Five Beginner Bikes

The Bonneville wasn't the only guinea pig packing baggage in this test. Star's 650cc V-Star Silverado comes equipped with a set of leather bags and a windshield to boot. Between those and its floorboards, the Silverado gets its looks from bigger scoots like its larger V-Star ilk or a Harley Heritage with leather bags. Like the Suzuki, the Silverado also rolls on spoke wheels but the studs on the seat and bags set it about ten to fifteen years back on the nostalgia scale. One of only two V-Twins in the test, it represented at once a more fully-equipped bike and the middle of the engine size scale.

Our other bagger was the Honda Shadow Aero that's also our long-termer. If you've been following it, you know we've made a few changes to the 750cc V-Twin in the hopes of making it more fun to ride (custom seat, new suspension, and a performance exhaust pipe). With such a mild hop up, we thought it'd be a gentle way to introduce our inexperienced test riders to something with a custom vibe and get their feedback on it since their experience slates are clean, relative to us jaded veterans. The Aero's fenders and profile are reminiscent of Harley's beefy Fat Boy but for roughly half the price and displacement. Ours came with Honda's accessory windshield, bags, and passenger backrest; we swapped out the seat for a more svelte Saddlemen unit that brings the rider's knees in closer to the tank and butt closer to the ground.

This comparison wasn't all about bagged rigs, though. Kawasaki's Vulcan 500 LTD was stripped down compared to all the other machines except the TU250X. Its fenders are practically bobbed but the seat is a low-riding buttoned cushion that's anything but minimal. The 500 is also the only member of the current Vulcan line with classic spoke wheels.

Musical Seats?
Most of our testers were happy with the fit of these motorcycles. We chose bikes with middling ergonomics, with nothing set up specifically for tall riders. While the bikes had a variety of riding positions, all were fairly compact in the rider's triangle from peg to bar to seat. Some of the scoots were a little more stretched-out, but not by that much (namely, the Aero and the Silverado).

The TU250X and Bonneville were pretty close together in terms of riding stance with the Triumph more spread out. Both had mid-mount footpegs and neutral bars. In each case the relationship between the controls and seat had the rider leaning slightly forward. With its shorter wheelbase, the Suzuki simply had less real estate to work with. One of our riders complained that his knees felt like they were right under his knuckles on the Suzuki.

Throwing a leg over the V-Star Silverado and the Honda Aero was night to the Bonneville and TU250X's day. Where the two standards had our test riders leaning toward the front, the more traditionally cruiser styled Star and Aero place the rider upright and sport forward foot controls. Although not chopper forward as none of our newbies complained about the reach. While outwardly similar, the Star's floorboards are much closer to the rider, offering more support than the pegs of the Shadow Aero, and more options for movement, at least for shorter riders. One rider said they were put off by the "out there" foot placement on the Honda but adjusted to it quickly and were fine after a few minutes in the saddle, while one rider cited the V-Star as "the short man's Cadillac" for its luxurious fit to his frame.

Opinions were split on the Vulcan 500 LTD. It has plenty of cushion in the seat, but has a narrow bars and close-in forward controls. Some testers felt it seemed odd, while it fit others like a glove.