Howdy Eric,
Wow, two Yanks on the cusp of their first Vin purchase in only two weeks on this forum, been watching this particular one with interest though.
First off, weighing the possibly misery against the reward, if you’ve not ridden a Vin they are positively unique among vintage iron in general and without peer to any machines contemporary to their era. Supremely versatile, they can answer to the need for fast roadwork, touring or in-town pottering with equal aplomb…when well sorted, more on that later. At the same time, they can “pay the rent” just by their appearance – a piece of art - I now keep one in the house mainly for gazing at and a dusty trail horse in the garage to ride.
They exemplify common sense in their design/construction with the added appeal (intrigue) of that British proclivity to make do with 10 components when others (/2 BMW) might get by with 1-2 permitting unrestricted service access with common tools/garden shed techniques and adjustability for an (assumed) well informed owner. On the latter, with the exception of the bottom end and some machining, you can restore one completely without need for any Whitworth wrenches using common shop tools and a good selection of metric/sae spanners, token concessions being exhaust nut wrench and valve inspection cap wrenches for convenience. These machines are infinitely rewarding to build/maintain/ride for those who understand why but can be frustrating for those whose mechanical abilities/understanding of a machine as a functioning system are limited to how task completion. I get a number of inquiries regarding purchasing them at the site in my sig below and that is the first question asked when the machine is not a show piece destined for a life in the front foyer. The seat alone has 5 pivot wear points in its structure and there are many others. Beyond unrewarding, these machines can actually be dangerous to ride at speed if not carefully fettled.
Now, regarding the piece you’re looking at, at the price spread quoted here against your current not yet expanded knowledge base and this machine’s unknown internal condition, despite the RFM issue, this is quite an opportunity and I’d recommend pulling the trigger in advance of the knowledge bell curve crest if in fact that motor is a Shadow and matches it’s UFM. There are few machines that cause men to “take leave of their senses” and a Black Shadow is one of them, it’s pricing tending to be a bit more emotionally based to the moment than the Rapides. But at this price range, you cannot go wrong if you had to sell it next week or next year. You may not have encountered this situation before, but it might be folly to assume this machine will wait till you are ready to make the purchase. If history serves for this scenario, the picture provided along with a smattering of other details are being scrutinized as we speak by other possible very determined suitors, I can assure you.
That said, its appearance – a bit grainy blown up in my photo app – is very complete compared to some of the baskets/stand up non runners I’ve seen sell recently for more. 19, 20 inch lined wheels, what appear to be original Birmabrites, clock, speared levers, choke levers etc. are a very good sign weighed against the late model concentric carbs fitted. The fact that it experienced a shunt sufficient to warrant replacing the RFM is more a sign of the times of this incident than the severity of the impact as matching numbers meant far less then compared to the convenience of getting a wrecked machine back on its feet swiftly. I’d would be prepared to confront some possible misalignment issues but they’re far less challenging to dealing with in this configuration than with full perimeter frames. Regarding reason stated for a kicker assembly not currently fitted, the passage of 58 years and the romance surrounded these machines can fuel all sorts of stories so I'd just nod agreeably and focus on other things. Might want to check the mating numbers on the engine (between the two cylinders on top of the cases) just for a little better piece of mind.
Other than that with the two publications quoted above, this forum, downloading the parts list/pics here and a perusal of the tech notes at thevincent.com, you should be on your way. A sincere good luck with this purchase, I remember my risk laden crap-shoot of a Shadow purchase a year and a half ago fondly.
Wow, two Yanks on the cusp of their first Vin purchase in only two weeks on this forum, been watching this particular one with interest though.
First off, weighing the possibly misery against the reward, if you’ve not ridden a Vin they are positively unique among vintage iron in general and without peer to any machines contemporary to their era. Supremely versatile, they can answer to the need for fast roadwork, touring or in-town pottering with equal aplomb…when well sorted, more on that later. At the same time, they can “pay the rent” just by their appearance – a piece of art - I now keep one in the house mainly for gazing at and a dusty trail horse in the garage to ride.
They exemplify common sense in their design/construction with the added appeal (intrigue) of that British proclivity to make do with 10 components when others (/2 BMW) might get by with 1-2 permitting unrestricted service access with common tools/garden shed techniques and adjustability for an (assumed) well informed owner. On the latter, with the exception of the bottom end and some machining, you can restore one completely without need for any Whitworth wrenches using common shop tools and a good selection of metric/sae spanners, token concessions being exhaust nut wrench and valve inspection cap wrenches for convenience. These machines are infinitely rewarding to build/maintain/ride for those who understand why but can be frustrating for those whose mechanical abilities/understanding of a machine as a functioning system are limited to how task completion. I get a number of inquiries regarding purchasing them at the site in my sig below and that is the first question asked when the machine is not a show piece destined for a life in the front foyer. The seat alone has 5 pivot wear points in its structure and there are many others. Beyond unrewarding, these machines can actually be dangerous to ride at speed if not carefully fettled.
Now, regarding the piece you’re looking at, at the price spread quoted here against your current not yet expanded knowledge base and this machine’s unknown internal condition, despite the RFM issue, this is quite an opportunity and I’d recommend pulling the trigger in advance of the knowledge bell curve crest if in fact that motor is a Shadow and matches it’s UFM. There are few machines that cause men to “take leave of their senses” and a Black Shadow is one of them, it’s pricing tending to be a bit more emotionally based to the moment than the Rapides. But at this price range, you cannot go wrong if you had to sell it next week or next year. You may not have encountered this situation before, but it might be folly to assume this machine will wait till you are ready to make the purchase. If history serves for this scenario, the picture provided along with a smattering of other details are being scrutinized as we speak by other possible very determined suitors, I can assure you.
That said, its appearance – a bit grainy blown up in my photo app – is very complete compared to some of the baskets/stand up non runners I’ve seen sell recently for more. 19, 20 inch lined wheels, what appear to be original Birmabrites, clock, speared levers, choke levers etc. are a very good sign weighed against the late model concentric carbs fitted. The fact that it experienced a shunt sufficient to warrant replacing the RFM is more a sign of the times of this incident than the severity of the impact as matching numbers meant far less then compared to the convenience of getting a wrecked machine back on its feet swiftly. I’d would be prepared to confront some possible misalignment issues but they’re far less challenging to dealing with in this configuration than with full perimeter frames. Regarding reason stated for a kicker assembly not currently fitted, the passage of 58 years and the romance surrounded these machines can fuel all sorts of stories so I'd just nod agreeably and focus on other things. Might want to check the mating numbers on the engine (between the two cylinders on top of the cases) just for a little better piece of mind.
Other than that with the two publications quoted above, this forum, downloading the parts list/pics here and a perusal of the tech notes at thevincent.com, you should be on your way. A sincere good luck with this purchase, I remember my risk laden crap-shoot of a Shadow purchase a year and a half ago fondly.
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