Yamaha Virago //
#BOLT51
New build at Bolt Motor Co — and what a bike!
Meet the #BOLT51, a radically transformed Yamaha Virago. A model that’s been around for almost 30 years, and one that presented a real challenge for our team.
The Yamaha Virago is a very peculiar motorcycle, especially because of its dimensions and chassis structure. But that didn’t stop the owner of this build from asking for something even more unique — something no one had ever seen before.
After months of design proposals, we finally managed to bring his vision to life and got to work.
To make things even more interesting, the bike arrived at the workshop completely disassembled. Literally — it came in boxes, with no labels, no reference points, and no way of knowing whether all the parts were even there or what condition they were in.
Step one: reassemble the bike just to make sure nothing was missing and that everything still worked.
We’ll never forget the look on the client’s face when we managed to start it up.
The #BOLT51 was designed to be radical — almost futuristic. So we started with the front fairing, knowing it would set the tone for the whole project.
To design it, we didn’t just sketch or render. We made cardboard mockups to test the fit, then moved on to metal templates.
Believe it or not, this entire fairing was shaped and handcrafted manually.
A YAMAHA VIRAGO CRAFTED TO THE LAST DETAIL
The front end comes from a Yamaha R6, including forks, triple clamps, calipers, and discs. To ensure a perfect fit, we had to design and fabricate the steering stem, wheel axle, spacers, and every other component needed to integrate it seamlessly.
The fuel tank also took countless hours of work. It’s originally from a Kawasaki KZ550, reshaped to achieve those curves.
On top of that, the Bolt Motor Co. team had to engineer a custom air intake system to direct airflow to the filters hidden just below the tank.
Another critical element is the subframe. We started with a solid block of steel and hand-built a custom subframe, going for clean, square lines to match the bike’s futuristic style.
And then there’s the exhaust — a true piece of craftsmanship, handmade in-house by our mechanics.
We also added our signature license plate holder, showing once again that we sweat the smallest details.
The electronics have been completely modernized, powered by Motogadget components, bringing this machine fully into the 21st century. The engine was thoroughly revised as well — reworking the heads, carburetors, and electronics to give it a wild, aggressive personality.
The paint? That was another big challenge. The client wanted a finish inspired by Aston Martin’s Formula 1 livery, and translating that into a motorcycle’s proportions was no easy task — but we made it work.
We lovingly nicknamed this Yamaha Virago “The Transformer”, because the front fairing looks like it came straight out of the movie saga.
