The One Moto Show: Yamaha Virago 750 by WKND

Another bike that caught our eye at The One Motorcycle Show, this tasty morsel is a 1982 Yamaha Virago 750 (XV 750) made by the hands at WKND.

Though not a terribly appealing motorcycle in its original form, and part of Yamaha’s first attempts at challenging Harley-Davidson in the cruiser space, the Yamaha XV750 has seen builders make some tasty customs off its old air-cooled v-twin platform – as we can see here.

What caught our eye from across the room (besides the curiosity of Toyo motorcycle tires) was the bike’s undertail exhaust, which is hidden by the minimalist “Recaro” seat.

Below that is the rear shock, with a direct mounting to the trellis swingarm made from steel tubing; while above, there is a thin strip of LED lights embedded into the rear subgrame that comprise the rear tail light.

Though the design is forward heavy, the rear end of the motorcycle still seems to flow well with the café style.

The front of this Yamaha Virago 750 looks to be off the sixth-generation Yamaha YZF-R1, with the gold forks and radially mounted six-pot brake calipers being the tip-off.

The left-hand side of the bike shows some interesting elements, including the shaft drive to the rear wheel. We can also see the carburetor nestled between the two cylinder heads.

Always a sucker for a clean cockpit, the minimalist dash and handlebars soothe our OCD, though the squirrels nest of hoses and cables behind the headlight do detract from the reductive efforts done to the machine.

Still, the bike is a clean and fetching example of how a good builder can take an otherwise bland motorcycle and make it something far more visually superior. We bet it’s loud and fun to ride too.