smooth & tasty but lacking character.

“smooth and tasty but lacking character.”

Written on: 14/05/2012 by lummy93 (2 reviews written)

Prior to owning my Honda shadow 125 i used to own a Gilera cougar 125. seeing as the Gilera was my first bike there's a lot of emotion attached, particularly true on the anger and frustration side of things! but that's what i loved about it - it had attitude, a mind of its own. every time it started up i felt like it deserved a pat on the tank. It felt dangerous and fast to drive allowing you to lean right into the corners. Basically it was a really fun bike to drive and it sounded AWESOME (for a 125).

as you can imagine then, the shadow is a bit lacking in personality. for me it feels TOO safe and too quiet. Although the ride itself is smooth with good acceleration through the low and mid range, the top end is pretty sluggish. ride height is also an issue for those who are quote another review 'a bit over enthusiastic going into corners.' The bike has a great big 15 BHP v twin engine which naturally led me to believe it would feel and sound MEAN.I can't feel it ticking over and it definitely doesn't sound mean. Honda have really gone to work on the exhaust making sure that as you drive by people only hear the quiet hum of what sounds like an electric motor. i considered taking the baffles out to increase the volume but not only is it illegal, but i don't particularly want to lower its already sluggish performance from a top speed of around 70.

despite not sounding as big as it looks or being as fast and fun to ride as you would expect, I would definitely buy it again if i could do it all again. The bike is EXTREMELY reliable, not once have i had to use the choke. regardless of rain or temperature the bike starts 1st time every time which for a 4 year old bike seems like a minor victory! haha. Although the bike isnt particularly fast, you wont need to do much more than 70 anyway considering most people will only use this bike on 'L' plates and you dont have access to the motorways. The bike atracts a lot of attention, even on rainy days! (don't know whether its people being smug at the fact they are in a nice warm car or because they like the bike.. for me, i enjoy sticking it out through winter and summer on a bike. but thats just me.) although the bike may be pricey at first at around 3700 new the bike will hold its value all day long thanks to the Honda badge. Mileage isnt that great but your still looking at around 180 miles to a full tank which costs me £17.00 these days.

of course all of this is my own personal view. your preferences are your own so if you disagree with what i have said then write your own bloody review!