So through a round about way, I came across a 1994 Honda Shadow VLX 600 priced to sell, as the owner's wife hated it and they were going to move. I picked up the bike which hadn't been ridden more than 1k miles in the past four years (oil changes every winter though) with just a hair over 10k miles for $1200. Today was the first ride I took it on.

It seems roads in Pittsburgh have three defining features: curves, hills, and potholes. These are going to form the basis of my comparison. The route I chose to took was one I've ridden hundreds of times, because it is the way too and from work that was chosen specifically to bypass traffic and hit a bunch of great turns.

Before the ride:
Well, it looks different. Candy Apple red, V-twin, chrome here and there, plastic fender  , plastic side covers  . Getting on the bike feels more like getting on it, rather than in it even though the seat doesn't actually feel much higher relative to the ground. The sissy bar is notably higher, and is kind of a stretch to swing my leg over. The ignition is in a similar place (left side, under the seat), but it is about 6-8 inches lower, almost at my knee.

Starting her is just fine, choke out. Here is where i start feeling uneasy. she is quiet. too quiet. purrs, some might say. I can't get a grasp of her idle speed and don't know when she warmed up, but two blocks later I put the choke in and she seemed fine.

Hitting my first turn i took it a bit slower, being new to the bike and all, but even after a couple good curves, i felt she doesn't handle nearly as well. checking some speed readings at curves I know very well, and I'm about 10-15 mph behind the savage when my pegs hit, and boy do they hit hard.

The shadow accelerates ok, shifts beautifully, and has a solid feel to her. But again, I can't tell what the engine is thinking nearly as well as on a savage because she is so quiet! I didn't get a chance to try WOT for any long period of time, but I got up to 60 easily and quickly. 70 took a bit more effort to get to, but she did. again, no clue what the engine though about that because it makes no noise. I think i've heard sewing machines that are louder. in fact, i know i have.

Anyways, my overall impressions are that she is a stable bike, good breaking, and will be pretty reliable despite the fact that she is quiet and isn't as nimble over all.

I've already considered modding her, however the shadowriders forum doesn't seem to be nearly as helpful as this forum is. they have a hole-saw exhaust mod that sounds promising but the carb looks like a pain to get at if i have to rejet, not to mention all the exhaust work is doubled!

I should have also mentioned that I my savage has a jardine exhaust with no baffles, and a roar and rumble to it that i adore. it has become so expected to have those good vibrations and sound in my head, that when i can't feel them i think something is wrong....

the shadow and the savage:


Anyone ever have/ride one of these? how did your experience stack up?

I did a similar mod the the mufflers on my C50.  Took a piece of conduit and pounded/cut it to a point, and punched a hole in the center baffle plate halfway through the muffler, then drilled 4 holes in the end plate.  A nice little grumble now, but not anywhere close to too loud.  The cool thing is, you can start with small holes, and ride a bit, and just keep opening them up 'til you get where you want.
Other people have used a holesaw to cut the end plate clear out, and removed various amounts of internal baffles, to basically gut the muffler.  Can't get quite that far on mine, it's got a cat. converter near the inlet.

I feel your pain with the plastic accoutrements.  I just tell myself I'll never have to worry about them rusting, and try and see that as a silver lining!

As to clearing the sissybar, mine has a high one too, and I find that crooking my right leg when I swing it over helps clear the bar.  Takes a little to get used to, but it's almost second nature now.

Cool looking bike!

My 1500 I drilled the the enter baffles its a little louder than the S40,but not loud.I never drilled holes in the backplate. My brother did it once and ended  up putting bolts in the holes.that Honda VXL was the loudest bike I ever had,Had to go slow threw towns.It did sound good.

I was considering doing the drill stepping technique, where you drill a few small holes and gradually open them up over time to get just the right sound.

Just kind of hard making the first mark on a bike that has been kept stock for so long and so well. also hard stopping with the mods once you begin. first the muffler then the carb... it is just a downward spiral.

As for keeping it... I don't know. My savage has been ok for the longer trips, and riding the savage after riding the vlx was so refreshing.

I forgot to mention that the forks on the vlx bottom out a lot faster than the savage's, and i mean a lot. it seems almost criminal how little travel they have in them.

If harbor freight has some longer drill bits for a decent price the exhaust will probably change. I'll sit on it for a bit before i do anything though.

The VLX600's Bobber-up pretty good! Check out some wicked examples on You Tube! Nice find BTW ... congrats!

Yep,they just upsized the Ascot engine,you are correct.
Still don't know why Honda decided the carbs needed to fed by a fuel pump.
My son-in-law has a 96 VLX with Jardines with 1 baffle,sounds pretty decent.Carbs haven't been re-jetted and I can't really tell any difference before and after.And yes,the carbs are a PITA to work on!

Funny how both of my bikes turned out to be very susceptible to bobbing.

The good things about having two is that I can work on one while i ride the other, as i still don't own a car.

the vlx has some pretty funny features to it, compared to the savage. liquid cooling for one, which I guess I don't see the need for on a low power cruiser, an oil level warning light, a temp warning light, only one signal indicator on the speedo, and i guess this fuel pump which i didn't know the vlx had. what is the need for it when the gas tank is always directly over the engine (hopefully!)?

I haven't gotten the chance to tear the bike apart and see what other nifty, annoying, unnecessary parts are in there. i'm wary of the plastic side covers. they look about as flimsy as disposable plastic plates.

There is a crash bar on the bike, which would make for an easy mounting position for extended controls. but again, all this work takes time and effort. hard to do serious mods when you don't even have a garage to work in  :'(

The fuel pump is under the seat,just about the rear of the front seat.(Just where you want electricity and gasoline! )
Other fun features are THREE valves per cylinder and TWO spark plugs per cylinder.