This site has around 95 repair and maintenance photos of the 1996 Honda VLX Deluxe motorcycle I used to own. (each image has a large view).

The Shadow VLX 600 is a great bike. I am now on my fourth motorcycle, and my top recommendation to beginners is the VLX. After the VLX, I had a Honda Interceptor VFR750F, Kawasaki KLR650, and now I ride a BMW R850R. All great bikes, but also quite different bikes. Of the bikes I've owned, the only one I'd recommend to beginners is the VLX.

The VLX has great power, not too much vibration (it buzzes at highway speeds), and the usual excellent Honda built quality (20,000-ish miles and not a drop of oil leaking). I was the 4th owner, and my friend Colin the 5th owner. The VLX Review covers the pros and cons of the Shadow VLX.

Read all about mounting Givi tubular racks on an older Honda VLX Shadow 600. Mounting hard saddle bags

The photo above is an early photo before the Givi hard bags were mounted.

The stock paint and chrome are nice. Remember, this is a VT600CD and the D stands for Deluxe. I bought the bike because it had features I wanted, and the looks were not a primary concern. However, the more I look at it, the better it looks. The chome is really nice.

Water cooled, overhead cam, 3 valve heads, dual constant depression carbs, manual choke, dual spark plugs (2 plugs per cylinder head) with an electronic control. The engine is a two cylinder 583 cc engine, with an offset crank for vibration reduction.

My 1996 model does NOT have water heated carbs. It warms up fine using a little choke. At one point, the air inlet to one carb had slipped off. This had a big impact on cold weather driving, but it was a 5 minute fix to slip it back on. This VLX runs great, even at freezing temperatures.

As of July 2002, this bike had 19,000 miles and not a drop of oil leaks.

Rear view with the Givi E21 Monokey hard bags (water proof saddlebags) mounted. It looks great.

The VLX has some interesting features. The choke is mounted on the left side just in front of the carb linkage cover. You have to take your left hand off the hand grip to adjust the choke. I suppose the reason this is here is because Harley Davidson puts their choke in the same position.

A feature that is typical of Honda quality is that the choke has an adjustable tension collet. You turn the tensioner so that the choke can still move easily, but won't move by itself.