Thursday, May 17, 2012

Virago 535



It was a small sized Yamaha cruiser. Yam made the first one in 1981 with 750 cc motor. It was the first cruiser style V-twin bike that came from Far East. The early model had single shock on the rear. The models are up-dated in 1984, adding dual rear shocks and tear drop shaped tank.
Harley-Davidson obviously feared Viragos, and other Japanese cruiser bikes. They lobbied heavily to push tariff on any imported bikes over 700cc in 1984, which caused many 699cc models to spawn from Japan.

I like the styling of 535 best among all the Virago models. Unlike the bigger model, it doesn't have top/ front heavy look and low and meaner. Picture here is British actress, Emily Mortimer with a Virago 535 in the 2001 film "Formula 51"

The model was made from 1987 to 2001, replaced by Drag Star 650 or V-star 650

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