- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 5 months ago by Matt.
Shadow VLX two-up
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October 14, 2008 at 12:30 pm #2246MattParticipant
This past weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) the whole family headed out to the local stadium parking lot and played with bikes.
Long and short of it is I got to spend some more quality time with my Mom’s 2002 Honda Shadow VLX (600cc).
I’ve said before that the engine is smooth and without issue. It makes sufficient power to any legal needs, including passing. Brakes are good too. And it handles very well at speed. The only issue I have as a first bike is the weight of it, which you *really* feel in slow speed turns. Manageable? Yes. But no where near as easy as a Rebel.I really think to get the most out of this bike, buya Rebel for the first 6 months of riding, then move up – you’ll be glad you did. If you simply must have a middle-weight first (I just saw on review site someone calling a trio of 1300cc cruisers “middle-weights” wow!) the Shadow won’t surprise with you with any nastiness, but it l take a lot of extra effort at slow speeds. And man, is it comfy (for short periods at least).
Now, what was a first for me was riding two up. I took my girlfriend for her first ride on a motorcycle (using the Shadow because I figured it would be easier than my ZZR-250). Honestly, the bike barely notices a second rider at city speeds. In a parking lot (less than 300 yards long) I had plenty of time to get up to 80km/h (~50mph) and back down again. While I don’t think that little pad they call a passenger seat would be comfortable for any length of time, I was genuiney impressed with how little the bike was affected by the second rider – though the difficulty of low speed turns was increased somewhat.
If you plan on doing occaisonal two-up riding, the Shadow absolutely has enough power – what it lacks is a good back seat.
I’ve also managed to take some of the fear-of-bikes away frommy girlfriend, while instilling just enough interest…
October 14, 2008 at 11:24 pm #13851MunchParticipantAre you saying maybe a 250 instead of a box of chocolates?
Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is a prediction, but today…… is a Bi**h
October 14, 2008 at 11:55 pm #13853djon01Participanthow much harder it would be to ride a bike two up, but I guess if it’s easily doable on a honda 650, it can’t be too much harder than solo riding
October 15, 2008 at 11:35 am #13870MattParticipantHarder is a purely relative term… I have 4000kms under my belt so far this season, in a mix of all conditions; and this was in a parking lot with no traffic.
I really noticed the extra (already pretty high by my standards) effort and skill required to turn the heavier bike at low / slow-traffic speeds. I think the fear of running wide in a turn is a very real one for me with a passenger at the moment.
With some practice in a controlled environment I’m sure we’d get used to it fairly quickly; but it would require that practice before I felt safe on the road.Once up to speed, and in fact getting up to speed in a straight line, I think the lowly Honda 600 had ample power (I think the bike has 35hp and 35ish torque, but it makes almost all of that torque right off idle). In fact, having heard so much about how you need a massive bike to handle two-up riding I was really expecting the bike to have to work harder.
I think the biggest limitation for the Shadow as a two-up bike is the rear seat. If it had a wider rear seat with a back rest like many of the bigger bikes do (Do any of the small cruisers have that?) I think it would be a fine bike for two-up riding so long as you weren’t trying to bring multiple days work of gear with you.P.S>
I think a 250 AND a box of chocolates, cause really, they’re chocolates!—
“The two seconds between ‘Oh S**!’ and the crash isn’t a lot of practice time.” -
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