Have you ever tried to push start a Victory? Victory doesn't even make models under 1,600 cc. You need a mountainside to get that thing going. When it happened to me, three people pushed the bike -- more could have been used, but they didn't fit well around it. And to make matters worse, the guy fell off when his foot slipped. This effort resulted in a broken toe, a lot of struggling, a lot of laughing, and a bike that never went anywhere that evening.

The simple fact is that when your starter motor is shot, that's it. You've no choice but to buy another one. A sure way to get a part that's going to work happily with your bike is to buy OEM. An OEM starter motor will not leave you with component incompatibility, and your manual should be able to tell you everything you need to know about installation.

Don't jump to conclusions about your starter motor. You could have a bad battery, or any number of parts between. You can find lots of information for troubleshooting in model specific manuals and (dare I say) online if you can wade through the unfounded opinions.

Speaking of opinions, my own is: if your starter motor is shot, buy new OEM rather than used -- unless you're sure about the source. You don't want to pay for something on its last leg.

Find this Yamaha Virago Mitsuba Starter Motor on eBay:

1976 KAWASAKI Z1 KZ900 KZ1000 STARTER MOTOR ASSEMBLY US $24.95   Auction Ends: 28d 18h 25m Make it yours...

92 93 94 VIGOR STARTER MOTOR AT MITSUBA MFR US $34.98   Auction Ends: 25d 12h 50m Make it yours...

86 87 HONDA PRELUDE STARTER MOTOR CARB ENG MITSUBA CME US $82.97   Auction Ends: 25d 8h 3m Make it yours...