Difference between revisions of "Honda VF500C"
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{{ | {{DISPLAYTITLE:{{PAGENAME}} Magna V30: review, history, specs}} | ||
|name = Honda VF500C | {{Motorcycle | ||
| | |name = Honda VF500C Magna V30 | ||
|aka = | |photo=1984_honda_v30_black.JPG | ||
|manufacturer = | |aka = | ||
|parent_company = | |manufacturer = Honda | ||
|production = | |parent_company = | ||
|model_year = | |production = 1983 | ||
|predecessor = | |model_year = | ||
|successor = | |predecessor = | ||
|class = | |successor = | ||
|engine = | |class =Power Cruiser | ||
|bore_stroke = | |engine = Four stroke, 90°V-four cylinder, DOHC, 4 [[valve]] per cylinder | ||
|compression = | |bore_stroke = | ||
|top_speed = | |compression = 11.0:1 | ||
|power = | |top_speed = 196.4 km/h | ||
|torque = | |power = | ||
|ignition = | |torque = | ||
|spark_plug = {{sparkplug|DPR8EA-9}} '84-85 | |fuel_system = | ||
|battery = {{battery|YB12A-A}} '84-85 | |ignition = Transistorized | ||
|transmission = | |spark_plug = {{sparkplug|NGK DPR8EA-9}} '84-85 | ||
|frame = | |battery = {{battery|YUASA YB12A-A}} '84-85 | ||
|suspension = | |transmission = 6 Speed | ||
|brakes = | |frame = | ||
|front_tire = {{tire|100/90-18}} | |suspension =Front: Telescopic air assisted 140mm [[wheel]] travel <br> | ||
|rear_tire = {{tire|130/90-16}} | Rear: Single shock swing arm 115mm wheel travel | ||
|rake_trail = | |brakes =Front: 2x 255mm discs <br>Rear: Drum | ||
|wheelbase = | |front_tire = {{tire|100/90-18}} | ||
|length = | |rear_tire = {{tire|130/90-16}} | ||
|width = | |rake_trail = | ||
|height = | |wheelbase = | ||
|seat_height = | |length = | ||
|dry_weight = | |width = | ||
|wet_weight = | |height = | ||
|fuel_capacity = | |seat_height = | ||
|oil_capacity = | |dry_weight = | ||
|fuel_consumption = | |wet_weight = | ||
|turning_radius = | |fuel_capacity = 14 Liters | ||
|related = | |oil_capacity = | ||
|competition = | |recommended_oil=Honda GN4 10W-40 | ||
|fuel_consumption = | |||
|turning_radius = | |||
|related = | |||
|competition = | |||
|air_filter={{airfilter|K&N HA-3010}} `84-85<ref name="kl_2019">{{cite book|title=2019 K&L Supply Co Catalog|publisher=[https://www.klsupply.com/ K&L Supply Co]|date=2019}}</ref> | |||
|final_drive={{chain|530}} `84-85<ref name="wps_street_2019">{{cite book|title=2019 Western Power Sports Catalog|publisher=[https://www.wps-inc.com/catalogs Western Power Sports]|date=2019}}</ref> | |||
}} | }} | ||
The '''[[Honda]] VF500C''' was a [[motorcycle]] produced by [[Honda]] from 1984 to 1985 and more commonly known as the '''V30 Magna'''. | The '''[[Honda]] VF500C''' was a [[motorcycle]] produced by [[Honda]] from 1984 to 1985 and more commonly known as the '''V30 Magna'''. It could reach a top speed of 196.4 km/h. | ||
==Engine== | |||
The engine was a Liquid cooled cooled Four stroke, 90°V-four cylinder, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder. The engine featured a 11.0:1 [[compression ratio]]. | |||
==Drive== | |||
Power was moderated via the Multiple plate [[coil]] springs. | |||
==Chassis== | |||
It came with a 100/90-18 front [[tire]] and a 130/90-16 rear tire. Stopping was achieved via 2x 255mm discs in the front and a Drum in the rear. The front suspension was a Telescopic air assisted 140mm wheel travel while the rear was equipped with a Single shock swing arm 115mm wheel travel. The VF500C Magna V30 was fitted with a 14 Liters fuel tank. | |||
== Review == | |||
Rugged times in the motorcycle industry have substantially thinned out the | |||
herd in the middleweight chopper class of 1984. Just two companies are in the | |||
running this year, offering a total of three models. Last year was quite a | |||
different story, with each of the big four building middie-cruisers. The eight | |||
models available covered most conceivable design permutations. In-line fours | |||
could be had in any flavor, and there was even a V-twin. What you couldn't get | |||
was a vertical twin (not all that popular anyway) or a V-4 (quite popular). | |||
This year, Honda fills the V-4 gap with the V30 Magna, a machine which, if | |||
nothing else, possesses the most sophisticated engine in the class. Honda has | |||
all V-engined bets covered this year, offering vees of two speeds: the Magna and | |||
the even more laid back V-twin Shadow. The twin truly is a cruiser to the core, | |||
with its Harleyesque looks and extreme riding position. The Magna, though it | |||
looks the part of the boulevard loafer, has a more bearable seating layout, as | |||
well as the most and best power in the class. The inline four Nighthawk 550 that | |||
Honda offered last year has been discontinued, leaving the in-line market to its | |||
only competitor, Kawasaki, with its shaft-drive KZ550 LTD, the third and final | |||
player in the class this year. These three very different motorcycles give | |||
anyone who likes custom styling room for choice in the 500 division. | |||
Honda is exploring new marketing territory with the V30 Magna. The Magna's | |||
styling closely parallels that of the discontinued 550 Nighthawk, so much so | |||
that only a long stare at the engines helps tell them apart for sure. A peek at | |||
the final drive systems of both bikes would give their identities away too. The | |||
old Night-hawk had shaft final drive, but the Magna has a chain. That in itself | |||
is a bit of a surprise, since Hondas 750 and 1100 Mag-nas are shafties, and for | |||
good reason. Riders drawn to custom styling seem to favor the reduced | |||
maintenance of shaft drive, even at the cost of a little extra weight and | |||
slightly flawed handling. The decision to go with a chain on the Magna might | |||
very well be one of convenience and economy, since the 500 Magna and Interceptor | |||
engines are virtually identical and are the smallest V-4s Honda has sold in | |||
America. | |||
Differences between the half-liter V-4s are few. An airbox with less volume | |||
and a set of smaller mufflers account for a four-horsepower drop in peak power | |||
compared to the Interceptor. Both primary and final drive ratios are the same, | |||
but the internal transmission ratios have been stirred around. The Magna's | |||
redline sits at 11,500 rpm, which is 500 rpm lower than the Interceptor's. The | |||
Magna's reduced intake and exhaust breathing ability makes the extra revving | |||
unnecessary. | |||
In all other respects, the water-cooled V-4 is largely the same. Each valve | |||
(four per cylinder) is actuated by a follower with threaded adjuster. The four | |||
separate camshafts are spun by roller chains that are tensioned automatically. | |||
All the power-producing parts are scaled-down versions of those in the bigger | |||
Magnas. Honda engineers have settled on specific design formulas that extract | |||
the type and quantity of power they want from the V-4s, and they have not | |||
strayed far from these blueprints yet. The Magna's 500cc engine is a | |||
masterpiece, both functionally and aesthetically. | |||
As is the pattern with cruiser bikes, the Magna's rolling chassis is a piece | |||
of styling work first and foremost, with functional engineering second. That's | |||
almost an arguable point in a cruiser, since in a way, a cruising machine's form | |||
is its function. You can decide for yourself if the Magna is visually | |||
pleasing; technically and functionally, its chassis is merely average. Wheel | |||
sizes are a routine 18 inches in front and 16 inches rear. A single disc stops | |||
the front wheel, and a drum brake slows the rear. A pair of glistening chrome | |||
shocks support the box-section steel swingarm; only spring preload is | |||
adjustable. The long leading-axle front fork has individual air caps for fine | |||
tuning; the steering stem rides in ball bearings. A chrome tubular steel | |||
handlebar is fitted, and the switch assemblies are logically laid out and easy | |||
to use. The bar-mounted choke handle is convenient, but the noncancelling turn | |||
signals aren't. | |||
Honda engineers ran into a few problems when it came time to mate the V-4 | |||
engine to the required custom-styled bodywork. With all four carburetors set in | |||
the engine's V and a large airbox sitting on top of them, little space is left | |||
for the fuel tank. Honda got around this problem by placing additional fuel | |||
capacity in a tank under the seat and using an electric pump to carry gas back | |||
up to the carbs. Both tanks fill and drain as one, but once the upper one is | |||
empty and the fuel is out of sight, there's no reliable way of finding out how | |||
much fuel remains. No fuel gauge is provided, and the fuel petcock has no | |||
reserve position. Only a glowing red idiot light on the instrument panel | |||
indicates that you're down to the last nine-tenths of a gallon. With a grand | |||
total of just 3.6 gallons to begin with, that annoying little light usually | |||
flickers on after just 80 or 90 miles of city riding. | |||
Chassis dimensions for the Magna are closer to those of the 500 Shadow than | |||
to the Interceptor's. The Magna's wheel-base is a lengthy 59.1 inches, for the | |||
long and low look. The Interceptor is over three inches shorter, and the Shadow | |||
is about a half-inch shorter. The Magna is properly raked out, too; its steering | |||
stem sits 31.5 degrees from verticalnot as extreme as the Shadow's 33.5-degree | |||
angle but much more rakish than the Interceptor's 27-degree head angle. Trail | |||
measurements for all three machines fall between four and five inches, with the | |||
Interceptor on the short end of the range and the Shadow on the long end, | |||
leaving the Magna in the middle. Both cruiser models have their seats positioned | |||
about 1.5 inches lower than the Interceptor's. | |||
The numbers alone would add up to indicate that the Magna (and the Shadow) is | |||
a slow, ponderous steerer, but one other number, the Magna's manageable | |||
434-pound wet weight, helps to make the whole equation work just fine overall. | |||
Both the engine and Magna rider are low to the ground, resulting in responsive | |||
handling that doesn't feel unstable or too twitchy. The long wheelbase and | |||
chopperlike steering-head angle are most noticeable in low-speed parking lot | |||
maneuvers. There, the V30 tries to turn its front end into turns; the wide | |||
buckhorn handlebar gives the rider plenty of leverage to deal with the floppy | |||
low-speed handling, though. The machine's lightness is apparent at all speeds | |||
and builds the rider's confidence in controlling the Honda. | |||
In turns that are faster than a crawl, the V30 goes about where you point it. | |||
It's not nearly as quick through transitions in-to and out of turns as the | |||
Interceptor; instead, it has a steady, predictable feel that lets you set up a | |||
quick, smooth pace on a curvy road. The steering is close to neutral in bends | |||
above about 20 mph, with a comforting tendency to gradually straighten itself | |||
back up during a corner unless the rider keeps it countersteered into the turn | |||
just a hair. Grabbing a moderate amount of front brake when leaned over doesn't | |||
cause the Honda to try to stand up much, an aspect that helps reduce the rider's | |||
work load. Though designed as long-wearing rubber, the Dun-lops stick well | |||
enough to let the V30 use up its cornering clearance if the rider desires. This | |||
is no roadracer, though, so the pegs and pipes touch down fairly early. Both | |||
front and rear brakes are controllable and powerful enough to lock the wheels. | |||
The single front disc fades if used hard, but even then it retains its | |||
predictability and most of its power. | |||
The Magna's outer limits of handling performance are set by its suspension. | |||
Suspension rates seem to be targeted at a 140-pound solo rider who travels at | |||
levelheaded speeds. Front and rear springing is decidedly soft, and the damping | |||
rates are light, particularly in the rear. Our testers all weigh over 150 pounds | |||
and bottomed the rear suspension regularly, even with the preload jacked all the | |||
way up. Adding a few pounds of air to the front fork helped to keep it off the | |||
stops, including over the relatively big bumps. There's no cure for the back end | |||
short of replacing the shocks entirely. The soft suspension rules out really | |||
fast cornering on the Magna. A great deal of heaving and lurching goes on if the | |||
bike is driven hard through a bumpy bend. More rebound damping in the rear would | |||
help, but then the steering should be quickened up too, and so on. Pretty soon | |||
the Magna would look and work just like the Interceptor; Honda already makes one | |||
of those, and they don't need another. No, the Magna is supposed to be a | |||
cruiser. For the lower speed levels that line of duty entails, the chassis works | |||
acceptably. | |||
Judged against comparable machines, the V30 is competitive, comfort-wise. The easy-chair riding position | |||
leaves plenty of room, even for taller riders. Like the rest of the cruisers, | |||
the V30 is engineered to be comfortable at a stop and at low speeds. Over about | |||
40 mph or so, wind pressure on the rider's chest makes him yearn for a more | |||
forward-canted riding position. The standard bar has too much sweepback and | |||
droop, and the pegs are much too far forward for long-haul comfort. The seat | |||
itself is pretty nice: the padding is of the proper density, and the shape is | |||
decent. Some riders wished that it was a little wider, but most were happy with | |||
it. The passenger's section is too narrow and firm for anything more than a | |||
short-term comfort. As is the case with other cruisers, the V30 can make a good | |||
touring bike with the simple addition of a lightweight fairing to keep the wind | |||
off the rider's chest; then the riding position becomes livable, if not truly | |||
comfortable. | |||
Suspension compliance seems better than the V-twin Shadow's but not up to the | |||
standards of the best street bikes. The little bumps and ripples slide under the | |||
wheels smoothly enough, but over moderately sized jolts the fork is slow to | |||
respond. Like the long fork assemblies on the other Magnas, the 500's fork has | |||
quite a lot of fore and aft flex. The fork hits the medium bumps hard enough to | |||
make it try to deflect some before it compresses, sending an initial jolt | |||
through the handlebar and on to the rider. The slushy rear shocks are more | |||
compliant on midsized bumps. The big dips bottom the shocks hard; the fork | |||
handles them decently. In the final analysis the Magna's chassis gets the job | |||
done, but not in spectacular style. | |||
But the motor that's spectacular. The V30 has the same type of | |||
power for which all Honda V-4s are becoming known. No perceptible hills or | |||
valleys can be found in power delivery; bottom-end power is usable, and the urge | |||
builds in a linear way as revs rise. By the time the tach swings through four | |||
grand, the acceleration in the lower gears is brisk. Though not vibration free, | |||
the engine never shakes uncomfortably, even clear up at redline where the best | |||
power is. There, the engine will launch the bike through the quarter-mile in | |||
12.83 seconds at 103.2 mph. That's a half second and five mph slower than the | |||
more powerful and aerodynamically superior 500 Interceptor, but a second and 10 | |||
mph faster than the 500 Shadow. | |||
Day-to-day riding on the Magna is a pleasure, due largely to the V-4's | |||
excellent behavior. Warm-up is a one-block affair. Throttle response is clean | |||
and predictable. Fuel mileage is a reasonable 44.5 mpg on the average. The | |||
extremely broad powerband makes a ride on the Magna undemanding. Any of a few | |||
gears will do in most situations; the more urgent your desire to accelerate, the | |||
more you downshift. The bike is noticeably slower than the Interceptor but still | |||
feels quite fast. | |||
The only flaws in the Magna's power package are confined to the driveline. | |||
Like the Interceptor we tested recently, the Magna's shifting is occasionally | |||
sticky. Once in a while it fails to re-index after a downshift and won't | |||
complete successive downshifts unless the clutch and throttle are given a number | |||
of swats to unstick things. This only seems to happen when you're rolling along | |||
in top gear and decide to stop. You need to make all five downshifts in quick | |||
succession, and maybe one time in fifty, the Magna isn't willing to play along. | |||
There's also a healthy dose of driveline lash present-enough so that some | |||
hop-on-and-ride types assumed the bike had shaft drive. "Not bad for a shaftie," | |||
they said. Then they saw the chain and said, "Lotta lash for a chain-drive | |||
bike." The smooth throttle response makes the lash pretty livable, though. | |||
Overall, the Magna is the best bike of the three customs offered this year. | |||
Though the chassis is functionally uninspired, it falls right in line with those | |||
of other bikes available to the middleweight cruising rider. It's the motor that | |||
makes the Magna a true standout. No middleweight street cruiser for sale this | |||
year is faster or more agreeable. | |||
Source Motorcyclist 1984 | |||
==1984== | ==1984== | ||
Line 71: | Line 300: | ||
The VF500C'85 V30 Magna was sold in 1985 in one of two colors: Black or Candy Wineberry Red. The "HONDA" gas tank logo was curved. The headlight was chrome and rectangular. The horns were round. The chrome exhaust system was a 4-into-2. It had a chain drive. The engine was a 498cc [[DOHC]] 4-valve liquid-cooled V-4 linked to a 6-speed transmission. The serial number began JH2PC130*FM100001 | The VF500C'85 V30 Magna was sold in 1985 in one of two colors: Black or Candy Wineberry Red. The "HONDA" gas tank logo was curved. The headlight was chrome and rectangular. The horns were round. The chrome exhaust system was a 4-into-2. It had a chain drive. The engine was a 498cc [[DOHC]] 4-valve liquid-cooled V-4 linked to a 6-speed transmission. The serial number began JH2PC130*FM100001 | ||
== Photos == | |||
[[File:Honda-VF500C-83--2.jpg|600px|Honda VF500C Magna V30]] | |||
[[File:Honda-VF500C-83--2.jpg|600px|Honda VF500C Magna V30]] | |||
[[File:Honda-VF500C-83--1.jpg|600px|Honda VF500C Magna V30]] | |||
==Specifications== | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
!Make Model | |||
|Honda VF 500C Magna V30 | |||
|- | |||
!Year | |||
|1983 | |||
|- | |||
!Engine Type | |||
|Four stroke, 90°V-four cylinder, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder | |||
|- | |||
!Displacement | |||
|498 cc / 30.3 cu-in | |||
|- | |||
!Bore X Stroke | |||
|60.4 x 44 mm | |||
|- | |||
!Compression | |||
|11.0:1 | |||
|- | |||
!Cooling System | |||
|Liquid cooled | |||
|- | |||
!Induction | |||
|4x 32mm CV | |||
|- | |||
!Ignition | |||
|Transistorized | |||
|- | |||
!Max Power | |||
|68 hp @ 11500 rpm | |||
|- | |||
!Max Torque | |||
|31.7 lb-ft @ 10500 rpm | |||
|- | |||
!Clutch | |||
|Multiple plate coil springs | |||
|- | |||
!Transmission | |||
|6 Speed | |||
|- | |||
!Final Drive | |||
|Chain | |||
|- | |||
!Front Suspension | |||
|Telescopic air assisted 140mm wheel travel | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Suspension | |||
|Single shock swing arm 115mm wheel travel | |||
|- | |||
!Front Brakes | |||
|2x 255mm discs | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Brakes | |||
|Drum | |||
|- | |||
!Front Tire | |||
|100/90-16 | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Tire | |||
|130/90-18 | |||
|- | |||
!Wet-weight | |||
|271 kg | |||
|- | |||
!Fuel Capacity | |||
|14 Liters | |||
|- | |||
!Standing ¼ Mile | |||
|12.6 sec / 164.5 km/h | |||
|- | |||
!Top Speed | |||
|196.4 km/h | |||
|} | |||
Line 80: | Line 392: | ||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
{{motorcycle-stub}} | {{motorcycle-stub}} |