So 4 or 5 days ago I picked up a 81 yamaha xv750 for $70 as a way to get my feet wet with motorcycle ownership and as a quick flip side project.Looking at it, there was no surprise that no one was willing to pay his initial asking price of $200. Lost title, drilled ignition/gas cap, didn't run, missing starter, needed a battery, a drunk repainted the gas tank (along with half the chrome), missing decorative bits, missing shift lever and left footpeg, neither brake worked, etc. However, for $70, I got a gut feeling that I should buy it and my gut is almost never wrong on cheap vehicles.Got it home, ordered a starter and basically stopped spending big money there. Fixed the front brake by simply filling the master cylinder with fluid and bleeding the line. Fixed the rear brake by replacing a sheared screw on the linkage arm that clamps to the spline on the hub. The front carb's bowl didn't want to fill which just needed a light float adjustment. Slapped on the starter when it came in, hooked up a jumper pack and she fired up with just a few sprits of starter fluid.After I rigged up a temporary shift lever from a 10mm wrench hose clamped to the shaft I was able to take it up to the gas station to fill up. Had some initial running issues from not clamping the boots to the carbs which lead to some incredible fireballs coming from the rear cylinder's exhaust. After getting them clamped down and the intake system hooked back up (filthy filter and all) it seems to be running far better. Now I need to make a diy carb sync tool since there is a better than not chance they are badly out of sync from the last time they were rebuilt (or it'll smooth out after I ride more than a half mile)From what I've figured out, it looks like this was someones old bike that had the starter go out. The person pulled the starter then never got around to replacing it and eventually traded it to the guy I got it from for a TV and an xbox. The guy who got it, got it for his dad to work on but due to the dad being an alcoholic, it sat around mostly untouched. Then something comes up that requires some fairly quick cash so they turn towards the motorcycle. When I checked the VIN, it shows as not stolen and it was last registered back in September '18 and it was last registered in a college town which would line up well with what I'm thinking the story is.Heres my running total so far:$70 - Motorcycle$30 - Paying roommate to help me pick up the motorcycle$100 - Used starter (cant buy the gear and mine was missing it so had to spend the extra $40)$40 - Oil, carb cleaner, starter fluid$10 - Generic shift lever from Amazon (not here yet)$11 - Used left footpeg assembly (not here yet)Total: $260 and 3-4 hours laborGotta say I'm glad I trusted my gut on this one. Blows my mind I have a running and driving motorcycle for less than I paid for my motorized bicycles engine.All thats stopping it from going further than a few blocks is a good battery, the little 12v 7ah SLA I have really doesn't like starting the bike more than once and the short rides haven't given it a chance to recharge.Of course, I couldn't do this without taking at least one short video of it running and throwing large flameshttps://imgur.com/a/51GD0Ct via /r/motorcycles https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/d4ez2d/follow_up_on_the_70_81_xv750_it_runs_drives_and/?utm_source=ifttt
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