2008 Honda Shadow 750

[kspilot]

Im thinking of buying one of these bikes but I need a little info.
I had a 2000 Harley Sportster and sold it because it rapped to high of RPMS on the highway at 65mph,it vibrated also.
Would this motorcycle do the same..is the "wide ratio" 5 speed sort of overdrive.
Can somebody tell me if the RPM on this bike would be the same as the Harley at 65MPH?
Also does it have enough power,im 5ft6 and 145lbs..
Thanks

[jkersh]

They are pretty good bikes. My in-laws have 2. My wife and I rode 2-up one day and it seemed to do fine. Combined weight about 500lbs. Just me it has enough power. That bike is in the considerations for when I buy another. They havent ha any problems with theirs. one is shaft drive and the other is chain. He has had to replace the sprockets a couple of times and it has about 60k on it and looks to have a lot left in it.

[BudTheGrey]

My wife has a 750 Aero, and she's about the same dimension. She has no trouble at all keeping up here in the Adirondack Mountains. and the darned thing is a pleasure to ride - smooth, corners well, no bad habits.

[PortZStyle]

I am 6'3" 270 pounds and I ride an '03 Shadow Spirit 750. Great bike. Easy to do after market upgrades. Stock I was able to keep up. Best cornering I could have imagined on a Cruiser. Extremely smooth ride

[zemog129]

Thanks for all the information that was sent to me.

[txrob779]

I concur, my wife has an 07 Shadow Spirit and I rode it about 100 miles before she started riding it. I am over 6' and 280 and it does fine at 65 mph. One thing to concider, ALL CRUISERS to me feel like they need a 6th gear on the highway but this 750 does very well, smooth as silk.

[nativenyerintexas]

Originally Posted by kspilot

Im thinking of buying one of these bikes but I need a little info.
I had a 2000 Harley Sportster and sold it because it rapped to high of RPMS on the highway at 65mph,it vibrated also.
Would this motorcycle do the same..is the "wide ratio" 5 speed sort of overdrive.
Can somebody tell me if the RPM on this bike would be the same as the Harley at 65MPH?
Also does it have enough power,im 5ft6 and 145lbs..
Thanks

I was looking at the Spirit 750 when I was looking to upgrade from my 2004 Honda Reflex Sport (250cc) and I was looking at it for a few years but there was always something stopping me. Back in late May i started looking at other bies and found the Suzuki Bolevard M50 and it's everything the Spirit 750 isn't. It has abigger engine (800cc), bigger front and rear tires, tubeless tires (the one on display at Honda West had spokes), fuel injection, shaft drive, fuel guage and inverted forks. For the most part it felt like the same bike sitting on it but for some reason I felt more cofortable on the M50 and I think it looks better too. From what I heard, bigger tires means better handling so after looking at the numbers it was a no brainer and they gave it to me for the same price as the Spirit 750 with the 'special paint' (flames on the tank).

You might have already bought the Honda but if not, take a look at the M50. You might like what you see.

[ickb]

I have both the Shadow Spirit 750(shaft) and M50(shaft). I have a friend with the Vulcan 900(belt), but haven't driven it. The Shadow 750 feels closer to the M50.

Performance of the Shadow VT750 is comparable to the C50, M50 and Vulcan 900 series. Riding with friends the Shadow 750 can keep up with the M50 and Vulcan 900. Upon fill up to top off.. the Vulcan 900(1.4 gal), M50(1.3 gal), Shadow 750 (1.2 gal).

The Shadow 750 is a bit more primitive and has more rattles more as the motorcycle is poorly assembled. Much of it is cheap plastic so I have spent some time fixing rattles that made the Shadow Spirit livable. Like the S40 doing the 'backfire carb fix' you need to fix Shadow 750 before I consider it for consumer use.

Having owned the Shadow 1100 ACE and 1100 Spirit, I never had to wrench these bikes for rattles. Honda quality has really dropped and this Honda Shadow will be my last Honda I own. The Shadows is made with a lot of plastic and Honda has taken a lot of short cuts. I'll definitely keep my 2007 M50 long after I have sold my 2007 Shadow 750.

The M50 has a more refined ride where the Shadow 750 is like a Rebel 250 on steroids or a Suzuki Savage S40 with 2 cylinders rather than a thumper. Shadow 750 is very basic.. as the M50/C50 have FI, the Vulcan 900 with FI and the Shadow Spirit 750 has one carburetor. In England, the same Shadow 750 has FI, but in the U.S., 1 carburetor is as good as it gets. Fork lock on Shadow similar to the Rebel.

The question is do you want a better Suzuki S40, Buell Blast 500cc or a lower quality C50/M50, Vulcan 900. The seat height of the Shadow Spirit is lower than the Rebel 250.

The Shadow VT750 really is a niched market item that is better than the basic thumping Suzuki Savage and Buell Blast; however, for very much the same price you can get a better quality cruiser in the Suzuki C50/M50 or Vulcan 900 cruiser market. Instrumentation on the M50/C50/Vulcan 900 is better.

These decision are not easily made

[grizm13]

Im 5 11 155 pounds and mine has plenty of power to get me around. its a 2007. I have some rattles also. One coming from under the gas tank anyone have a clue what it could be. It goes away if i put pressure on the Speedo guage.

[grizm13]

What all have you done to reduce the rattles in your Shadow? Mine only has 2500 mile on it and there is one rattle under the gas tank that is driving me insane!

[ickb]

Originally Posted by grizm13

What all have you done to reduce the rattles in your Shadow? Mine only has 2500 mile on it and there is one rattle under the gas tank that is driving me insane!

Several imperative rattles that need to be address before even thinking of the Shadow 750 as a keeper.

1) First Headlight rattle fixed with double sided stick tape or computer foam.
2) Gas Tank rattle, the shop thought double sided stick tape.. which is better than stock, but I would still get rid of the Shadow 750 if this was as good as it gets I bought some rubber foam at OSH, cut 2 strips to be put parallel to the cheap plastic chrome cover that holds the speedometer in place. Then wrapped duc tape around the rubber foam and put it under the chrome plastic. Be careful about not scratching the paint as the rubber shims put pressure from metal to plastic contact.
3) Put double sided stick take on heat guard on top header. When rattle does occur, it sounds like a metal piece(s) are slapping your fan. Just sounds like it, but not really what is happening.
4) Mirrors were such poor quality, I bought after market mirrors with more stability. Still Shadow 750 not as smooth as M50 and mirrors on the Shadow virabrate enough to be irritating.

If the fixes about work, you should not have any rattle. Anyway, the last Honda I'm buying The fixes about could have easily been engineered into quality control at minimum cost. Instead Honda chose to make a cheap cruiser that rattles without the fixes above. Once these fixes are in place, the Shadow 750 has been trouble free. The early Honda Shadows of the 80's never had these problems. I had the early Shadow 1100 that came stock with backrest, hydraulic clutch, hydraulic valves, cast wheels and much smoother with no rattle. Get the Suzuki M50 or C50 for a better quality motorcycle in the same size displacement. (You may have to repaint the M50 as paint quality is very cheap. Many people on this board have repainted their M50. I've had no problems with my M50 )

[diamond_jim]

Originally Posted by ickb

You may have to repaint the M50 as paint quality is very cheap. Many people on this board have repainted their M50. I've had no problems with my M50 )

Huh?

[ickb]

FYI, yes I re-painted my M50 and at the same time debadged it

[omegajim]

you won't like this; Suzuki is introducing a 950 to their Boulevard line.

but yes, everything here said should convince of what you first thought, the Honda is a good buy.

[BudTheGrey]

Originally Posted by omegajim

you won't like this; Suzuki is introducing a 950 to their Boulevard line.

It's not listed on their web site yet. I wouldn't be too surprised, though -- that new Yamaha 950 looks pretty enticing..

[amvince]

The 950 is a Yamaha. Never heard of paint problems on the M50 and I don't have any. The Shadow is a good bike but I would take a M50 or C50 over it anytime especially at the price point. I am just a little biased. Just my 2 cents.

[omegajim]

oops.

Looking like Yamaha is taking a cue from Suzuki - build a different size engine, create a niche, then monopolize said niche.

Because the 805 cc M/C/S 50 series is only a bit more powerful than a typical 750, but it's all a game of inches.

[amvince]

Originally Posted by omegajim

oops.
Because the 805 cc M/C/S 50 series is only a bit more powerful than a typical 750, but it's all a game of inches.

I will leave the last line of that one alone.

[omegajim]

you know what I meant.

for eons, starting around 1969 - the 750 became a class.

Over the decades, it became a very crowded class.

About a decade later, the 1100 became a class.

A few years later it became a very crowded class also.

Now, thanks to Suzuki and now Yamaha, they are differentiating(?) their product by ducking and dodging "it's another 750 / 1100"

The c/s/m 50 is 805, and Suzuki is marketing that edge to the hilt, and it seems to be working. Even more importantly, Suzuki developed one engine with 3 slightly different body styles. Kudos to Suzuki for this suave move.

Now, Yamaha is introducing a 950, and if they are smart, they will offer at least one different model with different styling (victory 8 ball) and offer it as a different "line" of bike.

[amvince]

Actually it is kind or Ironic. The 1100 class is in decline due to bigger bikes taking over the big Cruiser Market and the 750 class has moved upward to 800, 900 & now 950. Now also added to that the 1800 class is moving downward a little due to the sucess of the VTX 1300. Look at the suceess of the C90 and now Suzuki introducing the M90. Yamaha on the other hand is staying right arount the 1600-1700 cc mark wait they also have introduced a 1300 to take over for the 1100. Kawasaki now has a 1700 class because the 2000 class bike doesn't sell. My conclusion. I don't know I got lost somewhere in all of this. I think this thread has been jacked.