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Yamaha Virago XV-1100 By: Michael Schmehl The following information is based on my comparison of Jardine and Restyling forward controls kits on my 1993 Yamaha Virago, XV-1100, during the summer of 2001. The comments reflect my opinion and experience only. Be certain to follow manufacturer's product installation/use recommendations. OK, so you want forward controls for your Virago; so did I. After three years, and 15,000+ miles on my Virago, I tried "highway pegs", and though they were a major advance in riding comfort, I could only imagine the increased safety and comfort of having the rear brake and shifter controls in such a position. My quest began on the Internet in the summer of 2001. After reviewing the Virago Owner Club's web site, I joined. Members had LOTS of Virago knowledge, and the FOR SALE area held reasonably priced items for my bike. I also began cruising auction sites which offered motorcycle related items, reviewed forward controls available through dealers on the "net", and performed browser searches for information. What I found was; "A" - there was very little product information regarding Virago forward control installations, "B" - what information I did find was related to home-built controls, and "C" - there was NO comparison information. All this concerned me, as I'm not in a financial position to spend $500 for a set of forward controls I may not like! Well, they say the Good Lord looks over children and idiots, and at 52, I know which category I fall into…. Anyway, I managed sell some items on eBay, and at the same time, found a set of Restyling forward controls at BIKERCOM.COM, for $258, which was further reduced to $245 when I registered for free on their site! Though their headquarters are in Spain, they were VERY helpful in answering the many e-mailed questions and concerns I had. They even offered references in the US I could check to assure the quality of the controls. So, after much debate, I cleared my credit card for the $282 international purchase, and the controls arrived in less than 10 days. Like a kid in a candy store, I torn open the Restylings, and after two hours, on a warm day in early November, I made my first ride with forward controls….WAY COOL!!! You can read more about my impressions and the installation process later, but for now I'll continue with this saga…. So there I was….happy as a clam with my brand new Restyling forward controls….then….. Another Virago owner e-mailed me about a nearly new set of Jardine controls he was willing to sell for $350, $375 with shipping. Well, I was happy with the Restylings, yet heard so many things about the Jardines I wished I could try them. Since I knew I had to act fast to make this deal, and winter was approaching, and I knew other Virago owners surely suffered from a similar lack of forward controls information, I decided to take a chance. I sent the guy a money order. I felt certain I could sell whichever set of controls I liked least, and the process should hardly cost me anything. This way I'd be certain I had the controls which best suited my needs and style, AND the critical hands-on information needed to pass on to my Virago brothers and sisters. The warm November and December of 2001 gave me plenty of time to put on 1,250 miles with the Restyling controls; city, country, and highway. The new controls arrived; off came the Restylings and on went the Jardines. The warm weather held, and here I am, in early January, 2002, with over 1,000 miles on the Jardines. The details follow, and I ended up with the Jardines; not because they were superior to the Restylings, but because I was made an offer to buy the Restylings which I couldn't pass up, and the Jardines seem to better fit my novice riding style, and 5'10" frame.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS: Jardines: The tubular brackets of the Jardine controls, much like those of the originals, form a solid base, and are attached to the engine casing in the same manner. With all the heavy duty construction and retention of the basic original attachment design, the Jardine controls tended to be bulkier. This bulk causes the controls to be positioned over three inches further away from the bike's centerline than the Restyling controls. While this may deter slightly from the controls' appearance, it also makes it easier to retain a centered foot position on the footrests. The Restyling's sleek, "tucked in" design sometimes made me feel as though my feet were creeping towards the end of the footrests.
These controls really looked sleek on the bike. They did not have the bulky look of the Jardines. The footrests and controls attach to nicely styled pieces mounted in the original footrest brackets' front and rear bolt areas. The rear of the Restyling brackets mount directly to the original rear bracket bolt studs. The forward ends of the brackets are supported by a long threaded rod. This rod goes through the original forward bracket support bolt hole in the engine case, with a spacer on either side bridging the gap between the engine case and the Restyling brackets. This system is simple, and produces a sleek look, though the extended 3/8" threaded rod may not provide the forward support of the directly bolted original design. Be this as it may, I experienced no "flexing" or weakness in the Restyling design. The controls functioned perfectly. I remember feeling the Restyling controls, while certainly comfortable, may have been better suited to someone taller, or with a more "laid back" (literally!) riding style. Though I may have felt "stretched out" more with the Restylings, it certainly was MUCH more pleasant than without forward controls! Another thing I liked about the Restylings was the way they covered the "pivot shaft/rod" which serves as the power transfer point between the rear brake foot pedal and the rear brake actuating rod. The Restyling unit has a chromed lever which assists in the power transfer. Though this method may not be as strong as the Jardines' splined collar (like the original foot pedal's), it looks slicker! One last Restyling "plus" is that the sleeker mounting brackets allow the footrests to be positioned closer to the bike's centerline. The ends of the Jardine footrests extend 3.25" further out on each side than the Restyling's.
Jardine: The Jardine controls are basically a simple replace-in-kind bolt-on that uses the same tubular bracket style as the originals. Remove the original footrest brackets from both sides, and the rear brake foot lever from the right side. Keep all hardware, since some is reused for the new control installation. Some minor repositioning of the shifting collar was needed, but the brake collar went on nearly identical to how the original came off. The most difficult part of the Jardine installation is adjusting the control arms. It's sometimes difficult to adjust these control arms and/or shift/brake collars without loosening or removing the brackets from the mounting bolts. Don't get me wrong; this is not a major problem. Just don't tightened everything down until you're satisfied with the positioning of the foot controls. Be sure to adjust the rear brake light switch position for proper operation after control installation. Restyling: Though no instructions accompanied the controls. The installation was fairly straight forward, even though the installation differed from the original design, but I'll give you the detailed version. On the left side installation, the foot rest and gear shift linkage are removed, except for the lever attached to the shifting rod coming out of the transmission area. This lever needs to be repositioned. My installation worked best when the lever was repositioned nearly opposite of where it was initially. Just position the lever where ever needed to make the linkage as straight as possible to minimize binding. The right side installation is more complicated. First, the footrest and long rear brake lever is removed. The rear brake light switch spring will be reconnected later to the new controls. Remove the cotter pin from the end of the pin connecting the rear brake "Y" rod and the main lever. NOTE: The "Y" rod, as I call it, is part of the linkage which powers the rear brake. The "rod" is preformed mild steel, with the upper ends of the "Y" surrounding the main lever for more stable power transfer. Also, there's a steel spacer/washer on the outer "arm" of the "Y" which looks like a tiny hat, and is removable once the cotter pin is out. If the "flat washer" part of this "hat" is not against the "Y" rod (sometimes it may stand away slightly), just file/grind off some of the "spacer" part. You'll need all room you can get when adding the new control lever's thickness to this area. Now remove the original pin and replace same with the allen headed bolt provided with the new controls. If you reach behind the mufflers you can grab the other end of the "Y" rod to take off some pressure. I also found that using a long needle nose pliers to grasp the threads just behind the allen head allowed me to put the bolt in so the bolt's nut would be on the out side, and the head on the inside. This positioning doesn't matter, do what works best for you, but I found it easier while proceeding to the next step. Once the new allen bolt is in place, holding the "Y" rod and main lever together, temporarily position the new controls' pivot/lever assembly. Don't connect anything, just look at how it all works. This new assembly has a pivot point and three levers; one large and two smaller ones. The pivot point is a collar with a set screw (remove this for now) which fits over the exposed splined end of the original pivot rod. The large lever will be added to the outside of the "Y" rod and original main lever; all being held together by the new controls' allen bolt and nut. One of the smaller levers will be connect to the rear brake light switch spring. The other smaller lever will be connected to the linkage rod which, in turn, connects to the rear brake foot control. The first thing to do is check the alignment of the new large lever's hole with the allen bolt holding the "Y" rod and original main lever together. You may have to "reshape" the new large lever to get a good alignment that will leave the all components nice and straight. The new large lever is fairly easy to shape with a hammer, vise, and some wood/leather to prevent marring. Skip the next two sections if you like, but just think about something. Do you want to put all the pressure of brake operation on just the new large lever which bends without a lot of problem? Do you really see the pivot point collar's setscrew as being anything but a means of keeping the collar from falling off the original splined rod? I wanted to have the collar's set screw tightened to the splined pivot rod to help in the power transfer, especially since the original main brake lever would be used, and since this lever is joined to the other end of the pivot rod. If you disagree, fine, but you may still benefit by at least reading the steps, especially concerning the position of the new control's pivot collar on the original splined pivot rod. Once a good alignment is achieved, go ahead and temporarily bolt the new lever in place on the outside of the "Y" rod. There should be enough room on the new allen bolt to allow the lever to fit on it. With that done, look through the new assembly's pivot collar set screw hole, and mark the spot on the splined shaft that appears in the center of the set screw hole. NOTE: Be certain the collar is positioned on the original splined pivot rod at least far enough to allow the splined rod's end to be flush with the outside of the collar. If it's not flush, I found using a "C" clamp against the inner side of the splined rod (where the original large lever is welding to it) and collar would allow me to "press" the collar in place. What's really being done here is a "finishing" reshaping of the new control's large lever. The collar seems to stay in place once the pressure is released. With the original splined rod marked, remove the original splined rod/lever assembly. Clean the bearing surfaces of the splined rod and the frame. Locate the mark you made and drill a shallow hole into the splined rod just more than the tip of the new controls' collar set screw. This will give the setscrew a real "bite" on the splined shaft, and help in power transfer. Lubricate the bearing surfaces, and reinstall the original splined rod. General: Lightly grease/lube all pivot points. After the new controls were installed, I found adjusting the foot control levers so they were positioned just about even with my boot toes seemed fine. Good luck, and feel free to e-mail me with any questions! Picture "Key": There are more pictures, but these are likely the best. Jardines: Restyling: What I've found in speaking to several VOC members is this; If the front and rear connect points for the tubular bracket to which the original equipment footrest is attached are 13" apart, then either kit would |
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