My father bought a Shadow in Oct 1954, in Los Angeles. It too sat on the dealer floor awhile, it left the factory in mid 1953. He is still alive, he'll be 84 this year, and a member, although I am not sure how often he views this forum. I have the Shadow, in well used, unrestored condition. He now lives in Sequim, Wash.
This
photo shows my father on the left, and the other two gents are still alive and are/were original owners of Red Rapides, from the batch where only the tanks and fenders were red. The man in the middle still has his Rapide, but the one on the right sold it after owning it for only a few years.