Easy Street

Here's something for your next trivia night: the highest selling road bike in Australia last year was the VT750C. One of the reasons for this would have to be price - it was a lot of motorcycle for under $11,000. The '04 VT750C Shadow gets a shaft drive and keeps a $10,990 price tag, ensuring it will figure prominently again in this year's sales figures.

The 750 Shadow's appeal lies in its maintenance simplicity and how easy it is to ride. I'd go so far as to say it's the easiest mid-capacity bike to ride in the current marketplace. This suits new or returning riders because they can concentrate on roadcraft rather than the mechanical act of riding. Complementing this are self-adjusting cam chains, one carburettor (no balancing), electronic ignition, five rather than six gears, non-adjustable suspension (apart from rear spring pre-load) and, of course, virtually maintenance-free shaft drive. The Shadow owner will spend his life riding rather than maintaining, and the bills from the bike shop for regular servicing will be small.

IN THE SADDLE
Two of the changes to the new bike have been to further lower the seat height to 658mm and provide a rider's "saddle" rather than a traditional seat. It means short riders aren't excluded from ownership but the bike is still comfortable for beanpoles as well. Comfort-wise, the seat is as good as it gets with Japanese-manufactured cruisers. All cruisers share a fundamental limitation to long-term rider comfort - you take all your bodyweight on your backside. It's fine for shorter trips but, with longer rides, it can't help but become, literally, a pain in the arse. The launch ride was around 500km and we all managed to dismount without assistance. As I said, it's as good as it gets.

The clutch take-up is ultra-smooth and progressive. This combines with lots of low- engine-speed torque to minimise the risk of stalling. Unlike many larger cruisers (including those from the USA), the Shadow has very good low-speed stability. It's easy to manoeuvre around parking spots and perform low speed turns. The brakes consist of a single disc at the front and a drum at the rear. Both are responsive without being over-sensitive and it's hard to imagine anyone getting into trouble by accidentally being ham-fisted. The rear brake is surprisingly effective and probably suits the target market where remnants of "rear brake theory" may still by harboured.

The ride from the relatively unsophisticated suspension is also very good at cruiser speeds. Cornering clearance will be beyond the limits of the average owner but the suspension, particularly the twin rear dampers, can become tired and emotional if pushed too hard, particularly on rough surfaces.

THE GRUNT FACTORY
One of the answers to the "How can Honda do it for the price?" question is the Shadow's engine. It's a mildly-altered version of the VT500E engine first introduced in 1983. If you can make the same engine for 20 years they become very cheap to produce. The VT500E engine was revolutionary at the time because it used two offset crankpins which meant Honda could achieve good balance with any V-configuration. It chose 52 degrees which had the advantage of allowing the engine to be much shorter than the traditional 90 degree, single crankpin V-twin. 20 years later this admirable design is still competitive. Technical features include three valves-per-cylinder and two spark plugs per cylinder to maximize combustion efficiency. The 750 engine is in a slightly lower state of tune than its 500cc grandfather but its claimed 44.3 horsepower at 5500rpm will be more than enough for most owners. The stock exhaust system has very high environmental credentials but may get in the way of additional power output. Watch out for a Cobra system coming soon to a store near you. The ignition has a cut-out facility which allows speeds in first, second and third of around 60, 100 and 140km/h. It's unlikely you'll ever discover the cut-out point in fifth gear (the bike won't get to those road speeds) but I saw 160km/h on the speedo a couple of times during the launch ride. It's quite fast enough for a bike like this.

BITS AND PIECES
The VT750C's bodywork is all plastic which is good for weight (a low 238kg) but may offend some purists. A nice feature is the Honda Ignition Security System (HISS) which means the ignition switch is programmed to only accept the two keys which come with the bike. The Shadow can't be hotwired. This is useful in terms of potential theft but means you'll have to remember where you keep your spare key. I have absolutely no evidence to support this concern but the location of the radiator expansion chamber and oil filter underneath the bike doesn't seem ideal. They are both exposed to road debris flung up by the front wheel and the minimalist instrumentation can't warn you if you suddenly lose all your coolant. In defense of Honda's engineers, I had the same concern about the location of the oil filter on GoldWings but know of no incidents where this has created problems.

The VT750C Shadow's user-friendly mechanicals and ergonomics will make it lots of friends. Combined with its low initial cost and minimalist servicing requirements, it's a bike for today. Expect to see plenty of them on the road

SPEX: 2004 HONDA VT750C SHADOW
Engine: Type: liquid-cooled, four-stroke, six-valve, SOHC, 52-degree V-twin; Bore x stroke: 79mm x 76mm; Displacement: 750cc; Compression ratio: 9.6:1. Transmission: Type: Five-speed; Final drive: Shaft. Chassis and running gear: Frame type: Double-cradle steel frame with large-diameter, round-section single-tube backbone Front suspension: non-adjustable 41mm hydraulic forks ; Rear suspension: Two conventional spring/damper units with five-step spring pre-load adjustment; Front brake: single 296mm drilled rotor with dual-piston caliper; Rear brake: 180mm leading/trailing drum. Dimensions and capacities: Dry weight: (claimed) 237.9kg; Seat height: 658mm; Wheelbase: 1639mm. Performance: Max power: (claimed) 44.38hp at 5500rpm; Max speed: (indicated) 161km/h. Other stuff: Price: $10,999 plus ORC; Test bike supplied by: Honda Australia; Available colours: black; candy wineberry red.