1983 Honda V65 Magna — The First Power Cruiser

[YoDude]

I rode a V45 once. The thing had like proportional throttle. No matter where you twisted it, the bike was THERE. My 1400 doesn't do that. I can't imagine what the V65's were like.

Yo-

[Jolsen]

I see them for sale every once in awhile

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[Skree]

I had a V45 - it was a rocket on wheels when all was good.

The V65 was even more so. My brother had one and we swapped bikes on a cruise, it was very quick, but very top heavy.

[YoDude]

A lot of them got wrecked. They were all power...

-cc

No kidding, very strong running bikes.

Yo-

[DMIntruder]

I look closely at these too when they come up. i have never ridden one, but I am curious about their power. I am also curious about their quirks as far as maintenance or parts availability.

[wj_hurd]

I have heard these bikes being referred to as the Widow Maker.
These monsters were just a poor design in how they handled the power to weight, the front rake of the forks, and the overall balance of the bike. In a straight line, the bike was great, however it was death of two wheels in the curves. Too much power!

The liquid-cooled, 1098cc, 90-degree V-4 engine delivered a staggering flow of power from 1500 rpm to its 10,000 rpm redline. But how quick was it? On October 3, 1982, Honda brought drag-strip maestro Jay "Pee-Wee" Gleason and a standard V65 to Southern California's Orange County International Raceway to find out. Gleason's 10.92 — second 1/4-mile sprint made the V65 America's fastest production street machine, inspiring ads with one powerfully simple headline: Bad News Travels Fast.

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/ ... 5%2083.htm

However the same engine was put into a sports bike, the Interceptor. A 750CC version.

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/ ... 0%2083.htm

The Interceptor is a sports bike I would love to ride and check out... Make sure I like it before I bought one!
:smoke:

I looked at the newer Magnas, ones they tamed a bit... Still a very powerful muscle bike, but they got the handling down better.

[Jolsen]

Too bad they are ugly and handle like crap.

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[Jolsen]

Look at a front view once.

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