Looking for YOUR Oppinions

In article <emuv9v0th3 RemoveThis @enews1.newsguy.com>,
"lightnen" <lightnen RemoveThis @mnsi.net> wrote:

> Hi there Folks:
> I'm looking for some oppinions on a couple of crusier bikes. I've owned a
> few but haven't bought anything sense 85 which was a Venture any ways I'm
> looking at a 2004 Honda Shadow 1100 and a 2006 Yamaha Vstar 1100, I can't
> make up my mind have not riden either of these bikes so am looking for what
> I should be looking for or how do they handle. Of course which one I do
> decide on will be customed out anyways so it may not be the same anyways.
> How are the motors on these two are they up to an all day pounding and keep
> on ticken this is the bigest thing for I'd ride 3 or 4 hundred miles for a
> good cup of coffee.. LOL
>
> Lightnen

I doubt that you will find any cruiser as comfortable as a touring bike.
That being said, I know the history of the motor used on the Vstar 1100
and it is the same as the Virago 110 (my wife and I both had one) with a
different cam (more of a lope to sound more like a harley and an
associated loss of a few horses). That motor was in production for near
twenty years and is just about bullet proof. By comparison while the
Vstar is air cooled I believe that the Shadow is water cooled, so the
trade off is a few more moving parts (the simpler the more reliable) in
trade for a motor that runs cooler (more evenly temperature consistent)
and quieter. I don't know the history of the Shadow 1100 motor but I
believe it has been in production for quite a while as well. Both the
Vstar and early Shadows are single pin cranks (similar to a Harley
engine) and will get a fair bit of vibration at higher RPMs. I believe
that Honda recently changed the Shadow engine to a double pin crank to
balance that out and reduce the vibration at highway speeds.

If you plan on riding a few hundred miles, at highway speeds, for a cup
of coffee, I would suggest taking each of those bikes for a long ride at
those speeds before making up your mind. I had to get Progressive
shocks and a Sergeant seat on my Virago before before I could ride it
for half a day without my butt threatening to disown the rest of my body.

I finally got tired of the noise and discomfort and bought a FJR 1300.
I've never looked back.

Ride safe.
Serge
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