's a very evocative ride, for me at least.
The bugger of it is though, she is now in bits round the back.
I went out to her the other day and noticed a little puddle of petrol under the centre stand. 
I tried to put that out of my mind, started her up and the tiny puddle grew into a tiny lake.
Stopped bike, discovered that the back air box was full of fuel and so was the damn sump....it would appear that I have become the latest victim of (VX800 dodgy petcock/fuel tap with no bloody repair kits on the Planet syndrome) which I'm struggling to find a way of fixing hence my joining of this fine forum. Be kind to me, I barely know one end of a spanner from the other....I'm a guitarist, what do you expect? 
Kindest regards, Charlie.

PS:- Here she is when she was slightly more mobile!

and Charlie from a fellow VX owner.

Sorry I can't help re the fuel petcock as mine is a 90/91 and has on/off/res and is not vacuum driven. I always turn mine off.

Welcome on board Charlie - sounds like you swapped from the CBF for the same reasons I swapped from a Katana 1100 !! With regards to the fuel problems, you may be better posting a thread in the relevant section - probably "fuel" or "general maintenance", but I'm sure admin will correct me if I'm wrong.  Bound to be someone on the forum who can assist.

Hi Charlie 

  Charlie! 

Hi Charlie and

Many thanks for the warm welcome much appreciated. :) 
Regarding the post above from Katsd, I only really mentioned my petcock problem here to explain what brought me to the forum in the first place as part of the 'saying hello' thing which is mandatory here I believe.
If I can't sort out the problem I will definitely post in a more appropriate section as that was always my intention.
State of play at the moment is that I have a used, first version manual fuel tap with the 'OFF' position on its way to me from Germany plus, thanks to a fine post on this forum I was able to locate a repair kit which should work in my 'vacuum 2nd version' tap, so we'll see how all that works out.
Got to get the old girl running again, the 400 or so miles I travelled on her before the fault cropped up were some of the most enjoyable I've ever spent on a bike.

Good luck with the repairs Charlie - keep us updated how it goes

Could I just ask Andrew 'V-Twin' one question please?
Andrew you say you have a manual tap on your VX which you always turn off.
Could I just ask how often you turn the juice off please?
Do you have to turn it off every time you stop the engine? For instance when just popping inside a shop for ten minutes or filling the tank etc or only when leaving the bike for a longer period of time, an hour or so or when parking up overnight?
I did try to send you a PM to ask this question but as I'm a total newbie I wasn't allowed.
As I said, I have a first version manual petcock on the way so I need to know how to use the bugger!
Many thanks.

CHarlie , 4 of us passed yours on sunday! small world

Charlie   to the madhouse mate! You're in good company mate so don't dispare ok.

hello and a warm

Karma Train wrote:

Could I just ask Andrew 'V-Twin' one question please?
Andrew you say you have a manual tap on your VX which you always turn off.
Could I just ask how often you turn the juice off please?
Do you have to turn it off every time you stop the engine? For instance when just popping inside a shop for ten minutes or filling the tank etc or only when leaving the bike for a longer period of time, an hour or so or when parking up overnight?
I did try to send you a PM to ask this question but as I'm a total newbie I wasn't allowed.
As I said, I have a first version manual petcock on the way so I need to know how to use the bugger!
Many thanks.

Sorry I have not replied earlier, I have just got home from work. If I'm filling up with fuel I leave it on but the rest of the time I turn it off. I also have a 1987 Kawasaki GPZ500 and do the same with it, it's just habit.

Thanks Andrew, I much appreciate your kind reply, I would have though the bike would be ok if you left it for an hour or so in the 'on' position as the needle valve should stop the carb over-filling....but I agree, getting in the habit of turning it off at all times sounds like good advice, I really don't want to go though all this hassle again. Just got to hope that the tap which turns up from Germany is a good 'un! Thanks again.

Welcome Charlie.

Welcome Charlie

Thanks for the lovely welcome, chaps (and possibly chapesses!) Bike is still in bits waiting for the arrival of a hopefully unleaking petcock from Germany. Looking at the poor old girl now and feeling a definite chill in the air I'm wondering if now might be a good time to break her down and get the frame and swinging arm powder coated or whether I should just tidy her up with a wire brush, plenty of elbow grease and copious amounts of tough black paint, either way she needs a bit of a spruce up, there's a definite touch of the Ron Weasleys about her....decisions, decisions! 

Karma Train wrote:

Thanks for the lovely welcome, chaps (and possibly chapesses!) Bike is still in bits waiting for the arrival of a hopefully unleaking petcock from Germany. Looking at the poor old girl now and feeling a definite chill in the air I'm wondering if now might be a good time to break her down and get the frame and swinging arm powder coated or whether I should just tidy her up with a wire brush, plenty of elbow grease and copious amounts of tough black paint, either way she needs a bit of a spruce up, there's a definite touch of the Ron Weasleys about her....decisions, decisions! 

If your on facebook, have a search for "The Orphans: VX800, GS Twins" a couple of guys have spares/breaking VX800's which may be of interest.

v-twin wrote:

If your on facebook, have a search for "The Orphans: VX800, GS Twins" a couple of guys have spares/breaking VX800's which may be of interest.

Brilliant tip, thanks Andrew, just found them and applied to join.
Bit worrying that so many are giving up on their VXs but like you say,
maybe that'll yield a few useful parts, thanks again.

 Great write up, welcome aboard