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2K views 36 replies 13 participants last post by  gdb069 
#1 ·
Hi

Newbie here.

I came in a motorcycle dealer with no pre-determined idea of which motorcycle to buy. I had other bikes before, mostly sport bikes. I am not a fan of cruisers so I was indifferent to the many choices of cruisers (from Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Harley ...) that were presented to me. I was only looking for something more comfortable than sport bikes. After sitting on the Bolt, the Vulcan, the Shadow Phantom, the HD Softail Slim ... I ended up leaving the dealer with a brand new Shadow RS (VT750RS) because I preferred the more upright sitting position of this bike. However, I knew nothing much about the Honda Shadow bikes.

I used my RS daily for a few months and didn't like it. I didn't like its look (as I don't like the look of cruisers in general). The rides were ok, a lot of torque compared to my sport bikes, but nothing that would make me feel passionate about this bike. Then I went back to my sport bike for a long while, and stopped riding the RS, all the while thinking of selling it.

During this time, I found myself missing the RS, and even now I still don't know why I missed it. So I took the RS out of its semi-retirement, started to use it again.

One day I met a Harley guy, a rather nice guy, during my weekend rides. He pointed his finger to my RS and told me "do the regular maintenance and this Shadow will last you forever" ... Huh ? So he got me even more curious about the Shadow. Then I did some online search and ran into this forum, so I thought maybe you folks can share with me the reasons why you like the Shadow and that might help me realize why I start to like this specific cruiser ? And since I don't know much about the Shadow in general, why did that Harley man tell me the Shadow would last forever ? Does the Shadow has a good reputation for reliability ? Anyhow, the idea of selling it is evaporating day by day.

Please share your thought.

Thanks a bunch
 
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#2 ·
Metric bikes in general are lower maintenance than most Harley's and while I've only had one Harley it's my experience they are easier to work on. It's not uncommon to get over 100,000 miles without any major problems if you do the minor maintenance. The bike's themselves are less expensive as are parts and accessories.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Unlike you I don't come from a sports bike background. I rode a few dirt bikes as a kid, but haven't ridden since. That is, until I bought my Honda Shadow, and then the Honda VTX. I bought the Shadow mainly for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted something "smaller" to start back riding. I wanted a cruiser, because I figured I'd kill myself on a sports bike. And finally, I opted for the Shadow Phantom because it is just one cool looking bike. I went Honda, because of their maintenance record.

In my mind, I think how could you not like the Shadow. :grin2:
 

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#6 ·
I am on my 4th Honda after many years. I never put a lot of miles on them but they are reliable. When you hear that a Valk or Goldwing can go 300,000 miles that is impressive !
I worked on Japanese cars for 40 years because Japan engineers quality.
 
#7 ·
Since my Phantom only has 11,500 +/- miles I cannot attest to the longevity of the bikes except to say that I have seen some high mileage reports on this site. Check out this thread,,,http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/53-general-bike-discussion/443753-odometer-milestone-thread.html

I like the cruiser style bikes, and I am the type to put "cruiser" stuff on them,,,I like storage. I got the Phantom instead of the other Shadows because I fell in love with the black bike>:),,,I dont like cleaning chrome.:surprise:

I changed my riding position more upright by adding handle bar risers.:grin2:

The biggest difference in ride comfort with this bike compared to previous bikes I have had is the size of the front tire. The wider tire to me makes the bike less twitchy.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Simple , tough , minimal maintenance, not super expensive , parts mostly easy to find , unless the bike is quite old....

Proof:

A grand son , 17 years old , calls me up said he bought a used "Honda 750" in Melbourne , Fla.
"What kinda Honda 750 ?"
" What do you mean what kinda Honda ? I told you , a Honda 750." And off he goes , rides up to Norfolk , Va.

Then I hear he rides back to Melbourne, seems he missed his cutie.
But shortly they have a falling out so he heads out across the South .

In Ft Worth he hears it is a good idea to change his oil once in a while , so , he calls me to ask how. He doesn't know what an open end wrench is. So I tell him what they look like and he needs one , should probably get a few sizes of them. He calls me back and tells me he found a better deal , it is called a "crestient wrench ". "It does the job of all of them !" You should try one , 'Pops' !" He got a small too. Smart (mouth)kid (head slap).

I don't know how much he messed up the oil drain plug , but he evidently gets the oil changed cause he gets in to trouble due to the puddle he tried to leave behind. A cop takes pity and shows him how to clean it up and he escapes Texas going West as fast as he can. So the oil is staying in.

From someplace called Datil , NM. his mom hears from him , needs money for a flat tire. So I get to talk to an old boy there who can get and change both tires and is nice enough to ask if I have any idea when the last time the chain was adjusted , cuz "the rear sprocket looks a little worn , but the spokes and brakes all around look ok for now. And otherwise the bike looks pretty serviceable." " Doesn't look like he dumped it anyway."

So , his mom gets him to send me a picture of the sprocket...........yup a little worn , I'm not sure how that chain turned that wheel what with the 4" play and all the teeth aimed forward like that. Must have been the scraps of blue jeans caught in the chain and that saved it.

So , new tires , chain and sprocket shining in the sun and away he goes.

To make a long story short , I like Hondas cuz even this kid no experience , no idea what to look out for when buying , first bike , no training , no licence , a "crestient" wrench , a screwdriver , a leather jacket , an old Bell helmet and half a brain ................well, The Honda got him to San Diego.................. oh yeah , he learned how to change sparkplugs in Bakersfield. And made it to my brother's place in Simi Valley. " Jees, Bob he looked just like you were rolling in , even had a duffle bag on the back. Only thing missing was the Dress Blues !"

And now I hear he is 18 , made up with his "Melbourne:laugh: mama" and , well , he is off and rolling again. East this time before she gets away.

Said he learned how to set the valves.

I guess another reason I like Hondas is because I can honestly tell his mom not to worry , it'll get him back to Fla. just fine. I mean , what are you gonna do , I'm sure not going to stop him.


Sure am glad that kid don't drink.:grin2:



Genetics. >:)
 
#13 ·
I don't know, but I was shaking my head reading this post. Why buy a bike if you don't care for the look? Maybe that's just me.... I wouldn't buy a four wheeled vehicle if I didn't want to see it in my driveway either for that matter. If you learned to ride on a sports bike and you enjoy them, you'll never find a mid sized cruiser that'll do much for you.
In my opinion, Shadows are kind of the Dodge mini-van of motorcycles. There's a reason there are millions of them on the road. They do everything really ok. They crank up when you want them to crank up, especially if you take care of the battery. They are easy to do regular maintenance on. If you take decent care of them, they'll take really good care of you. Excitement factor though..... They'll never light you up like a good sports bike will. Me personally, if the bike doesn't turn you on when you turn it on, then it's time to get rid of it and find one that does. There's too many makes and models out there... one is bound to be the bike for you. With the recent surge of dual sport and adventure cruisers out there, you find something that's not just comfortable, but also make you grin when you roll back the throttle. Don't forget there's plenty of other brands out there besides the Honda/Harley/Suzuki/Yamaha/Kawasaki. Triumph, KTM and BMW have a surprising variety of bikes to choose from also as well as Ducati and others.
 
#26 ·
I don't know, but I was shaking my head reading this post. Why buy a bike if you don't care for the look? Maybe that's just me.... I wouldn't buy a four wheeled vehicle if I didn't want to see it in my driveway either for that matter. If you learned to ride on a sports bike and you enjoy them, you'll never find a mid sized cruiser that'll do much for you.
In my opinion, Shadows are kind of the Dodge mini-van of motorcycles. There's a reason there are millions of them on the road. They do everything really ok. They crank up when you want them to crank up, especially if you take care of the battery. They are easy to do regular maintenance on. If you take decent care of them, they'll take really good care of you. Excitement factor though..... They'll never light you up like a good sports bike will [...]
Well ... regretting a purchase does happen to many people and I am one of them :sad:. A little bit more information may explain why I bought a bike that I didn't care for the look. I ride about 16,000 miles per year for my daily commutes. That mileage does not count the leisure weekend rides. Riding a sport bike in traffic is no fun, at least my wrist and my back shout at me to let me know that it's not fun. When I bought the Shadow RS, it was all about doing those commute miles comfortably.

Now that you have mentioned about the "Dodge minivan of motorcycles", I think you hit the nail on the head. I think I started to like my RS, not because of its look or power or performance, but because it serves me very well to take me from point A to point B everyday. My commutes are so much more relaxing with this RS than any sport bike.
 
#14 ·
squidchief=

In my opinion, Shadows are kind of the Dodge mini-van of motorcycles. There's a reason there are millions of them on the road. They do everything really ok. They crank up when you want them to crank up, especially if you take care of the battery. They are easy to do regular maintenance on. If you take decent care of them, they'll take really good care of you. Excitement factor though..... They'll never light you up like a good sports bike will.


I am appalled!
Dodge mini-van indeed. :shock:
 
#27 ·
HONDA = Reliablity "NUFF Said!"

Hi

Newbie here.

I came in a motorcycle dealer with no pre-determined idea of which motorcycle to buy. I had other bikes before, mostly sport bikes. I am not a fan of cruisers so I was indifferent to the many choices of cruisers (from Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Harley ...) that were presented to me. I was only looking for something more comfortable than sport bikes. After sitting on the Bolt, the Vulcan, the Shadow Phantom, the HD Softail Slim ... I ended up leaving the dealer with a brand new Shadow RS (VT750RS) because I preferred the more upright sitting position of this bike. However, I knew nothing much about the Honda Shadow bikes.

I used my RS daily for a few months and didn't like it. I didn't like its look (as I don't like the look of cruisers in general). The rides were ok, a lot of torque compared to my sport bikes, but nothing that would make me feel passionate about this bike. Then I went back to my sport bike for a long while, and stopped riding the RS, all the while thinking of selling it.

During this time, I found myself missing the RS, and even now I still don't know why I missed it. So I took the RS out of its semi-retirement, started to use it again.

One day I met a Harley guy, a rather nice guy, during my weekend rides. He pointed his finger to my RS and told me "do the regular maintenance and this Shadow will last you forever" ... Huh ? So he got me even more curious about the Shadow. Then I did some online search and ran into this forum, so I thought maybe you folks can share with me the reasons why you like the Shadow and that might help me realize why I start to like this specific cruiser ? And since I don't know much about the Shadow in general, why did that Harley man tell me the Shadow would last forever ? Does the Shadow has a good reputation for reliability ? Anyhow, the idea of selling it is evaporating day by day.

Please share your thought.

Thanks a bunch

Not necessarily the Shadow but HONDA in General!


Regular maintenance and it`ll last forever...
I have 145,000 on the clock on my 98 VT750


Merry Christmas
D
 
#29 ·
...
I came in a motorcycle dealer with no pre-determined idea of which motorcycle to buy...I am not a fan of cruisers so I was indifferent to the many choices of cruisers (from Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Harley ...) However, I knew nothing much about the Honda Shadow bikes.
...I didn't like its look (as I don't like the look of cruisers in general)...
Comparing a $7500 VT750RS to a $19,000 1800cc Softail seems odd.
Its an interesting purchase decision considering you've never heard of Honda reliability. Maybe just unusual to me since I research most vehicles for several months/years before purchasing.

What is your sportbike?

G.
 
#30 ·
This is what I wrote:

"I am not a fan of cruisers so I was indifferent to the many choices of cruisers (from Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Harley ...) that were presented to me. I was only looking for something more comfortable than sport bikes. After sitting on the Bolt, the Vulcan, the Shadow Phantom, the HD Softail Slim ... "

This is what you've read:

"Comparing a $7500 VT750RS to a $19,000 1800cc Softail seems odd."

I was in the shop to try out different sitting positions so I sat on many cruisers that the shop had. Sitting on a bike to know what it's like is not equal to considering to buy it, at least in my mind.

BTW, the few HDs that the shop had were used so don't worry about the price tag comparison.

Regarding Honda reliability or motorcycle reliability, I have no problem to admit my ignorance, as I don't read motorcycle magazines and don't keep up with motorcycle news. From hearsay, I know that Japanese bikes are generally considered reliable but I don't know that Honda is better than Yamaha or the Suzuki or Kawasaki. For what it's worth, I've recently had a glance in Consumer Reports (CR) rating about motorcycle reliability, Honda was third behind Yamaha and Suzuki. Please don't get offended, I am just repeating what CR published. I don't take CR's publications as gospels. Yamaha is better than Honda ? Honda is better than Yamaha ? Big deal ! I don't lose sleep over these.

When the HD dude told me about my Shadow would last forever if maintained properly, I just thought he was speaking specifically about the Shadow, not about Honda in general. I could have misinterpreted what he wanted to convey, that's all. I am wrong. Then the other day I read on another post that CaptainD had 145,000 on his odo, I was glad to read so. So far, I only hear this level of mileage on BMW, for having talked to a few police officers on BMW. I have not had a chance to talk to police officers on HD or Japanese bikes, so the fact is I don't know more than that. Anyhow, I was glad to hear that the Shadow engine made it to 145,000 miles.
 
#31 ·
Your initial post mentioned sitting on a few bikes and then leaving the dealership with an RS. No mention of test ride so I am not sure you test rode many bikes for comparison.

As far as discussing motorcycle longevity with police the problem is police motorcycles are usually part of a fleet management program so will be replaced as lifecycle rotation. For some departments that's just 3 years but for most it will be 4 or 5 years (seems to vary as to location). The mileage is extremely high per season and the use is quite rough so I would not think its comparable to the average rider.

I have several motorcycles that I ride and do not use for commute so my mileage is not high but my 1995 VT1100C2 has 50,000 miles with no shop time. My 1978 GoldWing 1000 has more than 300,000 miles and has been in the shop once for a broken water pump.

What brand is your sport bike?

G.
 
#32 ·
Your initial post mentioned sitting on a few bikes and then leaving the dealership with an RS. No mention of test ride so I am not sure you test rode many bikes for comparison.

As far as discussing motorcycle longevity with police the problem is police motorcycles are usually part of a fleet management program so will be replaced as lifecycle rotation. For some departments that's just 3 years but for most it will be 4 or 5 years (seems to vary as to location). The mileage is extremely high per season and the use is quite rough so I would not think its comparable to the average rider.

I have several motorcycles that I ride and do not use for commute so my mileage is not high but my 1995 VT1100C2 has 50,000 miles with no shop time. My 1978 GoldWing 1000 has more than 300,000 miles and has been in the shop once for a broken water pump.

What brand is your sport bike?

G.
Kawasaki. You are right that police motorcycles are not comparable to the average rider, but at the time when I talked to the police officer, I had no idea that a motorcycle could last that long. And now that you tell me that your Goldwing has more than 300K miles ... WOW !! Unbelievable !! If you tell me that number on a Honda Accord, I would be amazed and believe it's doable... but on a motorcycle .... it's unbelievable !!
But then, tell me, is this reliability true to Honda only or to other Japanese brands as well ?
 
#33 ·
I only have had Honda's but I believe most all of the Japanese bikes will last a long time. A friend of mine has an old Kawasaki K1000 police bike and it is a piece of junk to look at, but starts and runs very well. It has a lower gear ratio since it is made for city driving and short pursuit but does well otherwise.
Japanese design quality engineering.
 
#35 ·
You mean your Snortin' Norton was blown away by a "three titted cow"? Sorry for the language, but I just had to repeat a phrase back from the 1970's that always cracked me up. :lol:
 
#37 · (Edited)
Wasn't just a Norton. It was a Norton Commando Combat Roadster. By the time I caught the Mach III he was already parked and off. Then a friend bought a CB750 and went across Canada and back with GF on back. I would not even attempt that.... solo. Shortly after these embarrassments I moved out of the province. Towed the Norton to Vancouver. In 78 I bought the Goldwing so I would have something to ride while waiting for Norton parts from England. Now the Goldwing has about 400k km and the Norton has 36k km, 8k km more than it had in 78.

I semi-retired the GL in 1998 when it was 20 years old and I thought that was enough. But now I realize my "new" bike 1995 Vt1100C2 is 21 years old so due for retirement. But it only has 70k km as a result of riding other bikes during the 21 years and not doing long distance touring.

Sorry about the rambling but to the OP: with proper maintenance I have had 2 Hondas continuously total of 38 years and 470,000 km and they have been in the shop a total of once (not including tires/brakes) and although I never liked the look of that Goldwing... it got me home... every time.
G.
 
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