Deirdre's Virago

‘the wild queen of war’ –Deirdre

– Jonnie Comet, for SCS

 

The narrator forms a special bond with the motorbike she acquires, serendipitously, in Deirdre, the Enigma.  As commuter transportation, facilitator of freedom, social status symbol, mechanical mentor, soul-soothing sister, and an enduring sentimental reminder of the first motorbike she had in Australia, the modest, well-cared-for dark-blue 1986 Yamaha Virago proves as faithful as it is fun and contributes greatly to her maturity and to the development of her image as an approachable girl-next-door and an irresistible siren. 

Yamaha XV500 Virago, 1986

The Yamaha XV500 Virago was made for only four years: 1983-1986.   A spiritual successor to the larger and more popular Virago 700/750 and 1000/1100, it has a four-stroke carburetted 70-degree V-twin of 494 CC (30 CI) producing about 44 HP at 7500 RPM and weighs about 182 KG (402 LB).  It has a 5-speed, one-up-four down gearbox, the foot paddle on the left foot (as on the Honda).

Having a shaft drive is new to her; going across the Nullarbor, in Deirdre, the Renegade, she had to maintain the lubricant of the littler Honda’s chain.  With a single centreline rear suspension damper and a rear drum brake, urgent, co-ordinated stops require some acclimation and practice, which she gains in part through Vic’s handling course at Wonder Wheels.  Though a V engine configuration is not given to stratospheric revs, Deirdre observes that she touches 6000 RPM regularly without risking reliability.  Against a factory claim of 13.7 seconds to 154 KPH, she attains 110 KPH in what she calls eight seconds– which may or may not be accurate. 

The saddle is appreciably low, making it easier and more comfortable for one with a 68.5-CM (27-IN) inseam to land at least one foot flatly upon the tarmac.  Notoriously, this model’s handlebars are turned inwards more than most, somewhat awkward for larger riders.  Deirdre does not mention this probably because she does not know enough comparable motorbikes for comparison but also because, being small of stature for a motorcyclist, as well as young and limber, she has no trouble twisting the throttle round with wrist at the required angle.

Yamaha XV500 Virago, 1986

One consideration for Deirdre is fuel consumption.  The makers attest to 20-23 kilometres per litre; so with the 13.5-litre tank, and having no fuel gauge, she sets her practical range without touching the selectable 1.5-litre reserve at about 250 kilometres.  Typically cruising at 100-110 KPH on the open road she easily returns 22-24 KM/L for her pocketbook.

In mid-2001 the average petrol prices were about NZD 1.71-1.74.

Deirdre’s example comes with an aftermarket mid-height ‘sissy’ bar at the back of the bi-level saddle which is perfect for attaching her blue rucksack on the rear seat for commutes to and from work or modelling assignments and even on errands to the market and elsewhere.  Only once does she carry her Land’s End duffel bag, atop the rear seat as she did with the Honda, the rucksack standing above, all secured with bungee cords and the bags’ straps.  When carrying a passenger (in Epitome and beyond) she can hang two similarly-sized rucksacks off the back, carefully seated atop the taillight enclosure, one bag atop the other.

 

The XV500 proves very docile for a 49-KG (108-LB) teenager eager to establish and explore her independence in the moderately-urbanised Wellington metro region; and Deirdre Fox the well-liked up-and-coming   commercial model learns to accept with characteristic aplomb and grace the admiration, attraction and envy of all.

 

Technical information: Motor Cycle Specs (MCS); www.motorcyclespecs.co.za

 

This article appears in the Addenda of Deirdre, the Enigma (Third, 'Late Winter' edition of 2026).

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Deirdre, le Blonde Odalisque

Deirdre’s forerunner: the blonde harem-girl of fine-art fame

– Jonnie Comet, for SCS

In Enigma Deirdre observes, with some solemnity, that sitting as a model for artists may have the effect of enduing her with a kind of immortality: for the artwork created shall serve as a record of how she appeared at that time, long after her youthful beauty fades and even after she has departed the earth.  It is a heady thing for any young person to contemplate!

 Boucher F, le Blonde Odalisque (aka Reclining Girl; aka Reclining Blonde); 1751

According to legend, the genesis of Francis Boucher’s famous 1751 portrait of the ‘resting girl’, notable as a prime example of the Rococo ideals of feminine beauty, luxury, and gentleness, came through the great playboy Giacomo Casanova, who had observed her as ‘a pretty, ragged, dirty, little creature’ of thirteen in the house of her sister, an actress.  Struck by her beauty upon seeing her naked, however, he commissioned a nude portrait of her to be made, calling her O-Morphi: a pun on both the name of her father, the Irish emigre Daniel Murphy, and omorfos, the word for beautiful (which Gregory the Greek delivery boy calls Deirdre).

When he first saw the painting, Louis XV was enchanted, insisting upon knowing how the painting had done justice for the girl and, having seen her, claiming that she was even lovelier in person.  Of the painting style Casanova stated that the ‘skilled’ artist had depicted her legs and thighs so beautifully ‘that the eye could not wish to see more.’

Young Marie Louise’s beauty became so famous abroad that she was summoned to the court as a royal petite maîtresse (junior mistress) and ultimately presented before the French king, after which she became a protégée of Madame Pompadour herself, the King’s longtime favourite.  By 1755 she had become pregnant and was cast out of court and into a forced marriage to preserve what dignity might remain for a concubine.

Consistent with her precocious accomplishments, Marie-Louise’s first three children were born between 1754 and 1757,  the first an illegitimate daughter of the king, the third born a month after she had turned 20.

 

The painting came into the possession of the painter Charles-Joseph Natoire in Rome, who had it placed in a ‘private room’ with three others, none of his own work: ‘Because the room was very small and secret, I wanted nudity.’  It currently resides at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne.

 

In Deirdre’s emulation of the famous painting she reclines slightly more upon one side and somewhat more elongated, given a wider couch than that fostering the awkward-looking attitude in Boucher's famous painting.  Perhaps the narrator’s recollection has been inaccurate; but it is also likely that Deirdre’s version, if we were able to view it, would be more aesthetically pleasing if only for such improvement to the pose.

 

This article appears in the Addenda of Deirdre, the Enigma (Third, 'Late Winter' edition of 2026).

 

Quotations taken from

Casanova G: Histoire de ma vie; Trask W R, translator; Harcourt, publishers

Correspondance des Directeurs de l'Académie de France à Rome avec les Surintendants des Bâtiments; de Montaiglon A, Guiffrey J, publishers

 
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