Tuesday 17 July 2012

Honda VT600C


I was waiting for something to ground out or some other quaint manisfestation of typical chop behaviour. Honda's Shadow looks quite cute in its way but hardly up to Harley standards and I suspected that its handling would go the way of the American monsters. But the VT appeared to track well through the country bends and refused to shake its head even when the softly, softly front forks whacked a large bump on the exit from the bend. It did bounce off line slightly but no more than many a conventional motorcycle.

It was my mate's bike, he had taken me out of town on the pillion so I could have a test ride without worrying about crazed cagers or the attentions of the plod. I didn't fall it love with the bike at first sight but I knew that it was a genuine 3000 miler, less than a year old and in excellent condition. At £2500 it seemed like a bargain compared to some of the near wrecks I'd seen for similar money. If I didn't get on with the machine I could always sell it on without taking a loss.

I was as impressed by the handling as I was by the motor. Based on the evergreen VT vee twin mill, with its watercooling and three valve heads, in Shadow form it was radically detuned to slightly less than 40 horses and fitted with a mere four speed box. The gearing is tall, the torque plentiful and the ride thus so relaxing I could almost fall alseep at the controls, were it not for the gently intrusive beat out of the two short mufflers.

The finish was still excellent, I could find no bargaining points so was forced to hand over the full 2500 notes. My mate needed the money to get married, the last I heard he was pottering to work on a C90. I changed the VT's oil, put on a set of proper tyres and gave the O-ring chain a wipe over with an oil saturated rag. Ready to rock and roll.

I had already noted that the pillion perch was rather cramped and my large lady friend was not too amused to find herself spread-eagled upon it, but by the time she started to complain we were 50 miles down the road on a 1000 mile weekend blast to get acclimatized with the Shadow. My own perch was most comfy, the high, wide bars being the most obvious limitation on cruising speed. 70mph was the most I could take for any length of time, although the motor was smooth up to 80mph and under favourable conditions could put 95mph on the clock.

The barn door aerodynamics were evident in the fuel consumption, which loitered around 50mpg, and the need to rapidly change down from fourth when battling against a headwind if some fast overtaking became necessary. Techniques developed on an ancient CD185 were often useful in extracting a decent turn of speed out of the reluctant Shadow.

Not a fast bike, then, but an enjoyable one despite that. A lot of the pleasure came from the feeling of security from the chassis. Most of that from the extremely long wheelbase and low centre of gravity. With a mere 27" seat height I initially felt like I was growling along dangerously close to the tarmac......a more chronic problem was that I usually could not see over the tops of cars to observe what was going down up ahead. Combined with the lack of go above 70mph that often left me playing chicken with oncoming traffic.

On that first long trip another problem reared its ugly head. Because of the nature of the bike I ignored the charms of the main carriageways and took to the minor roads where the character of the Honda could shine through. Which was fine until the fuel ran out. The tank holds less than two gallons, which means you have to start looking for a fill-up every 70 miles. A bit ridiculous on a machine that I felt would go three times that distance in comfort. The girlfriend was less than amused at having to help push the Honda three miles. That wasn't the last time that I ran out of fuel, either.

Town work could be tricky, too. The VT was narrow enough to sneak between rows of cars but its length didn't encourage rapid ninety degree turns through stalled traffic. A couple of times the engine also stalled dead for no apparent reason but a quick caress of the starter button saved my skin. For most of the time the engine could be dumped in second gear, the throttle used to both accelerate and slow down the bike as there was a useful amount of engine braking.

Not that the clutch nor gearbox were nasty, they were amazingly good for a Honda, although by its very nature the ratios were quite widely spaced. Only when the O-ring chain went out of adjustment was the change less than smooth and precise. The chain, despite the excessively long swinging arm, only needed a tweak on the adjusters every 500 miles or so. With over 9000 miles on the clock it's about two thirds through its life.

The front brake pads, though, are almost down to the metal. I was not too impressed with the single disc in the early days, there seemed a lot of mush and not much braking power. I soon learnt that taking a forceful pull on the lever and using the rear drum as backup produced fast retardation. The disc is looking thinner than it should and I'm not that happy using the brake in the wet. It's not so much wet weather lag as a lack of feedback. Squealing the skinny front tyre on greasy roads is not the way to a long and happy life. The rear drum shoes are about half worn out.

Apart from 2000 mile oil changes and one valve check at 5000 miles (they were all okay, but difficult to get at) I haven't done anything to the engine. I couldn't believe that Honda had fitted twin carbs in the minimal space between the 52 degree vee, but they have stayed in balance. The VT has proved itself reliable and long lived in other models, in this detuned form there's little reason why it won't go around the clock at least once.

I almost went around the bend the first time I rode in the dark, or rather right off it. The marginal front headlamp (main beam is adequate for 50mph cruising, dip isn't) blew just as I was lining the Shadow up. The VT's long wheelbase meant that although the bike is stable it does like to be set up on its line in advance and will only suddenly change direction if shoulder dislocating muscle is applied to the bars.

When the light blew I had to guess where the road was going until I hit the dip switch. When the road was illuminated again, I was heading straight for a hedge on the wrong side of the road. Much to my amazement I managed to jerk the bike over and miss the hedge by a few inches. The Honda is usually neutral in bends, so I knew that all I had to do was scrape out a bit of tarmac with the sidestand prong. There are a lot of more conventional bikes that would've throw me off under that kind of treatment, so all the more credit to the custom Honda.

The bulb has blown three times since I've had the bike. The battery can also boil off half its acid on a long trip. The first I knew of this malignant trait was when the Shadow refused to start one morning. It proved impossible to bump. Even after I poured in some distilled water, the battery was very reluctant to hold a charge. A new battery worked fine, but I have to keep an eye on its acid level. Seems a bit too early in its life for such problems.

That aside, I've had an easy time with the Honda. It starts quickly, chugs along nicely and still looks beautiful. Of course, if you want something fearsomely fast this kind of bike is a complete waste of time and it doesn't have the instant credibility of a Harley. But, I don't care, I think my Shadow's great and want to keep it for a decade or so. Why not?

M.F.