Yamaha XV 535 Virago S.E.

Eenie, meenie, minie, mo, -VFR, FZR, RF or Virago ... it sounds corny but sometimes a joumo's gotta do what a journo's gotta do, ie choose a bike from a cast of thousands to ride home on. A diet of the latest race-reps gets tiresome after a while - especially when your regular trip from work takes in a full hour of London's worst bottlenecks. Acton to Crystal Palace is definitely not on any of the Tourist Board's 'recommended' routes.

I digress. Given a choice of bikes, when the weather is awful and you want to get home ASAP, one of the main criteria is how easy it is to ride. The baby Virago may not look much when stabled with today's modern superbikes, but that comfy pillow seat and laid back riding position coupled with the forward pegs does look tempting compared to the Lester Piggot position offered by its more lithesome brothers.

With buckhorn bars replacing last year's flat ones, the XV's famed low seat height -only 28 inches - and forward controls combine to allow at least a semblance of laid back cruising comfort, and allow for a very stable bike even at low speeds. The key to rapid progress is to relax and let the Virago's low centre of gravity ease you through walking-pace manoeuvres -you quickly appreciate the lack of shoulder/arm/wrist tension that accompanies a racier stance. Let the bike do the work and you'll be rewarded with a very relaxing ride. Minimal rider input allows you to enjoy what you're doing - be it bimbling along country lanes, nipping past gridlocked cars or just practising your best Denis Hopper impressions in shop windows. On the Virago nobody expects you to give it the berries, so you don't feel under pressure to take the optimum line, howl the front end under braking or shave those roundabout lap-times. This isn't the bike for Kevin Schwantz wannabees.

In the engine department there are no changes at all for '94, it's still the same old 40hp 2-valve V-twin, fed by two 34mm Mikunis that it's al-

ways been. Why change a good thing seems to be the maxim for this year, and with such a basic and simple engine design as well as the idiot-proof shaft-drive, servicing costs are never going to be excessive either. Reliability is excellent, a fact attested to by the thousands of other trouble-free XV's that have been sold over the years, making it the most popular custom in the UK ever.

As for real-life power delivery, the V-twin is typically strong at the bottom-end, pulling hard to its 7500 rpm peak and running out of steam soon after. For those with a social-conscience, the engine is very, very quiet at low revs - combined with the lack of vibration through the bars and seat, it's easy to think it's stalled whenever you're at the lights, and there's no tacho to prove otherwise.

Top speed, if you can hang on (which is easier said than done with those bars), is an indicated 100mph, though you have to cane the engine to get it, realistically 70-80mph is tops for cruising -and feels plenty fast enough. With only a single disc on the front and drum on the rear, top speeds are academic if safety is a priority. The brakes are adequate (the back is better than the front), but need a hefty tug if serious stopping is required, and that makes the squidgy forks dive alarmingly. One other gripe is the footpegs - I couldn't find enough room to rest my right foot so that it wasn't constantly on the rear brake (perhaps I should get some fancy pointed cowboy boots instead of my normal wellies).

This year the Virago costs £4389 (It's gone up £300 in price), and the only real change is two-tone paint and those apehanger bars. If that seems excessive then ask yourself what it's worth to own an incredibly user-friendly, laid back and stress-free bike. It'll never be lightning-quick, but nor is it meant to be and the thousands that have bought it wouldn't want it to be either.