Most people fall in love with motorcycles when they are young and this was the bike that sparked someones love for motorcycles. That person happened to be the owner of Atlanta Motorcycle Works. This bike sits in the shop when Joe isn't riding it. One day while we were closing up the shop I finally asked Joe if there was a story behind how the bike came to be. 

Joe had a buddy when he was in high school that had an RD400 DS. Joe was 17 years old at the time but by the way he described his buddies bike you would have thought it was last week. One of the perks of owning a motorcycle shop is having a staff of guys who like building and restoring motorcycles. Knowing its for the boss man makes it a bit more special. Joe is a very busy guy but if he was walking through the shop and his bike was on the lift he would check it out as he does with all the other bikes. Instead of asking what we were doing for the customer he became the customer. He could make judgement calls on parts and even be hands on when he had time. I remember him talking about the colorway for the wheels and how he decided on which exhaust to use. 

As you can imagine this was a full custom build. Motor rebuild, powder coating parts, re-plated hardware, and a couple of choice aftermarket parts. All of the rubber parts and seals where replaced on the bike. A set of SCR radial heads were added along with some Hagon shocks. A pair of VM32 Mikuni carbs are handling the fuel. Joe is beyond pleased with the end result. Its amazing to see someone get a bike they have wanted for so long, in a trim that was picked by the person riding it.  

Build sheet:

• Performance SCR radial heads
• Performance exhaust
• Powder coated frame and swing arm
• Custom paint
• Custom powder coated wheels
• Hagon shocks
• Re-plated hardware
• Fully rebuilt engine
• Floating rotors
• Braided stainless brake lines
• Fully restored controls
• Custom upholstered seat
• Trimmed inner fender 
• Aftermarket tail light and indicators
• Vapor honed crank cases
• VM32 Mikuni carbs
• Powder coated engine covers
• Airbox delete with pod filters
• Performance crankshaft
• Avon Road Rider tires
• Exhaust valve actuator delete
• Fully restored braking system
• Vapor honed, polished and clear powder coated fork lowers
• Dyna ignition coils
• Dyna electronic ignition

The 1982 Virago XV 750 you see below was the starting point for what would become an iconic AMW build. The Yamaha Virago was released in 1981 and was one of the first production motorcycles featuring a mono-shock rear suspension and was Yamaha's first venture into the lucrative V-Twin cruiser market. In production for 26 years from 1981 thru 2007 in displacements ranging from 125cc to 1100cc, there are numerous donor bikes out there to fit anyone's experience level just waiting for a café racer, bobber or brat transformation.

Knowing we weren't going to be keeping the rear subframe, one of the first orders of business was to remove the factory unit and fabricate a more streamlined version in-house. Not only did this drastically change the look of the bike and the riding position, it also exposed the rear mono-shock helping give it a more racy and modern appearance.

Once the new subframe was fabricated, the bike was broken down into it's individual parts and select components, including the frame, custom subframe, final drive housing, wheels and triple clamps were powder coated a high gloss black.    

While the parts were being powder coated the front forks were completely rebuilt, the lowers were polished and a Tarozzi fork brace was installed to help mitigate any twisting.  

Early versions of the Virago had a known issue with the starters planetary gear engaging. Knowing this we rebuilt it using a rebuild kit and shims.

With the starter sorted out we turned out attention to dressing up the mill by shooting the cylinders gloss black with contrasting silver heads and lower end.

The powder coating turned out amazing! The engine is in and the newly gloss black wheels were wrapped with Bridestone Spitfire tires and installed along with the freshly painted engine and bar riser clip-ons.

To give our client that aggressive café racer riding position, we installed a set of billet aluminum rear sets connected to an in house fabricated inner shift lever. To feed this beauty, a pair of XV 920 carbs were rebuilt using a Dynojet Kit. Ditching the factory air box they now breath through a K&N filter.

Here she is, buttoned up and ready to carve up the road. If you look above the rear set you'll see where we attached the suspension adjuster to the frame, giving the bike a more 'mechanical' feel. You also get a good view of the new chrome Mac 2-into-1 exhaust and polished engine covers.   

In this shot we get a better view of the stunning custom Martini racing paint scheme the client requested. The flawless gloss black, silver and white treatment of this bike pays tribute to the historic Martini racing heritage. 

With an aggressive but not too aggressive riding position thanks to the bar riser clip-ons, long rides are not a problem. The bar end mirrors and Acewell digital speedometer and tachometer keep our client informed of his surroundings and how the bike's performing. Click here to visit the build sheet.

Her's a brief video of the Martini Virago Cafe Racer up and running.

Build sheet:

• Custom Fabricated rear subframe
• Powder coated frame, wheels, triple clamps, final drive housing and subframe
• Mac 2-into-1 exhaust
• Rebuilt Starter
• Custom paint
• Billet rearsets and fabricated inner shift lever
• Polished engine covers
• XV920 Carbs
• Acewell digital tach and speedo
• Tarozzi fork brace
• Bar riser clip-ons

Not all builds are full, stripped to the frame, polish and powder coat everything, from the ground up projects. That doesn't mean they are any less stunning. Here we have one of those builds. Starting with a stock 1977 XS650, we turned it into stylish brat anybody would be proud to ride.

An inexpensive way to immediately set your bike apart from all the others is to have a new frame hoop fabricated and installed, and that's where our client Vlad, decided to start.

After careful measurements are taken, the frame is cut and a smaller diameter sleeve is welded into place, adding support for the new hoop that's going to be mounted. The sleeve is totally hidden once the installation is complete and makes for a very strong bond.

Vlad decided to go with our upswept, brat style hoop with integrated LED brake and turn signals. These hoops have a very clean look with all of the wiring being internal.

Here you can see the channel we machine into the hoop so that the LED indicators mound flush.

He also opted for these tan grips that closely match the color of his seat, giving his bike an even more custom look. The bar end mirrors are aftermarket units that Vlad supplied.

After a quick trip to paint, the tank is back on the bike. The rich burgundy really compliments the tan and black theme.

Continuing on that theme, we wrapped the exhaust in black heat wrap and installed red pod filters to tie the whole thing together. As brat style custom becomes more popular I'm sure we're going to be seeing a lot more of these less expensive builds where it's more about what's removed, than what's added and we're here to help!  

Build Sheet:

• Frame cut and channeled hooped welded on
• LED indicator lights installed
• Custom Seat
• Custom Grips
• Heat wrapped aftermarket exhaust
• Powder coated frame and swing arm
• Powder coated fork lowers
• Powder coated wheels with black lacing
• Red pod filters installed
• Carbs rebuilt and tuned for pod filters
• Moto gadget Bar end indicator lights
• Moto Gadget switches