Honda VT 600C Shadow

There are undercurrents running through Honda's new VLX, echoes of past and present. Connected to the rails of the "hardtail" rear end a look dating back to the earliest days of motorcycling—is engineering combining the style of Milwaukee's famous Softail with technology from the first monoshock motocrossers of a decade ago. From Suzuki's Intruders came the VLX's detailed finish, with internal complexities hidden beneath a sleek, flowing shell of bodywork punctuated by hand-polished pieces. Inside is the powerful lure of the Shadow itself.

But the VLX also marks a departure  more accurately, a split—from the VT line that began five years ago. Riders still jazzed by the original Shadow archetype must look upward to the Shadow 800 in '88. For the VLX, there's the throb of a 583cc engine with a single-pin crank, a feathery 459-pound wet weight, a back tire about the size of New York—and a "triangulated" swing arm connected to a shock running below the seat, plus chain final drive. Bandy all you want about the way this new Shadow looks no one can deny how well it works.

Japan bump-started the revolution in 1978. It had been a decent interval, a single season after the introduction of Harley's Low Rider, when Yamaha released its Specials. With stepped seats and ape-hanger handlebars, those first Oriental cruisers were little more than crude assimilations of Milwaukee style. They sold mightily.

Two years later after the introduction of Honda Customs, Suzuki Low Slingers and Kawasaki LTDs American streets were awash with more pinstripes, teardrop/peanut fuel tanks, raised-white-letter "fat-meat" tires and plastic twinkle-chrome than you'd see inside Willie G.'s wildest nightmare.

By 1983, a Universal Japanese Croozerbike form had taken hold. For saleschart success, the menu read one raked-out front end with some form of Vee engine four or twin served over a bridge-span wheelbase with shaft drive and "traditional" twin-shocks for dessert.

Now, as then, the buyer generally suffers some form of indigestion brought on by peptic handling. Wheelbarrow front-end geometry begets wheelbarrow steering response—add speed and you get a tomato truck. Also, the combination of an oversized rear wheel and tire plus a shaft-drive unit/gearcase means plenty of weight out back to control.

Fashionably low seats are nice for flat-footing, but riding like a lizard takes travel out of the rear end—which can be sprung either hard as a buckboard or plush, with the shocks spending most of their time on the bottoming cups. Shaft reaction—the tendency of the rear suspension to extend under power and compress on trailing throttle is the final, and worst, impediment to flinging cruisers quickly about. Look gnarly they do; handle they do not.

Until now. Whether because ot its rear-end linkage system or its chain final drive, the VLX really does feel fully in control of itself on a fast backroad.

Why a chain? Honda's engineers may have decided that a shaft was incompatible with the uncluttered "hardtail-look" rear suspension, or the choice could have been a simple matter of economics. The Shadow—at $3698—is already a premium-priced 600; perhaps, in response to the flagging dollar, Japan plans to now export expensive shaft- drive bikes to Europe and send the chain-drive versions here. (This has happened in '88 with the sporting V-twin Hawk GT—shatters head off to Europe; U.S versions get chain drive.) If that's the case, it's consoling to think that reduced buying power can give us stunners like the VLX. Those with a hankering for the latest Universal Japanese Cruiser can look to Honda's new 800, with shocks and shaft final drive. For our money, the VLX even if it didn't cost $900 less than the 800—is both a brighter idea and a better deal.

The VLX is technically simpler than the big Shadow. In place of the 800's one-way Sprague hydraulic clutch is cable actuation and standard plates. Valve lash on the VLX is taken up by screw-and-locknut adjusters rather than the 800's automatic hydraulic system. But the VLX is no stripper Shadow you see it in the bike's ambitious sense of scale: A 63.2-inch wheelbase matches the 800 axle to axle; its rear tire, an enormous 170/80-section Dunlop, dwarfs the 800's 140—it's as big as the Shadow 1100's back boot.

The almost obsessive efforts Honda has made to conceal the VLX's engine size ("Only the owner will know it isn't 1000cc or more," says the press kit) are the stuff of psychiatrist couches and extended vacations at the company retreat. Nowhere on the tank badges or side-panel decals can any reference to the VLX's displacement be found. Instead you have to peer just above the base gasket behind the rear cylinder (it takes a flashlight to read, even in broad daylight). There, in the shadow of the cooling fins, stamped like a naughty tattoo, is the only clue to the VLX's true identity 583cc.

The VLX's model designation is VT600C, and its engine is adapted from Honda's VT500C Shadow and VT500 Ascot, both introduced five years ago. The VLX uses the same basic pieces as the 500 VTs: Vertically split cases hold the major cross-shafts in a staggered configuration, positioned alternately up and down to reduce the engine's front-to-back length; link-plate chains, driven from the sides of the crank, turn two overhead camshafts.

Like the 500s', the VLX's short stroke of 66.0mm requires the squat, over-square cylinders to be splayed wider than the 800's 45 degrees to provide clearance for the carburetors. So the VLX's pots, finned and liquid-cooled, are disposed at 52 degrees from each other with the carb block sandwiched in between.

Previous VTs drew air from a filter under the saddle along the frame's backbone to the carbs. The VLX goes for the "Harley-look" intake system: Air is drawn through a triangular pod on the engine's right side to a plastic airbox in the space above the front cylinder; rubber boots beneath the frame rails mate to a pair of 34mm downdraft Keihin CV carbs. There's a curiosity here: The Shadow's fuel line runs from a non-vacuum petcock, wending lazily backWard to an electronic pump mounted under the seat where it U-turns and pushes back uphill to the carbs—a peculiar delivery system for a bike whose tank seems ideally situated for a simple gravity feed.

Like the rest of the Shadows, the VLX gets the "Pentroof" cylinder head which first appeared on the Hawk series in 1977. From the carburetor, the Shadow's intake port splits to feed a pair of valves; a single, large-diameter poppet controls exhaust. In the Hawks, the spark plug screwed into the center of the valve triangle. The Shadows offer a variation on this: dual plugs are sunk in at the perimeter of the heart-shaped combustion chamber, each positioned between an inlet and the exhaust valve.

Unlike the bigger Shadows, which have their plug leads mounted on each side of the cylinder, the VLX's dual-plug system is partly conspicuous, partly concealed. On one side of the 600's cylinders the plug leads, pushing through the finning, are clearly visible. The other plug wells bore through the top of the valve cover, hidden beneath the fuel tank.

In the rush to hang high technology on the elemental V-twin cruiser, Honda's Shadows were the original high fliers. But the VLX shows mechanical detech-ing to bring it closer into line with the classic look of Milwaukee's magic cashbox. The VLX's gearbox carries four ratios rather than six. In place of vibration-quelling off-set crankpins as in previous Shadows, the 600's connecting rods run side-by-side on a common pin for full-bodied V-twin rump-a-bump thump. The engine is then solid-mounted into the VLX's steel double-downtube frame.

Earlier VTs had a "power" chamber— a large-capacity collector box—connecting the exhaust pipes. This tuned chamber did increase power; it also muffled sound. The VLX's shorty duals have a small-gauge interconnecting tube running between the mufflers, but the power chamber is gone—real urge replaced by a rasty exhaust note.

The VLX engine, mildly tuned and with a compression ratio of 9.2:1 (compared to the Ascot's 10.5:1), is no powerhouse. Honda rates the 600 at 42.6 horsepower at 6500 rpm. At the drag strip, the Shadow turns—rolls, really— 14.73-second quarter miles at 86.34 mph. Even Yamaha's 535 Virago is faster than that. A rev limiter cuts the spark at 8000 rpm.

But Shadow buyers will likely ignore the numbers, and they're right to do so because in performance, as in styling, the VLX continues to feel larger than it is. There's a gutsy presence, a compelling quality to this engine. The VLX spins readily to life; it warms quickly, runs a little lean at low rpms and pops a trifle under trailing throttle. But the Shadow is otherwise utterly poised, balanced, easy-going, with enough gumption to keep your interest. The 600 hasn't the level of thrust to pull the grips out of your hand; its torque is flat and low but always there. The VLX climbs hills with an earnest, willing chug; pulls away from a standing stop on idle; lugs from 20 miles per hour in top gear like a tug boat. On full throttle at low revs, the twin beats out a solid, satisfying thock that builds rapidly to a buttery tremor.

There's a silky precision to the VLX controls: Despite a lengthy, rod-actuated linkage, the wide-ratio four-speed transmission is a snicky shifter; the drum brake works well with the Shadow's massive rear footprint; lever action is light and solid. With a twin-driven primary gear on the clutch—spring-loaded to reduce engagement noise—the Shadow's power transfer is also remarkably smooth. The combination of chain-drive precision and V-twin power makes the VLX ideal for stop-and-go stuff—tighter than a standard shafty, less fitful than instant-on sport-bike response.

But the VLX could use another gear. At 60 miles per hour in fourth, the Shadow is turning 4300 rpm and feeling busy—vibration shivers the mirror images and hums through the bar and seat. The VLX delivers an average of 56 miles per gallon—more at a steady cruising speed—and the odometer hits almost 100 before you have to reach down for the reserve switch under the 2.3-gallon tank. Total range is about 120 miles.

De-evolved, simplified or "classic-fied," the VLX will require more hands-on service than other Shadows. Some chores have been simplified: There's a spin-on type oil filter screwed into the rear of the engine case; a dipstick replaces a sight window for oil level checks; keep steam and solvents from the O-ring chain and a squirt of lube now and then suffices; chain adjustment  with a bolt-and-locknut system is straightforward.

But you don't delve deeper inside the Shadow just for fun. Of all its modern production miracles, Japan excels at two: producing a $3500 motorcycle from $10,000 worth of parts, and blister-packing 16 cubic feet of hardware inside a thimble's worth of space. Gaining access to the Shadow's valve adjusters— a chore required every 8000 miles—is made somewhat easier by cutaway sections through the valve cover above the rockers. But the VLX internals, especially around the front cylinder, are densely packed. Behind the radiator, rubber mounted to the cross-braced downtubes, is an electronic fan which seems almost press-fit against the cylinder finning. The area behind the steering head is stuffed—with wiring, the radiator's overflow catch tank and the VLX's convoluted intake system, which must be removed to get at the valves.

The area beneath the saddle is also packed. Under one snap-off side panel is the wiring harness and tool kit; the right side, underneath a series of rubber flaps, holds the fusebox, coils, and a document pouch large enough for at least three folded sheaves of foolscap.

The Shadow's modular, almost electronic-scale clearances between components discourage random investigation. You have to know exactly where you're going, and which layers to peel away, in what order, to get where you need to go. For rear suspension adjustment, a tiny peep window behind the right side panel gives access to the preload collar on the shock. The curved wrench provided fits into the space perfectly; all other avenues lead more or less directly to frustration. After a few days on the road, our VLX developed intermittent electrical power loss. Off came the right sidecover, fusebox module; eventually the maintenance-free battery could be pulled from its tiny shelf above the swing-arm pivot. Tightening a screw fastener on the loose ground wire terminal solved the problem. Later we discovered a tiny cutaway under the left side panel, provided for precisely such a purpose. It could have saved us almost an hour of pinching and plucking away at the Shadow's internals.

Shock preload is the only suspension adjustment available on the Shadow. The long-travel (5.7 inches) Kayaba fork does not come fitted with air caps or anti-dive valving. The lengthy fork also has no cross-brace except the steel fender bolted between its legs, yet the stout 39mm tubes resist flex well. Spring and damping rates are adequate to good, and despite quite radical geometry—a 35-degree rake with 6.46 inches of trail—the VLX steers with precision and little tendency to flop into oversteer in parking lots and slow comers.

Rear suspension is the Shadow's centerpiece. The look is rather baldly patterned on Harley-Davidson's Softail, first introduced in 1984 and now the Motor Company's best-selling 80-incher. Har-ley's Softail design uses a pair of parallel shocks mounted horizontally below the engine/transmission, a "reversed" system that extends the shock under load.

The VLX suspension, though it looks much like the Softail, is mechanically more reminiscent of a monoshock system first introduced on Yamaha motocrossers in 1975. A "Delta" swing arm, formed of forged joints and round-section steel tubing, describes a triangle between pivot, axle and an upper bracket. Bolted to the bracket, the shock mounts almost horizontally beneath the VLX's saddle. Unlike the progressive rates of modern linkages, the Shadow system produces a constant ratio of 2.6:1 between inputs at the rear wheel and shock movement. Limited space under the seat for the thick-bodied Kayaba shock in turn limits rear-wheel travel to 3.54 inches at the axle. The Shadow shock is consequently sprung stiff to prevent bottoming—so stiff that anything above position three of its seven preload settings is overly harsh for solo riders; number four is right for two-up.

The Shadow's wheels, with steel rims laced to "spool-shaped" alloy hubs bristling with spokes—56 in the 19-inch front, 52 in the 15-inch rear wheel—carry a substantial amount of unsprung weight. Still the VLX rides well over bumpy pavement; steering is light and precise, the fork strong and supple. The Shadow's long chassis is stable and responds quickly and predictably to inputs at the bar. Weighing 459 pounds, the VLX is lighter than all current Vee cruisers except Yamaha's air-cooled XV535.

Freedom from the shaft-drive's pogo effect is a real release. Goose the throttle in midturn, gas off abruptly—the VLX maintains its chassis attitude. It still takes getting used to (and compensating for) the Shadow's peculiar cornering sequence—in fast corners, heels drag first before the footpegs begin to fold and the sidestand starts throwing sparks. But the Shadow's cornering clearance is good; the front brake—a new Nissin dual-piston caliper squeezing a drilled 296mm rotor—gives good feel (the VLX stops from 60 mph in 127 feet), though it could use more power.

The Shadow's seating position is classic cruiser: The 27.6-inch seat leaves you flat-footed—with inches to spareat stoplights. The saddle is thin but well-padded and nicely shaped for touring and/or profiling. The footpegs, rigid-mounted on chromed brackets way out front at the curl of the downtubes, are a stretch for short riders; we'd prefer them a little farther back. Likewise the rubber-mounted handlebar angles a bit too far back into the comfort zone. Lean and narrow, the Shadow thrusts out in front of the rider. The only projection is the Harley-look airbox, which, in classic H-D style, hits you in the knee.

From the saddle, the sheen of the Shadow's hand-polished alloy parts— switch housings; rounded master cylinder; the flat plate of the upper triple clamp—fills the rider's view. The headlight and speedometer, with its three twinkling warning lights, rise on chrome brackets, secured by throughbolts; fat metal pieces blending with flowing coachwork—it's an essay on Early Industrial Futurism.

Honda took great care to create the finish—the hand-polished surfaces, the paint that exactly matches, from steel fender and fuel tank through the single-piece plastic rear section. Though the VLX suspension works better than Har-ley's Softail, the Shadow's flowing look is not as complete a vision as Suzuki's Intruder.

Much more than a stylistic pounce on Milwaukee, Honda's new VLX is a frontal assault on contemporary cruiser function. Forget style: this Shadow establishes a new standard for the way modern cruisers, Japanese or otherwise, must work—and that makes the VLX a genuinely revolutionary motorcycle. ■