[Clay Dowling]

The Sporty isn’t the only one with a tiny tank. The tank on the Magna looks big, but you loose most of that space to the air cleaner. You can go about 120 miles before you switch to reserve. For a long trip, that’s no big deal, you’re desperate to extract your butt from the uncomfortable stock seat anyway. But for the daily commute it’s kind of a pain, because any side trip at all means I have to get gas somewhere if I want to make it home.

[Clay Dowling]

I was going to try to do this with your photos, but I found a studio shot online that was a lot easier to work with.

[Clay Dowling]

compared to regular bicyclists. Fortunately I live in an area where people are pretty cool, we even have a lot of bike lanes. But there are a lot more cagers hostile to bicyclists than to motorcycle riders. And there’s the occasional redneck who wants to actively hassle anybody on a bicycle.

[Clay Dowling]

It’s a 750cc v4. Probably more bike than would normally be recommended, but a fun ride and quite maneuverable, especially if you take the time to do a little practice. The throttle is gentle with a nice wide power band, so I don’t get any sudden shocks that shoot me down the road at 100mph unless I meant to go that fast. My first bike and my current bike.

Bought it second hand, with a monster cruiser windshield on it. Stripped that off and replaced it with a flyscreen, which makes for better visibility and a more comfortable ride on the highway.

[Clay Dowling]

If my legs need to stretch, my posterior is definitely screaming for a chance to get some air. I’ll be looking for a place to hop off, and nobody will mistake it for stunting.

[Clay Dowling]

On a whim I sat on one the last time I was at the dealership. It sits almost exactly like my Magna, which was surprising. The position is closest to a standard, with your feet just slightly ahead of your rear. It’s roughly how you sit in an office chair. Sadly, the seat felt even less comfortable than a Magna’s seat, and that’s saying something. Wouldn’t want to take a stock seat on a long trip.

[Clay Dowling]

Hopefully they try to fight these tickets. Because in most states highway patrol has dash cams for just such purposes. So if the guys were really doing it, it will be on the cam, and they’ll get fat citations for being stupid. And if they weren’t, CHP will get egg on their faces for being stupid.

Those claiming to be part of that group didn’t do themselves any favors in their responses. But I’m not convinced that they are who they say they are either. Mouthing off in a public forum about a pending legal case to which you are a party is not very bright, and definitely not recommended by counsel.

[Clay Dowling]

The Kymco Venox 250 got mentioned here last week. The more I think about it, the more I’m fascinated by this bike. It’s a knockoff of Honda’s Magna 250, and definitely has the looks. It also has a bigger powerplant than a lot of the other 250s out there, and reviewers are reporting that it can handle 90mph pretty easily, so it wouldn’t be too bad on the highway.

That said, I’m kind of conservative in my vehicle choices. I like well-established companies with a reputation for putting out quality. That’s why I bought a Honda, after my experience with their cars.

In the used market, at the very top end of bikes suitable for beginners, you might check out the Honda Magna (the 750cc models from 1994-2003). New enough not to have too many quirks, gentle throttle, good braking, and if you like chrome it looks nice (if you don’t like chrome, not the bike for you). You can usually pick one up for $2500 – $3500. This is absolutely the biggest bike I would recommend though. A friend of my wife bought a shadow 1100 for her first bike, and it’s proven too big. She’s dumped it a couple of times at corners while she was learning.

[Clay Dowling]

I started on Honda’s VF750C, the Magna. Don’t believe anything you hear about off the line acceleration being lacking in a four cylinder. The throttle is very gentle on this bike, but if you decided you really needed to move fast off the line, the power is there. That’s also true of a 250 though. Even little motorcycles are fast.

I nearly fell into the trap of buying a bigger bike for my first ride too, mostly because a) naked Goldwings are beautiful and b) there were two available in my area for cheap. Fortunately a friend pointed me to Craigslist, where I found a smaller bike in the same price range. Even this bike is bigger than recommended for starting, but at least wasn’t the behemoth of a 1200cc tourer.

[Clay Dowling]

It had the side benefit of him being able to point out any worry points for me. In my case, the Magna really likes to hold a straight line, so you need make sure your lean is very strong when turning. And while I figured it out the first time I took the bike down a twisty road, it was nice being pre-warned.

[Clay Dowling]

Had one myself shortly after I started riding, pretty similar scenario. It’s good for encouraging humility, always an important part of any rider’s gear.

[Clay Dowling]

Shows that there is in fact a 250 Magna v-twin sold in Asia, and the Kymco is a knockoff. If you could, I would recommend laying hands on the actual Honda instead, but that’s probably going to be a challenge.

[Clay Dowling]

Looks like a smaller version of the third generation Magna (see photo above). So I’m obviously biased. Although I wouldn’t expect quite the reliability or power that an actual Magna delivers.

[Clay Dowling]

Adopted the whole underlight thing first. Used to see cars cruising around with them. A lot of places will outlaw them just as a way to harass the gangbangers, and claim it’s a distraction and safety hazard.

But heck, maybe they’ve got studies that show they really are a dangerous distraction. I never looked into it, because when your ride is a Saturn SL or Honda Accord, stuff like that will make you look stupid, not cool.

[Clay Dowling]

I started on a 750 (and still ride it). You can do it. The little bikes are way more forgiving though, and you will have mistakes. The smaller bikes are easier to maneuver a slow speed.

Also, you can buy a used 250 or 500, ride it for a season, and sell it with no significant loss at the start of the next season. Little bikes hold their market value really well. At your size, a small bike like the Ninja or a Rebel will have enough power to move you quickly. A friend of mine who is a lot bigger than you takes his v-star 250 on the highway without any trouble, and absolutely loves it when he’s driving downtown. Also, you’ll love the ability to park pretty much anywhere. If it can park a bicycle, you can probably put a 250 in it.

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