Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt
Written: Jul 27 '04 (Updated Sep 26 '04)
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Pros: Affordable, reliable cruiser that will run forever
Cons: Old school styling
The Bottom Line: The quintessential bike for those looking for classic cruiser styling on a budget.
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| carnut2k4's Full Review: 2000 Honda Shadow Spirit |
I'm following the lead of other members and using this thread to post an opinion about a Shadow from the days of yore. So sit back, roll up your suit jacket sleeves and put on your oversized sunglasses - we're heading back to 1988!
Things weren't so different back then. A Bush in the white house, trouble in the Middle East and Honda was selling the same Honda Shadow that's on it's showroom floors to this day. Back then life was a little simpler in that you didn't have to ask for the 'Spirit' model. There was only one Shadow. Today you have to specify the Spirit 1100 to get a copy of the original incarnation.
SHE'S GOT THE LOOK
The old Shadow is the cliche 'metric cruiser trying oh so hard to look like Harley Lowrider.' It does a fairly good job at that too. The bikes portly 530 lb dry weight is offset by it's ultra low 28 inch seat height and the center of gravity is below that even. The 1100 V-twin engine is not treated to much chrome by the factory but the aftermarket abounds with parts for you. The 5 gallon gas tank is a blatant copy of a fat bob tank and the bobbed rear fender is identical to the Lowrider's. External coil overs complete the rear of the bike and do a great job of making this a comfortable all day cruiser. The raked front end is similar to a wide glide's although the lack of chrome is the first thing you'll notice. In classic cruiser style, a fat (160mm) rear tire is matched to an ultra skinny front tire on rims of 16 & 21 inches respectively. A set of ram horn handlebars keeps things under control and frame mounted forward controls allow you to stretch your legs out for those long rides. The bike is short (lengthwise) by todays aesthetic standard. Whereas todays cruisers are long and low and sort of "flat", the Shadow is shaped more like a pyramid with the neck of the frame (where the front end is attached) is the apex of the structure. Almost as if the bike was meant to be longer but was crunched somehow and it buckled making it too tall in the middle. It handles fine and was once the preferred look, it just looks kind of funny nowadays.
SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE
The liquid cooled V-twin is silky smooth. It's rated at 55 HP and the unpublished torque spec is in the range of 70 - this is a 'seat of my pants' guesstimate. The Mikuni carb has functioned without a hiccup for 16 years now and has never been rebuilt. The dual plug per cylinder ignition works great and contributes to a very acceptable 45 MPG overall average. The transmission has 4 very deep gears that make for a very laid back style of riding. The clutch requires little effort and is very forgiving. All that torque heads back to that fat tire through the smoothest shaft drive system I've ever used. It is literally maintenance free. The only difference with a shaft drive bike is the tendency for rear wheel lock up and hop if you down shift at a high rpm. Brakes are acceptable but are not hight tech by motorcycle standards. They stop the bike just fine. Nobody is going to buy this bike and bring it out to the Bonneville Salt Flats. For the cruiser crowd for which the bike is produced - stopping is adequate. Cornering and overall handling can be described in the same vein as the brakes.
THE RIDE
Starting the bike is an easy enough affair with the choke controlled by a lever on the left handlebar. Blinkers, horn, start button and kill switch round out the thumb controls. The mirrors are big and dorky and scream out "Hey, I'm from 1988" but they work really well. I know it sounds strange to say a mirror works well, but the riders out there will know what I mean. The ram horns are also kind of dorky by todays standards but they are incredibly comfortable for longs rides. Ive gone 10 hours on this bike no problem. The seat is above and beyond anything you may be expecting. It's like sitting on your couch. The passenger is also treated to a very comfortable pillion - and the padded sissy bar make it just as comfortable for an all day ride along. The foot pegs are standard and aren't very comfortable after a while. For two or three hundred dollars you can, and should, install some floor boards. As far as keeping tabs on things, well, not much info is available to you. Basically a speedo, oil light, neutral light, and high beam indicator is all that the dash offers. A tach would be a nice touch but with those big gears and relaxed riding style of the average owner of these bikes it isn't all that necessary. Shifting by ear is easy. What would be nice, however, is a fuel gauge. This is where the bike is old school. The petcock located on the bottom of the left side of the tank has three positions. OFF in the middle is flanked by ON and RESERVE. ON and RESERVE are 180 degrees apart to help you out here. While riding (in the ON position) at some point the bike will start stuttering, letting you know that no matter what speed you're traveling you must pull in the clutch, find neutral..don't forget to keep giving her gas so as not to stall now....then reach your left hand down and feel your way to the petcock, spin it 180, reach back up and pull the clutch in again and continue riding. If you stalled during this process you find the appropriate gear for your speed (I've done this at 75 mph) and pop the clutch to start her up again. It sounds like a lot but it's really not. A fuel gauge would be nice though. The bikes range is around 225 miles with the reserve needed around 170-180 miles. What I do to avoid the above scenario is reset the trip meter with every full tank and I prematurely go to the reserve setting at 150 mile and then find a gas station. I highly recommend this method as opposed to the one described above.
THE HOLE SHOT
Going against a lot of what I've said about the maturity of Shadow owners, I need to point out one thing about performance. This bike is a lot of fun out of the hole. Launching this bike in first gear always brings a grin to my face. She's geared so deep and has so much torque that there are few bikes out there that will touch this bike for the first 50 feet or so. After that it's all over for the poor little Shadow but I have surprised an awful lot of test pilots on this old girl. That fat tire sticks the launch every time. You have to work really hard to spin that rear tire which helps me keep my 50 foot record intact.
TRUE BLUE
This is the most reliable bike I've ever owned. Since I purchased her in 1995, for $3200, she has cost me almost nothing in maintenance. A couple of tires, batteries and regular oil changes is it. I also ponied up eleven bucks for some new grommets when the left and right side chrome covers started loosening up a little. They cover the battery and tool kit respectively.
I recommend this bike whole heartedly to anyone with a desire to ride and a limited budget. An '88 would probably go for $1500 or less these days and mine has over 60K miles on it and still runs like new. Honda did something right here. The fact that it's remained on the showroom floor, virtually unchanged for two decades is all the proof you need...
Like cruiser's? Check out my Harley!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3200
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1988
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Epinions.com ID:
carnut2k4
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Member: Jason
Location: in the wind
Reviews written: 99
Trusted by: 59 members
About Me:
Muscle Shoals has got The Swampers
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