The cruiser motorcycle market has evolved into a more modern, more diverse market segment in recent times. After several years of both stagnation and consternation, manufacturers finally moved with the times. At one time the cruiser market had several bikes like this, as many cruiser buyers still appreciated the simplicity of bikes like the Shadow. But as time marched on, so did emissions mandates, and retaining several versions of an old 750 V-twin made little sense. It got a stay of execution when it received fuel injection, but by 2013, Honda decided that it was time to modernize its lineup, and the RS VT750RS was axed.
Now, with the blessing that is depreciation, a bike like the Shadow might well make a degree of sense used.
10 Classic Lines
One option the Shadow got was the red, white, and blue colorway. It looks pretty amazing with this color scheme which accentuates the classic lines of the bike.
It is an otherwise simple-looking cruiser, with dual shocks at the back, a comfy-looking seat, and the usual rake up front.
9 High-Quality Fit And Finish
No Honda product leaves the factory without passing a rigorous inspection, and it shows. The fit and finish of these bikes are impossible to compare when you consider the price point.
Even when new these were pretty affordable sub-$10,000 bikes (out the door) and as you might expect they have held up pretty well over the last decade.
8 Reliable And Efficient
What this got was a bit of a game changer, that is the fuel injection system. It might seem strange to say now, but back when it came out most cruisers were air-cooled and carburetted.
This is neither, it is a modern liquid-cooled, fuel-injected motorcycle. It might add a layer of complexity with its cooling system, but there's no denying that it is more efficient with a healthy 56 MPG rating.
7 Comfortable Cruiser
Normally cruisers will have forward controls, but this one actually doesn’t...and it works. It has pretty standard mid-controls and makes the bike even more comfortable with a very good rider triangle.
Although it will be able to rack up the miles, it is limited somewhat by its rather small (2.8 gallons) tank, and as a result, only has a realistic range of around 150 miles.
6 Great Commuter
The size of the tank might limit its ability as a highway cruiser, but it does make for a pretty decent commuter with such great fuel economy.
With the added comfort, bopping around a city is arguably what this bike was always destined to do. If you get this bike purely to cruise around town, you will never be disappointed.
5 Approachable Seat Height
Approachable, but unusually tall for a cruiser at 29 inches. It is still very much within range for shorter riders though.
The taller seat height translates into much more legroom than some other bikes with mid-controls, which serves to make it even comfier.
4 Heavy For Beginners
With so many little things screaming “beginner-friendly,” it has one rather unfortunate thing counting against it.
It weighs 500 pounds. Although that is about on par for a full-size cruiser, which it technically is, that is just far too heavy for a novice. A new rider might be able to straddle the seat and flat foot the bike, but when they fall over, it will hurt, and they might not be able to get the bike back up.
3 Hopelessly Underpowered
To lug that 500 pounds around Honda saw fit to only give the bike a whopping 40 horsepower. To put that in perspective, the KTM Duke which weighs half as much actually makes 44 horses.
You might hope that the horsepower figure is low because they tuned it to make more torque, but unfortunately, that just isn’t true. 45 lb-ft is sufficient, but only barely.
2 Low Maintenance
Any bike in such a low state of tune is bound to be reliable, and it most certainly is, as a result, it won’t cost much at all to run.
If you are willing to service it yourself, that will bring the cost of ownership down even more but even if that isn't the case there are Honda dealers all over the place, so you will never be short on spares.
1 Affordable
This is a great-looking entry-level cruiser, that will get you up to highway speed like any other bike, and offer great value too.
It is most certainly not the fastest bike in the world, but it was never designed to be, it was designed to cruise at a more sedate pace for riders that are never in a rush.