1986 Honda reviews

Great little bike..will get up and move when revved up! 71Hp..as compared to the current 40 something on the current cbr500r. Reliable, handles well in corners, the ride is a bit stiff..but I like a stiffer suspension for corners etc. This bike has started up every year since 1988 when I bought it. New brake pads, rotors, and tires on this year. Re-built the clutch master cylinder years ago..and recently rebuilt the slave cylinder a year ago as the clutch was slipping. I have about 38000 miles on it. If you find one cheap..buy it! Show less

I bought this bike from the orignal owner who said he never had to any thing to it but replace the battery and tires and regular maintenance. A lot of its life has been spent in Florida and Ohio. It still looks nearly new, shiny chrome and perfect candy red paint. It still runs and rides great. It's a very nice and well built bike, loads of fun. My only complaint is, I am 69 years old and the seat is a little uncomfortable for me. If you can find a nice one buy it. You won't be sorry. PS. I also have a 2004 Yamaha 1100 Silverado with Mustang seats, hard bags and trunk and a lot of extras for long rides. Show less

I bought this VT1100 in Nov. 09. I had read up on it a little but was really surprised when I rode it. It will flat scat, handles great too. It has gobs of torque and pulls all the way up to red line like a mad bull. Being tall it lacks in comfort for me only in leg room, but the seat is very comfy. This bike is great. You get a speedo, tach, temp guage, gas guage and dual disk brakes up front. The new shadows give you a speedo and petcock and that's it. Power is another thing too. This bike has a full 12 horses and 7 footpounds of torque more than the 1995 and later shadows. That power difference makes for a lot more fun. Honda had the perfect V-twin motor and they went and made it worse. Thanks Honda! Now fire the idiot manager that thought up that idea and bring this engine back! Show less

I purchased mine used with 31K miles on it. It is short framed for my body size for more than about 50 miles at a time. The Stator went out at 35k miles, I replaced it with a Electrosport High output for less than a third the cost of honda parts. It now puts out enought amperage to reliably run a heated riding suit. In the 7 months I have owned it I have logged almost 10k miles on it and it has been the most reliable road bike I have had thus far being I used to ride mid 70's Harleys and always worked on them. I have repainted it black with silver ghost flames. In an all out drag race with my buddies screaming eagle equipped Harley XL1200C he gets me for the first 75 yards or so then the higher HP and revving of the Shadow blows by him litteraly shutting him down. Good mileage, easy maintenance. Running strong at 45k miles the bike is more of a crossover between a cruiser and a sport bike, handles very well with the proper tires and rider placement. I have scraped the pegs many times on turns, hooks up well. Show less

I must say my 1986 Honda Shadow is very nice. I bought it in 2008 with only 1,400 miles. I am so proud to have this bike, it looks brand new and rides very well with no worries. I take it on long rides with my fishing tackle and rod straped to the back. With my chrome sparkling and the throttle wide open, I am off to see the sun set. Show less

I just picked up two '85 Nighthawk 450's...one complete, and one for parts. The bike is in near mint condition, with low miles. For a small displacement bike, it really doesn't feel so small. I love the riding position, and the bike handles great. It's not an overly powerful bike, but it is a perfect commuter, and can get me pretty well anywhere I need to be. I love it. Show less

I bought the bike in 1987 when it had 4,000 miles and in the last nearly 20 years have added about 21,000 miles. I occasionally have considered replacing it, but after even a short ride always have changed my mind. The bike has been trouble free up to now (left front fork shows a very slight oil seepage), which is remarkable since it sits idle a large portion of the year (Seattle rain and all). I love this bike enough to recently turn down an offer of $3600 - I don't think I will ever sell it. Show less

Thanks to everyone's review, I just purchased my 1986 Honda Shadow VT700C yesterday from a dealer who specializes in classic Honda's. This one was in "like new" condition. Only a little under 6K miles, no rust, and cherried-out! The shop replaced the fuel pump prior to my purchase in which the motor stalled after 10 miles and put on new tires (Dunlop Qualifiers). I was in the shop for less than an hour and immediately went on a 250 mile ride home. What a ride! Cruising speed of 85MPH with more HP for passing. The overdrive makes for less vibration, the low seat was perfect for my 5'5" frame. You don't see them built like this anymore...cruiser looks with musclebike power! If you find one in good shape, don't pass it up. Show less

I bought the bike for $3000, with 19000 kms on it. Just barely broke in I'm told. I haven't got off it since I got it. It's so much fun. My first big trip is going to be through the rocky mountains this year. Lots of chrome which turns heads. Hard to find aftermarket parts for it but I'll keep trying. I might upgrade to an 1100 next year and hand it off to my girlfriend. Like to get a bigger tank and a backrest. I'll keep it for sure. Just as good to me as a $30,000 Harley. Show less

I paid $1000 for my '84 Interceptor VF500F, and it's turned out to be the best investment I've ever made. I took this bike to college, and it's become my primary transportation (even in winter). When I bought it, it ran but had carb trouble. After a good cleaning, it hasn't given me trouble since. I can take this bike on the highway, stoplight to stoplight, the race track, you name it, this bike will do it. It absorbs every bit of abuse, and only asks for more. In 3 years of cold starts and hot starts, it has never failed to fire up on the first cranking. Even on a cold day, it warms up in about 30 seconds, and then the choke is off. On hot days it never overheats either with the liquid cooling. The bike is very, very narrow, very nimble, and surprisingly fast. I don't know that it will keep up with a GSXR600, but it will actually come fairly close. The powerband is huge, from about 6-13K at the redline, which makes gear shifting optional most of the time. The brakes are superb, and handling is great also. I've owned several bikes, but none of them have had the "do anything, go anywhere" confidence of the little Interceptor. It will do all of this while running circles around its 500cc stable mates (Suzuki GS500E and Kawasaki Ninja 500). It may not be a race bike, but it'll do about 130mph on flat land, and I'd say 0-60 in under 4 seconds. Will it beat the 600's on a race track? No, probably not. But if you need to run to the grocery store on a cold day, it'll be warmed up there by the time the other bikes are out of the driveway. This is a wonderful little bike, and if you have the chance to get one I'd strongly recommend it. It'll be a shame if Honda ever abandons the V-4 engine. (Another great thing, the 500 isn't bothered by the cam issues of the 750 and 1000 model). Anyways, this bike does anything, goes anywhere, gets there fast, and does so with minimal maintenance. Show less