Typically, if you’re in the market for a cruiser with an automatic transmission, you’d have precious few options. The closest mainstream offering is Honda's Rebel 1100 DCT, which starts at around US$10,400 – and even that swaps the traditional V-twin for a parallel-twin engine. If you insist on a genuine V-twin and an automatic gearbox, you're effectively out of luck.
Step in the Coaster 407: a genuine V-twin cruiser with an automatic transmission (AMT) from Spanish motorcycle manufacturer Rieju, based in Figueres, Catalonia. And it only requires you to spend about half as much, too.
I have to point out that the motorcycle appears to be entirely Chinese-made, including its design. Rieju has simply stuck its badge on the tank, and voila, you have a brand new motorcycle “born” in the West. Do I like that practice? Not really. But do I get it? Absolutely.
Rieju is hardly the first bikemaker to hop on this trend. Brands like Brixton, AJS, Mash, and Benelli (which is actually Chinese-owned) have either embraced Chinese OEMs as manufacturing partners or simply rebadged existing platforms.
Starting with the engine, it is a water-cooled, 8-valve, 385cc V-twin – not a 407 as its name suggests. It’s a Euro 5+ compliant engine, producing 34.6 hp at 8,250 rpm and peak torque of 26.5 lb.ft (36 Nm) at 4,500 rpm. That’s quite a drop from the A2 class limit of 48 hp, but it’s not too bad considering you’re able to max out at 96 mph (155 km/h).
But perhaps the biggest selling point of this motorcycle is its automatic transmission. You do get a clutch lever, but there’s no traditional gear shifter at your foot. Either the shifting through the six gears is fully automatic on the AMT on the Coaster 407, or you can simply engage the clutch and shift via paddles on the left handlebar.
It rolls on multi-spoke cast aluminum wheels, measuring 19 inches at the front and 17 inches at the rear. You get enclosed telescopic forks at the front offering 4.7 in (120 mm) of travel, while a hidden shock at the rear offers a meager 2.5 in (65 mm) of travel.
Braking is via one disc per wheel – 300 mm with NISSIN dual-piston caliper at the front and 240 mm at the rear, although ABS comes as standard. The Coaster 407 even features traction control (TCS), a digital display with connectivity, a keyless entry system, and two USB ports (Type-A and -C), as some standard features.
Now let's not forget who this motorcycle is for: beginners and riders moving up the ladder from smaller, single-cylinder bikes. And for that purpose, the numbers look very appropriate.
A rider-friendly seat height of only 27.1 in (690 mm) means even beginners would be able to feel confident on the bike. And a weight of 396 lb (180 kg) without fuel means it's one of the lighter cruisers out there.
Speaking of which, we are talking about a cruiser here. The long, low silhouette, kicked-out front end, teardrop fuel tank and stubby rear fender tick all the right boxes in that regard. The V-twin sits proudly on display rather than being buried beneath acres of plastic, complemented by twin slash-cut exhausts and a belt final drive that do lend the bike a clean look.
And unlike other chrome-laden options on the market, the Coaster 407 takes a far more restrained approach to its styling. You get blacked-out engine cases, dark-finished wheels, and fork legs and exhausts, with only subtle metallic accents breaking up the monotony. A generous wheelbase, low-slung seat, and gently raked fork create the classic "long and low" cruiser profile, with the compact tail section keeping the bike from appearing overly stretched.
In Spain, the Rieju Coaster 407 has been priced at €4,961. That’s around US$5,726 per direct conversion. A sub-€5,000 MSRP is also being widely touted for other parts of Europe. However, I see it as highly unlikely that it will make its way outside of Europe to markets like the USA, Canada and Australia.
That’s too bad because the strongest compliment I can pay the Coaster 407 is that it doesn't scream "budget motorcycle." It looks rather handsome and well-balanced for what’s essentially a white-labeled Chinese product. But then again, what’s not a white-labeled Chinese product these days?
Source: Rieju
