Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Thumper wrote:If you're comparing the VLX 600 and, say, the Spirit 750, the extra weight of the 750 is going to chew up the nominal HP increase over the 600.

VLX weighs 452 and the Spirit 750 weighs 553. All according the Honda website for the current model years. That's about a 23% difference in weight. Honda doesn't publish the HP numbers.

However, the TotalMotorcycle.com Buyer's guide lists Honda's 750 Shadow engine (used in the Shadow Spirit and Shadow ACE) as producing 75HP. http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/buyersgu ... dowACE.htm

They list the VLX600's engine as producing 40HP. http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/buyersgu ... LX-DLX.htm

That's an 87% difference in HP.

Granted those numbers are for the 2004 model years (hence no mention of the Shadow Aero 750), but the engines are essentially unchanged since that time.

NewGuy wrote:However, the TotalMotorcycle.com Buyer's guide lists Honda's 750 Shadow engine (used in the Shadow Spirit and Shadow ACE) as producing 75HP.

Everything I found (example) puts the HP for the Spirit at under 50. A dozen different hits online only pulled up one rating it at 55, the rest were mid-40s.

If it truly is 75 Horsepower, those are sick, anemic horses that probably need to be put down.

All I know is the first hit I got that actually showed a HP rating was from the parent site to these forums and lists it as 75HP. See my link.

Also, I'm more willing to take the info from TotalMotorcycle.com than I am from that link you provided. That Yahoo site is merely a forum for people to ask questions, and anyone can answer. At least TotalMotorcycle.com is composed of people who regularly write about motorcycles, and have some established credibility on the topic.

However, I'm open to information from sources that have some sort of established credibility on the topic.

If you found a Shadow 750 with 75 hp it must have been turbocharged at least or more likely it had a Magna 750 engine in it.

The Motorcycle Consumer News Jan 2004 test of the then new shaft drive Shadow Aero 750 reports 35.4 hp and 42.0 lb ft torque.

Even the 40 hp for the VLX posted by this site is quite optimistic.

Cycle World Feb 94 issue reports 33.7 hp and 34.2 lb ft torque for the VLX.

By the way the engines in both the 600 and 750 Shadows is derived from the 500cc Ascot engine from the eaely 80's. The heavy 700, 750, and 800 cc Shadow engines of the 80's was dropped in favor of this lightweight engine first used in the Ascot and then in the 500cc Shadow.

If your looking for a mid sized v-twin cruiser with top performance take a look at the Intruder 800 now know as the Boulevard S50, it will run away and hide from the Shadows. Always has been the performer in this class and even weighs a bit less than the VLX.

gsJack wrote:If you found a Shadow 750 with 75 hp it must have been turbocharged at least or more likely it had a Magna 750 engine in it.

The Motorcycle Consumer News Jan 2004 test of the then new shaft drive Shadow Aero 750 reports 35.4 hp and 42.0 lb ft torque.

Even the 40 hp for the VLX posted by this site is quite optimistic.

Cycle World Feb 94 issue reports 33.7 hp and 34.2 lb ft torque for the VLX.

By the way the engines in both the 600 and 750 Shadows is derived from the 500cc Ascot engine from the eaely 80's. The heavy 700, 750, and 800 cc Shadow engines of the 80's was dropped in favor of this lightweight engine first used in the Ascot and then in the 500cc Shadow.

If your looking for a mid sized v-twin cruiser with top performance take a look at the Intruder 800 now know as the Boulevard S50, it will run away and hide from the Shadows. Always has been the performer in this class and even weighs a bit less than the VLX.

The manufacture service manual I got direct from Honda says 39hp for the VLX. I dont remember if it says at the wheel or just 39hp... Ill look later when I remember 2.

Here's a more recent figure from Cycle World showing even less hp for a VLX:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/ ... deals3.jpg

These are real world hp figures of rear wheel hp as measured on a dyno. If tou take the same bike to 3 different dynos on the same day you will get 3 different figures.

For years the hp of the GS500 for example has been measured at about 40 hp as reported in published road tests by the moto mags but the Suzuki UK site always reported about 50 hp. I suspect the 50 hp is measured at the crank and not at the rear wheel or maybe they use a different breed of horses in the UK.

To sum up and add a bit, any cruiser about 800cc or under would probably be a fine starter bike. I think that the 500-650 range is truly optimal because of the lighter weight. But if you felt comfy wheeling around a 500-550 lb 800cc bike, the power isn't going to overwhelm you. It's a weight only issue. The small and mid-size Honda cruisers in recent years are very disappointing to me for their 4 speed transmissions, as mentioned above. (The Rebel 250 does have a 5 speed, but would still struggle at highway speeds from lack of power.) If I could choose any intro cruiser it would be the Kawi Vulcan 500 as it's a liquid-cooled engine that actually makes as much power as a 500cc bike should and has a 6 speed transmission. But yes the Yamaha V-star 650 or older Virago or a similar sized Suzuki would be good.

After I took my BRC, I knew that a 250 was going to be too small for me (5'9 225lbs). I rented a V-star 650 for a weekend and loved it. The following week I rented a V-star 1300 for a couple of days and wound up buying it. (Mind you the 1300 is probably not a good choice for a starter bike, but it just worked for me).

Before buying the 1300 I also did try out a Shadow 600. It was nice but didn't feel as comfortable as the Yamaha 650.

NewGuy wrote:Also, I'm more willing to take the info from TotalMotorcycle.com than I am from that link you provided. That Yahoo site is merely a forum for people to ask questions, and anyone can answer. At least TotalMotorcycle.com is composed of people who regularly write about motorcycles, and have some established credibility on the topic.

...and are prone to occasional typo.

Seriously, a 75 HP Spirit? That would put it up there with some sport bikes. There's no way a Honda Spirit has as much power as a Suzuki SV650. And yeah, I posted one link, but I hit on dozens...It just takes a little digging on Google to find more than one source.

In the end, though the only thing that matters is that the Spirit is not too powerful for a beginner who is comfortable with the weight of the bike. As radak5osu pointed out, pretty much anything under 800cc in the cruiser class works for a good chunk of newbies.

radak5osu wrote:(The Rebel 250 does have a 5 speed, but would still struggle at highway speeds from lack of power.)

You might be surprised. Pretty much the entire time I had mine I thought that and avoided the Interstate--until someone told me to seriously wind it up before shifting. I took it out on I-80, wound it up, and found myself doing 80 easily. And I'm not a lightweight.

I didn't *enjoy* it at that speed but dang it sure zipped right along.

Too bad they don't offer the Rebel 450 anymore...