2003 Honda Shadow

Background: This was my first cruiser and my first Honda. I owned a black 2003 Shadow Sabre 1100, which is functionally identical to the Shadow 1100 except for shorter overall gearing. I put approximately 10,000 miles on the bike.

Performance: The Sabre 1100 is relatively quick cruiser. With 55 RWHP, about 70 ft-lbs of torque, and a dry weight of 573 lbs, the Sabre can do 0-60 in the mid 5s and cover the 1/4 mile in high 13s. For a $8K cruiser, this is doing pretty good. The engine sounds like a glorified sewing machine, but it's smooth and will run well over a 100,000 miles with minimal maintenance (as will most Japanese bike engines today). The bike handles well for a cruiser, which is to say it's predictable and unintimidating. I wouldn't attempt to strafe canyons with it, but you could do some semi-spirited riding with it if your version of normal riding occurs at about 35-40 mph.

Reliability: The Shadow line-up, as a whole, are synonymous with reliability. The Sabre is no exception. I had zero problems and only had to change the oil and check the air pressure. The shaft drive is a blessing. Change the oil every 10-15K miles, and you're good to go. Sure beats the hassle of cleaning and lubing a chain cleaning every 500 or so miles (and adjusting for slack every few thousand miles). A belt drive is almost as easy to maintain as shaft drive and delivers power to the road smoother than does the shaft, which can be jerky at slow speeds, but if you ask me, all bikes should be shaft driven.

Comfort: No surprises here. Typical of most stock seats, the Sabre's seat should be replaced with an aftermarket seat if you plan on doing any serious riding. Otherwise, the seating position is tolerable for 150 miles or so on my pain scale. I wouldn't cross the country on this bike, but I know there are people who do.

Quality and Craftsmanship: Typical Honda quality. There's no Harley bling here. What you get is a functional, well-rounded motorcycle (Honda doesn't know how to build them any other way, it seems), that is easy on the wallet (and the eyes as well, if you ask me).

Overall: A great middleweight bike; although, with cruisers now pushing the 2 liter envelope, the 1100 is quickly becoming a lightweight, but this is a great middle-of-the-road cruiser for someone who doesn't need 100 HP or the bling (or the insurance and monthly payments) of a H-D.

Item was not as clean as I thought, but my fault. Drove too far not to take it (500+ miles). Will know better next time. I have paid a lot more before, and learned a lot less. My bad.

This honda shadow is very nice and smooth with all the response you would expect from a four cylindar motorcycle, the company Ultimate Cycles went through it and added a new front tire which made it handle as if it was brand new. I recomend the company and bike for quality value,honest courteous sales and service with a penchance for going the extra mile. Thanks to Ultimate Motors and the Honda Motorcycle Company for a good product well kept at the standard Honda requires and is famous for. Marty.

This Honda 2003 Shadow has been customized and the appearance is outstanding. It starts easily and runs smoothly and is as comfortable for the novice rider as it is for the experienced rider.

Great bike as expected! Great sportster look with Honda reliability. Tons of aftermarket items available to customize.

Decided to pursue a motorcycle on ebay because the cost locally was sky high. Connected with a dealership in West Palm Beach and actually won the bid for a fraction of the cost I could purchase the same bike locally. In fact I save over $1500 even with their handling cost and the delivery from a very reliable 3rd party service. The dealership was outstanding in everyway, communication, follow-up, and most importantly their integrity. I had my reservations about making a big purchase on ebay, however, I was very pleased that I did.

few miles , price good, salvage, not much wrong.sorry, no time right now.ok I'm back.
doing business with you was a very good exsperance, everything went very well, you were very prompt in ans. any questions. I would do business with you any time, you were vwry helpful.
I'm not to good on reviews but this helps.
Thanks for everything,
Jerry

I already had a Honda 600 Shadow which I got from a seller on ebay. It was a sweet bike with great economy. However, it would never be the "roadable" bike I wanted. Yes it was great for 45-50 mile rides with friends, and for running over to the beach, it couldn't be topped. However, I started looking at larger Honda Shadows. I went thru a lot of listings on several sites and local classifieds. I test road a lot of bikes including Suzuki 800's. From those test rides, I picked the Honda 750 Shadow as the properly balanced bike for me. Large enough to be "roadable" light enough for town riding, strong enough to keep up the traffic and other riders, yet still pretty ecomomical if I try.

Ok, so we know I am satisfied with my purchase, but just as importantly, I am satisfied with the sellers. They were extremely easy to work with. They also had the bike all clean, serviced, and ready, just sitting in their garage out of the weather pending my arrival. They were a really sweet couple, very helpful, and extremely honest in their representation of the bike in their listing.

Would I do it all over again? Definately!

Bought the motorcycle for gas mileage and commuting but also like its size and performance. I moved up from a Suzuki S40 boulevard that was really too small for my wife and I both to ride. Now we can take off on the Honda anytime we want. My wife loves it so much that she now wants to learn to ride and ride the Suzuki by herself.

ABSOLUTLY AWESOME RIDE. WELL BALANCED AND HANDLES GREAT.




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