1994 Honda VF750C Magna review from United States of America

Radiator was damaged when I purchased this bike. It appears the previous owner tried to pry the radiator cap off! The neck was severely bent and the mating surface with the cap looked as if a hammer and pliers were used to bend it back. The dealer I purchased from made good by replacing it with a radiator from another '94 Magna he had for sale. All is well since.

Like other Magnas of this era, the motor surges in the 2000-2500 RPM range. It is easily fixed, as others have noted, but is no more than a small annoyance. So I'll probably not apply the jet shim fix until I have to open it up for other work. The surge is hardly noticeable if you to through this RPM range relatively quickly.

This bike exceeds my wildest expectations. It is big enough to take into the Chicago area rush hours, but light enough to cruise comfortably around town. This is precisely the characteristics I was looking for.

My Magna is completely stock, yet the seat is very comfortable for 2+ hour rides for my 60 year old body. It is definitely more comfortable than the 1978 CB400T2 I owned previously for 15 years - and an excellent bike in its time.

Acceleration? Let's just say that the first time I test rode a '94 Magna (not the one I purchased), I was glad the road in front of the bike shop is wide and not heavily traveled. With a small crack of the throttle, I used a bit more of the road width than I planned. In my day to day riding to work, I've only needed to use this quickness once to stay out of trouble. My son, who owns a 1986 VT700C Shadow, is seriously jealous!

Braking is very effective with the new brake linings this bike came with. It remains to be seen how it holds up with wear.

Fuel economy, in my view, is very good. In the nearly 1,000 miles I've put on, I am getting consistent 48-49 MPG - in about a 60/40 mixture of town/highway riding. I am very happy with this, but wish Honda had left the 6th gear overdrive in place that they used in the 1984-1986 Shadows. This would have been very effective on kicking the highway mileage up another 7-8 MPG.