That's what I would suggest, a Rebel. Last year there was a older guy riding 2-up with one on a poker run. He told me he's had the bike for years and it works well for him as he doesn't long distance much and it's reliable.

 

I looked them up a while back and it looks like they were a scooter company (as in moped) that started making "motorcycles" with tiny engines.

I was thinking along similar lines, as in a wife or buddy bike. Decided against it.

 

For the same price you can get a 250 Virago. At least that way you can get it fixed and get parts for it.

 

I think the Kymco's supposed to be a pretty good bike. Been around for years on the world stage, Just recently came to the American market. They are supposed to have a good reputation when it comes to reliability. Steve Fischer went with Kymco motors for his new sportbike.

 

Funny, I thought it got interesting on page 9

 

For about another grandyou can get a new 500 Vulcan. It's not American, but neither is that Vento POS and at least the Vulcan has 25 years of evolution behind it so it's fairly reliable, and it has enough ***** to get out of its own way.
Vento's havebeen reviewed in the bike mags a few times in the last couple of years, never seen much positive written about them. Cheap build quality, poor ergonomics, underpowered, etc...

 

i think the kymcos are supposed to be very good. the scooters anyway, not sure about their motorcycles. They aren't korean, rather they are made in taiwan. they aren't cheap either.

while we're on this, what about the hyosongs.. they seem like crap.

 

My thought exactly I've seen there ad many times in magazines. The idea might not be bad but 4k still seems like way too much for what you get... or for what you don't get. Never seen one of them either. I wouldn't touch it.

 

Someone asked me about these bikes last year. I did a Google search and found many people complaining about VERY bad quality (even more than around here). The bikes also don't have enough power to get on the parkway. Check the reviews posted above. These bikes are a very bad idea.

 

We have owned TWO Honda Rebels over the past several years. Check eBay and see how many 80's vintage Rebels are still running and for sale. ONLY way to go if you are looking at that price range and engine size. Actually, I think the Rebel is considerably less than $3999.