Long-Term Bikes

Honda Shadow Aero 750
MSRP: $7299
Caretaker: Masker
Measurements: 5'5"/175 lbs/28" Inseam
Odometer: 2790
Miles Since Last Issue: 144

Well, this month was anemic for mileage but we made up for it with the mods. When we first adopted the Aero, we made it our mission to get rid of its pesky shimmy at full lean. Phase one of that operation involved suspension upgrades from Progressive Suspension to make the forks less reactive to every little bit of road input. Now we've gone to part two: the tire swap. We just didn't like the way the tires handled in a deep turn, so we swapped them out for a set of Avon treads.

The results were night and day. Avon's Road Rider front and Venom rear practically eliminated the full-lean shimmy. We suspect that's due more to a compliant tire carcass, versus the cheap, hard stock one. Turning just got a lot quicker with these, and the grip is great (not that we ever slipped with the old ones). Riders who like the "sold-feeling" slow turn-in of many cruisers might not be into the Avons, but we really enjoyed flicking the Honda into corners courtesy of them. It was never a heavy-handling bike, but now it's super-responsive.

There were also a couple of added bonuses. For starters, we gained improved comfort over bumps and rain grooves. The new rubber also makes for a meatier profile that enhances the baby bagger look. Between the tires and Progressive Suspension, we've scored a big win for handling. Now we just need to get the intake synch'ed up with the new exhaust and hopefully we'll have a very happy Shadow. And, of course, put a lot more mileage on the bike next issue.

Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic
MSRP: $13,899
Caretaker: cherney
Measurements: 5'7"/155 lbs/30" Inseam
Odometer: 3084
Miles Since Last Issue: 572

With the pipes and saddle swapped out and the Vulcan's once-uneven air/fuel mapping smoothed out (the Cobra Fi2000's dials have been fiddled with yet again), the next upgrade on the big Kawasaki looks to be suspension-namely the direct-action single rear damper. I've fiddled with the 7 possible preload settings (no easy feat on the V2K's hard-to-access shock collar), and finally settled on the service manual's recommendation of Position 4 (based on a 150lb rider).

It's a step in the right direction, but i'm talking to the guys over at Race Tech, Works Performance and Progressive Suspension to see who can come through with a better solution.

Other than that, not much has changed on the big Kawasaki in the last 45 days; summers in the Pacific Northwest, it seems, are all about getting out in the wind before the fall rains shut down the whole show. Long, warm days and acres of oceanfront are made for riding, not wrenching, so I've taken the Good Ship Vulcan on a couple of waterfront excursions - one to the Hoh rainforest on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, about 5 hours due north, and a jaunt down the Lewis and Clark Highway through the Columbia River Gorge. Over the course of muscling the Kawi around that snaking blacktop, I discovered another modification the bike needs - a higher, longer handlebar and risers, for better control and leverage.

Meanwhile, I've got some more riding to cram in. Autumn is right around the corner.