Honda VT1100

The Honda VT1100 is a motorcycle engine used in the Honda Shadow 1100 motorcycle line since its debut in 1985 until production ended in 2007. In this 22 year run, there were minimal changes.

It is a liquid cooled, 1,099 cubic centimetres (67.1 cu in), 45 degree V-twin. It has a bore and stoke of 87.5mm x 91.4mm with an 8:1 compression ratio. It is a chain driven, single overhead cam SOHC, with 3 valves and 2 spark plugs per cylinder. The valves are hydraulically actuated, requiring little, if any, maintenance over the life of the engine. They come with dual 36mm diaphragm-type CV carburetors and a solid state digital ignition.
Depending on application and tuning, it produces ~55–65 horsepower (41–48 kW) @ 5000 rpm and ~70 pound force-feet (95 N⋅m) @ 2750 rpm. This engine came with either a 5 speed manual transmission (1985-1986, 1995-2007) or a 4 speed manual transmission (1987-1996 VT1100C). All years are shaft drive. Final drive ratio is similar between these transmissions (one exception is the Honda Shadow Sabre model, which had a slightly lower final drive, making it the "sportier" model of the line).

The VT1100 has been used in the following Honda motorcycles with these model designations:

• VT1100C - 1985-1996 (sometimes called "Classic") and 1997-2007 (Spirit) models

• VT1100C2 - 1995-1999 American Classic Edition (ACE) and 2000-2007 Sabre models

• VT1100C3 - 1998-2002 Aero models

• VT1100T - 1998-2001 ACE Tourer models. These Tourer models were dual crankpin whereas the regular ACE models were single crankpin models.

The 1995-1999 VT1100C2 ACE and 1998-2000 VT1100C3 Aero models are single crank-pin models, all other 1100s are dual crankpin. The single crank pin model gave the engine a "loping idle" and more "rumble" in an attempt to mimic Harley-Davidson V-twins. It also lost about 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) compared to the dual pin engines.