Road Test and Review: First 500 miles on the Honda VT750S 2011

Castle Gate at Arundel in West Sussex

It doesn't matter who Honda claims the VT750S is likely to buy the the bike, you'll either love it or hate it.

If Harley still made the Sportster XL883, with the spoked wheels that it turned out through the nineties and early 2000s, then the VT750S would sell far fewer. Harley doesn't, so that's Honda's gain.

Five hundred miles after picking the machine up I felt it was time to give to write the review that I've had a couple of emails requesting.

Spoked chrome wheels are class, they are a bastard to keep clean, but nothing says motorcycle to blokes of a certain age than spokes.

Honda has built a simple bike. It's not a cruiser, its a 'proper motorbike'. Engine, wheels, frame, tank.. that's it. It's deserves the tag retro simply because it's what you would have bought in the 1960s. So you can have the classic look, without having to check the bolts every time you park up.

The tank, in the Honda red, white and blue, is simple and gorgeous and even though it holds just 10.7 litres, it'll take you 120 miles before the warning light comes on and there's another two litres in reserve giving you around 25 miles until to find fuel. Surprised? I was, but for 500 miles I've worked out the consumption and it's seen a maximum from a tank of 67 mpg (imperial gallons, that's 56 mpg in the USA) and a low of 58, which is spectacular.

During the first 100 miles I feared that 44hp wasn't going to be enough, but as the engine loosened up it's clear that the VT has plenty of power for normal road conditions and she'll cruise at an indicated 80mph without problem. The speedo over reads by about 2mph at an indicated 60.

I don't subscribe to all this 'I felt like a parachute' nonsense anyway. If you are sitting at a PC now reading this, hold your hands out in front of you at just below shoulder height and that's the riding position. It is perfect and if you can't ride this bike comfortably for an hour in that position at around 70, then it's time to quit bikes eh?
(Note: added May 21 on 700 miles, came home yesterday after three hours riding, the last half hour at indicated 80-85, and my neck muscles took a bit of a battering. At 70 the VT's fine, over that and you are pulling yourself forward. Fun and enjoyable but a screen is going to be vital for the planned Euro tour later this year.)
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Magnetic tank bag, small pack held to the rear seat with cargo net and a rucksack offered enough capacity for a couple of nights away during a jaunt along the south coast of England. Throw over panniers would ensure enough for a proper tour

The seat looks lovely though it is pretty useless for a full-size pillion, and gets a little uncomfortable after an hour or so for the rider. But shift your arse a little and it's ok again. But over the weekend away along the south coast I had two five-hour riding days and I was still able to walk at the end and my fingers hadn't swollen at the joints as they used to on the Sportster thanks to the vibes. The VT is perfectly comfortable.

I weigh 13 stone (Americans work it out for yourself, 14lbs in a stone) and I'm 5ft 10ins. It fits me fine, I'm not getting any younger and sports bikes hurt my knees. I am considering a single seat replacement but, if I can stand the piss taking, I do intend to try a recently purchased sheepskin cover. My girlfriend is 5ft 4ins, loves it and is already on the point of selling her beloved CBR600F to buy something similar.

The bike needs riding properly, little flick of counter steer going into a bend, lean, set it up and gently accelerate through the bend, it's an easy bike to ride and immensely satisfying to chuck through a series of S bends. Slower than a sports bike but just as enjoyable because you know that unless you are on a race track, you are nowhere near testing the ability of most post 100 bhp machines and achievement aboard them needs far harder riding (come on, I've seen a few of you boys in the PowerRangers' leathers with squared tyres... and anyone who rides on the roads like they do at Brands Hatch wants shooting).

The VT's brakes are perfectly adequate. The rear drum has been criticised by some testers for not being a disc, like most machines these days. But I like it for two reasons: Firstly it looks a whole heap better than a disc and blends beautifully with the spoked wheel (easier to clean the hub too). Secondly, you don't have to be too delicate with the pedal. I like the long travel but there's no danger of locking up the rear even in an emergency (and its lovely for controlling your turn if you go into a bend that tightens, a little too fast. Handy see?).

No one's going to claim the ride it plush. The front suspension is definitely slightly under-damped (but felt fine two up) and if you accelerate hard, banked over and hit a bump, or cat's eye, the bars give a little nod but the bike retains balance thanks to the gyroscopic effect of the 19-inch front wheel which keeps you running in the right direction. Interestingly with my 70 lbs son on pillion, the ride improves markedly without any noticeable affect on performance.

And at the back, even which the twin shocks on their softest pre-load number one setting (two is recommended one up), you know when you've hit a bump. But it's never dangerous nor particularly upsetting for the rider and many sports bike boys will envy the fact that Britain's potholed rods hold no fear for the VT750 rider. (I live in Kent which has got to have the crappiest road maintenance in Britain - 4x4s are chosen down here for their on-road ability).
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Loaded enough for a couple of days away, magnetic tank bag and cargo net for the back seat... job done. who needs a GoldWing?

Ordinary folk and wannabe motorcyclists love the Honda. I've had more people speak to me in the last 10 days as I've filled up with petrol and parked that I have in the past three years with a Suzuki B-King, Yamanha V-Max and Honda Fireblade. It's exactly the sort of bike that makes non bike owners want to speak to you because it fits their idea of what an old motorbike should look like. They're wrong but that's the effect.

I have a mate who wouldn't buy a Honda if it was the only bike on earth. He's wrong too. Honda's build quality is in my experience still the best in the world, though the VT's switchgear looks a little bit cheap. But the company has a genuine 50-year heritage and an un-matched record of innovation and revolution in the motorcycle market (CB72, CB750, CBX1000, CX500, CBR600F, CBR900... the Goldwing). So as Honda has a bike heritage to match and better almost everyone.

The VT750 can trace its parentage back to the VT500 of the eighties. That bike, an 'all-rounder' that sold in droves to couriers in the UK, replaced the CX500 (which couriers loved more). The Shadow custom has been around since '83 first as a 600 and now 750 using that same motor. Some of the early incarnations suffered from the Japanese interpretation of a custom which looked a little odd, but Hondas always looked less awkward than the efforts of its rivals: think Kawasaki EN500 or some of the eighties Yamaha Viragos.

For other uses of the lump, check out that other couriers' favourite from the late eighties the NTV600/650 or look at all the tourer most people will really ever need, the NT650V/NT700V Deauville, and for the adventure crowd see the cheap Long Way Round machine, the Transalp 600/650/700.

So VT owners should have no fears that this new bike will be reliable in the engine department. Three valves a cylinder and, unusually, twin plugs in each, in a low state of tune should equal economy (tick box) and reliability.

For comparison, I reckon the VT motor is more torquey than the carbed 883 Sportster lump which, even with the necessary Stage 1 pipes and breathing sort out, still needed more gear changes for rapid progress. I might be wrong though as a couple of American magazines last year remained convinced the cheapest Sporty still wins compared with the VT750S.

I owned a 2001 XL883 for five years, took it all over Europe and its only problem in 13,000-odd miles was two snapped drive belts. In straight road test fights now, the VT750RS is still quicker on the road than the comparably priced (in the US) Sportster Low, with it's new un-Sportster shaped tank and alleged higher power.

As an aside, I'm not anti-Harley, I genuinely love the bikes and appreciate their place in the world. But I hate the snobbery which the vast majority of riders seem to bring to the marque, the marketing machine which really has sucked everyone in... and those crappy belt drives, which remains one of the bike world's biggest swindles.

Yes belts have much to recommend them - shock absorption, without the complexity of a shaft and no need to oil like a chain -  but reliability isn't one of them. I've never had a broken chain, but I've spend £350 in a couple of years with H-D replacing two belts. So, unless there is absolutely no way a small stone can get to the belt, I'll always be wary of belt drive, whatever fans claim for longevity (Note: September 2016, more than five years after writing this, I'm now living in South Africa and I've just bought a Harley-Davidson Switchback, which has cast mag wheels and a belt drive - after all I said here... Read more HERE).

For those of you who haven't checked yet the VT750S is chain drive though the pricier VT750C, with its lower seat, fat front tyre and 'dark' custom theme retains the shaft.

This year I'd already decided I wanted another V-twin and the Sportster was the natural choice really: simple, rugged and a kind of horse for the road which you can load up with a bit of luggage and cross a couple of countries at you own pace.

But a few weeks ago I'm was blatting past the Honda dealer in Hastings and a pretty red, white an blue tank catches my eye. Turn around to take a look and the decision is made. A £300 discount and zero per cent finance with 10 per cent down over three years helped the decision... well it was rude not to buy it.

The Tricolour VT750S is new for 2011. It's a £300 premium over the gunmetal of last year (we don't get it in white like the States) and I think it looks better than the 2010 model, which continues this year.

First surprise: the deep metallic blue coloured mudguards are made of plastic... the black side panels are made of plastic and the pretty paintwork on the tank looks lovely but the paint is not that deep - it's white with lacquered blue and red stripe transfers. I know because mine was chipped on the day I went to pick it up. Honda is going to replace it at the first service this week but despite it's lack of depth, the paint is actually pretty tough and my tank bag left no marks.

The exhausts dominate the right hand side of the machine in a semi shotgun style (copyright H-D) but it's an illusion because just below the passenger footrest the two pipes are linked.

And there a bloody great catalytic converter boosting the temperature in the area to something similar to the surface of the sun. My lad's boots left rubber scuff marks, I burned a hole in my bike cover and I've melted the ends of a cargo net. All new bikes have to have a cat but the VT's is very easy to touch, so beware, it gets extremely hot. The rest of the exhaust is double skinned, chromed and shows no sign of blueing after 500  miles (doubtless because it's double skinned, duh).
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Bed and breakfast in Bognor Regis a typical British seaside resort that's better than its name sounds. The VT750S saw bike for the first time as it chucked it down overnight but on the Sunday morning it soon cleared up 

Ideally I'd like to replace the pipes with something after-market and save them for MOT time in 2015 when I could bolt em back on. I've banged on about Honda quality, I'm still not sure about the exhausts though. I can see inside the silencer a few signs of rust, small but I guess the mild steel inside and the hidden - but only painted - plumbing linking the two pipes and the cat, may well be the first part of the bike to succumb to rust.

Between 50 and 90mph you will want for nothing on this bike... roll the throttle in any gear and she responds with a lovely rumble. If you want a Sunday afternoon machine for gentle ride outs, it wins, if you want economic head turning transport that'll do a bit of touring too if required, it wins, and if you just love the look of it, then it wins.

Fundamentally the VT750S is an economy motorcycle in many ways. It's cheap, it's functional and none of the other manufacturers offer anything exceptionally better for the cash. Incidentally, 2010 pre-registered models are still available for £4,999, which makes it a bargain.

Other retro bikes are available of course. Take a look at the Triumph Bonneville, the Moto Guzzi V7 and the new Kawasaki W800 (beautifully detailed with a rear drum too... but a grand more than the VT750S in Britain), which out Bonnevilles the Bonneville for sixties period charm and quality.

Remember Triumphs are not really Triumphs in the same way Indian is not really Indian, so in many ways the Kawasaki, which was making a 650 vertical twin in the sixties, is more authentic than the Bonneville... as a retro bike any way.

So, to conclude: If you want a machine which is simple, with a sensible seating position, that feels like a motorcycle (though the vibes are nothing like any sixties big twin), decently made (in Japan as well, surprisingly), with a two-year warranty, that should retain a decent used value, you could do a lot worse than the VT750S.
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Almost 20 years separate these two Hondas yet the CBR600 is a genuine 145mph sports rocket that's worth a fifth of the price of a new VT750S. But for me the seating position is still too radical for my knees (though compared with my old Fireblade it's pretty conservative)

Specification Honda VT750S 2011
Thousand mile review VT750S