First Impressions: Honda Magna VF750C

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This post is a flash back from one year ago, when I first rode the V45. At that time I combined the trip report with a discussion of tuning issues

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I bought my VF750C during a snowstorm in February, and it has sat forelorn in the garage since then. Until today.

Sure is a lot easier to move around and back up than the Wing.



Compared to the Gold Wing GL1100's square-cut "tractor transmission", it slides into gear like butter. I did find myself tapping the left footpeg as though it was the shifter. The Wing's pegs are further back than the Magna, to clear that big wide F4 engine . The Magna's controls are farther forward than my legs are trained to expect, but that retraining will come soon enough.

Yet, compared to other cruisers like the Victory Kingpin, the Magna controls are mid-mount or standard position.

This bike is more fun using the first 2 gears than the GL1100 is using all 5. Silky smooth motor from lugging all the way to redline. The GL1100 is not particularly rough, but does chatter and complain when being lugged, and does seem to complain when you whack the throttle. The V4, by comparison, begs you to whack it.

I can roll it on in 2nd gear and have to hold on tight to keep from sliding off the back. I am grinning ear to ear and I haven't left my subdivision.

This bike handles like a dream. It's 250 lbs lighter than the Wing, it feels like a feather by comparison. It flops right over in a turn, it doesn't mind leaning at all. I'd have been scraping hard parts if I'd flopped the Wing over like that. I did not scrape any of the shiny parts on the Magna tonight. I'm gonna get a feel for it first.

Sand and salt still covered the roadway, swept into piles in some spots. I shot the rear wheel out when I unexpectedly hit a patch of sand in a turn. Yee-haw! It'll be better after the weekend rains wash the winter sand and salt away.

But the bike did what I asked it to, what I needed it to do. It took all the accumulated stress since Dec 28 (my last ride before the snow fell) and blew it out that chrome 4-into-4 exhaust. This is what I've been missing. This is the only cure for PMS. (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome)