Honda VF500C Magna V30 reviews

In many years of riding I have Owned just about everything,for at least a six month period. The Magna requried no learning curve.(6 mo. curve is not uncommon)It was the smoothest and most forgiving lite cruiser made by Honda. I agree that 3.5 gal. is not enough fuel but disagree with those of you who think that the shaft has a place on this bike. The chain is a 96% effective method of power transfere while the shaft is rated at 78%,+or-The chain makes this bike scary quick and the grin factor is off the charts . If you want a bigger Magna buy a Valk, and really hold on. The best bike I have ever owned. Show less

I bought 2, new, wrecked first one, went over the high side when the rear brake locked up. Engine is very powerful so it is easy to over ride this bike given the fact the rear wheel locks up at the first sign of trouble. Needs linked brakes to be safe in my opinion. Never any trouble with either bike and fit and finish was great. Show less

For thelife of me,I cannot understand why Honda dosn't update the Magna! Like one of the reviews stated give us an 1100 Magna! There is no compitetion between the v-twin stock and the v-4!!! Company's keep building old looking outdated motorcycles,and wonder why sales are down!!!! Give us a new Magna please! Are you listening Honda??? Show less

After looking hard for the last 4 months, I purchased a 99 Magna with 2024 miles on it. During the "looking period" I rode 3 different Harleys, a Mean Streak, Honda Spirit,Yamaha FZ1, VTX 1800 and a Road Warrior. I think I might have been happy with the FZ1, but it has way more power/ speed than I neeed since I am a new rider with only a 1,000 miles on a XR650L. The Kaw. Mean Streak also caught my attention a little. However, the Magna is lighter, quicker, smoother running, quieter and easier to ride than any of the others. My mpg is 40-46 and I'm working on smoother shifting so I expect that to increase a little. As far as ergos, I am 55 yeasrs old, 6 ft tall, weigh 200lbs. and find the bike very comfortable. So far, I do not plan to add a custom seat or a windshield. I am however looking for saddle bags. Any help there would be apprciated. If someone came along and offered me $2,000 more than I paid for the bike, I can't imagine that I would even come close to selling. This is a seven star bike. Show less

Just brought home my 95' Magna (4K orig. miles) and love it. Last bike I purchased was in 82' so this one is new to me. My quest for a new (used) bike covered many months of reading reviews (thanks to all of you who have posted) and test riding many bikes. Since I was looking for a "sport minded" cruiser the Magna fit the bill perfectly. I test rode all the new cruisers on the market from Honda and Yamaha to include the VTX1800 retro, Valkyrie and Yamaha Road Star, Warrior and Vmax. These are all very nice rides but when it comes to a balance of power and quickness/dollar the Magna is the clear winner by more than a 1/4 mile. I have noticed several posts on why Honda is not building the "big brother" to this bike and it is simple arithmetic. Add more HP and weight to this machine along with a few thousand dollars and you lose the entire purpose of this bike. "Kick Ass" fun on the cheap. For a few thousand more I would have purchased the Valkyrie with much of the same smooth flowing power of the Magna just tons more of it to spare. For now I will have a blast with my Magna and pick up a Valk in the next few years. Sorry, but the Magna will not be for sale at that time! Show less

I have a 97 magna with just over 5K on it. I bought it used, installed V&H slip on pipes and a jet and shim kit. I don't know what hp I get, but I would like to know b/c I kick the crap out of every Harley I can find. This bike is great for city riding, very responsive for a cruiser and does just fine on the freeway. I only wish the gas tank was bigger! Other than that this bike rocks! Why doesn't Honda make a bigger deal over this bike? They could own the market. Time to go for a ride... Show less

Purchased new,have driven this bike for only 10 months, but I have logged over 20,000 miles.I have added the following items to customizes it for my type of driving as follows; 2 sidelight bar with flashing high beam day light (I believe it made a big differences as far as safety), Leather like hard side bags & a tall sissy bar bag, Mustang seat (big improvement over factory seat)with sissy bar,large front screen with side fork shields (to keep air from running up the front my shirt),& Changed to synthetic oil on the second oil change @ 4000 miles & every 3000 there after made shifting better between 1st & 2nd. Changes that if Honda were to make that would make me trade up today would be; 1)Larger fuel tank (One trip I did required 52 fuel stops over 5 days of riding. Reserve is required between 75 to 110 mile depending on my driving speed). 2)Better brakes (twin disc up front, single on rear. 3)Larger air fliter(factory unit much too retrictive, @ 16,000 miles I replaced the air filter & plugs, but not prior to driving some 130 mile without a filter in places.I consumed only 1 tank of fuel during this test with a noticeble improvement in accelleration I was also able to now lift the front wheel off the ground). 4)Shaft drive (replaced chain & sprockets at 12,000 miles & having to lube daily gets messy & old fast). Love the bike, rides fast & very very smooth, reasonably light & it allows me to run with cruisers or just keep up with my sport bike friends.Great bike! Show less

My 1998 Magna changed my riding forever. The comfort is good (upgradeable to fantastic with an aftermarket seat), the power is awesome, and unlike any V-Twin I've ridden, smooth as silk. I liked it so much than when I went looking for something more "sporty" I bought its sibling, the VFR 800. I have nearly 10,000 miles on this bike now and can truly say I feel it is the best motorcycle I have ever owned. But get this, the other day at my dealer I saw a 1994 Magna with 65,300 miles on it!! that's not a typo -- sixty-five thousand and three hundred! The mechanic told me that was absolutely correct and they had been through the maintenance schedule on the thing twice and were on the third round! Me and my Magna are going to be together a lot longer. Only complaint: fuel capacity is too small, but I can live with that. Show less

I've had my magna for 4 years and it still runs like a raped ape. someone was looking for specs, i have some as per cycle world magazine Sept. 2001..... it has about 80 horses @ the wheel and about 50 ft lbs of torque. it runs low 12's in the 1/4 mile and its top end is between 130 and 135 mph... that part is my own expeience, trust me you dont want to go much faster. i have yet to race anyone with it, but by reading your reviews i think i'd do pretty well. I've added some accessories, i wrote a review a little while ago...."9k miles and". here i have a picture included, at least i hope so. Show less

I bought a 1996 Honda Magna in April 2002. I was looking at a Harley and other bikes. I decided to try a less expensive bike to start with. I had not been on a bike for 35 years and wanted to know if I would like it before going for a new and more expensive modle. The problem I have now is where do I go from here. The bike has beauty, and brawn. It will cruse on the freeway at 75mph without a hitch. It is great around town, and in the mountains, well what can you say for a bike that just loves to go places. I cannot believe that a 750cc bike will out ride a $20,000 Harley but it does. Magna handles like a dream in the curves, shoots down the straightaway like a bullet. I have had no problem with stability in the wind, side, back or head-on. I do wish it had a drive shaft, the chain oil makes my back wheel very messy. Everyone talks about dual-disk brakes in the front and disk in the back and I wish I had these also, but the brakes on the bike are adequate for reasonable riding. This is not a sport bike, but it thinks it is, it is not a cruiser but it looks like one. The Magna is a bike for a man or woman who wants to ride and love every second of it. What you may want on the bike to make it better, a windshield, better foot pegs, a Mustang saddle or some other third party saddle, the OEM saddle will make you walk like Festes on Gun Smoke after about 50 miles. All in all I love this bike!!! Show less