Honda Shadow Sabre 1100 (VT1100C2) reviews

I bought this bike used in the fall of 2011 with 11,500 km's on it and put on 1,000 since then. I am very impressed with the appearance, handling, power and reliability of this bike. Honda did an excellent job with this machine. It has plenty of get up and go power. Brakes provide plenty of stopping power. It's a relatively inexpensive bike but it's still got great quality. I like the shaft drive and aluminum wheels. Mine also came with factory flames. Spend half the cost of that you would on a Harley and get a Honda and the reliability that comes with it. I've owned several Honda ATV's and dirt bikes throughout the years. Take care of them and they'll run forever just about. Only complaints I have, no tachometer, and no fuel gauge. I would also suggest a Mustang seat for the longer trips. Show less

I own the 2000 1100 Sabre and let me tell you something!!! This is the best bike I ever owned. I been riding since 1993 and when I first got this bike in 2002, I did all the leather accessory buying, saddle bags, sissy bar, tassles, and tool carrier; friends loved it. I decided to go another direction with it; I decided to "show it". A friend of mine and I collaborated together and have done a fabulous paint detail on it and I have so far put it in six bike shows and have five first place trophies and one second place trophy. People mouths drop when they find out that it's a HONDA! I would not trade it for the world. In fact I know friends that have personally traded their Harley in for a Honda after seeing mine and what it could do. Show less

I like to travel using my bike. I live in Vietnam and Cambodia and travel between those two countries every week with the Shadow Sabre. It is a great bike. It gets about 46 mpg. and has enough power even with two people on the bike and luggage. Since it is a low compression engine of 8.1, it accepts about every imaginable octane gas available. I have used everything in it because sometimes I do not have the ability to choose a better grade of fuel. I have had front shock seal problems after 15,000 miles but I think any bike would based on the road conditions. Based on the few years I have owned it, the bike has performed very well. I wish more bikes were this durable and looked this sharp. I also travel in extreme traffic conditions and it is very nimble or able to maneuver through traffic with the greatest of ease at less than 5 mph. Good Job Honda!!! Show less

What a shame!!! I'm told Honda has dropped the SHADOW SABRE 1100. Goofballs!! This is not the fastest bike on the road nor the fanciest, just the best value. The power is awesome. The styling is incredible. Gas mileage is very good. Agility is very important to me, it shines. I'm an old dirtbike rider...old being the operative word here. Trust me, I know what agility truly means. For a cruiser it's terrific. Hey Honda! What's up? We want our Sabre back!!! Maybe they'll bring it back with a sixth gear and fuel injection...I hope I hope I hope! Safe ridin' to all. Show less

I have ridden this bike across the country twice and have done over 500 miles a day with the stock seat. I was comfortable all the way 6k plus round trip and a great ride all the way. The bike is agile and has the power you want in all the gears. I cannot say anything bad about it. It is solid in the corners and steady at 100 mph +. I do not know what would be a better biked for the money. Show less

When I was looking to buy a bike, I wanted something sleek, lean and mean. What I did not want was some overweight behemoth that handles like a pig on a shovel. And I'm not one to over-dress a bike. So when I saw my 2006 midnight black Sabre sitting on the showroom floor I had one question: Do you have one still in the crate? They said yes, so I bought it. Now every bike has its good points and its bad points and the Sabre is no exception. On the downside my biggest gripe is the saddle. Last summer I went on a 3000 km (about 1860 mile) tour from Edmonton to Vancouver Island and back - there are some fantastic twisties on that trip - and after an hour my backside really started to hurt and it got progressively worse as the day went on. Needless to say I now have a Mustang saddle on order and from all the reviews that I've read it should do the trick - I hope. Other than that I think the headlamp is a little weak: it may be good enough for night driving in the city, but at night on a country highway, I want to blind any critters standing in the ditch long before they can jump in front of me. My last complaint is NO TACH. I know that tachless is common with cruisers, but I'll never understand why. Now for the good stuff. As far as cruisers go the Sabre is a very agile, well balanced piece of machinery. It can handle the twisties quite gracefully, in a solid confidence inspiring manner. It has plenty of pep for city driving, but is equally at home cruising the highways for extended periods of time. In short it is a well rounded Honda quality motorcycle that I'll be driving for a long time to come and a very classy ride. Show less

This is my first bike. I took the MSF class in 10/06, and purchased the Sabre in 11/06. 10,000 miles later in 8/07, I'm quite satisfied. Every so often, I'm asked by observers who didn't notice the Honda Shadow Sabre decal, if it's a custom. Though I haven't done much to it. Power delivery is fantastic. 2 plugs per cyclinder, 3 valves per cylinder, and the gearing must help greatly. The reviews by various publications are correct: It keeps pulling strongly all of the way to the rev limiter. Though I have yet to hit the rev limiter in 5th gear, even though I was riding at 130 mph or more. The brakes are great. They are definitely strong enough. Enjoy The seat... Well, let's just say that you'll probably want to unstaple the leather cover, and replace the innards with memory foam from Joanne's Fabrics. But then again, I may ride more than 5 hours without rest on weekends... I originally thought that I should have saved more money and bought the VTX1300. But in retrospect, the VTX1300 would have been too cumbersome. I prefer the flickability and agility of the Sabre (VT1100C2). It's much easier to flog, and my awareness extends to it's boundaries more easily. I think that this is the perfect medium between a humongous, less agile cruiser, and a small cruiser without enough power. Show less

I bought my Sabre in July of 05. I went from an 04 Honda Aero to this bike. At the time I also owned an 05 Kawasaki ZZR600. The Aero was a nice bike if you keep it under 65. At 65, it feels like it is wound very tight. The darn thing will only go 80 mph with me on it. So, I went to the Sabre. What a nice bike. It feels like it is not even trying at 65. I have taken it on a 1000 mile trip and it was wonderful. The power was there and I could cruise all day. Now if you are coming from a 6 speed monster of a bike you might feel like the Sabre is wound too tight at higher speeds, but the Sabre is a different kind of bike. It's more agile and peppy than your 800 lb monster bikes. The many accessories that are available for this bike will also boggle the mind. You can deck this bike out to look like a retro cruiser or make it look like a custom bobber, what ever you want because there are so many parts out there. Any way, if you are looking at the other 1100's out there I suggest taking a closer look at the Sabre. It's faster than any other 1100 cruiser and for that matter, most bigger cruisers. It's also easier to change the oil than others like the V-Star where you have to pull the pipes off every time you change the oil filter, now who wants to do that? I'll bet that most of the V-Stars out there now have the original oil filter still in them because nobody wants to pull the exhaust off when they change the oil. Anyway, Honda Sabre 1100 Shadow is the the way to go. Show less

I've ridden different bikes. This bike is overlooked way to much, because of the VTX'S. But this bike is way easier to handle and quicker than the VTX'S, but everybody thinks the bigger the bike the better it is,(THIS BIKE PROVES THAT THEORY WRONG). My brother has a Harley SoftTail and my Sabre is much faster than his bike and more reliable. And the Sabre is still great on gas mileage. I've gotten 50 miles to the gallon at the most so far and haven't rejetted it yet but will be in the near future. Perfect Bike all around to me. Show less