No 56k: RMurray's Honda Shadow

[Rossco]

This is my first motorcycle, a 1983 Honda Shadow vt500c. I bought it in June, with 13,7XX miles on it . I got my license in August so I haven't got to put too many miles on it so the Odometer reads about 16k now. But it's been a great reliable bike.
But with riding season winding down in the next few weeks (at least where I live) , I figure I'll throw up some pics of my motorcycle before it goes to storage.

Hopefully more to come as I try and find/take some more pics. I'm even thinking about re-spraying the tank and back fender this winter, along with fabricating some saddlebag mounts in the spring. Stay tuned!

 

[Spectre]

Not bad!

Honda made saddlebags for that bike - you might want to see if you can dig some of those up.

 

[BlaRo]

Sweet, another old Honda rider.

Wish you would ditch the square headlight - it didn't work for Jeep Wranglers, and it def doesn't work for motorcycles. The 80s were dark and terrifying times.

 

[Spectre]

It does work for some motorcycles, but naked cruisers are not it.

 

[Rossco]

Thanks for the advice, Spectre! Searching for accessories for this bike is quite a daunting task. Yet, I'll keep looking!

The square headlight definitely detracts from the look of it. Kind of looks like a bad cross between a Harley Sportster and a KLR. However ditching the light also means ditching the windscreen, as a round headlight might be difficult to fit with that.

 

[FleeceLINER]

Neenerneeenerneeener

The thought police are coming to get you!

 

[KaJuN]

I love '80s Japanese bikes and yours looks like a fantastic example of one. Have fun with it and welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycling. You'll never be the same again.

 

[Rossco]

Ok so I found some more pics, from some weird angles. They were taken by one of my friends that's really into photography and has a really nice camera.

This one says the mileage is 15XXX, because it was taken over a month ago.Now it's getting near 17k.

Still running strong though, however the tachometer is making a buzzing sound.

Neenerneeenerneeener

The thought police are coming to get you!

Yep it does kinda look like the Thought Police bikes from "1984." I think it's the windscreen that really makes that happen

I love '80s Japanese bikes and yours looks like a fantastic example of one. Have fun with it and welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycling. You'll never be the same again.

Thanks Kajun, and I that little old Honda you got is pretty cool too!

 

[Rossco]

Alright, the bikes almost ready to come out of hibernation, but first, just one small detail. The paint on the gas tank was looking awfully oxidized, and it was starting to rust as well. So I had it taken care of.


The filler is on there because there was a low spot at the top of the tank, wasn't too deep though.

Followed by a few coats of primer..

Finally some gloss black paint!

I think I might go ahead and put in on without decals. I kinda like the clean look. But before it goes on, I'm going to replace some of the dry-rotted fuel and vacum lines (might as well). Can't wait to go riding again!

Edit: here's a proof pic as well

 

[Rossco]

Alright so, good news and bad news.

The good news, I got some saddlebags for it! There not Hondaline's, but Fieldsheer's. They were the "compact" slash saddlebags, they barely fit, but look great and it sure beats having to carry a backpack most of the time.
Pardon the blurry camera-phone photo's

And lookin good with the recently re-sprayed gas tank.

Now for the bad news, my ignorance and neglect for mechanical tachometer cables caused my tach to break . Oh well, I have to take the dash apart anyway, as the lights are burned out.

Here's the slightly less broken speedo and odometer showing the bike now has over 19k miles

I think I might put a highway bar on it though, and maybe a gel pad, for those long trips. It can get a little cramped after a while, seeing as I'm 6'2" and my knees are pretty high up.

Regardless of these little problems it's still a great bike, and is still very reliable and fuel efficient.