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The Minimalist Virago 250 (also Functional + Lightweight + Low cost of ownership)

This is how I do it: Minimalist + Functional -does not have to look perfect + Lightweight / weight reduction (don’t add accessories – instead, take things off) + Low cost of ownership

• The basic plan/goals I am trying to follow with my Virago 250:
• Minimalist
• Functional (a little like the bikes in Mad Max?) as opposed to stylish – does not have to look perfect
• Lightweight/weight reduction (don’t add accessories – instead, take things off)
• Low cost of ownership

The Virago 250 is a lightweight cruiser – I am trying to change mine to be more like a street machine and keep it minimalist – I only add things that are really necessary and I remove what I can (have removed 40 lbs). One advantage of being minimalist and very selective about what you add to your bike is that you save money – you are not tempted to buy most accessories for your bike. For example – I would like to get a tach, a clock, and maybe a gear indicator – but since I don’t really need them, so far I’ve been able to fight off the urge to get them. Instead of buying the chrome accessories, I just polish more things on my bike – even things with a little rust will shine if you polish them enough. I might cave-in someday though, and replace the painted engine side covers with chrome ones, and I would replace the rear black (one inch OD) exhaust pipe with a chrome one if I ever saw one. Yamaha painted it black to hide it, a chrome pipe would fit in my functional theme, I don’t want to hide it – a lot of bikes have tiny pipes, with a chrome outer pipe for looks and to reduce the bluing. (A chrome exhaust pipe with no inner pipe can have problems with bluing.) Not spending time thinking what you are going to buy next also frees you up to put more time into maintenance for your bike.