Had a Rebel as my first bike for a couple of years. Never let me down mechanically in over 10,000 miles riding. It is a great town bike but it's also highly capable on longer trips on country roads thanks to easy steering and decent torque. Only limited on long motorway runs as you'd expect, but even then it will run wide open throttle all day without overheating or burning oil. Great bike for a learner mechanic too -- air-cooled, only four valves, easy access to everything. Tank is small but then again you'll easily get 70mpg+ out of it.
Obviously most riders will want more power eventually, as I did, but I'm glad I chose the Rebel as a first bike. I'd certainly recommend it over most other mini-cruisers.
Note: There's a CA250T Rebel too, made for Japanese and other eastern markets. Virtually identical to the CMX but with staggered pipes and twin carbs, making about 21hp. The CMX's finish is probably better though.
