Yamaha Virago 250

I put about 8,000 kilometres on a '91 Virago 250 commuting through Brisbane traffic, and the shaft drive alone earned my loyalty — no chain to fuss with, no grease on my trousers, just ride and forget. The V-twin pulls cleanly from around 3,000 rpm with a satisfying little burble, though past 100 km/h it's buzzing hard enough to numb your hands on a highway run, and that 130 km/h top speed is very much a 'downhill with a tailwind' figure. The 690mm seat height means short riders can actually flat-foot it, and at 148 kilograms it's light enough that dropping it in a carpark — which beginners will do — isn't a catastrophe. Where it frustrates is power: two-up riding or steep grades expose just how thin 21 horsepower really is, and the carbureted fuelling can be grumpy on cold mornings until it warms up properly.

I put about 8,000 km on a 2001 Virago 250 and it never once let me down mechanically — that air-cooled V-twin just ticks away like a sewing machine, which is either charming or boring depending on your mood. The 690mm seat height is genuinely accessible for shorter riders, the weight feels manageable in parking lots, and the narrow V-twin profile means lane filtering is surprisingly effortless in city traffic. That said, 21 horsepower runs out of ideas fast — anything above 110 km/h on the highway feels like you're asking the engine to apologize, and the carburetion inherited from the original design stumbles on cold starts until it's properly warmed up. It's an honest, unfussy beginner machine, but experienced riders will feel the ceiling within a weekend.