[beatr911]

I've been watching these little v-twins and was wondering what kind of MPG an ecomodder would be getting. Despite being an old design (1986 I believe) they appear to be very capable, reliable and durable. Thanks for reporting your findings on the Virago, this is good information and your MPG numbers are excellent! Please post a picture of your set-up, preferably with you on it.

What kind of MPG numbers do you get at a more normal flow of traffic speed of 60-65?

There seem to be few long stroke engines in motorcycling. Bias toward high RPM to increase total output figures I'd guess is the reason. The Yamaha design though seems to give away little to other air cooled 250s but provides remarkably good torque as compensation.

Several Chinese companies make replicas of this proven design and apparently are also reliable if care is taken on the set-up and maintenance by the owner. I'm now thinking of selling my Chinese supermoto, 200cc single, in favor of one of these little v-twin bikes, Chinese or Japanese.

One possiblity to address making a standard out of the Virago is to just buy a Lifan Naked 250. They aren't due to arrive until 2012 but they look to be a nice standard style bike with the great v-twin motor. It just might be a great ride for those of us just not quite ready for a cruiser.