They said you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but no one bothered to tell Earth Motorcycles that. The Slovak tuning workshop has just created an elegant and somewhat seductive cafe racer from the most unlikely sponsor; One Yamaha Virago.
Yamaha Virago cafe racers aren’t rare – they’re just really difficult to get right. In its original form, the Virago boasted one of the most awkward layouts in modern motorcycles. So, it takes a wise approach and a bit of lateral thinking to whip it into shape.
Earth Motorcycles overcame those challenges by choosing to highlight an unusual aspect of the quirky Virago. This build is what attracted Earth founder Vlado Dinga to the bike in the first place—its engine. Or more specifically, how the engine is mounted.
Vlado said: “Obsessed with the idea of a V-twin engine mounted from above, giving the feeling of flying, I decided to choose the Yamaha XV920 Virago as a donor model. Start building one racer cafe—but also wanting to stay away from typical cafe racer designs—he decided to cover the Virago with a slim bodywork to highlight its impressive V-twin powerplant.
“With that idea in mind,” he continues, “I approached an industrial designer, Konstantin Laskov from Sofia, Bulgaria. My design brief was to create a refined shape that contrasts with the big engine and respects the core of the bike—the floating engine and curved frame. On a philosophical level, the requirement is to follow three key words: freedom, wind and air.”
“Konstantin came up with a few sketches and finally came up with a simple idea of a single narrow curve, with the apex above the engine and two tangents at the wheels. This has become our design mantra.”
Vlado and Konstantin came up with several ideas, eventually deciding on a unibody. With the design rendered completely in 3D, it’s time to make it a reality.
This all happened a few years ago, before Earth Motorcycles was fully established. Around that time, Vlado’s maker friend, Aleš Tomis, moved from England back to Slovakia. Vlado brought him into the Virago project and the two joined forces.
However, turning a slim car body from an idea into a reality is not an easy task. The guys wanted to use a manufacturing method they could replicate so they experimented with milling, casting and 3D printing the body. Ultimately, they decided to go with good old-fashioned fiberglass, using a positive wooden mold to create the final negative fiberglass mold.
That negative mold was then used to create the beautifully sculpted monolithic body of the statue. It may not hold a lot of fuel or offer a lot of seating space, but it certainly looks incredible.
A flush-mounted fuel cap handles duty up front, while a slim seat cushion sits neatly in the back, tucked into a recess in the bodywork rather than just slapped on top. Three LED lights are attached to the tail; one for the tail lights and turn signals. Everything has been carefully considered—from the bold paint to the subtle Earth branding.
The Virago’s new body support subframe is equally graceful. A pair of manual racks attach directly to the bike’s stamped frame, curving upward to support the baseplate under the rear half of the monocoque frame. That design is reflected below in the customized rear set.
Moving to the cockpit, Earth rebuilt everything around a set of custom yokes. The Motogadget speedometer is located horizontally on the upper swingarm, just above the LED warning lights. The new clip-on is equipped with Motogadget swingarms and switches, along with upgraded levers and reservoir, and LED turn signals at the end of the bar.
The real secret here is that the floaty bodywork doesn’t clash with the Virago’s boxy frame and swingarm (which, admittedly, has been changed somewhat). That’s partly due to Earth’s judicious use of finishes. Most of the hard parts have been painted black, while the newly rebuilt engine shines as the centerpiece of the build.
Vlado made another brave decision, by keeping the Virago’s OEM wheels rather than swapping them out for something a little less ’80s. He said: “During my design research, I came across dozens of modified XVs, but none of them used the original alloy wheels (except for some modifications, of course). lighting system change). But to me, the wheels have something unique in their structure and design.”
Ultimately, Vlado realized that the only thing he didn’t like about the stock wheels were the internal ridges that ran between all the spokes. So they perfected those details and finished the wheels in black with red accents.
There are other sleek details scattered throughout the bike—like the way Earth mounts the powerful K&N filter directly into the ‘airbox’ in the frame. Even the drag exhaust system has a reason behind it. It was designed to incorporate the curved nature of the body, with the philosophy that the body is the sky and the exhaust is the earth.
“The exhaust pipes became the central visual element of the car and gave the car its name ‘Fujara’. In Slovak culture, the fujara is a traditional straight flute, mainly used by shepherds.”
There’s no doubt that this Virago is louder than a Slovak flute—and it’s unlikely to be especially comfortable to drive for longer than a short blast. But it’s certainly nice to look at.
Considering how completely Earth Motorcycles transformed the venerable Virago, we’re interested to see what other wacky sponsor bikes they can come up with. Any requests?
earth motorbike | Image by Marian Svitek
