It’s an extremely forgiving engine, with just about 54 lb-ft of torque. What makes it so is the 883cc Evolution V-Twin that gives it its name. Social opinion aside, however, the fact remains that the Iron 883 is just a damned good bike. For over 60 years, Harley-Davidson has been making what is one day considered comfortable endurance cruisers and tourers, and the next day overly expensive two-wheel land yachts. We can already hear you mentioning, “wait, what, I thought Harley’s were bad beginner bikes?” For the most part, you’d be correct, but not with the Iron 883. Riders that enjoy the Vulcan S are more often than not destined more for the sport cruiser or muscle cruiser markets.
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Its slightly higher stance gives it excellent handling and will let the beginner learn how to lean with or against the bike in corners to keep it stable without threatening to toss them off. Peak output figures of 61hp and 46.3 lb-ft of torque are perfect for the 496 lbs wet weight. It also uses the time-tested and literally bulletproof 649cc parallel-twin that is found at the heart of the Z650 and Ninja 650 sportbikes but tuned to be way more accessible across way more of the rev range. You could be 4’10” and 100 lbs, or 6’3” and 260 lbs, and because the bike has a simple, open setup about it, both sizes will fit no problem. But when you consider that the handlebar, seat, and footpegs on the Vulcan S can be adjusted to best suit your riding position, it immediately becomes the best beginner cruiser for any body shape. Others feel that it doesn’t sound right, using a parallel-twin engine instead of a V-twin. Some people think it looks ugly with its slightly high seat and relaxed handlebars. The 2023 Kawasaki Vulcan S is a bike that divides opinions.
Someone who starts on a Rebel 500 can literally go anywhere in the cruiser spectrum, from a sports cruiser across to a continent-crushing touring cruiser. Much like the CBR250RR for sportbikes in the mid-2000s, or the CB500X for adventure bikes in the 2010s, the Rebel 500 is a bike that contains the purest essence of the top-tier machines in the cruiser segment can do, distilled down to beginner-friendly levels.
It’s got enough performance to keep you entertained without scaring you. Yes, Honda does offer a less-powerful, more beginner-friendly Rebel 300, but we find that the Rebel 500 is a better entry point in the cruiser space. It has a gentle throttle, great brakes, an assist-and-slipper clutch, excellent gearing, and a comfortable seat and riding position. It’s not some big, scary, roaring 1,800 V-Twin, nor is it a whimpering little scooter that buzzes about. That is precisely what the Rebel 500 is… simple. With the consideration that sportbikes and cruiser-style bikes often are within a few percentage points of each other in sales, Honda wanted to bring more riders over to the cruiser side of things, and so went with the formula that had worked with so many of their bikes becoming beginner favorites: Simplicity. The Honda Rebel 500, when it was introduced in 2017, quickly became one of the most popular and loved beginner cruisers of all time. You can go in any direction you want from the V-Star, although if you are staying in cruisers, the most direct route would be to sports cruisers. And because it’s so lightweight, it also has the agility, if you need it, of a standard bike, just with a lower seat and a V-Twin powering it.
The V-Star 250 is perfect for lighter-weight riders wanting to approach cruisers but afraid of the bigger bikes being too heavy, too unwieldy, or too powerful. It has enough power to get you up to freeway speeds, as long as you don’t weigh much over 200 lbs.
It has a happy, burbling exhaust note at idle and a surprisingly throaty note when cruising. The little V-Star packs in an air-cooled 250cc V-Twin producing just a hair over 15 lb-ft of torque in a bike weighing 324lbs soaking wet with a cinder block strapped down on the pillion seat. It won’t break any land speed records, it won’t last 400 miles between fuel stops, but that really doesn’t matter because of the smile threatening to tear your face in half under your helmet. This is definitely true of the 2023 Yamaha V-Star 250, the quintessential lightweight cruiser. Somehow, with each bike they make, Yamaha manages to bring out hilarious amounts of joy from what are literally bits of metal suspended between two wheels.
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