Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Water-cooling system on the 1100 Shadow is well-disguised ; narrow radiator is on frame downtubes, and plumbing hugs the cy linde rs ' base. 14 But the news is th at the Sh adow' s new clutch uses eng ine oi l pressure to h ydraulicall y-a ssist with cla m ping pressure. The clutch 's di aph ragm sp r ing is light. and accounts fo r o n ly one-third o f th e clamping pressure wh ich means th at th e clutch lever is light a nd eas y 10 operate. For th e remainde r o f the clutch pressure, eng ine oil is routed through a bleed er o rifice and fed into th e ce n ter o f th e clutch hub , wher e it's bl ocked pendi ng clutch engagement. As th e cl u tch is engaged, a va lve o pe ns a n d o i l floods a cav ity within th e clutch basket, This. in turn . d ri ves a hydraul ic p iston whi ch cla m ps th e clutch stack togeth er. T he pressu re from this h ydraulic piston acco u nts for another o ne-thi rd o f th e engagem ent pressu re. As th e engi ne is rev ved. centri fuga l fo rce o n th e o il with in thi s cavitv inc reases th e clu tch 's oi l pressu re; a nd in turn in creases th e cla m pi ng pressure o n th e clu tch stac k. When th e cl u tch is di sen gaged . th e cl utch stac k p ulls a pa rt. a nd exposes three oi l bleed er ports o n th e peri me ter o f th e cl u tch basket . Ce ntrifuga l fo rce then evacua tes th e o il in th e clutch ca vi ty through th ese ports. Thi s n ew clutch asse m b ly i s m ounted o n th e tr ansmission m ainsh aft , with f ir st gea r ac t ua lly m achined as part o f th e rnainsh afr. The transmission has five speeds. with fourth and fifth gea rs techn ica lly ta ll enough to be " ov erdri ve" gears. Bevel gears a re linked to a un iversal joint near th e swinga rm pivot . a nd a driveshaft powers th e rea r wh eel. Thanks 10 th e smooth ness from th e o ffse t-pin cra n kshaft. th e l lOOcc Shadow 's engin e is ri gidl y mo u nted in a double-cradle tubular frame m ade of high -ten sile steel. Sheet m et al g ussets are welded 10 rein force stress p oints, a nd a removable frame m ern ber o n th e right side all ow s for engine rem ov al. T he fro m suspens io n is telescop ic fo rk ; fo rk tubes measure a ro bu st 40m m dia meter. a nd for k springing is a ir-assisted . C urio usly . the new Shado w uses ball bea rings a t th e steering head. H onda 's exp la na tio n is that ball bearings. o nce properly adj usted . require less adj u strn ent a nd m ainten ance th an do stronger ta pered rolle r bearings. A fo rk bra ce is sta nda rd equip ment. th oug h no form o f a nti -d ive is included. The fro nt brakes a re dual discs, wi th floating singleaction dual pi ston ca lipers. At th e rear, th e new Sha dow fea tures a conventional swinga rrn, with th e dri ve sha ft running within th e left side. The rear shocks are adj us table for sp ring prelo ad o n ly, with five p ositions av a ila ble. Rea r ax le travel is 4.3 in ches. The rea r brak e is a seven -inc h . single-leading-sh oe drum . A skin n y. teardrop-styl e gas tank cro uc hes over th e top of th e engine. a nd holds 1.8 g a llons (7.0 liters) o f the to tal fu el suppl y. A seco nd fu el tank, ho lding a n ad di tional 2. 1 ga llon s (8.0 lit er s). is mo u nted und er the sea t 10 lower the Shadow's center of grav ity . The two ta n ks are li nked by a r u b be r h os e , a nd bot h a re fi lled th rough a lockin g door in the upper tank. U n fort u na tely, th e sensor for th e gas ga uge is rnou n u-d in the lower tank - a nd sta ys pegged o n fu ll unt il the upper tank (or about ha lf th e fuel supp ly) is ex ha us ted . T han kf u lly. th e bl indi ng red " Low Fu el" lig h t o f th e origi nal 750cc Shadow has been el iminated . Since th e fu el feed from th e low er gas tank is bel ow the carburetor float bo w ls. th e ca rb u retors are fed by an electric fu el p u mp. No reserve ta p is p ro vid ed ; when you 're ou t of gas. yo u're really OU t of gas. The new 1100 Shadow has bee n target ed to suit th e American cus to m market. In fact . th e machi ne will o n ly be so ld in th e U ni ted Sta tes a nd Ca nada; no Euro pean models hav e been pl anned . In a few weeks, th e new bi g Shadow wi ll be in full p rod uc tion o n H onda 's assemb ly lines in Marysvill e. Oh io , m akin g thi s bike - literall y - a n Ame rica n cus10m m o tor cycl e. T he m essage is clea r, and is d elivered with every pul se o f th e Sha do w's V-twin engi ne : H onda is deadl y serious a bo u t th e big- bo re p rofiler -cu stom ma rke t. • N ext uieek: -/.000 miLes on H onda's l lOOcc Shadow. Oi l routing (red ) for the hydraulic clutch system. Oil.fills the clutch cavity t o aid clamping pressure; when clutch is released, oil exits through vent ho les in the clutch 's perimeter. . Specifications Honda VT11 OOCShadow Engi ne type Water-cooled, SOHC four-stroke V-twin Bore x stroke . . . . 87.5x91 .4mm Displacement . . .. ... .• • 1099cc Compression ratio 9 :1 Carburetion . . .. ...•.. (2 ) 36mm downdraft Keihin CV Horsepower .. 80 hp@ 6500 rpm Torque . . 72Ibs.-ft, @ 5000 rpm Va lves per cylinder . •. .... . •. . 3 (2 ) 32mm Intake va lve size Exhaust valve size (1) 40mm Int ak e li ft 9 .3mm Exhaust li ft • • . . . •. . . .• • • 9 .3mm Incl uded valve angle 37° Intake va lve t iming 5°_45 0 Exhaust valve t iming •.. . 450-5 0 (m easuri ng pt) .. • .. .. .. ... 1mm Igni tion Electronic Lu brication Wet sump Redline . •.. ..... ... .. 6500 rpm rpm @ 60mph . ..• • ... 3420 rpm Gea r ratios Primary 1.692:1 (6 6/ 3 9 ) Fina l 3 .09 1 :1 5th 806:1 (25 /31) 4th 929:1 (26/28) 3 rd 1 ,208:1 (2 9/ 2 4 ) 2 nd 1.619:1 (34/21) 1st 2.600:1 (3 9/ 1 5 ) Calculated speed in gears at red line 5th . . . .. . . . . .. . •• . 113.9 mph 4th 98.8 mph 3rd . .•. .. . . .... . ..... 76 mph 2nd 56 .7 mph 1st 35.3 mph Frame .. . . . . . .•. Double-cradle. t u bul ar steel Rake ... •. .. •.•..... . •. ..... 32° Trail . . . . . • . . . • ....•. •• • 6 .04 in. Front suspension .• . . Telescopic fork Fork tube diameter 40mm Front wheel travel 5 .9 in. Rear suspension . . .• . Dual-shock swingarm Rear wheel t ravel ..•.. • •. 4 .3 in. Front brakes . . (2) 1 0 .9 -in. discs Rear brakes 7-in. drum Front wheel .. 2 .50x 18 castalloy Rear wheel .. 3 .00x15 cast alloy Fronttire 110.90-18 • Dunlop F11 Rea r tire 140/90-15 Dunlop K627 Dry weight 528 Ibs. Wheelbase 63.4 in .. Fuel capacity .. . . .•. . ... 4 .0 gal. Ground clearance 5.3 in. Sea t height 29.5 in. GVWR 975 Ibs . Colors .. Black/silver, b'lack/red Retail price N/ A

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