Honda VTX 1300C

This is a Honda VTX 1300C. This bike is a bull. It's huge! It doesn't look twice as big as my bike in this picture, but it's enormous. Curb weight is 678 pounds. That's over twice the weight of my bike. The 1300C also has a 4.8 gallon gas tank, so it can travel about 168 miles on one tank (about 35 mpg). While this bike can't go as far as the Shadow, I'd almost prefer this bike on long distance travelling. The larger engine seems like it would be even more comfortable at highway speeds. The closest I've ever come to riding either bike is just sitting on it at the dealership, so I wouldn't really know either way. The 2008 model comes in four colors: Black, silver, yellow, and red, with the black being the cheapest to purchase. The seat height on this bike is 27.6 inches off the ground, so it's actually a whole inch higher than the Rebel, but almost two inches higher than the Shadow. Despite the attractive features of the 1300, its price tag is a powerful deterrent for me right now ($9599). Granted it's still cheaper than even a used Harley V-Rod, but too much for my pocket right now.

Honda CBR600RR

Even though I was just going to post about Cruiser style bikes, another friend of mine just got one of these. I'm not sure what color it is because I haven't seen his yet, but this is the same model. This is actually the lowest power sportbike that Honda sells. It has a 599cc engine, and a top speed somewhere around 135 mph. Yeah, that's the bottom of the food chain. It has a six speed transmission instead of the usual five for cruisers. The seat height on this bike is quite a bit higher than mine at 32.3 inches, and curb weight of the bike is 410 pounds. As you can probably tell, this bike has a fairly large gas tank - 4.8 gallons. That's good because with an average mpg of 40, you can go about 190 miles on one tank. Of course, if you're gonna be traveling that far, you oughta stop at least once for a break. We can't all be iron butts. Yes, that is a real club. If you're a fan of sport bikes, but don't want one that will leave you sitting in the dust, this bike is for you.

Honda Shadow Aero ('07)

I'm posting this bike for two reasons: First, it's a really nice bike, and Second, because I know someone that just bought one. Lucky. This bike is part of the Honda Shadow Family. Like the V Star Custom I listed yesterday, Shadows come in seven different styles, all just different enough to get their own name. This bike has a 750cc engine and, with a 3.7 gallon fuel tank, can travel around 170 miles before needing the reserve tank. Speaking of which, my bike is going to need a fill up today...
I was suprised to see that this bike has a 25.9 inch seat height - that's even lower than mine! Of course, this bike also weighs 520 pounds, so you'd need to have a firm footing to hold it up.

Yamaha V Star Custom

This is a Yamaha V Star Custom. The V Stars for Yamaha are kind of like the Shadows for Honda - there are like three or four bikes with the same basic "V Star" or "Shadow" name that have minor differences. The V Star Custom is one that I'd like for a second bike maybe in a year or so. It has a 650cc engine, so it would be quite a bit more powerful than the 250cc I have right now, but still not insanely powerful. I just read about a bike three days ago that has a 2300cc engine!! That's insane - I just don't see how you'd need that much power! I mean, a decent cruiser like this V Star only has 650, why would you need almost four times that much? Plus really the more power you put in the bike, the lower the gas mileage goes. Case in point, my Rebel gets (literally) 66 miles/gallon. The V Star gets around 41 miles/gallon. When you compare gas tank sizes, this one will still go about 50 more miles on one tank than mine can, but you see what I mean about the mpg/engine size ratio.

It's still a beautiful bike though. Nice amount of chrome, and you can get it in all black if preferred. It still has a low seat height of 27 inches, so it's easy to get both feet planted on the ground. I sat on a Buell sport bike at a Harley dealership, and could barely touch my toes to the ground. Some people I guess appreciate that, but I couldn't do it for long. A neat feature of the V Star Custom is that the rear shock is concealed. If you take a look at the five other bikes on the page so far, you'll see the rear shocks located below and behind the seat. I don't think they're ugly, and I'm not saying this is better, but it is interesting. Dry weight is 474 pounds, and overall length is 92 inches. All in all, a very nice bike.

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A Few More Bikes...

This is a Kawasaki Eliminator 125. Very decent looking bike and fairly affordable at about $2700. Cruiser style body with half the weight (about 300 pounds when empty), and about a quarter of the standard engine size. This 125cc engine pumps out around 12-13 horsepower. While this is plenty for getting around town, I wouldn't recommend it for highway driving or general long distance trips. Despite those thoughts, it is still a Kawasaki, so you know you're getting quality.

Next is the QLINK Legend 250. I really like the look of this bike especially considering that it only boasts a 250cc engine. Unique features on this bike include a triple headlight as opposed to the standard single bulb on most bikes nowadays. Also different is the backrest for any passenger willing to tag along. I haven't seen many bikes this small incorporate a backrest, and I'm not sure why more of them don't. The riveting on the sides of the leather seats along with the blade-like wheels give this bike a lean mean look at an affordable $3000.

The Suzuki GZ250 surprises me. To my eyes it looks to be the same size if not maybe a tad smaller than the Kawasaki above. It happens to have double the engine size and around twice the horsepower as well. Like the other bikes in this post, it has a low seat height - just 28 inches off the black top. The GZ250 rides a little higher in pricing at $3250, but in the end it all depends on your personal preference and income.

The last bike on this list is the most expensive and actually my least favorite of the four, but it's still a nice looking bike. The Yamaha Virago 250 does have the nicest looking engine of the group, even though it's still just 250 cc's. I'd like it better in black or maybe fire engine red. It has a V-Twin engine design for pumping out a little extra power but still weighs in a 300 pounds empty. Seems like a pretty fast little bike. I said it's not my favorite, but the main reason for saying that is that this bike doesn't have a pre-designed spot for sidebags. If you look above, the other three bikes already have places for them above the rear wheel. I'm coming to realize this is a pretty important feature. In the end, you have to decide if spending $3500 on this bike is worth it to you. Still a whole lot cheaper than any Harley, but a lot less powerful too.

More to come later!