Yamaha Xv750 Virago

The XV750 was genuinely exciting in 1981 — that 75-degree V-twin had a low, syncopated thump that felt nothing like the parallel-twin Hondas everyone else was riding, and the low seat made shorter riders actually comfortable for once. Throttle response below 3,500 rpm is mushy and the carbs on early examples need constant attention to stop that hesitation from becoming an embarrassment at intersections. The single front disc stops it adequately but inspires zero confidence when you push into corners, and that shaft drive clunk on takeoff never fully goes away no matter how many times you adjust the driveline preload. What it does right is motorway cruising at an honest 130 km/h where the engine settles into a smooth, relaxed gait that makes a two-hour run feel half as long.

The 748cc V-twin pulls cleanly from 2,500 rpm and that hidden monoshock is a genuine improvement over the old twin-shock setup — corners actually feel planted now instead of wallowy. Carb flat-spots below 3,000 rpm are real and annoying in stop-start traffic, but once you're rolling, the motor settles into a satisfying mechanical thrum that never pretends to be something it isn't. At 220 kg the Virago is no lightweight, but the low 700mm seat means most riders can flat-foot it, which counts for a lot when you're lane-splitting at 8 a.m. The reliability improvements in this generation are tangible — I put 28,000 km on mine with nothing more than carb sync, valve checks, and one rectifier swap.