The Yamaha Virago XV 250 or the V Star 250, is a great cruiser style motorcycle. The name may have changed, the classic chrome styling remains.
I picked up my second one in October of 2023. Before that I restored a fantastic red 1997 Yamaha XV 250.
In this guide, I’m going to share everything I know about this motorcycle. I’ll give you some modification ideas and what you may need to do to restore one.
Table of contents
History of the Yamaha Virago 250
In 1988, Yamaha produced the very first Virago XV 250. They have been in Yamaha’s lineup to this day. Yamaha has since stopped making the other Viragos and V Stars, these include the 535, 650, 750, 920, and 1100. It’s a shame. I wish they still made something in the middle weight class.
The XV 250 is a cruiser style entry level motorcycle. It’s a lightweight motorcycle at a wet weight of 320 lbs (that includes all the fluids). The low seat height let’s shorter riders touch the ground and easily balance the bike.
Despite it’s small size, it can carry a passenger on its pillion seat. It’s slow and steady acceleration and the brakes will be tested, but it is possible.
The high quality of this Yamaha motorcycle is just one of the reasons this motorcycle continues to be sold to this day. You’ll find these motorcycles on Craigslist and OfferUp with over 20,000 miles on them and still running strong.
The XV 250 is a great cruiser motorcycle for beginners. Its smaller size makes it easy to maneuver and will help you grow into a confident rider in no time.
Because it’s a beginner friendly bike, it’s often used at Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) courses. Here people with no riding experience become parking lot warriors in the course of a few hours.
Virago 250 Engine
The engine in the Virago or as it is called now the V Star 250 is a 249 cc, air cooled, single overhead camshaft, 60 degree V-twin. It makes around 22 horsepower.
When I bought my first motorcycle two years ago, I had no idea what all that meant.
What does cc mean? In motorcycles, cc is cubic centimeters and it is the chamber size of the engine. The larger the number, the more fuel and air mixture combusts to produce power.
The 249 cc engine in the V Star 250 is capable of around 85 miles per hour according to Yamaha. You would need to be a light rider, going downhill, with the wind in their back to hit that speed.
Even though it’s a light motorcycle, it’s comfortable going over 65 mph and I weigh around 200 lbs.
The motorcycle’s small size and efficient engine combine to get close to 70 miles per gallon. The gas tank is only 2.5 gallons though, so you’ll be pulling over every 150 miles or so.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have to take a forced break every so often. It gives me a chance to relax and refocus.
Riding a motorcycle can be dangerous and requires you to be present and always aware of your surroundings.
Virago 250 Clutch
The gearing on the XV 250 is a 5 speed manual. Knowing how to drive a stick will help you learn how to ride a motorcycle, but it’s not necessary.
For example, letting out the clutch quickly will get you moving, but won’t cause you to pop a wheelie. As least on this motorcycle. The clutch on this motorcycle is known for being smooth and beginner friendly.
How do you shift between gears on a motorcycle?
You shift between gears on a motorcycle by pulling in the clutch and moving the gear lever either up or down with your left foot. The gears are positioned from bottom to top as 1-N-2-3-4-5. This is standard on most bikes.
Motorcycle’s shifting mechanism is unique. In a car you use your hand to shift through the gears of the gear box.
The V Star 250 doesn’t have a tachometer, an instrument that tells you how many times the shaft is rotating per minute. It can be useful tool for knowing when to shift.
Because of this, you will need to learn when to shift by feel and sound. When the speed begins to flatten out or the engine sounds whiny, shift up. This skill will help you in the long run as a motorcycle rider.
Virago 250 Drivetrain
The drivetrain is what makes the rear tire spin and move the motorcycle forward. You will see motorcycles with a chain, a shaft drive, or even a belt.
Each has their pluses and minuses.
The XV 250 has a chain. They are efficient at getting power to the rear wheel but will require routine maintenance.
The maintenance is not difficult and can be done with a few tools. Keeping your motorcycle chain clean and lubed is important for maintaining the sprockets as well as the chain itself.
Your chain will need to be replaced every 6,000 miles or if your chain is rusted or stretched too much.
The legend, Ryan at Fort Nine, made a great video discussing chain lube. He says there isn’t any need for it. Check it out for yourself.
Wheels and Tires on the XV 250
The wheels and tires on the Virago or V Star 250 are cheap to replace. The selection isn’t large, but there are affordable options.
I have been able to buy replacement tires on Amazon but there were limited options. I didn’t have much luck shopping elsewhere online either.
RevZilla has some options, but they also have a limited selection. You will likely be going with the Dunlop 404, Shinko 230, or the Pirelli MT66.
On the front I run a Shinko 712 3-18 and a Pirelli MT66 130 90-15 on the rear.
The front tire is a 3 inch wide tire on a 18 inch wheel. So be on the lookout for 3.00 – 18 tires.
The rear tire is a different size. The width of the rear tire is 130mm. Its tire aspect ratio is 90 so that means the tire’s height is 90 percent of the tires width.
For a rear tire search for a cruiser tire that is 130 90-15.
Another marking you’ll find on tire is their speed rating. The speed ratings are indicated by a letter.
Here is a chart denoting the speeds the different tires are rated for:
| Letter | Maximum Speed (MPH) |
| L | 75 |
| P | 93 |
| S | 112 |
| T | 118 |
| H | 130 |
| V | 149 |
| W | 169 |
| ZR | 149 |
Replacing cracked and old tires is important. Your two tires are your only contact points with the ground. If that changes unexpectedly, you may be the one making contact with the ground.
XV250 Maintenance
Like with most engines and vehicles, you will need to maintain your motorcycle in order to keep it running well.
If you plan to do the maintenance yourself, I recommend picking up a copy of the maintenance manual from Cyclepedia or Haynes. These will guide you through a lot of the steps needed for a wide variety of projects.
The Haynes guide doesn’t include XV250 information but the Virago models are similar between the different years and engine sizes.
The top 5 maintenance things you will need to prepare for:
Engine oil and filter
Maintaining these two is easy so there is little excuse for letting these become issues. The engine oil in a motorcycle is like the blood in a human body.
It keeps things flowing and lubricated.
Lubricated parts are happy parts. They work smoothly with one another and preserve the components. Too much of a good thing does apply to engine oil.
To make sure your motorcycle doesn’t have too much or too little engine or motor oil you will need to check it. Some motorcycles has dip sticks, but on the Viragos and V Stars, there is small on the engine you can peek through to read the amount of oil in the system.
Here is an example of the engine oil measuring window on my Virago XV 250:
You want to take this reading with the engine being cold and the motorcycle standing level. If it is on its kickstand, you may need to pull the handlebar towards you in order to get the motorcycle upright.
Having someone hold the motorcycle upright makes this an easy task.
Once level, you want the engine oil to be between the two marks. I only fill my motorcycle with Yamaha 10W-40 motor oil, as per my user manual.
Too much and you’ll need to drain some. Too little and you will need to top it off.
An oil filter keeps the oil clean as it cycles through the engine. If catches any debris and metal shavings in the engine.
I have seen a lot of people say to avoid K&N filters, as they have been known to fail. That is what I have on my motorcycle at the moment. If I have any issues with it, I will be sure to share my experience.
Replacing your air filter will also improve the performance of the motorcycle.
Tires
Motorcycle tires don’t last as long as car tires. Car tires may last up to 60,000-80,000 miles.
It depends on the tire and the motorcycle, but most tires need to be replaced every 5,000 – 10,000.
Track days with a sports bike may last less than 1,000 miles. Other light cruiser tires may last 15,000 miles.
Routinely check the thread of your tires and make sure to replace them when needed.
Your two tires are the only contact points with the ground, one failing can be disastrous.
Brake Pads and Brake Fluid
Your brakes will save your life.
Maintaining your brake pads and brake fluid is important to having a safe ride on your motorcycle. These need to be checked periodically.
Check your brake fluid before every ride. It’s easy. Simply take a look at the Master Cylinder and observe the condition of the fluid. The level should be between the two marks and not a dark color.
If the level is low, top it off. If the color is dark, it’s time to flush and replace the brake fluid.
Brake pads wear down over time. The more aggressive you break, the faster they wear down. Take a look at your pads and see how much material is left.
If your brake pads are low or squeak, it’s time to replace the pads. You may need to replace the rotors as well.
I fixed my front brakes a few weeks ago. It was a challenge but I learned the tricks to flushing my brakes and fixing squishy brakes.
Chain and Sprockets
Your chain and sprockets will wear with time but last a while when maintained properly.
A motorcycle chain will last between 10,000 to 30,000 miles depending on the maintenance and quality.
When you replace your chain, you will need a few tools and the process will take less than an hour.
Replacing your sprockets will take a while. When you replace your sprockets, whether the front or rear, I recommend you replace the chain at the same time.
Having an old and worn chain on a new sprocket, will cause the sprocket to wear quickly.
You’ll need a motorcycle stand, various wrenches, chain breaker, and possibly needle nose pliers.
Here are the quick steps to replacing a motorcycle chain:
- Lift the rear of the bike with a motorcycle stand
- Loosen the wheel’s axle
- Break the chain
- Connect the new chain to the old chain and pull it through (Trick I learned if you aren’t exposing both sprockets)
- Connect the new chain together with the Master link
- Adjust the wheel’s axle to the manual’s recommended chain tension
- Retighten the nuts and bolts
- Spin the rear wheel and see how the chain moves
The chain and front and rear sprockets are how the tires of your motorcycle turn, so be sure to keep them in tip top shape!
Gasoline
Gasoline in a motorcycle that is ridden on a regular basis doesn’t need any maintenance.
But if you are going to let your motorcycle sit for a few months, then you will need to take preventive measures. Gasoline can and will go “bad” in a gas tank and the carburetors of a motorcycle if left alone.
In a few steps you can prevent harm to your beloved bike.
- Drain the carburetor of fuel
- Drain the gas tank of fuel
OR
Pour a fuel stabilizer in the gas tank
These simple steps will remove gas from the sensitive parts of your engine. They will also prevent the gasoline from breaking down in your gasoline and rusting.
Rust in your gas tank can flake and end up in your fuel system. This will be harmful to your motorcycle and its engine performance.
Modifications
As soon as I buy a new toy, no matter if it’s a laptop, a drone or my motorcycle, I start looking at ways to modify or customize them.
Thankfully I was able to make the Virago XV 250 my own with a few modifications to the styling.
There are 5 parts on a motorcycle you can modify fairly easily:
- Handlebars
- Seat
- Turn Indicators
- Headlight
- Taillight
So far, I have made changes to 2 with the parts for the 3rd change sitting in my cart on www.webike.com.
Handlebars Swap
These new parts can make big changes on the styling and the fit of the motorcycle.
I swapped out the stock mid rise ape hanger style handlebars for a nimble tracker style. I wanted something lower that cleaned up the cockpit and improved my handling.
The handling improvement was subjective but I hated how my hands felt like they would slide off the bars when I’d hit a pothole.
Handlebar swaps may require you to adjust your cables, so be prepared for that. I needed to reroute my throttle cable and replace my brake line (Note the red brake line on the front).
Seat replacement
My experience searching online has been in vain when looking for a simple seat replacement.
Companies like Corbin and Saddlemen have great selections but none for our beloved 250’s. I also don’t want another boring bobber seat or slight upgrade from the stock seat.
I want some styling and to change the appearance of the ride without losing the ability to have a passenger.
So I’m looking at this Cobra Seat.
It meets my criteria.
Turn Indicators
My warning for turn indicators is, you get what you pay for.
I bought some $14 indicators off eBay. They are sleek and LED. But they don’t do any exciting light up sequences, that’s something I can live with.
The annoying part is, the wiring is so cheap. It looks and feels as if there is a single strand in each wire. It’s terrible. Bumping a turn indicator may cause the wiring to tear or twist out of position. Maybe some Loctite could be the fix.
I recommend buying from a reputable brand on Revzilla.
Headlight
The headlight on the V Star 250 is old school looking and has a halogen light.
By upgrading to an LED headlight, you will be making yourself more visible to other vehicles and improving the styling of your motorcycle.
I am planning to upgrade my headlight to one of these LED Headlight from LX Light.
Taillight
I am still looking for a quality tail light.
I bought this taillight off Amazon but tore one of the wires during the install. It was a frustrating experience so I wouldn’t recommend this brand.
The wires are thin and tear with no effort.
Similar to a headlight, this upgrade will make you safer on the roads by increasing your visibility.
Upgrade from a V Star 250 to Your Next Motorcycle
The V Star 250 or XV 250 is no doubt a beginner motorcycle. From the lightweight, low seating position, and non-threatening acceleration or top speed.
After riding this 250 cc motorcycle for a while, you may want to upgrade to a bigger bike.
There is nothing wrong with staying with the V Star, it’s a dang good motorcycle. I am enjoying mine.
But if you are ready for more power, to be challenged as a rider, and are looking into other motorcycles, I have some suggestions.
Yamaha Virago XV 535 or the V Star 650
If you would like to stay within the same family of motorcycles but with more power either of these would be a great choice.
The Virago XV 535 is a shaft drive motorcycle that hasn’t been built for a while. Getting parts and replacements may become a challenge down the road.
The V Star 650 a modern mid-sized cruiser. It is definitely worth taking out for a test drive.
Kawasaki Ninja 400
The Ninja is a classic sport bike. The 400 is a nice step up a 250cc motorcycle to a zippy 400cc motorcycle.
These motorcycles are fun and reliable. Should you decide to upgrade up from this, you won’t have any problems selling it.
There is always a marker for this size of motorcycle. They are great for beginners, as well as experienced riders.
Yamaha R7 or Honda 600 RR
The R7 and Honda 600 RR are also sports bikes but with a lot more power.
They are fantastic upgrade options from the 250. They will take some getting used to, but they can be ridden at track days and will challenge you as a rider.
I recommend whichever fits you best in terms of comfortable. Going from sofa cruiser to a nimble sports bike will be a huge change.
Suzuki V-Strom 650
If you are tired of being stuck to only riding pavement, you may want to consider an adventure bike.
These have grown a lot in popularity in the past 15 years. There are a number of clubs that take these types of motorcycles and go on bike tours through fire roads and all sorts of other trails in the backcountry.
It requires a different skill set for riding the backcountry and trails but there are classes available to learn.
The Suzuki V-Strom has a 645 cc engine with ample power at lower speeds to get over trails and logs. The speed and power will be a jump up from the V Star 250 cc but the 66 horses are tameable.
The V-Strom is known for being reliable and has been in production since 2004. It comes with nice electronic upgrades from the non-existent offerings on the V Star 250.
Customizing a XV 250
The V Star 250 is a great platform for customizing your styling and likeness.
We talked about the modifications you can easily make to your motorcycle, but here are some major upgrades other people have done to their 250.
V Star 250 Bobber
The bobber style is going for performance by removing all the unnecessary items on the motorcycle.
It’s not my favorite motorcycle style, but I like the kit sold by BlueCollarBobbers.
The rear fender delete is great as are the upgrades in the turn indicators. They are hidden but still bright and compliant.
If it were my build I’d get slash exhaust pipes and black out parts of the engine.
The V Star 250 and Virago 250 are easy bikes to convert into bobbers. I recommend the “iRideTas” Budget Bobber Build playlist for guidance for your project.
V Star 250 Scrambler
I love this scrambled by Greg Hageman. It’s a Virago 750 or Virago 1100 but you can use it as inspiration for your 250 cc scrambler build.
He swapped out many of the features of the Virago including the telescopic forks, the boring rear fender, the ape hanger style handlebars, and the rear shocks.
He also upgraded the exhaust.
The bike still has that great V-twin look and power but with the added capabilities of going off road.
V Star 250 Cafe Racer
A cafe racer is a popular style for restoring older motorcycles. It’s a major face lift with replacements to nearly every part of the motorcycle except the engine.
The frame gets cut, the forks replaced, and the handlebar swapped for a low forward leaning riding position.
This cafe racer by Matt Fuller is so clean and minimalist. I love the color and how open the interior of the motorcycle is.
Well done, Matt!
Conclusion
I enjoy the Virago 250 or V Star 250, either name works for me.
From my experience, it is a great motorcycle that is not intimidating yet still a lot of fun to ride. Its great exhaust sounds make it one of those motorcycles that is on the slower side but a blast to ride up and down the California coast.
If you enjoyed this guide to the XV 250, sign up for our newsletter and I will let you know when I post our next great piece on the XV family of motorcycles.
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