HONDA VF750C MAGNA Article’s headline: Out in Front of a Field of One. Performance test results and statistics. Honda’s V-4-powered Magna is a unique musclebike, with its own bled of cruiser charisma and hot-rod flash. The bike’s styling cues and four-cylinder engine separate it from other similar-size cruisers, all of which are slower-paced V-twins. The Magna is certainly more powerful than any other 750 cruiser and also more comfortable, with a surprisingly neutral riding position. All of the Magna’s scoops, chin fairings, pipes and hard-muscled lines speak of a motorcycle with plenty of punch, and for 1988, with the end of the tariff on machines over 700cc, the Magna hits you 49cc harder, thanks to an additional 3.2mm of stroke. This is actually the same bore and stroke the Magna started with back in 1982, when the Sabre first knocked us out of our socks with its 90-degree, liquid-cooled V-4. The 1987 Magna (motorcyclist, Feb.’87) was the most powerful of the line to that point, but the small boost in displacement doesn’t make a major performance difference for ‘88. Our ‘87 700 hammered in a corrected quarter-mile time of 12.20 seconds at 108.2 mph. This year’s 750 delivered 12.15 seconds and 110.9 mph. However, the added displacement may help Honda sell the extra $500 in the 750’s price tag compared to last year’s 700 (also up $500 from the year before). The price increases are a result more of changes in the exchange rate than displacement and technology. Other changes are minor and limited to small graphic details. In many ways the Magna occupies a rather large gap in the market. It replaces the standard-style, standard-seating-position motorcycles that once constituted the vast majority of the machines on U.S. roads. The VF750C offers a traditional riding posture - moderate handlebar rise, foot pegs under the rider, rider bent neither forward or backward. It is a position that doesn’t overtax the wrists and shoulders (as happens on a sport bike) or hams and tailbone (as on a cruiser where your feet are too far forward to support any of you weight). The saddle offers some latitude for position adjustment and enough cushion for several hours of riding. The engine is smooth, and the suspension adequate for most bucks and heaves arising from the road surface. Bigger, sharper bumps come through harder than average, however, and the only suspension adjustment is rear-end preload, which isn’t sufficient to accommodate a passenger’s weight. Passengers also have a slightly awkward position because of the forward peg location. The drive system produces smooth shifting but has slightly abrupt clutch engagement and a bit of driveline lash. The shaft drive’s jacking is moderate and hardly objectionable, since cornering competence is not heavily emphasized on the Magna’s job description. The Magna’s handling also has a traditional feel to it. The rider need not contend with the low-speed awkwardness of a cruiser or the snappy steering of a small-wheeled sport bike. With its 19-inch front wheel and 65-inch wheelbase, the Magna is stable and predictable and responds to moderate steering pressures. Traction is about average for 1988 machines, which is to say pretty good, and no one except a sport-bike refugee should find fault with the cornering clearance or twisty-road manners. The single-disc front brake is not quite in the same league with the Magna’s engine; we occasionally wished for something a bit more powerful and fade-free. However, both brakes are progressive and controllable. The Magna brims with features and styling tricks from the dual cat’s-eyes taillights and disc-style 15-inch rear wheel to the large, soft, chrome-trimmed grips. In between are a two-piece seat with a rear section that may be removed to change the bike’s look, ignition switch under the the right side of the tank (you can amuse yourself by giving a friend the key and seeing how long it takes him to find the lock), push-to-cancel turn signals and a moderate sprinkling of chrome. The overall styling effect is pure American custom as created by someone influenced by drag bikes and automotive street rods. Most maintenance items are easily accessible, although there is no center stand to aid in wheel removal and the valves are not self adjusting. The Magna is the only motorcycle of its kind in its displacement range. That’s too bad. The Magna’s style creates a unique bled of comfort and performance, virtues that most riders should be able to appreciate, whether or not they dote on the Magna’s somewhat lurid styling flourishes.