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2010 Honda Shadow Phantom First Look

Friday, September 04, 2009

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Honda's Spirit has turned into a full-fledged Phantom courtesy of a chopped front fender, a beefier fork, blacked out covers, and a meatier front tire.

First the Fury, now the Phantom. Honda again looks to give its cruiser motorcycles a tougher image with the introduction of its blacked-out 2010 Honda Shadow Phantom. Honda has taken its Spirit and chopped its front fender, beefed up its fork with large-diameter matte-finished shrouds, thrown black covers on the air filter and primary, spooned on a thicker front tire and added on a set of new spoked wheels. Matte finishes on the tank-mounted console and cylinder heads in addition the fork shrouds complement the bare-bones look.

“We have a new cruiser that offers a whole new look for Honda,” said Honda Powersports Press Manager Bill Savino.

The 2010 Honda Shadow Phantom also gets updated induction, making the switch from being carb-fed to EFI. The 745cc liquid-cooled V-Twin will now receive its juice from Honda’s Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI) system with an automatic enrichment circuit that utilizes one 34mm throttle body.

The tank-mounted console features an analog speedo, digital odometer, a neutral light indicator, and low fuel, oil temp, and engine warning lights.

A low 25.7-inch seat height, forward-mounted foot controls and handlebars positioned for upright ergos will appeal to beginning and smaller-statured riders. Its claimed 549-lb curb weight, 34-degree rake, and 64.5-in. wheelbase add up to a bike that should be easily manageable yet still fun to ride courtesy of its torquey 745cc powerplant.

The 52-degree V-Twin remains unchanged from the Spirit’s engine. The single overhead cam arrangement has three valves operating within each cylinder of the 79mm bore. Gases are compressed within the 76mm stroke at a 9.6:1 ratio. The engine is mated to a wide-ratio five-speed tranny that transfers power to the rear via shaft drive.

The 2010 Honda Shadow Phantom’s front end is one of the motorcycle’s best features. The bobbed front fender really shows off the shorter, wider front tire. The 2009 Spirit’s 90mm wide, 21-inch tall hoop has been switched out for a 120mm wide, 17-inch tall arrangement on the 2010 Phantom. The wheel features less spokes and a new pattern that adds to the bobber look. Mounting them between a beefed-up front end completes the attractive package.

The back end remains the same, except for the blacked-out treatment that’s on the dual-shocks of the rear suspension. The units are five-way spring preload adjustable with 3.5 inches of travel.

The 2010 Honda Phantom Shadow has a low 25.7-inch seat height forward-mounted controls and handlebars styled with bobber flair.

The 2010 Phantom Shadow has a low 25.7-inch seat height, forward-mounted controls, and handlebars styled with bobber flair.

Honda Genuine Accessories for the sporty cruiser include a backrest with pad (two styles: tall and low), a rear carrier, boulevard screen, custom leather seat, solo rider rear carrier, cycle cover, front pouch, and synthetic leather saddlebags. The Shadow Phantom appears to be Honda’s answer to Harley-Davidson’s blacked-out Sportster, the Iron 883. I smell a comparison on the horizon. Hope you like black, because that’s the only color the Phantom rolls on. It is scheduled to hit dealerships in November 2009, and has an MSRP of $7999.

2010 Honda Shadow Phantom Specifications:

Model: VT750C2A
Engine Type: 745cc liquid-cooled 52° V-twin
Bore and Stroke: 79mm x 76mm
Compression ratio: 9.6:1
Valve Train: SOHC; three valves per cylinder
Induction: PGM-FI with automatic enrichment circuit, one 34mm throttle body
Ignition: CD with electronic advance, two spark plugs per cylinder
Transmission: Wide-ratio five-speed
Final Drive: Shaft

Suspension
Front: 41mm fork; 4.6 inches travel
Rear: Dual shocks with five-position spring preload adjustability; 3.5 inches travel

Brakes
Front: Single 296mm disc with twin-piston caliper
Rear: Drum

Tires
Front: 120/90-17
Rear: 160/80-15

Wheelbase: 64.5 inches
Rake (Caster angle): 34o
Trail: 161mm (6.3 inches)
Seat Height: 25.7 inches
Fuel Capacity: 3.9 gallons, including 0.9-gallon reserve
Colors: Black
Curb Weight*: 549 pounds
*Includes all standard equipment, required fluids and full tank of fuel--ready to ride.

2010 Phantom Shadow Photo Gallery

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Comments

KeithB - Phantom November 14, 2009 04:00 AM
Some guys like blondes, some brunettes, some redheads. I like them all. But when you find that special one, the one that you can't explain why you like her so much, but still you do. That's THE one and it's the same with motorcycles. My first bike was a Honda 305 Superhawk. I have ridden just about every companies bike at some point. I ride a Harley now and I am in love. I wave at every biker, even scooters and hope they are in love too. If you are lucky enough to find the one you love, keep her and be happy. Would you really care if other guys wanted to ride her or not? Well, maybe but that's a whole new subject. :)

Cosmic - 2 wheels October 30, 2009 09:36 PM
I own a road king a shadow vt1000 a suzuki dirt bike and a riding lawnmover and if its got wheels and an engine and its a gas to ride who cares who makes it? Getting your knees in the breeze is what it is all about so loyality is one thing but blatent moran attitude about one bike towards another is just nuts!

skeeter - Jason October 24, 2009 08:18 AM
Assuming that you really own a "motorcycle", how many miles a year do you ride?

Jason - HUH? October 23, 2009 02:15 PM
I don't get the first comment? Harley t-shirt wearing who? I know alot of guys who wear Harley shirts, but have never owned one. 1 friend rides a Suzuki. Personal preference in the land of the (still for now) free. Harleys are a cool piece of Americana, but Honda's are better all around. I hate to say it, I will not own an import car... yet my bike of choice is Honda.

skeeter - AM October 20, 2009 08:20 AM
Nobody understands what you are talking about! lol

AM - Honda V Harley October 17, 2009 06:40 AM
Ok - As an owner of both Harley & Shadow I think this bike looks a lot like the HD Fat Boy/ Soft Tails and major weakness is the front indicators - chunky and a bit ugly. The exhaust probably is also a bit tame compared to the Harleys knowing Honda. The Fury is the most interesting Honda out there atm and would rather than - this styling is too copy-cat of a HD Soft Tail for my liking.

skeeter - Shaddow Phantom October 13, 2009 12:38 PM
DEVIL, your jealousy and envy of Harley riders will get you nowhere. Keep the dream alive though!

DEVIL - Skeeter - Shadow Phantom October 13, 2009 08:02 AM
OK Skeeter don't wave at us when we pass you on the road and you are next to you broken down and over priced hog.....unfortunately Charlie has surpassed HD in design, technology and power delivery, not to mention reliability. So I guess if it was not for Americana selling so well in America HD would not be around however Charlie and the Germans and a little British Company outside Slough are selling their products around the world.....I agree you can go and F..k yourself when riding that overpriced piece of ancient engineering. I will not wear a HD Tshirt if I got one for free, I doubt if I will ride the bike either !

skeeter - Wake up and smell the coffee... October 10, 2009 10:26 AM
Real men ride Harley-Davidsons. All of you foolish latte-drinking yuppies need to get past your feelings of inferiority. We don't care about you, and we don't want to wave to you. Get over it and stop wearing Harley t-shirts. You may as well get over the fact that we kicked your metrosexual a**es back in high school too! Stay out of our way, and we'll ignore your stupidity like we have for years.

Bonnie Rider - Hate Radiators October 7, 2009 09:02 PM
Can't bring myself to buy any bike that isn't air cooled. bikes wearing dirty big radiators simply suck.

Andy - Honda Harley October 5, 2009 05:10 AM
I own a VT750 Spirit which in Europe is FI, I recently rented a Sportster. The Honda will out preform it, having said that I love the Harley, its no point everyone arguing, uy the one that suits you....

James Honda lover - unknown author. September 30, 2009 11:14 PM
I bought my first bike in 1986. It was a 1976 honda cb550. It was small,quick,and only cost me $650.00. The paint was sun faded green and black,the chrome was slightly rusted. It did clean up nicely and ran like a charm. It was pretty quick on take off but struggled to get much past 100mph.Then in 1991 I got a 1987 Supermagna. That bike was very cool looking,low seat height, and pretty damn fast for a cruiser. It was red and I had it painted gloss black. Probably a little high price tag for a runaway. Maybe like the other guy said it belonged to her uncle or father.

59 y/o biker - cool bike for the girl in the story September 30, 2009 02:54 PM
Hi, just passing through here; following a news story. How about an old Brit bike, not sure about in the States (am in Oz, ex-UK), but 80's there were quite a few around before current nostalgia boom (Triumph Bonnie remake etc). What about a BSA 650 her uncle - ? had been keeping in a shed (Hunter S.T. rode one of these in the 60's); or the 500cc twin from either BSA or Triumph, this smaller bike no collector's item then but do they go? Oh yes. Cool? Hell yeah! Or you could get more esoteric whilst still avoiding bikes which had already become collectors items. A site specialising in chat about old Brit bikes could be far more specific. No put-down on the Japs (I ride a Suzy GSX 1400 myself), but a lot of 'street cred' imho in a girl riding a slightly oil-leaking but mean & tough old piece of Brit iron. The tension; is the damn thing gonna start? (as the baddie approaches). All the best anyway :)

EAB - Author Unknown September 30, 2009 09:00 AM
For that timeframe, I would go with a Kawasaki EN500, which is still made today as the Ninja 500R. Back then, as now, they were cheap, and while they are dated now, back in the 80's and early 90's they were not. THey are quick, cheap, fast, and bulletproof. Yeah, EN500. Do a search.

James - Phantom September 29, 2009 07:58 PM
You say Honda is copying Harley dark customs. Isn't Harley copying several successful custom shops who were already making "Dark" bikes?Honda should blow Harley away by making a new fuel injected Magna. I have a'02 Magna that no stock sportster can touch. It does have a drum brake in the rear.I would like to see a new magna with a disc brake.Even though I have had no difficulty stopping, a disc would seem like a reasonable performance upgrade.You can't beat chain drive for absolute speed.Fuel injected,disc brakes,and chain drive.Make a new Magna NOW!

OK TULSAN - honda rocks!!! September 21, 2009 09:22 PM
1.- honda=reliable HD= he nop
2.- honda quality proven HD upss nop
3.- honda style= diversity HD trying to get out of the hole 4 decades
4.- honda your money well worthed HD payin for the name (ridicoulos)
5.- jap.=natural evolution for tech and business HD trying to survive
well the list can go on and on, but you know what just enjoy your ride no matter what kind of motorcycle you have.

Author unknown - Need a bike for a character in the story I'm working on. September 20, 2009 12:56 PM
I'm turning to the members of the audience out there who have lived, loved, and rode for years. I'm working on a story, based back in the late 80's and early 90's. She is a young girl on the run, and I want to add a motorcylce into the story. Has to be something she can get fairly cheaply, but I want the type of bike to give her some edge and some style. Any ideas? I know Harley's are the bikes everyone loves, me too although I don't ride, but I don't see that realistically being in her price range. She has to get out of town, and fast. I've got an old boyfriend who owns a Shadow, and I had been thinking about using it, but they weren't manufactured back then. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

aniday - WHY ALL BLACK? September 19, 2009 10:59 PM
I buy cruiser because of CHROMES. I'll wait another year for new color. To y'all hard head out there, I will never buy or take a junk american bike for FREE. I'm sick and tired of branding.

B1091 - No Info Yet. September 18, 2009 11:32 AM
Contacted my local dealer about the bike and they don't have any info yet.

Butch - Shadow Phantom...no thanks. September 11, 2009 07:17 PM
Come on Mother Honda. What were you thinking?

You took a plain Shadow Spirit and blacked it out.
You took a wider front tire off the Aero.
You (thankfully) upgraded the 750 engine to EFI.
But yet you still keep using a drum for a rear brake.

*sigh*

CharChar - HD and Honda September 11, 2009 11:07 AM
Harley's reputation is no joke. Honda's reputation has proven reliable bikes. This Honda Phantom is dope. The Iron 883 is dope. We ALL know the reputation jap bikes have. I'd put my safe money and pride aside on the Honda Phantom. People have their own preference. Either way is fine be me.

tc - shadow dark September 10, 2009 05:35 AM
i like it but i like anything with a engine made anywhere. think blackout started in the 70's here and over there.

BC - HD attitude September 9, 2009 07:39 AM
Gee mike, I guess that makes you a "real biker", eh? Gimme a break. Get over yourself...

KayakMike - Almost there! September 9, 2009 04:45 AM
I'm not a cruiser rider (I long for the days of old when the UJM ruled), but I've always liked the HD Iron look. Honda almost got it right here, with two exceptions. The drum brake is simply a deal breaker for me. Just not happening on a bike of this size. And secondly, I think that inverted forks wouold have been a much more aggressive touch than putting shrouds over the forks like they did. Much like fake hood scoops and vents on cars, I just loathe useless trim. But overall, the look is good.

Treadsoft - HD and Honda? Can't we coexist September 8, 2009 04:53 PM
I pick up my '10 Wide Glide on Sept 12th, but to sit here and say this bike sucks is just a flat out lie. I'm new to this whole 2 wheel scene, but one thing I've noticed is everyone has a deep spiritual opinion on Metrics Vs Harley Vs Sport bikes. Let's all chill-out and realize were part of a two wheel community. Live to Ride! ....we are the world, we are the children... sorry I got too carried away

EAB - Gotta agree with the HD crowd here September 8, 2009 09:57 AM
I figure if you want to have the look, feel, and prestige of GUCCI, or Rolls Royce, or whatever else you might have in mind, you don't buy a knockoff, especially if the knock off is the same money. It's well known that a $30 digital watch keeps better time than a Rolex, but that was never a consideration, now was it? Bottom line is if I am going to buy a blacked out cruiser, it will be a Harley. All of that being said, none of the cruisers are my cup of tea. Perhaps Honda should have made an attempt to emulate the XR1200. Now THAT would have been a machine, eh?

milwaukee mike - Stupid honda September 8, 2009 08:47 AM
Just another cheap attemp by honda to imitate HD's new Fat Boy Dark. It never ceases to amaze real bikers that the metrics cannot come up with an original style (or at least a non-goofy style).

Honduh - Original thoughts wanted September 7, 2009 02:27 PM
So ... NW ... what's your "original thought"?

themountain - disc brake...drum brake September 7, 2009 08:24 AM
What are your concerns about that??..pretty sure the Honda drum brakesa 1000 times better than any Harley brake...lol
Bike looks awesome, only they should loose the shaftdrive...its sooo damn hard to customize that!!
8000$...well done Honda!!

Jess - Seriously? September 6, 2009 10:08 PM
Are Honda really trying to sell me a bike with a drum on the rear - in 2009 - seriously - for 8k - seriously? HAHAHAHA!

Frazer - No Thanks! September 6, 2009 10:03 PM
A Price tag of 8k and I don't even get a disc on the rear? That's just stupid. I can't imagine how anybody would take this 750 imitation over the real deal 883 Iron.

Jasper - Phantom Lord September 6, 2009 01:17 PM
I totally dig it! Yes, Honda may be following some particular trends with this one, but who cares? If it looks good, is affordable, handles well enough, and is reliable, that's all that matters to me. To me, the point of motorcycling is this: get the bike that moves YOU... emotionally, and literally.

Nitin - Shadow over Sportster September 6, 2009 12:25 AM
I've never bought a sportster for simple reason that its so skinny and vibrates, even 2009 models rattle.. Shadow in comparison looks much better and i'm sure will have a smoother ride. As far as power is concerned.. even 883 is way short of breath!!

NickS - Where's Milwaukee Mike... September 6, 2009 12:09 AM
I'm just waiting for him to unload his crap... He's the unofficial spokesperson for HD.. Sorry Cribbing-spokesperson!

Phil - Shadow. September 5, 2009 01:34 PM
i dont care what any of you say. i'm absolutly creaming over this bike. it looks amazing and the shadow is a great ride anyway. engines are bullet proof. i wrote off my bike in a crash a few weeks ago and, if there was anyway i could get the phantom to the uk. id be buying it. you yanks are too lucky. Phil. ps. i agree what you say about the iron but i dont like the riding position. i have to be exctremely comfortable. anyway. yeah. go phantom.

JaimeB - Shao September 5, 2009 07:55 AM
Agree...but this new Shadow has a raw look to it that is very appealing.

shao - 883 and Shadow September 4, 2009 10:36 PM
883 Iron has better detail and finish, and better resale value. Shadow probably has better suspension and sales below MSRP....

JaimeB - Shadow Phanton September 4, 2009 06:34 PM
Very nice! However, for this same price you get the Iron 883 with disc rear brakes and aluminum wheels. This is where Honda blew it.
Price it at $6,999 and I'm in.

NW - When? September 4, 2009 05:19 PM
When will this flood of "me too" cruisers end? Isn't the market saturated yet? Last go around it was flashy paint and tribal graphics. Now it's dark and brooding "bobbers" and "choppers"..... oooh scary. Someone please have an original thought for once.

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