The night before, several of us had sat around the campground at Buckskin State Park on the Arizona side of the Colorado River joking about the "1953 Buick" I was riding.  With one exception, all of us had lived through the 1950s - some of us as kids, others as so-called adults.  Though the advertising hype about the 1987, 700cc HOnda Magna had described the openings in the side panels as "Corvette-style louvers", we knew better.  With it's upswept pipes and strictly-for-show side panels, the Magna, for us, was a two-wheeled version of a "four-holer" Roadmaster.  The comparison had been cause for great laughter around the campfire.

But the following morning as I was packing my gear back on the Magna for the trip home, one camping chum commented, "You know, the more you strap on that thing, the more it looks like a touring bike to me."

Which just goes to prove that no matter how many motorcyclists make fun of a bike, there is always someone who will stand up for that same bike.  Personally, I think that's great.

That fellow was the owner of a 1983, 1100cc Magna - as I am - and also a former Harley owner who has toured extensively around this country with nothing more than military surplus packs bungeed all over his machine.  He looked at the 700 with a different eye.  Where the rest of us found reason to scoff, he found reason to justify and accept.  His parting shot was, "The aftermarket will probably come up with decent lower mufflers for that, and then you can get some throw-over bags on it that will let you take some stuff with you."

I hope he's right.

Without that possibility, Honda has built one of the most restrictive, impractical versions of the fabled V-4 series.  In touring terms, the upswept pipes on the 1987 Magna all but totally forbid any kind of saddlebags.  It's strictly a Saturday night boulevard cruiser, ready to go out and snag speeding violations without much concern for where a flat kit might be carried... just in case.

After picking up the test Magna VF700C from the RR offices, I came home the long way.  It was a nice ride, but it set me figuring how I could get my normal touring and camping gear on the bike.  Since the rear of the seat and the top of the tank were my only packing areas, I was forced to cut back on what I would normally take on a bike trip.  Even saddle bags spoil a person.  Without them, the tankbag contents had to be whittled down to bare basics to make room for some of the bare basics that usually go into the saddlebags.

I guess I'm a survivalist - motorcycle division.  Give me nearly any motorcycle  and a destination and I can cut back on my gear, hit the road and get to "point B".  Perhaps not as comfortably as I could on another machine with more room for gear, but I can get there.

In the process of traveling on the Magna over the next few days, I discovered a few things.  Thing Number One is that the 700cc Magna does a surprisingly capable job of moving itself, its rider and a scant amount of gear down the road.  Engine vibration is minimal, and the machine has a very stable feel on the open highway, mostly due to it's kicked-out front end.  Of course, that same stability on the long and straight, comes up short in the realm of nimble handling in the quick turns.  As with other cruiser-style machinery, the Magna is a heavy handler.

The V-Four Magna engine pumps out a reputed 80 horsepower compared to the 116 horses of its stablemate, the V-65.  Power is transferred through a six-speed gearbox and a driveshaft to a solid disc rear wheel.  The wheel is not really solid.  The unspoked right side of the disc is the real load-carrying part, while the left side is just a matching "hubcap".  Inside the wheel assembly is a basic, no-frills but effective drum brake.  Up front, the stopping chores are handled by a single-disc brake on standard center axle forks.  The original Magnas featured dual discs and anti-dive (TRAC), air-assisted front forks.  Obviously, the trim-back in special appointments is to allow Honda to fight cost increases in this time of industry slack.

These cost saving measures carry over to the instruments, where the temperature gauge of earlier models has been replaced with a simple warning light (a.k.a.:"idiot light") and the gear position indicator is gone.  Also missing is a taillight failure indicator and electric black box hardware - replaced with a lest costly dual taillight system.

In the engine cosmetics department, some polished surfaces have been replaced with metallic sparkle paint, complimenting other areas done up in black crinkle paint.  It looks good, except for the garish yellow ignition wires and orange plug covers - presumably, a touch to attract the Popular Mechanics crowd.

Farther down on the lower portion of the machine is a plastic skirt that helps hide the tinny looking front headers.  The rearward section of this skirt assembly is flared to disguise the fact that the four separate mufflers come out of a collector box under the engine-transmission instead of hooking directly into the cylinders.

Speaking of disguises, the two crinkle-black painted assemblies below the forward portion of the fuel tank that appear to be air cleaner boxes - aren't.  The right assembly covers up the radiator hose and thermostat housing, while the left assembly does mostly nothing.  Presumably, it's there to balance the looks of the other side.  Where's the air cleaner?  Well, if you look in the owners manual you may never find out.  That's one of the items you are supposed to have serviced "at the dealers," a popular phrase these days.

You also wouldn't know there's a crank case breather tube to drain, but you'd better find out about it before it fills up and backs up into the air-cleaner housing, then down into the carburetor slides, where it can create a gummy mess.  It's located behind the left side of the radiator, up under the fake air-cleaner box.  It has a very small capacity and should be inspected every other tank of gas or so.

The V-Four engine series has always been a nice running producer of horsepower.  What is hasn't been is an easy -to-service engine design.  To adjust the valves of the double-overhead-cam, four-valves-per-cylinder, screw-and-locknut engine, you have to start by draining the liquid coolant system!  Then you can move the radiator out of the way to get at the front cylinder bank and go on to lift up the fuel tank, remove allot of electronics from over the aft cylinder bank, and finally crawl into the top end to play with the valves.  Not exactly user friendly.

The real sadness is that in the 1983 design year, Honda came out with hydraulic valve-lash adjustment systems on several other bikes (such as my CB650 Nighthawk).  Since Honda's engine design groups apparently operate separately, the Hydraulic concept never found its way into the V-Four series - which could sure use it.

The only saving grace of the Magna is that the valve adjustments are called for only every 8,000 miles, following the initial service.

Other areas of serviceability on the machine include side covers that pop off to reveal the coolant reserve tank, a fuse panel, and somewhat limited view of the battery on the right side - and the tool box under the left cover.  It should be mentioned that the Magna's tool box really is a box - oddly shaped, but with a lid - into which the tool bag fits with reasonable ease.  Unfortunately, the mufflers are so close that any attempt to remove the side panels when the pipes are hot almost guarantees burned fingers or singed side-panel plastic.

To check the engine oil, coolant level or battery fluid, the machine must be level.  This is a bit tricky to arrange, since the 1987 Magna has no centerstand to help - another cost-cutting measure.  This means the owner must play the game of holding the machine relatively upright and level with one hand, while fumbling with the small dipstick (at the right rear of the engine/transmission) with the other hand.  Actual battery servicing requires the removal of both the rear seat  and the main saddle to gain access through the top of the frame.

How does one go about changing a rear tire without a centerstand?  Well, the directions for the operation in the owners manual are quite strange.  The first step - on page 61 - tells you to "raise the front wheel off the ground by using a chain block."  The front wheel?  A chain block?  Apparently, the idea is for the owner never to worry about such matters - just let the dealer take care of it, and simply arrange things so that you never have to repair a flat out in the real world.  Simple, really.

Based on our test, another maintenance problem will be the frequency of rear tire changes.  The test bike's Dunlop K-555 (a big, fat, 150/80 - 15 70H) was worn down to 6/32-inch depth by the 2,000-mile mark.  A conservative projection would indicate a wear rate  that will see a bald tire in 5,500 miles - and I'm a pretty easy throttle twister.  Compared to my own 1100 Magna, this figure is probably fairly accurate; the V-65 eats tires at the rate of approximately one per 5,500 miles.

For me, an important consideration is how much fuel a motorcycle holds, and how far it may be ridden before running out of gas.  I always get a kick out of the fact that many motorcycle companies don't seem to care enough about the topic to make sure the figures they print are correct.  Case in point: the fuel capacity of the Magna VF700C.  Pages 22 and 71 of the owner's manual specify 3.61 gallons.  The official specifications sheet and brochure, however, claim 3.4 gallons.  The latter figure is correct - which means anyone depending on the owner's manual would average about ten miles less per tank that what he might have figured on.  I've learned never to believe what the figures say.  Instead, one of the first things I do with a new bike is to fill a quart container with fuel, then go out and run the tank dry to see for myself.  I recommend the procedure.

One thing I do like about the new Magna as compared to the old is that the VF700C has an honest, manually operated fuel valve with reserve - at an average of 127 miles - you don't have to wonder how long some fool light has been on.  The engine does not run out of gas in one lurch, but seems to start stuttering for up to two miles before conking out, giving you plenty of time to switch to reserve.  The manual claims a reserve of 0.74 gallons, which is good for about 24 miles...a few more if you take it easy.

Climb aboard a Magna and the low seating position is immediately apparent.  I'm five-foot, ten inches tall, yet I remained reasonably comfortable on the machine; shorter riders will probably benefit even more from the super-low, 27.8-inch saddle height.  Seating and handlebar positioning seemed to work out fine until leaving town behind.  Then, with the forward mounted footpegs, quite an arm load is placed on the rider.  I tried this one day for a 430-mile ride around the desert, then came home and bolted on a small windshield.  With the wind pressure relieved this way, the entire rider position is very good.

The night before I headed for the desert campout, a storm had passed through, leaving over a foot of melting snow in the mountains east of San Diego.  That meant wet sections of highway.  By the time I was through this, the bike was quite a mess.  The skimpy front fender provided very little real protection.  Everything from the mufflers to the gas tank got a coating of grime.  Street cruisers have always emphasized looks rather than practicality.

Speaking of looks, part of the "street cruiser look" is apparently one-inch diameter handlebars - instead of 7/8-inch diameter - so Honda made the Magna's bars look like one inchers.  Except you can't help but notice that the bars taper down to 7/8-inch at the ends so standard handgrips and controls can be used.  Actually, the taper work is nicely done; it makes you wonder why such a cobby welding job was done near the center of the bars where they mount at the fork clamps.  Making up for it are larger grips than those usually found on Hondas, in keeping with the pseudo-Harley look.  This is one area where a copy job really does make thing better.  I wish Honda used those grips on all their road bikes.

All handlebar-mounted controls are easy to reach and operate, even with heavy gloves on.  These include an adjustment-free hydraulic clutch, rocker type high-low and run-kill switches, a press-to-cancel turn indicator switch and a protruding horn switch instead of a button.  When the latter is pressed, a single horn beeps meekly from the left side of the machine.

As much as we have become accustomed to fork-mounted ignition switches that incorporate fork locks, the fact that the Magna VF700C has its ignition switch located under the right side of the gas tank takes some getting used to.  Even after putting in some 1,300 miles on the bike, I would still find myself parking the machine and waving my hands all around the controls until I would finally remember that the key was down there.  A simple fork lock is mounted in the right side of the steering head; it locks the forks to the left.

Big tachometers seem to be "in" these days, so they included on on the Magna.  The only overwhelming thing I noticed about the large tach with its smaller companion speedometer/odometer/trip meter was that I had to mount my windshield a bit crookedly because of the offset sizes.  Odometer error was 2.5 percent - one-tenth of a mile off for every four miles traveled.

Rounding out the instrumentation are five indicator lights for high beam, turn indicators, coolant temperature, oil pressure and transmission neutral.  In addition to each light being a different color, each is overprinted with its function for easy night reading.

At night, see and be seen is the rule.  Dual taillights give the Magna good visibility from the rear, in addition to a separate license plate light.  Up front, the small 5 1/2 - inch, chromed custom-looking headlight houses a businesslike quartz 60/55 watt bulb.  The turn indicator lights double as running lights.

So, with all this, two questions remain: is the Magna VF700C designed for real-world use - and after all the drawbacks are considered, would anyone want to take it out into the real world?

All other gripes aside, the basic Magna V-Four engine and drive-train are sound.  The engine starts easily and does not take too long to warm up and get underway.  The transmission is smooth shifting after the clutch frees up from the initial morning grab when the bike is shifted into first gear.  The horsepower and torque are spread over a broad range  and the engine is perfectly willing to pull strongly from lower rpm than it probably should.  At legal speeds in 6th gear, the engine just loafs along, yet it is a willing revver.  So much that a rev limiter is incorporated to cut out cylinders two and four at 10,900 rpm (redline is 10,000 rpm), and all four cylinders cut out if the engine is wound to 14,000 rpm.

It's doubtful that many Road Rider types will go right out and by a Magna 700, since the machine is so specialized toward stylish in-town profiling, and is limited as to carrying capacity.  But it is conceivable that shorter riders will be attracted to a machine with a 27.8-inch saddle height and plenty of power.  If, for instance, a passenger wanted to get off the rear seat of a bigger bike and be their own pilot, letting the pure touring machine be the primary luggage carrier, the Magna would have no trouble in keeping up with the other machine.  It would be a pretty good value in this case.

Basically, then, the Magna VF700C V-Four is a good solid mount.  It's just too bad the package hasn't been designed with enough foresight to make it more acceptable for all-around touring.