The cruiser motorcycle market does not change as quickly or as often as other segments. That is because cruiser owners are quite like their products; they prefer to go slow and steady with their purchases as well. This changed in the 1980s when the Japanese decided to dip their toes into the cruiser segment. They came up with solutions to problems that plagued the products of American brands and, in typical Japanese fashion, solved them after only a few tries. Today, the Americans have managed to improve their quality by leaps and bounds, but if you want something uber-reliable even in the cruiser segment, the answer is to go Japanese. The Middleweight Cruiser Segment Is The Best Place To Look KawasakiBeginner cruisers are fine, but riders quickly outgrow them. So they do not make a very good choice if you want to keep a motorcycle for a long time. There is a different problem in buying a premium cruiser. By and large, they are now luxury items, and they will want that kind of money, both to buy and maintain.So the middleweight cruiser segment is what you want to look at if you want a motorcycle that has enough performance to keep you entertained for a long time and that will also have low running costs. Good reliability is a big part of keeping running costs low, and if you want a Japanese bike that is reliable, there is one brand that springs to mind immediately: Honda. Making our search easier is the fact that Honda has just one true traditional middleweight cruiser in its portfolio. The Honda Shadow Phantom Is The Cruiser Mechanics Almost Never See HondaThe Shadow is a legendary motorcycle among those who want a no-nonsense, trouble-free motorcycle. It has an unstressed engine, uses shaft drive, twin rear shocks, and has no real electronic item on it in the modern sense. It has also remained unchanged for nearly three decades. Thus, there's no surprise that it is the cruiser with such reliability that mechanics almost never see it. Middle-Of-The-Road Pricing Is A Smart Choice HondaToday, the Honda Shadow is available in only one displacement and one variant. It retails for $8,699 and has a blacked-out look, alloy wheels, a rear disc brake, and ABS. The pricing makes it sit below traditional Japanese V-twin cruisers and above 650cc modern cruisers, which fits its displacement perfectly. Traditional Engine Is Low On Power But Big On Fun HondaThe engine in the Shadow is a 52-degree V-twin. It has a short-stroke design, which is interesting for something that was developed and released nearly three decades ago. It also had liquid cooling and three valves per cylinder, a modern set of features for something of its time. The displacement lies at 745cc and has a very laid-back compression ratio of 9.6:1, so you get 45 horsepower at 5,500 RPM and almost 48 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 RPM.Honda's famed PGM-FI fuel injection delivers fuel to the engine, and there is liquid cooling as well, so whatever performance is there is consistent. This is put through a five-speed wide-ratio gearbox and a shaft drive, which was common for the time but very unconventional for today. What is also unconventional is that Shadow owners will swear by the performance despite the incredibly low figures and the shaft drive. This is one of those motorcycles that will win no spec-sheet wars, but out in the real world, it is plenty enough to put a smile on your face. Traditional Frame Backs Up The Modern Engine HondaLike the engine, the chassis has also not changed for the last three decades. This is a double downtube frame with 41 mm telescopic forks at the front and dual shocks at the rear. The only adjustment available on the suspension is a five-step preload adjustment for the rear. Suspension travel available is 5.5 inches at the front and 3.5 inches at the rear. Moving on, the brakes consist of a 296 mm front disc with a two-piston floating caliper and a 276 mm rear disc with a single-piston caliper. The latter was a new addition in 2023 when the Shadow was refreshed. A 17-inch and 15-inch spoke wheel combination is available on the Shadow Phantom. Built Just The Way We Like Our Cruisers HondaHonda does not release many measurements of the Honda Shadow's dimensions. But what we do know is that it has a 64.5-inch wheelbase. So it should be very stable in a straight line and should not like to be hurried through a corner. The seat height is an incredibly low 25.6 inches, thanks to the twin rear shocks, which are on either side of the seat. The curb weight is 553 pounds with a full 3.9-gallon tank of fuel. But it carries its weight down low. A Very Simple Feature Set Keeps The Old-School Charm HondaYou probably find it difficult to get a simpler feature set than the one on the Shadow. It has a tank-mounted, circular instrument cluster with a big speedometer. At the bottom is an LCD screen that gives you other information, like the odometer. ABS has been present since the introduction of the rear disc brake. Honda has given the Shadow Phantom the blacked-out treatment, so it looks more like a modern cruiser than a retro one. It has part LED lighting; only the indicators have LED bulbs. The Aftermarket Is The Place If You Want Accessories Honda PowersportsAlso of note is the fact that this is, by default, a single-seat motorcycle. You have to purchase the pillion seat and foot pegs for $107.60 from the accessories catalog. This is pretty much the only thing on the accessories list, but that’s okay. There is a huge aftermarket for the Shadow, and there is something available for everyone. Not A Lot Of Direct Competition YamahaThe Shadow sits in a price space where no other real competition exists. If you look at the traditional Japanese V-twin cruisers from the other brands, the closest that comes to its price is the Yamaha Bolt R-Spec at $8,899. This is a sporty cruiser based on the old Harley-Davidson Sportster. It has an air-cooled engine and a belt drive, and it does not have ABS, even as an option. The Kawasaki and Suzuki offerings cost more than the Yamaha.Jared Solomon / TopSpeedEven looking at more modern cruisers, the one we’d pick is the $7,899 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650. We know Royal Enfield does not traditionally have a reputation for being reliable, but the 650 cc platform has won over many of its doubters, with very few complaints in the last eight years that it has been on sale. The Super Meteor also offers a few modern conveniences, like the ‘Tripper’ pod with its navigation. The optional touring seat will definitely be more comfortable than the Shadow's for long rides, and there should be less driveline loss from its 47-horsepower air-cooled engine and six-speed gearbox because of the chain drive it opts for.Source: Honda PowerSports