I'm in a similar situation that you are in. My wife didn't like to do very long trips on the Z1000, so I decided to get a cheaper cruiser that we could ride two up comfortably on. Our local Yamaha dealer had a 1997 Honda Shadow Ace 1100 (non-touring model) sitting there. It had 30K mile on it, so I was able to get it for $3700 out the door.
I love the Shadow. It has great power, looks very nice, and rides great. As was mentioned earlier its very nimble for a bigger cruiser. I had a VStar 650, and the Shadow puts it to shame in the handling department. The VStar wasn't near as stable at slower speeds like the Shadow is, and it got even worse when you had a passenger. The Shadow doesn't have that problem. You can hardly tell a passenger is back there.
The Shadow Ace is basically a wanna be Harley. The who bike was made in the USA. Honda of American Manufacturing (also known as HAM) produced this bike to take advantage of Harley's lack of ability to keep up with production numbers in the mid to late 90s. Honda decided to produce a bike that has a similar sound, feel, and look of Harley Davidson. The engine has a shared crank-pin design that helps give it that potatoe-potatoe sound similar to a Harley. At idle the bike vibrates, and vibrates well. At cruising speed the vibrations fade for the most part and the ride really smoothes out. The power delivery is very torquey. I don't know what kind of HP/Torque numbers the bike puts out either, but between the power and the great gearing the bike has plenty getup and go even at Highway speeds. My bike has been jetted and has Vance and Hines pipes on it. They are pretty loud, but they sound really good. I actually get complements from Harley owners on how good the bike sounds!
The ergos on the bike are great! The seating position is a lot more comfortable then my VStar use to be. The bars have just about perfect sweep back for me which really helps eliminate upper shoulder and back pains after longer rides. There is ample room for my wife on the passenger pillion.
There are a few things on my Shadow Ace that could be improved or I dont care for. First of all is the feeling of the brakes. When you squeeze the lever there is very little brake feel and very little bite. Maybe I'm spoiled by the brakes on the Z1000, but I don't remember the brakes on the VStar feeling this bad. The bike stops, but not near as well as I would like. I am going to explore some options later to see if I can improve the brakes any. Most stock seats aren't up to par and the Shadows in no exception. I installed a Corbin seat which greatly improve the comfort of the bike no more tailbone aches. Lastly, the fact that its carbuerated! Again, I'm spoiled by my Z. The bike takes for ever to warm up, being water cooled doesn't speed this process up either. The bike spits, sputters, and stall until it is warmed up. I definately can't be in a hurry to get going when the bike is cold. My carbs my need adjusting, I'm not sure if that would help any though. My air-cooled VStar wasn't near as bad. Of course, it was newer and only had about 5000 miles on it when I got rid of it.
Over all though, I am very pleased with the Shadow. Its a great bike, unfortunately honda doesn't make the ACE any more. You'll have to settle for the Sabre, which has a different engine design.
I love the Shadow. It has great power, looks very nice, and rides great. As was mentioned earlier its very nimble for a bigger cruiser. I had a VStar 650, and the Shadow puts it to shame in the handling department. The VStar wasn't near as stable at slower speeds like the Shadow is, and it got even worse when you had a passenger. The Shadow doesn't have that problem. You can hardly tell a passenger is back there.
The Shadow Ace is basically a wanna be Harley. The who bike was made in the USA. Honda of American Manufacturing (also known as HAM) produced this bike to take advantage of Harley's lack of ability to keep up with production numbers in the mid to late 90s. Honda decided to produce a bike that has a similar sound, feel, and look of Harley Davidson. The engine has a shared crank-pin design that helps give it that potatoe-potatoe sound similar to a Harley. At idle the bike vibrates, and vibrates well. At cruising speed the vibrations fade for the most part and the ride really smoothes out. The power delivery is very torquey. I don't know what kind of HP/Torque numbers the bike puts out either, but between the power and the great gearing the bike has plenty getup and go even at Highway speeds. My bike has been jetted and has Vance and Hines pipes on it. They are pretty loud, but they sound really good. I actually get complements from Harley owners on how good the bike sounds!
The ergos on the bike are great! The seating position is a lot more comfortable then my VStar use to be. The bars have just about perfect sweep back for me which really helps eliminate upper shoulder and back pains after longer rides. There is ample room for my wife on the passenger pillion.
There are a few things on my Shadow Ace that could be improved or I dont care for. First of all is the feeling of the brakes. When you squeeze the lever there is very little brake feel and very little bite. Maybe I'm spoiled by the brakes on the Z1000, but I don't remember the brakes on the VStar feeling this bad. The bike stops, but not near as well as I would like. I am going to explore some options later to see if I can improve the brakes any. Most stock seats aren't up to par and the Shadows in no exception. I installed a Corbin seat which greatly improve the comfort of the bike no more tailbone aches. Lastly, the fact that its carbuerated! Again, I'm spoiled by my Z. The bike takes for ever to warm up, being water cooled doesn't speed this process up either. The bike spits, sputters, and stall until it is warmed up. I definately can't be in a hurry to get going when the bike is cold. My carbs my need adjusting, I'm not sure if that would help any though. My air-cooled VStar wasn't near as bad. Of course, it was newer and only had about 5000 miles on it when I got rid of it.
Over all though, I am very pleased with the Shadow. Its a great bike, unfortunately honda doesn't make the ACE any more. You'll have to settle for the Sabre, which has a different engine design.
