Is the Honda Shadow Phantom the New Sportster?

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Motorcyclist Magazine publishes Episode 2 of its official review of the 2024 Honda Shadow Phantom cruiser ($8,399).  Motorcycle Riding Gear Worn  Helmet: Shoei RF-SR Jacket: Alpinestars SMX Air Jacket Gloves: Megawatt Gloves Pant: Alpinestars-Diesel Shiro Boots: Alpinestars Faster-3 Rideknit  Read the best motorcycle news and reviews: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/  Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motorcyclistonline/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motorcyclistmag/

Transcript

00:00 Hey folks, this is Honda's 2024 Shadow Phantom Cruiser.

00:04 Is this the new Sportster?

00:06 It's $8,400, it's got a 745cc liquid-cooled engine, and it sounds awesome!

00:12 Now this is a middleweight, bobber-style cruiser from Honda Motor Japan.

00:23 If you can even believe it, American Honda's been importing these Shadow-style cruisers

00:30 into America since 1983.

00:32 This is the 41st year of Shadow.

00:36 Now the Shadow Phantom fits into the V-Twin Cruiser segment in its affordability.

00:42 This motorcycle retails for $8,400, it's another $300 if you want ABS.

00:49 And for that price, you get a lot of bike for your money.

00:52 Let's start with the engine.

00:54 This motorcycle is powered by Honda's 745cc water-cooled V-Twin engine.

01:01 This engine has three valve cylinder heads, so two intake valves, one exhaust, powered

01:06 by an overhead cam.

01:08 This engine is good for right around 40 horsepower at the 15-inch rear wheel.

01:14 It also makes right around 40 pound-feet of torque.

01:17 You'd be surprised how much get-up-and-go this bike has at lower speeds.

01:22 Now you're certainly not going to win any drag races in terms of top speed, but around

01:27 town this thing gets up and goes to 50, 60 miles per hour very well.

01:32 Now a five-speed transmission puts power back to the tire.

01:35 It has a nice, clean shaft vinyl drive.

01:38 If you're not familiar with shaft vinyl drive, it's nice because it makes for a real clean

01:43 appearance.

01:44 There's no lubricant or chain splash that gets on the rear end of the bike, and it just

01:49 adds for a real clean look.

01:51 It also boosts maintenance intervals.

01:54 Barely ever have to change the oil in the rear differential in these things.

01:58 That's really American Honda's secret sauce with its V-Twin motorcycle.

02:04 These motorcycles are built really well.

02:06 For an $8,400 bike, you'd be blown away.

02:09 You'd be hard-pressed to find another motorcycle in the V-Twin category that is priced less

02:15 than $10,000 with this type of build quality.

02:18 This is a very well-built motorcycle.

02:21 It's worth mentioning that Honda imports a lot of its motorcycles into America that are

02:27 built from the Honda Thailand factory.

02:29 This motorcycle's not built from Honda Thailand.

02:31 This thing's built in Kumamoto, Japan, where Honda builds its Gold Wings and other top-of-the-line

02:39 bikes that cost well over $25,000.

02:41 So you know when you purchase this $8,400 Shadow Phantom, you're getting a really quality

02:47 motorcycle.

02:48 Now, the handling on this thing.

02:50 This bike weighs right around 540 pounds, and it's a very easy bike to ride.

02:54 Of course, 540 pounds is a lot of weight for a new rider, but because this motorcycle has

03:01 such a low seat height, if you were a new rider, you'd probably get along with this

03:04 bike pretty well.

03:05 The clutch has a good feel.

03:07 The brakes are responsive without it being overly so.

03:11 The throttle response also, it's nice.

03:14 You really feel the power pulses of the engine and that exhaust note.

03:18 The exhaust note and the engine note on this vehicle, they sound awesome.

03:22 You're literally going to be thinking, "I'm riding a Harley-Davidson right now, and the

03:26 bike sounds that good."

03:28 Good job, Honda.

03:29 We're really happy that you're paying attention to the details, like engine and exhaust sound,

03:33 which is so important in a V-Twin bike.

03:37 Now, styling on this bike.

03:38 I like the styling.

03:40 I think Honda used a little bit too much logos on the motorcycle.

03:43 There's logos all over the engine on the side.

03:46 Really for these bikes, V-Twin people aren't going to want to say they're riding a Honda.

03:50 They're just not.

03:51 So I think if Honda could remove some of these logos and just have this bike be more brand

03:56 agnostic, that would do really good for them in the sales department.

04:00 You've got to remember, younger people these days, they're all brand agnostic.

04:04 They don't care what brand stuff they have.

04:05 They just want it to be plain with no logos.

04:08 I think that's one area where Honda could really improve, is just don't logo the bikes,

04:12 kind of like how they do with Honda Rebel.

04:15 The rear license plate hugger is a little bit big, but with removing these three 12

04:20 or 14 millimeter Allen bolts on either side of the bike, you actually remove that whole

04:24 hugger and replace it with something aftermarket that's a lot cleaner looking, if you want.

04:30 $8,400 for this Shadow Phantom.

04:33 This bike's really a great value in the middleweight V-Twin bobber segment.

04:39 It looks cool.

04:40 It rides awesome.

04:41 The engine and exhaust note are literally splendid.

04:45 And if you're looking for an affordable, easy riding V-Twin cruiser to cruise around town

04:50 on, have some fun with your friends on the weekend, nothing too long distance, but for

04:54 shorter rides, this bike will be a good fit for you.

04:58 Well, folks, that wraps up our official review of Honda's 2024 Phantom Shadow Cruiser.

05:04 As always, make sure to surf on over to MotorcyclistOnline.com.

05:08 That's where all of our written content comes to life.

05:10 Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it, thumbs it down if you dinked.

05:13 We'd love to hear from the naysayers.

05:15 Everyone's opinion counts here.

05:16 And sound off in the comment section, what do you think of this Shadow Phantom Cruiser?

05:22 Thanks for riding with us, and we'll see you in the next episode.

05:24 [00:05:00] [END OF AUDIO]

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