Honda Shadow 1100 Road Bike

Author's product rating:   

Comfort	Excellent
Handling	Excellent
Looks	Excellent
Features	Satisfactory
Fuel consumption	Good

Advantages:	Excellent to ride, easy to clean
Disadvantages:	Not fast enough for some people

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

One of the loves of my life is my motorcycle the Honda Shadow 1100. Imported from America by my local motorcycle shop, I took delivery of my baby in 1997 although she was built in 1986. I still own the bike six years later and have no plans to sell her in the near future.

The Shadow is a V-twin custom style motorcycle. With its 45-degree liquid-cooled four-valve V-twin shaft driven engine and its electric start you are promised a smooth and comfortable performance and ride at any speed.

A winner with her looks she receives admiring glances wherever we go. Her highly polished dark blue metallic paint and chrome catch the sun, which makes her stand out from the crowd. Sleek and perfectly formed she is a desirable object. With her low style she is easy to get onto even if you are of short height like myself, and you feel secure and in control as your feet are placed flatly on the floor. The choice of using the centre or side stand maintain the stability of the motorcycle until you are ready for the off. The wide seat gives a firm but comfortable seating position. Even on long journeys you are unlikely to suffer from a numb rear end. I use mine for daily visits to work and for pleasure at weekends. I have driven my Shadow on motorways as well as down winding country lanes and have found a windscreen is needed, as you will be buffeted about from the wind at the higher speeds if you don’t have one. The windscreen adds to the overall look of the bike to its advantage.

My shadow has an electric start, which makes this a simple affair to start my journey. Just hop on, check I have not left the bike in gear and press the little red button. As I engage gear and slowly open the throttle I am ensured a smooth glide from the start. The foot pegs are perfectly placed to ensure I am in a comfortable riding position. When I am cruising there are another set of pegs towards the front of the bike so I can safely stretch my legs and still feel in a comfortable position. Since Honda fitted a split pin to the crankshaft there is little vibration coming from the engine. V-Twin engines used to be well known for this problem and many people refused to buy motorcycles with this engine as the vibration given off made riding difficult.

The acceleration is a little slow for those who prefer the racing style motorcycles like Ducatti, but I prefer not to be knocked backwards each time I open the throttle. The gear change is very smooth and I find no clunking as I work my way up or down the box. The handling of this bike is superb. She corners beautifully and I can get her all the way over as we sweep round the bends. Even with a passenger you will find hardly any change at all with the handling but you should always take into account the weight of your passenger as this can affect the riding of any motorcycle. A perfect cruising speed for my shadow is 65-75mph. For normal town riding she copes very well at low speeds and in heavy traffic.

At 50mpg this is reasonably fair for a bike this age. I have five motorcycles and I find the Honda Shadow the most comfortable for the longer distance journeys. I went to London last week and for the first time ever she let me down and we had to be taken home by the RAC. The problem at the time was dirty fuel from an unreputable service station. The carbs were blocked and although the Shadow was still running she was coughing and spluttering when I had to run at a slower speed. Once home I was able to clear the carburettors by flushing them through with fresh fuel. I would say this is not a job to do yourself unless you are fully competent to do it. I was able to administer this process myself but my local garage quoted £66.00. She has been very reliable during the time we have been together and I cover about 6000 miles a year on her. You will find with the RAC they are never able to fix motorcycles on the side of the road no matter how trivial the problem is. I have made full use of my membership over the last 14 years and many of my motorcycles have arrived home on the back of the bike trailers.

The cost of an MOT is currently £15.60. A minor service every 3000 miles is £86.00 and a major service every 6000 miles runs at £140.00. Your choice of tyres will affect your braking performance. For an all rounder during wet and dry weather braking I recommend Dunlop as one of the best to choose. Although I bought my Shadow with saddlebags supplied, accessories to match the bike are hard to find due to it being an American import.

Normal checks should be done before embarking on even short journeys. You shouldn’t be riding a motorcycle if you don’t know them but basic checks are horn, lights, turn signals, brakes, clutch, tyres, mirrors, petrol and oil levels If you are considering taking up riding you will learn all about safety and how to check your motorcycle before riding at your CBT lessons. I am able to service the Honda easily as the engine is so easy to access, this cannot be said for my Moto Guzzi’s. Honda also produces a 250cc and a 750cc Shadow that are readily available. The 1100 Shadow are quite rare in Britain and I have only seen three others in the six years I have owned mine. I saw one for sale in the auto trader last week and they were asking £3500 for it. I would say a more realistic price to expect to pay would be between £2500-£3000 and that would be for an 1100 Shadow in very good condition. The price of all motorcycles has dropped dramatically over the years and now is a good time to buy one. I paid £4500 for mine and she still looks in great condition if you want to make me an offer. Happy riding
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