Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128602
Honda Shadow Sabre By KIT PALMEP PHOTO BY CHRIS JONNUM ne of the newest members to the Honda family is the Shadow Sabre, a bike that Honda says, " ...combines the timeless elements of style and performance to create a street-rod that redefines big-bore V-twin customs." Okay, but why now? Because, after seeing so many owner-modified high-performance street-rod customs on display at bike shows throughout America, Honda decided to build a hot-rod custom of its own and tap into this new trend in motorcycle expression. As a result, Honda, using the original A.C.E. Shadow as a starting point, came up with the Shadow Sabre, named after Honda's own 1982 V-45 Sabre, a sport-custom that - at that time - set new levels of performance for its class. Honda is hoping to do that again with the Sabre II. "The Sabre's design came primarily from the market," said Martin Manchester, project director at Honda R&D America. "We're watching the trends, what the customers are doing with their bikes, and we're learning from them. With the Shadow Sabre, we wanted a look that was compact, sporty, agile, clean, but more aggressive than the long, elegant, classical imagery. We wanted to develop a more contemporary, 21st-century view of the customized retro custom, one that's rooted in the '50s, but updated .with a current look." Not only is the new Sabre styled for the strip, but it has also been slightly tweaked intemallytogiveitmorehot-rod-likeperformance.Afterall.what.sa hot-rod without the hot? We've had a Sabre in our possession for about a month now and have become quite attached to it in that relatively short period of time. As far as the Sabre's looks are concerned, well...we can't tell you whether or not it looks good or bad, because that's up to you, really - but we can tell you that the new Sabre is a fine ride (and, yes, we also like the way it looks). Comfort and an ultra-smooth motor are the first things that come to mind after riding the Sabre for the first time. Everyone here who rode the bike complimented the Sabre on its fairly "standard" - for a cruiser - riding position, though everyone agreed that you still have to reach for the forward-mounted footpegs a little bit. We also like the Sabre's extra-wide seat. J, for one, am glad that Honda went with a fairly wide handlebar with the Sabre rather than more traditional narrow handlebar layout found on other rod-red-styled cruisers such as the Suzuki Intruder. I feel I have better control with a wider bar. The Sabre's'suspension, however, is still typical cruiser: kind of harsh. Perhaps the next revolution in suspension is making four inches of rearwheel travel feel more like 14 inches. "Plush" is not in the Sabre's vocabulary, nor is it in mine following my 65-mile ride home from work on the Sabre. The fork is okay, and so is the bike's overall handling, but the rear suspension left my lower back aching, especially after a good G-out or two. Of course this is nothing new to me when it comes to riding cruisers. For a bike with 64.6 inches of wheelbase, wearing such wide tires, and hauling around at least 573.2 pounds in weight (Honda's claimed figure for the bike. dry), the Sabre feels remarkably nimble. It takes little coercing to get the Sabre threugh the corners, and the same can be said for changing directions at slow speeds. The Sabre's low 27.2-inch seat height makes maneuvering in parking lots a breeze, too, and footpeg clearance in the tums isn't too bad. Honda boldly claims that, "In roll-on acceleration from a variety of speeds and gears, the Sabre's performance allows it to walk away from other customs, including machines with 50 percent more displacement." Since we never took the Sabre to the strip, we cannot validate this claim, but we can say that the Sabre doesn't hesitate when you tell 'er to go. Its 1099cc liquid-cooled V-twin motor, which Honda claims delivers 64 horsepower at 5500 rpm, is no slouch by any means; it moves along pretty well. It has a broad powerband, revs out well, and just plain goes. We think you'll be impressed. But what perhaps impressed me most about the Sabre's motor is its near vibration-less hum. Unlike the original A.C.E., the Sabre uses a dual-pin crank configuration. Combine that with a shaft drive and rubber mounts for the engine and handlebar, and all the vibes are pretty much snuffed out before they reach your hands. Very smooth. The Sabre doesn't sound much different than any other EPA-choked, big-bore, V-twin, Japanese-built cruiser on the market, but we did enjoy the deceleration "pop" that our Sabre randomly emitted. It was kind of like playing Russian O The Honda Sabre reemerges with a new look and attitude. 28 MARCH 1, 2000' cue • lit n e vv s