I actually wanted the 2023 Honda Shadow Phantom in Adventure Green, but couldn't find one close enough to where I live. I found the Phantom in Matte Black, thought maybe I'd just paint it, but...the Shadow Aero, which looked incredibly ugly in photos, looked surprisingly good in real life, with...
read more
I actually wanted the 2023 Honda Shadow Phantom in Adventure Green, but couldn't find one close enough to where I live. I found the Phantom in Matte Black, thought maybe I'd just paint it, but...the Shadow Aero, which looked incredibly ugly in photos, looked surprisingly good in real life, with striking blue and cream paint. I sat on both bikes, but I fit better on the Shadow Aero, as it has a higher seat height than the Phantom. And I bought the Shadow Aero.
The Shadow Aero is a very different ride from my 2006 Honda VTX 1300C, which I'm glad I didn't trade in. Of course, the Shadow Aero, which is half the size of the VTX, doesn't have massive reserves of power, but if you give it a chance, you'll find that it has power enough, and you'll get over 50 miles per gallon, which is sweet. The Shadow Aero is fuel injected, the VTX is carburated, so the Shadow Aero rolls on the power less suddenly than the VTX, but it certainly has enough get up and go for a speedy takeoff or for passing. And it's a showy bike. I call it my mini-cruiser. It gets lots of compliments; even people who aren't motorcyclists find the whole look of the Shadow Aero very pleasing.
The one problem I've found is the seat. Although it is a nice-looking design, riding on it is truly a pain in the butt. After an hour of riding, my tailbone is so sore that I have difficulty moving my legs off the footpegs onto the ground. Excruciatingly painful. Bear in mind that I bought my VTX used with a Corbin seat, which isn't a problem even on all-day rides, so I know there are more comfortable seats available. Maybe the original seat on the VTX was as much of a PITA as the one on the Shadow Aero; I dunno.
This is just my second week with the Shadow Aero, and the uncomfortable seat is the only really vexing problem I've found. My solution will be to remove the seat cover and place a combination of memory foam and gel that feels better to me, then I'll refit the original seat cover onto my 'improved comfort' seat. There seems to be plenty of room between the rigid foam and the cover, so I think that will work.
Increasing the seat height a bit will be fine for me; the Shadow Aero has a much lower seat height than my VTX 1300C, and I'm quite comfortable on the VTX; I just ride in a bit of a different style on the Shadow Aero---I call it riding 'small' (although I must admit that on my first couple of miles on the Shadow Aero, before I figured out how to adjust myself to the bike, I felt a bit like a Shriner, riding on a motorcycle that seemed very tiny compared to the size of the VTX !)
I really don't want to spend $700 to $1000 on an aftermarket seat, especially when considering that the base price for the Shadow Aero is less than $8000. Adding padding to the original seat seems a much more reasonable solution.
When I've resolved the seat problem, I'll be very happy with my 2023 Honda Shadow Aero.
Show less