AT $8990 (plus on-road costs) this is a great price for such a good machine. A few years ago the earlier VTs were priced well above 10 grand.

On the stand

And if you like a slightly retro look then the VT750S is going to make you smile.
Those wire wheels with 19 inches up front and 16 down the back, that traditional air-cooled look of the cylinders and those sporty twin pipes do have a nice pulse to them.
I wouldn't quite call the tank a peanut style job, but it's getting there.

The centrally mounted analogue speedo, the slightly pulled back bars and the stylish cut of the seat all add to the appeal of this bike. The pearl white model we tested looks good with the black cylinders and just enough chrome splashed around the place.

On the road

The six-valve liquid cooled 745cc 52-degree V-twin is not going to break any performance records with 42hp (31kW) at 5500rpm and 92 Nm at 3250rpm but then it doesn't need to. The engine packs sufficient punch with good torque down low and the slightly tallish gearing gives it plenty of credentials for light touring duties. Fuelling is via Honda's PGM-F1 fuel injection. Exhaust is Euro 3 compliant and the standard pipes actually do have a nice note.

The bike's ergonomics are good with that upright cruiser riding posture and a nice bar-peg-seat geometry. The VT750S has good low-speed manoeuvrability so it cuts the mustard in getting around city traffic as well. It's a shame that it's not LAMS approved as it's a very confidence inspiring bike to ride and the performance wouldn't intimidate a newcomer, although, having said that, a more experienced rider would not be disappointed with the VT750S. During the ’80s I owned a string of Japanese V-twin cruisers, mostly 750s and 1100s, and I grew to love that engine configuration as I put huge kilometres on their clocks without hint of any drama.

Kerb weight is 232kg and the seat height of 750mm is not going to cause any problems for too many people. A double cradle steel tube frame keeps it all in shape while a five-speed gearbox delivers the goods through the chain drive.
Suspension up front is handled with non-adjustable 41mm tubes that have 118mm of travel while rear suspension is via twin shocks with five-step preload adjustment and have 90mm of travel.

We tore around our local ’burbs and managed to fit in some freeway time and didn't find any complaint with the suspension even though some of our roads up here in the Hunter Valley are shockers. However your pillion passenger might not agree, depending on how much time they spend in the saddle.

Speaking of time, the fuel tank only carries 10.7 litres. The speedo is the only instrumentation and carries within it all the requisite lights for blinkers, high beam etc hat you'd expect and is easy to read on the run. As well as looking good the wire wheels were shod with Metzeler Marathon tyres which will cope with most anything you throw at them. The other thing we really liked was the clutch action.

It was really light and springy and a joy to use. Front brake is 296mm hydraulic disc with two piston caliper and sintered metal pads and the rear is 180mm drum. We were a bit surprised to see that, but considering you're not going to be riding this style of bike like a scalded cat, then it's not really going to be a problem.

It also sort of enhances that retro kind of appeal that his bike plays on. We thought the VT750S handled well and has pretty decent ground clearance for this style of machine, depending on how hard you want to push it, of course.

On the wallet

$8990 (plus on roads) and two year unlimited kilometre warranty, what can we say? We had to double check - twice. This kind of price for the sort of quality you expect from Honda, well, it's hard to beat isn't it?