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congrats on the new bike. i am a noob too, and have been diggin my Shadow Spirit as well. an '02.

is yours shaft or chain driven? if its chain driven you can swap the rear sprocket for one w/ less teeth which may help you a bit at high speeds. i've hit 85 on mine w/ te stock sprocket no problem. but dont do it often. 80 is pretty damn fast really.

as others have said. practice with the reserve petcock. i had a question about that too a bit ago and got the advicve and now I am very comfotable with switching to reserve while going on highways or anywhere. you should feel the time to change well before you run out of gas. i've not once run out of gas on the bike. so just practice.

the neutral thing sounds odd to me, but again, i'm a noob, but my bike definitely does NOT do that.

yeah there's quite a bit of fake chome on my spirit too. thats how they keep the price down. chroming metal is pretty expensive. You can replace much of the plastic 'chrome' w/ real chome parts if ya like, but it'll really add up. I figure I'll slowly upgrade some of the parts.

and yeah the shadow seats aint the most comfortable thats my first change is i'll get a nice mustang seat.

congrats and enjoy her.

Yeah, the seat is going to get changed at some point. I do have the JP metric catalog at home, so I should be able to find one... i would think.

The wife was complaining about it last night after a 40 minute ride. Tis a bit stiff.

Some one mentioned that it's time for a larger CC engine. Funny.. this is my very first bike, and I've only had it for about a month. hahahahha

I think the speed and response at those high speeds are 'ok'. But I definitely wouldn't recommend anything less than a 750 if you're doing a lot of highway cruising like I am.

Anyways, I'm sure I'll manage just fine. Already have a few parts in mind that I want to upgrade/add-on.

Passenger Foot Pegs
Saddle Bags
Tank Strap (i see where my coat has been making a few marks down by my crotch area, near the tank)

Would like to hear that weird little audio system Honda has out now.... Has anyone ever heard it play? VERY interested in how it sounds.

I love my Shadow....
I'm new too and it's my first bike 2007 VT750C2.

MrStitch wrote: I think the speed and response at those high speeds are 'ok'. But I definitely wouldn't recommend anything less than a 750 if you're doing a lot of highway cruising like I am.

Oh the voice of ignorance. I have no problem riding a ninja 250 on the interstate at speeds ~75 mph. It still has plenty of passing power but starts to teeter off around 85.

My 550cc 1982 XZ550 on the other hand will completely out perform your bike in almost every department.

storysunfolding wrote:

MrStitch wrote: I think the speed and response at those high speeds are 'ok'. But I definitely wouldn't recommend anything less than a 750 if you're doing a lot of highway cruising like I am.

Oh the voice of ignorance. I have no problem riding a ninja 250 on the interstate at speeds ~75 mph. It still has plenty of passing power but starts to teeter off around 85.

My 550cc 1982 XZ550 on the other hand will completely out perform your bike in almost every department.

I have an 83 gs 650 which I ride on the highway all the time I have no trouble cruising 70 or 80 and and have had it to 110 Passing doing 70 is quick with good response.I guess it's just tuned perfect.I have blown the 883 harley completely out of the water with it too.No contest.

storysunfolding wrote:

MrStitch wrote: I think the speed and response at those high speeds are 'ok'. But I definitely wouldn't recommend anything less than a 750 if you're doing a lot of highway cruising like I am.

Oh the voice of ignorance. I have no problem riding a ninja 250 on the interstate at speeds ~75 mph. It still has plenty of passing power but starts to teeter off around 85.

HAHAHAHA, and why do you need to pass a slower moving 85mph vehicle.


I've accelerated my 250 from 80mph to 95mph at a decent rate...I don't do it to pass though, I use it to get away from morons who have never seen a girl ride before and love pulling up beside me and start gestering different nonsense

Duffy wrote:HAHAHAHA, and why do you need to pass a slower moving 85mph vehicle.

If it's a big truck, I pass it to get out of the wind buffet. Sometimes slowing down and dropping back won't work due to traffic behind me. (Also due to Suzuki's fabulous command of aerodynamics V-Stroms are very sensitive to buffeting. I'd have to drop back a quarter mile to smooth out the ride.)

Due to gearing and torque band placement, I could see a Shadow 750 being pretty near maxed at 80 mph.