The other week I managed to win an E-bay auction for a genuine Honda Shadow engine guard. It’s pretty rare that you see these things go up for auction. Even rarer that you can buy them for under 100 bucks. It was my lucky day.
Below are a few photos of the installation of the engine guard. When I went to install mine, I had a few troubles figuring out just how to mount the whole contraption. Hopefully these photos will be of use to someone else in the future.
Note that the flat metal bit that goes inside the frame tube does not actually connect to anything on my 1984 Honda Shadow. It is simply left dangling out in the air. Perhaps on other makes or models of Honda, it actually bolts to something. On mine it dangles awkwardly. This doesn’t seem to affect the strength or rigidity of the bars at all.
Later that day I went out and bought two cheap highway pegs to mount on the bars. It is much, much more comfortable to ride my bike now. In the future I plan to upgrade to forward pegs to let my feet and legs stretch out a bit more. The one nice thing with the way they are mounted now is that I can heel shift and heel brake from cruising position.
I wanted to do the same thing. Anything I should take in mind before I start?
Burke
Watch E-Bay for a set. I got mine for under $100 including shipping and all of the bolts. Make sure it’s the right size for your bike, too. The 83-87ish VT700/750 guards are all pretty much interchangeable but beyond that there’s no guarantee.
Did you have to change the gaskets/seals on the exhaust pipes? Any spillage from the radiator?
I was able to reuse the seals that came with the bike. Actually it’s been a little while since I did the work and have since sold the bike (upgrading to something that isn’t quite so cramped for my tall stature) so I don’t quite remember if there was a gasket on the exhaust pipe or what it looked like. I can tell you however that I did not put a new one in. And in the miles that I put on the bike after installing the guards I never had any problems with soot (indicating an exhaust leak) on my pant legs.
As for the radiator, you don’t have to drain or disconnect anything on it. If you have the correct Honda engine guards, it should just fit right around the radiator and assorted hoses without problem. What year and CC of Shadow do you have?
Hi.
I’m from Aguascalientes, Mexico and I have a Honda VT700 1985, the bike is in perfect conditions and I want to buy a Engine guards like yours, but unfortunately in Mexico is hard to get it. I wondering if I may have a good luck like you.
Thanks for the detailed directions! After laying the bike down and spending $300 on parts (not to mention the time I spent cussing in the garage) I decided it would be well worth the investment of buying a crash bar for my 84. As you mentioned, those suckers are hard to find. Well, luck came my way last week (after keeping an eye out for months) and I got a pretty good deal on one. I really do appreciate the pictures as they really made the installation easy. Without them I may still be out in the garage scratching my head. Keep the shiny side up!
Glad my photos helped! When I went to install my guards it took me the better part of an afternoon to figure everything out. After that experience I figured that people could use a tutorial. The bike and engine guards have since departed me. I sold in anticipation of getting a new bike. Three months later and I still haven’t decided what to get.
That’s alright. Now’s the time to buy if you’re in the market for a newer used bike. Like boats, you can usually snag a deal from someone who doesn’t want to store it for the winter.
That’s the plan! Either I’ll get a Suzuki V-Strom 650 decked out for adventure touring or a newer Honda Shadow Sabre (shaft drive) with a good set of luggage for cruising across the desert. Just have to bide my time and keep watching Craigslist.
what is the brand of the engine guard that you have pictured here?
It’s Hondaline brand. I think there might have been one other company that made aftermarket crash guards for the VT700 but when I was looking, I only found the Hondaline brand. They were good crash bars though.
You absolutely didn’t have to take the exhaust off to fit those engine guards. I have an ’85 750 Shadow and removed, repainted and and replaced the exact same guards and didn’t touch the exhaust. You just have to maneuver the guard around the pipe.
The “flat metal bit” that you left dangling does attach to something – it attaches to the frame with a U-bolt. You did not set this guard up exactly right.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the note! On my ’84 Shadow VT700, the way I put it on was the only way I could figure out how to fit it to the bike. I suspect that there were small frame and exhaust modifications made between the model years. I know that there were other mods made elsewhere on the bike so it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that it changed a bit. That’s good to know that on an ’85 you don’t have to take off the exhaust like I did.
Do you have any pictures of your setup? I’d be happy to post them on this post as an addendum for people who might be in a similar situation as you.
Did you buy your Hondaline engine guard from a Honda dealer? I got mine via Ebay. It didn’t come with a u-bolt and the seller indicated that all of the parts that it came with when he bought it were shipped in the package. Do you have a photo of the way that u-bolt is supposed to go on? I would be more than happy to post some photos of that for others in the future.
I sold the ’84 Shadow about a year and a half ago so I can’t fix the setup now. While I had it, I didn’t have any troubles with the way it was setup but this is all good info for the next bloke who tries to put an engine guard on his Shadow.
Thanks!
Douglas
I have a picture here it is – website doesn’t allow me will give me the option to send pictures
Hi Stephen!
You can send photos directly to my email and then I can post them. douglas.vanbossuyt [AT] gmail.com
Cheers,
Douglas
I’m attempting to upload photos of the engine guard / crash bar proper setup for a 1984 Honda Shadow vt700c but on this comment there’s no option to upload photos
2022 June 5th I purchased a 1984 Honda Shadow vt700c with an engine guard / crash bar purchase from eBay later and I have all the parts and would like to share my pics of them to upload but there’s no option for this
One other thing – I used my crash guard to weld metal plates to (when I removed and repainted them). I drilled holes in the metal plates and mounted forward controls to them. Huge difference and much, much more comfortable and enjoyable to ride. This all has to be created as you go because there are no pre-made forward controls for this bike.
Hi Andrew,
If I had the shop setup when I had my VT700, I would have done that, too. I recall seeing online somewhere some photos of a setup someone did that sounds very similar to yours. Maybe if I see another ’84 VT700 on CraigsList I’ll buy it and put some forward controls on it. My current bike is great but it doesn’t have that badass feel like the Shadow did.
Thanks!
Douglas
I want to share some pics of my engine guard / crash bar installation how do I do that
I just found one on ebay brand new never been used with instructions, bought for $125 had to wake up at 6am to find it, but so happy to find it. Cant wait to install it.
Wow what a deal!
Would be helpful if you mentioned what size, gauge nuts and bolts you used to install. My crash bars came without nuts/bolts. Also, it looks like your crash bars are feom a 1986-87 Shadow. Mine is an 86 so install may be different. I’ll try to post my results online if I out them on successfully.
I sold mine long enough ago that I don’t remember what bolts I used anymore. Sorry!
-Douglas
Just for future reference for someone, those bars come apart at the middle, in the 4th pic under the radiator, that clip thing holds the 2 halfs together. I just took mine apart to get redone. I plan on putting the 2 halves together and then putting that this piece back on to hold them together. BUT, I didnt know it was a 2 piece bar until I had it off the bike, what a PITA to get off.
i’m looking at buying a parts 85 bike for my 86 (i know lots of cosmetic differences) but this bike has the crash bars on it, any one know if these will fit on my 86? i know both bikes have the same engine (both are vt700c’s) and it also has some other parts i’m going to attempt to swap.
anyone know if you can put a guard from a 85 vt700c onto a 86 shadow vt700c