Picked a new Viper

superfan75

superfan75

New member
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
180
Age
50
Location
Topsham Vermont
Well I think I found a steal this weekend. I joined this site a few days ago to get some advice for my brothers 02 Viper. I got it running for him and he told me I could ride it anytime I wanted. Its been 6 years since I've had a sled and working on his really made me miss having one. Last Friday I found a dealer online that had a nice looking 02 Viper for $599.00. I got on the phone and the reason they were selling it so cheap was they said it needed new piston and rings and they didn't want to spend time on it. I picked it up Saturday morning and it was in pretty good shape and it was loaded with extras. Bender pipes and heads, V-Force reeds, new studded track, and the extra cooler in the back. It only had 1900 miles on it. I turned the engine over and it tried to start and I didn't hear any funny noises so I grabbed it. Yesterday I got it going. The compression was about 92psi in all three cylinders. All I did was drain the old gas, clean the carbs, and install the carbs properly ( the boots were half off on the airbox and reed boots). When I got it back together it ran perfect !! I think I got the steal of the year for $599.00.
 

92 psi is a bit low...... Something not right with the head ??
They didnt want to mess with it with all the aftermarket stuff on there, then sell it to have it break and come back.
 
Head could have modied to even comp out as 1 cyclinder should be down 10-12 from the other two. Alot depends on the testing process but 92 is a bit low. If she runs get your $599 out of it before the snow melts.
 
might be your tester but 92 is not bad. try some ring free or seafoam in it for a tank of gas and see if it comes up. a guy might have just traded in his old back-up sled that sat for the last season or 2.
 
Yeh I thought 92psi might be a little low, but all three cylinders are within 1psi of each other which is really good. Now that I've played around up in my field a little I wonder if its come up. I'll have to borrow the compression tester from my brother again. It does feel like a normal pull on the rope though and it really does run nice. I might try some seefoam if its still low, but running it may be the best cure.
 
Nice buy...

I am with stagss, likely has had the bender head mod along with a opticool headgasket so thats why it reads lower compression the same in all 3 cylinders. They open up the other 2 chambers in the head to match the larger pto one and then the gasket is thicker which also decreases compression. It should still run fine, have fun and enjoy the buy of the year.......


Ill give ya $601 for it...........LOL :sled1:
 
Hey thanx for all the info and advice from everyone. Its been a while since I've ridden and it takes a while to get comfortable working on a sled again. It really does run nice and smooth, which is something I was unsure about with all the mods it has, but it really should be a nice trail package. Plus if I decide I don't like all the mods I can sell it and make enough money to buy a nice stock Viper. I went and got it registered today and stopped buy the local shop to get some oil. I told the parts guy about my compression and he said I should've held the throttle open and pull it over a couple more times. He thought it might actually go up to 110 psi, but he said not to worry about it considering how good it runs. I'm very happy with it and can't wait to get it out on the trail. I might need to get $602.50 for it.... LOL
 
wow. I would have loved to find that.... theres a different way to test compression. Some say you have to have the Thottle wide open and have a little lube in the cyl. to help with the compression. Hope it helps?
 
Nice catch! I'll bet the low compression is a factor of the compression guage. If it has a long threaded adaptor versus a short one, the compresssion will read lower.
 
Well I finally got my new Viper all trail legal and I took it out for my first real ride today. Its been 6 or 7 years since I've had a sled and it felt like I never stopped riding. It ran perfect all day and I was really surprised how good of a trail machine it is. With the pipes, head, and reeds I thought it might be snappy and not much fun on the twisty hilly trails we have, but I was wrong. The clutching was smooth and the sound from the Bender triple pipes were very reasonable. It rides and handles nice like any Viper and it made no funny noises. What a nice machine I got for a ridiculously low price. I can't wait to ride it again.
 
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