The Yamaha Virago->ke301 may have not reached the same level of fame as some of Iwata’s more popular models, but it has reached a certain level of acclaim among motorcycle customizers->ke4227, a lot of whom have turned to the Virago to satisfy their aftermarket needs. One such bike builder is Jacques Peters of Open Road Customs. In search of a rustic metal to turn into a custom bike, Peters tapped the services of noted Yamaha specialist Greg Hageman, who proceeded to point him in the direction of the Virago. Thus, the Virago “Dirty Mexican” was born.

The Dirty Mexican is a far departure from what you’d expect out of a Virago. That’s a credit to the exquisite work done by Peters and Open Road Customs. The whole point of the project was to turn the Virago into a quintessential piece of art, the kind of bike that exuded the aura of a machine that was everything the Virago wasn’t.

The first order of business was to give the bike a stylish bodywork that screamed of Peters’ vision for the bike. Once that was taken cared of, Peters and Open Road Customs enlisted the help of Sideshow Cycles to come up with custom fenders to help complement the bike’s aesthetic appeal.

The custom builder then added new off-road bars and slapped on a pair of rugged tires to enable the Dirty Mexican to ride in rough and tough terrain. Other new components like a new headlight, custom turn signals, and a new seat decorated to reflect Mexico’s proud heritage - that includes tequila, apparently - complete the bike’s dramatic makeover.

All that and yet, this is the best part. Open Road Customs is actually selling the bike on eBay. It has a starting price of AUD 9,500, which is around $7,500 based on current exchange rates. If you want to skip the whole auction bit, you can get the bike at a “Buy Now” price of AUD 13,500, or close to $11,000.

Continue to read more about Open Road Customs' "Dirty Mexican" bike.

Why it matters

I’ve always been a fan of Open Road Customs even though it probably has no idea who I am. But I’ve seen some of its past works and more often than not, it has come up with some pretty incredible custom bikes.

The Dirty Mexican follows in that long list of awesome custom projects in a very aesthetically pleasing kind of way. Special props go to the people behind the design of the fuel tank and the Mexico-inspired seat. That’s a pretty good way to emphasize the bike’s identity, poor choice of a name notwithstanding.

The seat, in particular, is where I become a fan. The detail of the artwork is incredible and the way the artist managed to fit all of it in such a constrained space is a credit to his skill and talent.

Overall, the Dirty Mexican is further proof that when it comes to customizing bikes, Open Road Customs can hang with the best of ‘em all over the world.

It takes a special kind of awesome to pull this one off, and Jacques Peters and his crew hit this one out of the park.