Honda VT Shadow 125

I owned a vt125 shadow in 2009.

I loved that bike and went to bike rally's and long distance trips in the UK.

I sold it go get a bigger bike.

I have had 4 different Honda Shadow 750 models and the 125 is the best!

I did 10000 miles in my first year and sold her.

The bike is engineered to last forever.

It's beautiful to look at.

It's cheap to run and repair.

It's a very easy to learn mechanics on.

The suspension is and seat is comfortable.

The only negative I can say about this bike, is it's a 125. If this was a 250cc Vtwin engine and shaft drive, I would think it the best bike for me.

It will cruise at 65mph all day long.

My wife has a vt125 shadow also.

I still ride her and everytime I'm amazed how enjoyable it is.

We have done two trips from London around France for a total of 6 weeks (Brittany and Loire)

My wife took her honda shadow 125 and it has been great. One of the trips I was in my vt750 shadow and we swapped bikes for 5 minute's and her bike was more comfortable and so mut lighter and easier to handle.

You won't regret buying one.

In fact i will probably buy one for myself if she gets sick of me using hers!

1 year ago I bought this bike and im looking forward to another year riding it, as said in other reviews it holds its own in front of larger capacity bikes. It goes 120 km/hour comfortably (75 mph).

I'm actually going on a two and a half week tour through france and england in a few weeks, I will be riding with a passenger and luggage. What an adventure! Last year I went touring for a week or so in germany, the bike held up fantastic!

seriously this bike looks good, isn't expensive to have and you will be a proud owner. If youre very insecure and cant handle people laughing at the fact that its a 125 cc once in a while then you shouldnt buy it. but overall people are going to think the bike is awesome! Honda shadow vt 125...she wont let you down!(it's a honda)

I can only say the Honda Shadow 125 is a fantastic bike, I have had 2 and both have been totally reliable and very economical, everywhere i went on them i was always complimented on how nice they were, i was once stopped by the police who could not understand why i was dislaying L plates on such a big bike. I have also had 2 Yamaha YBR 125s aswell these are good too but in a different way, comparing the YBR to the Shadow i can sum them up very easily, the Shadow looks and sounds more like a 600cc bike also when riding it the bike becomes part of you and it feels like you are sitting in it rather than the YBR which you are sitting on.

In my opinion they have both got good and bad points listed below but i can also state through experience that last spring i woke up to a beautiful day and decided to go out for a ride and at the time i was lucky enough to have the choice of both bikes, i opened the garage door and had to choose from the Shadow in Silver (56 Reg Mint) or my black YBR 125 custom (58 reg Mint)NO Competition, I chose the Shadow for the styling and sound and absolute pleasure to ride but i actually ended up taking the YBR due to them both having flat batteries but with the YBR having the kick start, i kicked it once and it fired up immediately.... i must admit i did find a bit more respect for the YBR after that. Hope this helps you make a choice, happy & safe riding.

Good & Bad Points (My opinion)

Shadow YBR

Fuel Gauge No Yes

Centre Stand No Yes

Rev Counter No Yes

Kick Start No Yes

Looks 10/10 7/10

Ride 10/10 7/10

Economy 9/10 10/10

Reliability 10/10 10/10

I bought my Honda VT125 just over 6 months ago straight after passing my CBT and love it. As its a 125cc engine it's learner legal (so you can ride it on a provisional licence after doing a CBT) and is an ideal first bike for anyone aspiring to one day progress to full size cruisers as it gets you used to the seating position and handling of that style of bike.

The main plus for me is the sheer presence of the bike, it looks great and holds its own when parked next to full sized bikes, which is crucial for a cruiser. Despite the small engine the bike looks and feels like a much bigger machine - it turns a lot of heads and is easily mistaken for a larger bike, I've even had other bikers come up to me to "advise" me that I'm only allowed to ride a 125cc bike on 'L' plates! The liquid cooling system is slightly uneccessary (consider that most Harley's aren't even liquid cooled) but is used to cunningly disguise the tiny V-twin as a much higher capacity engine. It's also one of few 125's I've seen with full sized tyres, so you know you can take it out onto some real roads and throw it about in complete confidence that it will stick. There are a few other 125cc cruisers out there, and I'm sure some of them are great bikes (though avoid cheap imports - stick with the main brands like Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki etc.), but none of them look or feel as solid as this model.

Obviously there some inevitable trade offs, for instance it is far from the fastest 125 on the market, but then you are buying a cruiser so it's not entirely fair to criticise the bike on these grounds - if you want a nippy sports bike then buy a nippy sports bike! It does produce an enviable 15BHP (more than many 125's), but the large size and cruiser styling weigh it down so don't expect to keep up with lighter sportier bikes of the same engine capacity. The above said, as a learner bike it remains more than capable. It will comfortably cruise at 60mph+ all day on the flat (will hit 75mph on a good day) and it's rarely me who is responsible for holding the traffic up even on fast single carriage ways. I've ridden it a little on dual carriage ways where it is quite able to hold its own, though I would be a little more cautious about taking onto the motorway (licence permitting) only because it lacks acceleration once it reaches these kind of speeds and struggles to maintain speed going up hill.

The brakes leave a little to be desired. Although this is another standard cruiser trait I have found that the rear (drum) brake particularly is quite poor so think that this is a fair criticism in this instance. The front (disc) brake is much better, but obviously with the weight generally being further back on a cruiser you tend to need to use more rear brake than on a more traditional bike, so personally I would like similar performance at this end of the bike. If I were keeping the bike long term I'd consider having the drum replaced with a disc brake, but as I plan on moving up to a bigger cruiser soon I can't quite justify the expenditure on a bike I will only be riding for a few more months.

The 15L tank is a good size and the bike will confortably do in excess of 200 miles between fill ups. Many of these bikes come with a variety of touring accessories, particularly when bought second hand, which come in useful if you're putting in the distance. Mine is fitted with leather saddle bags and a two-up seat (plus passenger pegs), so would be ideal for some light touring if you decided to keep it a while after getting a full bike licence.

Overall I'm very impressed with this bike. I've read a few negative reviews, but most of them seem to be complaining about standard cruiser traits that you really simply have to accept as being part of the parcel when you buy this kind of bike. If you don't want a cruiser then don't buy one... but if you do then this is the perfect starting point. Solid, reliable, easy/cheap to maintain, great looking and great feeling. Holds its value well and is perfect; whether you just want a mean looking commuter bike or are searching for an appropriate learner bike before moving on up to a bigger cruiser.

I got "betsy" 12 months ago and have ridden her every day on my communte to work, Manchester to Macclesfield, A6 rush hour and country lanes, and always find reason to ride at the weekend. It even got me through the awful winter travelling 120 miles per day visiting my mum in hospital, travelling from Manchester to Macclesfiled, Macclesfiled to The Wirral, The Wirral to Manchester.

On commuting through the traffic the bikes manners are perfect steady and easy to ride slowly, and on a county lane you can lean over, not quite getting your knee down but you get the idea. Dual carriageways are not daunting at all as she will cruise at 60 quite easliy.

Fuel econmy is fine and the day to day running cost are almost non existant, I an about to take my test and am really looking forward to getting a bigger version of the same bike. Already had 3 offers to buy my bike at the price that I want, even a friend in Australiahas sked if he can buy her and ship her over.

Overall an excellent bike, not the cheapest bit in this instace you get what you pay for.

If you are thinking of getting one, do it, you will not be dissapointed.

Jim - Manchester

Have owned and ridden my Honda VT 125 for nearly a year now and thank my lucky stars I bought what i think is the best 125 out there! Not had a single problem, finish is excellent and it really looks the part, not some tiny kiddies bike like cg125 etc. I am 6' 2'' can ride this bike for a couple of hours before any discomfort - usually just a numb bum due to sitting upright. I have just traded it in for SV650 and I only lost £300 in a years riding. The dealer has already sold my bike unseen the is such demand for this out of production model. Buy a good one and look after it and you will get most of your money back when ready to move up. Will happily cruise at 65 mph, does 78 mph with good tale wind! Able to filter around town and also able to pass trucks on A roads. Might seem like expensive next too a new cheap 125 but definitely worth it on quality and resale value.

i have never been a custom fan myself but when my friend said he was selling his honda shadow i paid 500 for it the bike is as clean as a new one 1376 miles on the clock well a couldent say no after ryding it for a month i love the bike its a bit ticky on the round abouts but super cumfy to ride never go back now i want a 750

A total fan of custom bikes, so this is perfect first bike Honda Shadow 125cc not only looks the business, it's large build makes it look much bigger.

I am a novice female learner, and although quite pricey, I feel I have had value for money (plus, they hold their value), not that I would be in a hurry to sell it anyway.

This bike was recommended to me by a Harley salesman until I pass my test (if I do upgrade, I will still keep this bike)

This is a horid bike dont even think about getting this let down of a bike i was so, so angry after buying this bike beacause it was so underpowerd and sounds to much like a moped.

I first got my Honda Shadow 125 in 2008 and although it is a lovely looking cruiser/custom it is far to over priced and slightly underpowerd and even though it has a v-twin engine it still dosent sound as good as i hoped.

If you are looking for a cruiser with a fantastic looking v-tiwn and the sound of a much bigger bike the Ymaha Dragstar is the way to go, u will turn heads and the bike looks alot bigger than what it is.