Suzuki S40 or Honda Shadow VLX ?

Welcome to the group.

I basically second everything that Elwood says, but here are my two pennies worth...

First, you should think about how you are planning to ride the bike.  If you are just going to be taking easy rides down country roads and don't ever plan to get above 60 or so, any of the 250s will probably work for you with no problem.  If you are wanting to take day trips or commute regularly on the big interstates, then you will probably not be as happy with a smaller bike after the first couple of months.  After all of the reading I have done, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that you mostly hear about people complaining about having started too small because they chose to buy a new bike very quickly after buying the first one.  However, you don't hear alot of complaints about people who started too big because, let's face it, no body wants to admit to not being as good as they want people  to think they are.  :)

With respect to the bikes themselves (btw, I'm about the same height as you are.):

Honda Rebel:  This one fit me fine when I sat on it, but I think that the controls were further forward than on the S40.  This shouldn't be to hard to modify if you go with this bike.

Honda Shadow:  I couldn't find the specific model you mentioned on their website, so I'll substitute the Spirit.  The Spirit is a 2 cylinder, 750cc engine.  It weighs 530+ lbs.  Basically, this translates to significantly more power than the other two bikes, and a lot more bike to pick up if you drop it.  Now, having dropped mine several times, I can tell you that trying to pick up a bike in the middle of the road while your adrenaline is still pumping and you can't get a decent lungful of air, a lighter bike might be nice to have.

Suzuki S40:  This is a single cylinder, 650 engine.  It weighs 350lbs.   From the moment I sat on this bike, I knew it was the right bike for me.  I still sat on a few others, but I didn't seriously consider anything else.  That said, within the first 50miles of riding, I dropped it three times.  Maybe starting with a smaller bike would have prevented this, maybe not.  None of the drops caused severe injury to me or the bike (though I had to replace one of the tail lights), but I have no doubt that I pushed too hard, too fast for my skill level.  I pulled back and started at the basics again, and I have gone another 450mi without adding any more scratches to the chrome.  :)  One thing to note with the S40 is that it is well know for backfiring (not loudly, but still). 

Suzuki makes a couple of 250s that you might consider looking at.  Also, you should look at the Vulcan 500, and maybe Yamaha's V-Stars (they have a 250 and a 650- both two cylinder)

In the end, it comes down to what you are comfortable with.  A bigger bike is probably going to be alot more work while you are still learning the basics.

Also, if you haven't taken the MSF, do so before you pick out the bike.  You'll have alot better idea of what you are looking for.  :)

Best of luck!
Owlie

The S40 is the far superior motorcycle.  The VLX is only an "around town" bike because the fact that it only has a 4 speed transmission combined with its anemic power prevents it from being able to get up to highway speeds a real struggle.  Most motorcycles have at least a 5 speed transmission which helps them safely and (relatively) easily get up to highway speeds regardless of how weak or powerful their engines are, but the VLX doesn't have this, and as a result even 250s can pass it on the highway.

Also, there's a reason that the VLX was discontinued two years ago while the S40 is still being made.  The VLX has always been a slow seller for Honda because price-wise it couldnt compete with the performance of the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 or (when it was being produced), the Yamaha Virago 535 (which was replaced by the V-Star 650).

In short:  If you want a sub-750cc cruiser, your ONLY options you should be considering are the S40, Kawsaki Vulcan 500, Yamaha V-Star 650, and the various 250s on the market.

So! Based on the above exchange, I think either will do.

They're both good motorcycles, so go with the one that speaks to you.

I still say to check out the Yamaha V-Star 650 as well.. I liked it much better than the Shadow myself.. Sat a lot better.. Less weight I believe.. And they handle great.

Dagger

Want to clear something up. Gear amounts should rarely be used as a gauge on speed, or top speed limits. Doesn't matter. If the bike, car, or whatever have you has a set number of gears those gears probly have the necessary ranges to do the job it's intended for.
HD's now have a 6 speed tranny..... yay for them, from this thread that should mean that they should out distance and speed me. Not hardly ever the case.
Now lets look at bigger vehicles. Some of the older muscle cars have a 5 spd tranny, compare them to newer sports cars with 6 speed trannies and the track times are close but the 5 spd can easily beat it.
Heck an old Dodge duster at one time had only a 2 spd auto that would destroy anything in it's class.
It's not the gear count, its the range of each gear and what the bike is set up to do. In most cases more gears usually mean shorter ranges and more shifting to cover the gap, vice versa for the lesser gear boxes.
So the whole argument above made based on "how many gears" is not anything to do with which is better. IF you are concerned over why one had four rather then 5..... or 6 even... go to spec sheets and look at each gear range and see how "tall" or "short" each one is. Then make your decision.

"mainly due to the four speed transmission"
Not a factual representation of the limits of the bikes abilities.

"these reviews wasn't the engine but rather the transmission and its poor gearing."
Better and closer description of the limitations.

My point being that how many gears a trany has does not indicate it's abilities or lack there of. Rather the gearing ( gear ratio) in the set number of gears. In other words say a bad set geared tranny:
1st 0-5 mph
2nd 5-20 mph
3rd 20-40
4th 40-55

Good trans:
1st 0- 15
2nd 15-35
3rd 35-50
4th 50- 75 or above.
You can have both transmissions on the same bike it's just on how the gearing in each trany is set up. Both have 4 gear trans but the latter is better set up for highway purposes.
I just hate to see the statement getting blanketed to where a non mechanically inclined person would turn down a good beginner bike because of the Gear count rather then the trans set up.

The number of gears something has and its ability to accelerate, its top speed, and the engine speed at which it "cruises" are perhaps related, but not directly.

If this bike couldn't hit necessary speeds in its 4th gear, maybe it needed a 5fth gear...but it's also possible that they didn't give it a 5th gear because that gear would have been to steep for the power of the engine. It's also possible that, if they had used taller gearing, 4 gears would have worked just fine. I think that's what Munch is getting at.

Also -- if you've ever driven a VLX you know how "tall" the gears are, as Munch mentions. You can downshift into first gear, for example, at practically 10-mph , whereas on my Suzuki C-90 and its 1,500 ccs and five gears, I have to go almost all the way down.

So, don't let the 4-speed thing scare you off. The VLX can easily handle highway speeds. It just revs higher, but the engine is built for it.