2012 Honda VT750 Aero Motorcycle Review

When it comes to V Twin riding, over the past decade Honda Canada has certainly taken the middleweight cruiser category very seriously. Currently Honda has five cruisers on offer in this division, everything from classic roadsters to custom low riders, blacked out muscle cruisers to this guy – the top of Honda’s 750 line-up – the retro classic VT750 Aero.

Under the Aero’s 14 liter fuel tank you’ll find a liquid cooled, fuel injected 745cc long stroke V Twin power plant that is fed by a single 34 millimeter throttle body. To help maximize combustion each of those cylinders sports duel spark plugs and 3 valves while beautiful staggered duel exhausts handle the result of all that spent air and fuel.  When it comes to pulling out the stops Honda hasn’t held back there either. The VT comes stock with an ABS Braking System that delivers one of the best-linked front and rear braking systems out there. So the Aero looks great, sounds good and stops very well, but, as always, you don’t have to take my word for it, here now is this weeks guest road tester, life long Goldwing owner and former CMA riding instructor ­­­­­­­­­­­Ken Edick.

David Hatch
I’ve known you as a Goldwing rider for as long as I’ve known you. Have you ridden any cruisers lately.

Ken Edick
I’ve got to be honest with you, it’s been by first cruiser ride of any significant riding experience. I loved it, I had a complete attitude change about how I ride. Number one, I was sitting so low that I felt in the bike as opposed to on it. And I’ve ridden multi-cylinder bikes, with four cylinders and six cylinders, for so long that I was a little apprehensive with a twin, uh because I can’t remember my last twin. So smooth, but there’s the character of a twin – I immediately heard it in the exhaust system and the feel of the whole bike. Just loved it.

David Hatch
And I guess the last big difference is you weren’t surrounded by faring. How did you like having the wind in your face?

Ken Edick
It was simplistic and yet it was the true element of motorcycle riding – this wind in your face experience that everybody talks about. That’s what I felt, I was right out there but I didn’t feel vulnerable, just part of being one with the machine. Had a great time.

David Hatch
Okay, so let’s talk about the engine first. So you have a V-twin, well sorted – the motor’s ben around for a long time – what did you think of the engine?

Ken Edick
Incredibly smooth, uh very responsive and I guess just typical Honda power. It was constant it was there, and the rumble with the exhaust, the way it comes from Honda with much more character than I ever expected and I just loved it. I can’t imagine wanting to change that sound that I experienced.

David Hatch
Yeah you sounded great pulling away from us on all those shots.

Ken Edick
Yeah I had a lot of time to figure out how to get the most benefit of it from shifting. I backed off just to get that reverb through the exhaust system which I don’t get through the other bikes that don’t have the character that this one has.

David Hatch
Now going is one thing, stopping is another. I think what’s really interesting about this bike is it’s got ABS and linked brakes. What did you think?

Ken Edick
The linked brake I’m sort of used to. It’s something a lot of people still aren’t but I’ve been riding linked braking for quite some time and I love it. I wasn’t in uh a feel of rush. I wanted to be much more mellow riding the bike. Very solid braking for what this bike gives you. It’s that whole attitude of slowing things down and really enjoying the ride.

David Hatch
Now tell me about the riding style. You’re a little taller than me so how did you find the seating position?

Ken Edick
I guess I was thinking that maybe it was too low because I jokingly sat down in it and that’s the lowest seat height I’ve been on in a long time. I swear I heard my ears pop when I got down. I think it’s around 27 and change for seat height. Very low, but again this was all part of that sitting in. And yet when I put my feet up on the pegs, because they weren’t directly underneath me it was a relaxed fit. The handlebar placement was so with the whole package and the ride that I got was what amazed me. It was firm yet compliant. It didn’t jostle me around but it wasn’t sport bike firm but I had a good feel for the road.

David Hatch
Finally, bikes like this are all about chrome. Well I think half the fun of owning one is polishing it on Saturday mornings so chrome and paint. What did you think of the presentation?

Ken Edick
Unfortunately, right here with the cloud cover we’ve got we’re not really getting the benefit of this jeweled paint that Honda has and they’ve done some fantastic work on it. This red is really really alive. The sun came out for a little bit on the ride this morning. But yeah, like you said, the chrome display as you see it is absolutely phenomenal. It is a beautiful looking machine with the chrome enhancements that they did all over the engine and the exhaust.

David Hatch
So who do you think this bike is meant for? Who do you think would appreciate riding a bike like this?

Ken Edick
Well if I was going to get into touring as a part of my ride I can see doing this. I don’t need bigger because my whole attitude, as I say, changed. I slowed down, I just enjoyed the scenery and I wanted to back off. For somebody who’s thinking of moving up into a touring bracket so many of the larger bikes are 1000, 1300, 1800CC – sometimes biggest is not best. I think this one has all the character you could possibly need, it’s an impressive looking bike no matter who looks at it. The feel with everything else says I’m a big bike in disguise. I think anybody would be pleasantly surprised that wanted to get into touring about how this fits the bill.

David Hatch
Well you’ve done a great job for us today. I’ve got to say, it was a lot of fun listening to you blap blap blap down the road. It was a blast.

Ken Edick
Yeah I said I’ve…oh that’s another thing I developed right away, I’ve now got the twitch for blipping the throttle. I never had that before. It’s standard equipment.

David Hatch
Nice work.

Ken Edick
Had a great time.