1981 Yamaha XV750SE Virago Cafe Racer

Updated: 29 Nov 2024

Cafe Racer project.
1981 Yamaha Virago XV750SE.
Rebuild into a sleek “Cafe Racer” style bike.
According to the paperwork, bike was first registered in Amerca in 1981 where it drove for 10 year before being exported to the Netherlands in 1991. There the new owner drove it for a couple of years before neglecting it.
It hadn’t run in 4 year when I bought it and imported it to Belgium.
At that point it was a complete basket case, but perfect for what I had in mind with it.
This was my first project build and took about a year to complete.

Comments

Supernice mate!!!
I also want to build my own Caféracer in the very near future but am currently occupied with restoring a trackday bike for the upcoming season :p

Thanks man! You do have some nice bikes yourself. If you find the time to build one, just do it. They aren’t reliable, horrible seating position, hardly any suspension, if you take it for a ride you’ll have work for the next weekend to fix everything again. But beside all that, they are just awesome to drive and I can’t stop smiling when I’m out riding. Wouldn’t want to sell it for anything

Awesome stuff mate!

Thanks man!

It looks like it’s just off the showroom, then I read ‘1981’. Wow, sweet bike :)

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

Great bike! What tank is that?

Thanks man, it’s the standard gastank that I hammered into shape and I welded the back mounting bracket flush with the seat

At the time I made my Virago cafe, those benelli tanks were immensly expensive. Now they are resonably priced reproduction ones on the internet. So I made the decision to try shaping my original one myself before having to buy an original benelli tank.

Use this link:
https://youtu.be/wkHcCz3kYwg

Nice thanks! Dont know if it’s in the video, but wondering if you lose a considerable amount of fuel capacity?

You won’t lose too much. Most of the fuel capacity is located in the front.
The back is amready just a slim reservoir because of the frame tunnel being so wide, so you’re not taking away that much space