Honda Shadow TA200

Fantastic easy to ride Bike – I have been riding 250’s for years. I have had everything from a standard CD250 to a Kawasaki ZZR. I have to admit I was a little concerned going down to a 200cc however this would have to be the best bike I have owned. Its so easy to ride. Its what bike riding is all about. I’m a little heavy however I do manage to get it up to 110 k/h however it… Read more ·  1

does struggle a little to get there. 0-80k/h is no problem and its quite zippy. Fuel economy is unbelievable. If your looking for an easy daily and economical ride, it’s a must! Easy to ride. Economical. Price. Looks Not a lot of power after 90 k/h – not a long distance freeway cruiser.

Terrible – I had this bike for 1 week when the cam chain tensioner failed without any warning whatsoever, causing the piston to hit the valves requiring a total engine rebuild. The engine had only covered 2600km from new! and I was left stranded in the dark for hours waiting to be rescued by my wife and the trailer. As the bike was out of warranty Honda… Read more

refused to accept even partial responsibility and now refuse to speak with me on the matter. I have searched the web and other forums where the cam chain loosening is a well known problem (Check Phantom Knights) Beware this cam chain tensioner is also used on other Honda motorcycles and has the potential to fail. I even wrote to Takeo Fukui CEO of Honda in Japan who refused to reply to my requests for help so when you consider buying Honda remember that a company with such a good reputation for quality will hide their heads in the sand should anything actually go wrong and fail to support the customer even after repeated requests, e-mails and letters. Don't even get me started about Honda MPE in Victoria, the correspondence I have had with them has been a joke! I bought a Hyosung instead after many disillusioned hours wasted with Honda and now resort to periodical reminders to their customer DIS-service department (Speak with Lincoln Bowdern on (+613) 9270 1265 if you want to be completely ignored) that the Hyosung DIDN'T explode after 2600kms of light use. Shame Shame on you Honda! All it would have taken to convert an unhappy customer to a loyal Honda rider would have been a little co-operation possibly a discount on the parts I needed to rebuild the bloody TA200 or even a suggestion from their sales department that I ring them to talk about a trade in, my local Hyosung dealer GP Motorcycles in Adelaide have been excellent and I can't praise them highly enough for offering to take the pile of junk off my hands and help me on to a nice new bike well done guys and the bike is great. The last I heard the TA Shadow was repaired and the parts took nearly a month to come from Japan on back order, this would have cost me well over $1000 to fix which was almost 1/3 what the bike cost me so watch out, check that bloody tensioner each time you get on the damned thing, better still sell it and buy anything else, maybe that way Honda might see how their arrogance has let them down, tell this story to anyone you can think of!

Everything Especially Honda MPE and their poor service

Good – Great beginners bike but you will outgrow this as a rider. I am new to riding and after 12 months, I am ready to move on. I will keep the shadow though, it is such a reliable and easy cruiser to ride and cheap to insure and run. If you can find a good quality bike for 2-3k with up to 20,000km you will be pleased. Ideal for a learner rider.… Read more

Lightweight and easy to ride. Basic engine allows for DIY minor services. Price is great. Low seat allows for up to 6ft rider to be comfy.

Comfortable riding position. Fairly tame power output.

Beware of imports from Thailand as I know of a few bikes that have had about 100,000km wound off the clock and sold as 20,00km. The engines were obviously dirt.

Excellent – If you are on the market for a economicle motorbike easy to ride with the looks of a Harley Davidson to get to work on and general use this is as good as you get and probobly the cheapest on the market in the 200/250cc. i went to test ride a Honda ta 200 shadow at first site it is impresive, looks sweetas with all the crome and the tuff bike look,… Read more

for a little 200 its as good looking if not better than any cruser 250 on the market, i jumped on not as comfy as the yammaha 250 cruser and the pegs seemed to be placed a bit to forward at first when looking down, when hitting the start button its quick to fire up with a mild thumper sound, sounds sweet and smooth, pull in the clutch and engage first gear smooth and direct out with the clutch on with the power and i was away very sirprised there was a bit more there than i expected, went through the gears smooth as i said with a little bit more than any of the other cruser 250 i have test ridden. i have to say it's got a big TICK from me, The foot pegs seemed to be slightly to forward for my liking, however after riding was fine (comfortable)

Excellent – I have a couple of saddle bags that have partially solved the storage problem, I did have a rear box fitted, but I thought it made the bike look ugly and took it off despite the convenience. She is fine 2 up, my wife is light so makes no appreciable difference to the handling. The winding country lanes around here are a breeze to negotiate and… Read more

the bike feels stable around the bends. On the open road and dual carriageways I am very happy with the performance. We also have mountain roads around here and she negotiates the climbs well. I have owned a Phantom in Thailand and it is a good commuter bike for me, riding position is excellent and comfortable. Had the electrics fail on me once, blown fuse due to a bad connection on a spotlight, but bump started very easily and an easy fix. Apart from that have completed 10000 trouble free Kilometers. She cruises at 95 KPH with no problem and doesn't seem to be working too hard, I tend to keep to 85-90 when commuting and that keeps the economy good. No central stand, kick start or petrol gauge, an indication of what gear you are in would be good. The cam chain tensioner is a worry, other threads recommend changing at 30,000 KMS. The owners manual is in Thai only but I managed to download an English version which is quite good