Honda VF 500C Magna V30

Rugged times in the motorcycle industry have substantially thinned out the herd in the middleweight chopper class of 1984. Just two companies are in the running this year, offering a total of three models. Last year was quite a different story, with each of the big four building middie-cruisers. The eight models available covered most conceivable design permutations. In-line fours could be had in any flavor, and there was even a V-twin. What you couldn't get was a vertical twin (not all that popular anyway) or a V-4 (quite popular).

This year, Honda fills the V-4 gap with the V30 Magna, a machine which, if nothing else, possesses the most sophisticated engine in the class. Honda has all V-engined bets covered this year, offering vees of two speeds: the Magna and the even more laid back V-twin Shadow. The twin truly is a cruiser to the core, with its Harleyesque looks and extreme riding position. The Magna, though it looks the part of the boulevard loafer, has a more bearable seating layout, as well as the most and best power in the class. The inline four Nighthawk 550 that Honda offered last year has been discontinued, leaving the in-line market to its only competitor, Kawasaki, with its shaft-drive KZ550 LTD, the third and final player in the class this year. These three very different motorcycles give anyone who likes custom styling room for choice in the 500 division.

Honda is exploring new marketing territory with the V30 Magna. The Magna's styling closely parallels that of the discontinued 550 Nighthawk, so much so that only a long stare at the engines helps tell them apart for sure. A peek at the final drive systems of both bikes would give their identities away too. The old Night-hawk had shaft final drive, but the Magna has a chain. That in itself is a bit of a surprise, since Hondas 750 and 1100 Mag-nas are shafties, and for good reason. Riders drawn to custom styling seem to favor the reduced maintenance of shaft drive, even at the cost of a little extra weight and slightly flawed handling. The decision to go with a chain on the Magna might very well be one of convenience and economy, since the 500 Magna and Interceptor engines are virtually identical and are the smallest V-4s Honda has sold in America.

Differences between the half-liter V-4s are few. An airbox with less volume and a set of smaller mufflers account for a four-horsepower drop in peak power compared to the Interceptor. Both primary and final drive ratios are the same, but the internal transmission ratios have been stirred around. The Magna's redline sits at 11,500 rpm, which is 500 rpm lower than the Interceptor's. The Magna's reduced intake and exhaust breathing ability makes the extra revving unnecessary.

In all other respects, the water-cooled V-4 is largely the same. Each valve (four per cylinder) is actuated by a follower with threaded adjuster. The four separate camshafts are spun by roller chains that are tensioned automatically. All the power-producing parts are scaled-down versions of those in the bigger Magnas. Honda engineers have settled on specific design formulas that extract the type and quantity of power they want from the V-4s, and they have not strayed far from these blueprints yet. The Magna's 500cc engine is a masterpiece, both functionally and aesthetically.

As is the pattern with cruiser bikes, the Magna's rolling chassis is a piece of styling work first and foremost, with functional engineering second. That's almost an arguable point in a cruiser, since in a way, a cruising machine's form is its function. You can decide for yourself if the Magna is visually pleasing; technically and functionally, its chassis is merely average. Wheel sizes are a routine 18 inches in front and 16 inches rear. A single disc stops the front wheel, and a drum brake slows the rear. A pair of glistening chrome shocks support the box-section steel swingarm; only spring preload is adjustable. The long leading-axle front fork has individual air caps for fine tuning; the steering stem rides in ball bearings. A chrome tubular steel handlebar is fitted, and the switch assemblies are logically laid out and easy to use. The bar-mounted choke handle is convenient, but the noncancelling turn signals aren't.

Honda engineers ran into a few problems when it came time to mate the V-4 engine to the required custom-styled bodywork. With all four carburetors set in the engine's V and a large airbox sitting on top of them, little space is left for the fuel tank. Honda got around this problem by placing additional fuel capacity in a tank under the seat and using an electric pump to carry gas back up to the carbs. Both tanks fill and drain as one, but once the upper one is empty and the fuel is out of sight, there's no reliable way of finding out how much fuel remains. No fuel gauge is provided, and the fuel petcock has no reserve position. Only a glowing red idiot light on the instrument panel indicates that you're down to the last nine-tenths of a gallon. With a grand total of just 3.6 gallons to begin with, that annoying little light usually flickers on after just 80 or 90 miles of city riding.

Chassis dimensions for the Magna are closer to those of the 500 Shadow than to the Interceptor's. The Magna's wheel-base is a lengthy 59.1 inches, for the long and low look. The Interceptor is over three inches shorter, and the Shadow is about a half-inch shorter. The Magna is properly raked out, too; its steering stem sits 31.5 degrees from vertical—not as extreme as the Shadow's 33.5-degree angle but much more rakish than the Interceptor's 27-degree head angle. Trail measurements for all three machines fall between four and five inches, with the Interceptor on the short end of the range and the Shadow on the long end, leaving the Magna in the middle. Both cruiser models have their seats positioned about 1.5 inches lower than the Interceptor's.

The numbers alone would add up to indicate that the Magna (and the Shadow) is a slow, ponderous steerer, but one other number, the Magna's manageable 434-pound wet weight, helps to make the whole equation work just fine overall. Both the engine and Magna rider are low to the ground, resulting in responsive handling that doesn't feel unstable or too twitchy. The long wheelbase and chopperlike steering-head angle are most noticeable in low-speed parking lot maneuvers. There, the V30 tries to turn its front end into turns; the wide buckhorn handlebar gives the rider plenty of leverage to deal with the floppy low-speed handling, though. The machine's lightness is apparent at all speeds and builds the rider's confidence in controlling the Honda.

In turns that are faster than a crawl, the V30 goes about where you point it. It's not nearly as quick through transitions in-to and out of turns as the Interceptor; instead, it has a steady, predictable feel that lets you set up a quick, smooth pace on a curvy road. The steering is close to neutral in bends above about 20 mph, with a comforting tendency to gradually straighten itself back up during a corner unless the rider keeps it countersteered into the turn just a hair. Grabbing a moderate amount of front brake when leaned over doesn't cause the Honda to try to stand up much, an aspect that helps reduce the rider's work load. Though designed as long-wearing rubber, the Dun-lops stick well enough to let the V30 use up its cornering clearance if the rider desires. This is no roadracer, though, so the pegs and pipes touch down fairly early. Both front and rear brakes are controllable and powerful enough to lock the wheels. The single front disc fades if used hard, but even then it retains its predictability and most of its power.

The Magna's outer limits of handling performance are set by its suspension. Suspension rates seem to be targeted at a 140-pound solo rider who travels at levelheaded speeds. Front and rear springing is decidedly soft, and the damping rates are light, particularly in the rear. Our testers all weigh over 150 pounds and bottomed the rear suspension regularly, even with the preload jacked all the way up. Adding a few pounds of air to the front fork helped to keep it off the stops, including over the relatively big bumps. There's no cure for the back end short of replacing the shocks entirely. The soft suspension rules out really fast cornering on the Magna. A great deal of heaving and lurching goes on if the bike is driven hard through a bumpy bend. More rebound damping in the rear would help, but then the steering should be quickened up too, and so on. Pretty soon the Magna would look and work just like the Interceptor; Honda already makes one of those, and they don't need another. No, the Magna is supposed to be a cruiser. For the lower speed levels that line of duty entails, the chassis works acceptably.

Judged against comparable machines, the V30 is competitive, comfort-wise. The easy-chair riding position leaves plenty of room, even for taller riders. Like the rest of the cruisers, the V30 is engineered to be comfortable at a stop and at low speeds. Over about 40 mph or so, wind pressure on the rider's chest makes him yearn for a more forward-canted riding position. The standard bar has too much sweepback and droop, and the pegs are much too far forward for long-haul comfort. The seat itself is pretty nice: the padding is of the proper density, and the shape is decent. Some riders wished that it was a little wider, but most were happy with it. The passenger's section is too narrow and firm for anything more than a short-term comfort. As is the case with other cruisers, the V30 can make a good touring bike with the simple addition of a lightweight fairing to keep the wind off the rider's chest; then the riding position becomes livable, if not truly comfortable.

Suspension compliance seems better than the V-twin Shadow's but not up to the standards of the best street bikes. The little bumps and ripples slide under the wheels smoothly enough, but over moderately sized jolts the fork is slow to respond. Like the long fork assemblies on the other Magnas, the 500's fork has quite a lot of fore and aft flex. The fork hits the medium bumps hard enough to make it try to deflect some before it compresses, sending an initial jolt through the handlebar and on to the rider. The slushy rear shocks are more compliant on midsized bumps. The big dips bottom the shocks hard; the fork handles them decently. In the final analysis the Magna's chassis gets the job done, but not in spectacular style.

But the motor  that's spectacular. The V30 has the same type of power for which all Honda V-4s are becoming known. No perceptible hills or valleys can be found in power delivery; bottom-end power is usable, and the urge builds in a linear way as revs rise. By the time the tach swings through four grand, the acceleration in the lower gears is brisk. Though not vibration free, the engine never shakes uncomfortably, even clear up at redline where the best power is. There, the engine will launch the bike through the quarter-mile in 12.83 seconds at 103.2 mph. That's a half second and five mph slower than the more powerful and aerodynamically superior 500 Interceptor, but a second and 10 mph faster than the 500 Shadow.

Day-to-day riding on the Magna is a pleasure, due largely to the V-4's excellent behavior. Warm-up is a one-block affair. Throttle response is clean and predictable. Fuel mileage is a reasonable 44.5 mpg on the average. The extremely broad powerband makes a ride on the Magna undemanding. Any of a few gears will do in most situations; the more urgent your desire to accelerate, the more you downshift. The bike is noticeably slower than the Interceptor but still feels quite fast.

Source Motorcyclist 1984