Sunday, April 10, 2011

I've been busy

I have been busy preparing another blog, on philosophy as a tool for well-being (here) and so could only spare four hours for riding last Sunday.  It will be a week before I can go riding properly; and when I do it will be on the SR, for I need to strip, clean and rebuild the carburettors on the Virago because it's running rough, which is probably due to having sat for a long time - different jets will be blocked with varnished fuel and other rubbish.

In the meantime, I want to post some Viragos from the net which have inspired me. Not because I think they are beautiful, but because they have transformed the XV into a road bike, which is what I want to do albeit while retaining the classic beauty of the stock Virago. I have bought a spare seat off eBay, and soon I will get to work and raise its height by about 10cm, then I will have it recovered. I am exploring ways to set the foot pegs and controls rear-ward - not in a sports way, but in a classic 'sit up and beg' position. I will ditch the pillion seat for a rack, which will look good and be very handy. And I will have a rear seat and backrest built to bolt on and off of the rack.







And two bobbers that have tempting elements





Here is a bike that I've always lusted after, the Yamaha SRV250.

Yamaha took the Virago 250 engine and built a cafe racer. Everybody always said they should have built an SRV535. I don't want a cafe racer - this is to be a comfortable highway bike - but I am inspired by the SRV.

Here's me (with Lawrence of Arabia's head, because I posted this picture on a motorcycle forum where I want to remain more or less anonymous) on the bike with my feet in a rear-set position.

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3 comments:

  1. SonjaMApril 10, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    The Virago 250 was my first motorcycle, and a great entry level bike, alas me, I was never the cruiser type, and after a couple of misses I was all hooked up on an SR500. I really loved that bike... If the SRV250 would have been available back than, I would have certainly gone for it. Nice!

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  2. the manufactoryApril 13, 2011 at 3:43 PM

    You have inspired me to consider a Virago 250 as the stock for a ratty bobber project. I do like the bobber photo above with the mottled brown tank - looks the part.

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  3. Mad MikeOctober 13, 2011 at 2:28 AM

    Current owner of the rare Yamaha SRV 250, I can assure you they didn't need to build the 535 because up to 120km/h the 250 is more than enough. I know they revised the camshafts and added twin carbs to the mix but the reduced weight over the Virago 250 makes the SRV an under rated pocket rocket. There is a reason I haven't cashed the bike in to buy a bigger and faster bike!!! This thing is sufficient around town. But I will have another "interstate" bike soon to compliment this bike as the SRV doesn't cut it on the big long interstate runs...This is probably where the 535 or even a 650 would have come in handy..oh wells...Cool pics

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