[RaiderBill]

Thinking about buying a bigger bike then my 750, looking at 94 Shadow 1100 with 29 k miles on it, anybody have any advice on these bikes? He's asking $1995.00

 

[Harryc]

Are you looking for a bigger displacement motor or bigger size? I don't think the 1100's are much (if any) bigger in size than your 750. The price is not too bad if it's in mint condition and needs nothing. (no tires or brakes etc.). If it needs stuff start deducting from the offer. My 2 cents ...

 

[tflessner]

The 1100 will have a bit more hp and torque, 60hp & close to 70lb torque, compared to 43hp and 61lb for the 750.

The '94 1100's only had 4 gears. The '97 on up Spirits were 5 speeds.

That seems like a fair price if it's in good condition. I paid $1,400 for mine, but it was in worse shape and has 50,000 miles.

 

[Eagle7840]

Thinking about buying a bigger bike then my 750, looking at 94 Shadow 1100 with 29 k miles on it, anybody have any advice on these bikes? He's asking $1995.00

Good starting price for the year and mileage. It all depends upon the condition of the bike and motor and how well it was taken care of and stored. I paid $2K on my 96 1100 Shadow with 8K miles on it and all of the accessories you see in my sig. pic. The seller dropped the price from $2,500 after pointing out the worn tires, rear was nearly bald, and the bike hadn't been driven in 3 years, but stored properly. So be sure to physically check the bike out and give it a test drive and check out its maintenance record before making an offer.

 

[Harryc]

@tflessner , I like your bike. I wish Honda had routed pipes like yours for every year. It fixes many issues with aftermarket add-ons not having the front pipe down and forward.

 

[tflessner]

@tflessner , I like your bike. I wish Honda had routed pipes like yours for every year. It fixes many issues with aftermarket add-ons not having the front pipe down and forward.

Thanks, I like the pipe routing also, just wish it had the 5 speed, but it does well for the way I ride. It had the Jardine (slip-ons?) pipes on it when I bought it, they sound pretty good.

 

[RaiderBill]

I see a lot of black on the bike, did you paint all of that yourself? I like it, stock handle bars? would love some tips
how does the 4 speed work at highway speeds?
the main reason I want a large motor is to reduce rpms at highway speeds

 

[Leathel]

In my case I went from a 750Aero to a 93 1100 and I love the 1100

size wize it has more leg room than the 750 for the rider but less for the pillion, I moved my sissy bar back and changed the pillion pegs to adjustable boards to move them forward, sorted the pillion space

Weight there is nothing in it but with the 1100 it has a different handling style, drops in to the corner easier which suits the winding roads I travel but at low speeds you need to keep your body more upright to counter for it.

Power it has loads more top speed, and after tweeking a few things has plenty of power

Dual pin engine so has more than some of the later single pin engines

Negatives is if you have the mechanical skills it has more age and some seals will need doing if not already done...

If you can turn a spanner for maintenance I would go for it

you will have one of the better looking cruisers IMHO

 

[tflessner]

I see a lot of black on the bike, did you paint all of that yourself? I like it, stock handle bars? would love some tips
how does the 4 speed work at highway speeds?
the main reason I want a large motor is to reduce rpms at highway speeds

I did black some portions of the bike out with some satin urethane auto paint. The previous owner stored the bike outside so a lot of the trim was corroded/rusted, etc. so instead of trying to polish everything out, I decided to paint over. I did a short thread on the project here: http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/53-general-bike-discussion/337505-vt1100-transformation.html

The 4 speed is okay, since I mainly ride the back roads or up in the mountains. I've had it on the interstate several times and it does okay, but prolonged 75-80mph speeds the rpms seem to be a little high. If you are going to ride on the interstate a lot, I would look for a 1997 and up Spirit, or another 1100 model that has the 5 speed. Just my opinion.

 

[gdb069]

Ask for full service records and if not available look for another. There are a lot of these where there has been just one or 2 owners and full records available.

G.

 

[Leathel]

I did black some portions of the bike out with some satin urethane auto paint. The previous owner stored the bike outside so a lot of the trim was corroded/rusted, etc. so instead of trying to polish everything out, I decided to paint over. I did a short thread on the project here: http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/53-general-bike-discussion/337505-vt1100-transformation.html

The 4 speed is okay, since I mainly ride the back roads or up in the mountains. I've had it on the interstate several times and it does okay, but prolonged 75-80mph speeds the rpms seem to be a little high. If you are going to ride on the interstate a lot, I would look for a 1997 and up Spirit, or another 1100 model that has the 5 speed. Just my opinion.

I also like not having the 4 speed, less changing gears is good but unlike yours mine seams to hit a sweet spot around the 80-90 mph..... not that travel that speed often as our limit is 60mph everywhere :roll: But a couple of our out of the way main roads are to temping to get the speed up to flow around the sweeping corners :twisted:

 

[RaiderBill]

thanks for all the info from everyone, I do have concerns about the 4 speed, the main reason for me wanting to move up to the 1100 is for interstate travel, my 750 does just fine up to 60 mph, its when I wanna cruise at 80 mph the rpms scare me a little, especially when traveling 4 to 5 hours to southern Fla or the Gulf coast of Fla. Looking for something a little more long distance friendly

 

[Spool]

The top gear is the same ratio on both the 4 speed and 5 speed 1100s. The spacing between gears on the 4 speed is just further apart of course.

 

[RaiderBill]

that I expect is true spool, it's just getting to the top gear that would be different, I guess I should have said that better long distance traveling without losing in town drive ability was my goal

 

[tflessner]

The top gear is the same ratio on both the 4 speed and 5 speed 1100s. The spacing between gears on the 4 speed is just further apart of course.

Hmmmm...... well that's good to know. I always assumed that the 5th gear was slightly higher ratio that the top 4 speed gear ratio, kind of like an overdrive gear.

I guess I don't feel quite so bad about my 4 speed trany then!!

 

[Eagle7840]

thanks for all the info from everyone, I do have concerns about the 4 speed, the main reason for me wanting to move up to the 1100 is for interstate travel, my 750 does just fine up to 60 mph, its when I wanna cruise at 80 mph the rpms scare me a little, especially when traveling 4 to 5 hours to southern Fla or the Gulf coast of Fla. Looking for something a little more long distance friendly

I have no problems with my 4 speed tranny cruising on the highway, if I need more power for passing I shift down to 3rd and have lots of power to get around a semi rig. In 4th gear it too easy to find yourself doing 80-85 mph till you check the speedo. Travelling around town or under 50mph keep it in 3rd for better response, in 4th gear you'll just be chugging and lugging the engine when you twist the throttle for more speed.

 

[Leathel]

Travelling around town or under 50mph keep it in 3rd for better response, in 4th gear you'll just be chugging and lugging the engine when you twist the throttle for more speed.

I ended up dropping the tire profile a little (180/70 instead of 170/80) and on flat group you can drop to 45, 50 is fine in top unless you have a pillion and load

The only time I want for another gear is group rides..... More options to travel other peoples pace

I enjoy the fact you only need to shift 3 times to top, lets you get up and going quicker IMHO

 

[Eagle7840]

I ended up dropping the tire profile a little (180/70 instead of 170/80) and on flat group you can drop to 45, 50 is fine in top unless you have a pillion and load

The only time I want for another gear is group rides..... More options to travel other peoples pace

I enjoy the fact you only need to shift 3 times to top, lets you get up and going quicker IMHO

I grew up riding 4 speeds so it's nature to me. With my older bikes that had factory tachs, I would use the tach for shifting to keep me within the optimal power band of the engine, later I got used to the sound of the engine revs and found myself right on with the tach.

 

[h13man]

I ended up dropping the tire profile a little (180/70 instead of 170/80) and on flat group you can drop to 45, 50 is fine in top unless you have a pillion and load

Works even better for the 5 spd. trannys.