Nice....back around 1991 or so, I stopped for gas in a small interior British Columbia town...and heard another motorcycle pull in to the pumps....it was a Vincent, a Rapide I belive...we had a great conversation, the tourist from the UK with his 1954 Vincent, and me the BC guy with my 1954 Panhead. I remember that bike like it was yesterday..

Looking back over my years as a motorcycle mechanic I was once lucky enough to road test a Black Shadow, I was 19 years old and the owner had a very worried look on his face until the workshop foreman pointed out my gleaming Norton Commando Roadster parked in the yard. All I can say is I went the longest possible route I could without being unreasonable and enjoyed every minute of the ride.

Fun thing about finned Shadow brake drums. Now they are actually a few quids cheaper than the plain ones. But harder to fit the chain wheel on. As usual no mention of the Comet. A grossly underestimated touring bike, decent with modern speed limits. Only difference I feel when riding a Comet or a Shadow is when twisting the throttle. And easier to start a Comet if you are lightweight.

Shadow has much larger carburetors? - 1 1/8" versus 1 1/16" for Rapide Speedo does not add actual speed - but it costs you £1000 for the cool factor of a 5" clock reading to 150mph Drums finned on Shadow but wheels otherwise same (OK, extra bolts to fix drum to hub...) No air scoops on Shadow brake plates - they were on the Lightning, which had magnesium brake plates in stead of stamped steel. Engine on Shadow has a bit more compression - 7.3:1 versus 6.8:1 Early Shadows got a higher first gear and drilled gear selector cam plate There's not much real difference

I love, love, love the Rapide! TY

My Late father had both these models of Vincent's in the 50' & 60's and up to the 70's when he sold the last bike, his Black shadow for a pittance, don't think he realised what a collectable bike they would be now, he was from Wolverhampton, would love to know if someone still has one of his bikes in their collection.

Well done. TY

Lovely video.

Very nice, just subscribed 👍

And how did the Black Lightening differ?

i thought the difference was about $20000

Thank you!

Rapide and shadow got same cam shaft, and porto in cyl. heads are the same, BUT only a bit more com Rate. You can even swap a smaller carb, to the shadow , and will run the same, what given a bit more power is 7 to one C.R against 6.47 C.R from rapide....the rest you talking is just potato....

The Rapide is a girl's bike, mate. Getcha a Shadow.

What is a "high state of tune"? What timing, jetting and whatever else vs. a..."low state of tune"? Carburetor "size" in "throat diameter" means nothing as far as "power" or "tune". The carb does not "feed" the engine. The engine is an air pump and it "sucks in" air by creating low pressure "downstream" of the carburetor VENTURI which is a "bottleneck". "VACUUM SIGNAL" is what "sucks in" the FUEL and FUEL FLOW DETERMINES ENGINE SPEED AND "POWER". PUTTING A "BIGGER" CARB ON ANY GIVEN ENGINE IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM INCREASES THE "POWER" OR "POWER POTENTIAL" OF THAT ENGINE AND OVERFUELING AN ENGINE IS A BIGGER "POWER KILLER" THAN RUNNING IT "LEAN". 99% OF THE "BOGS" THAT OCCUR WHEN PEOPLE START "TUNING" AND/OR "UPGRADING" FUEL SYSTEMS FOR "MORE POWER" ARE "RICH BOGS". THE ENGINE IS "CHOKED" WITH FUEL TEMPORARILY/MOMENTARILY. A "BOG" IS ALWAYS TOO MUCH FUEL OR NOT ENOUGH AIR WHICH AMOUNT TO THE SAME THING. AN ENGINE THAT ISN'T "GETTING ENOUGH GAS" STUMBLES AND CUTS OUT AND LOSES SPEED. BOGS MAINTAIN SPEED BUT LOSE POWER. THE BOTTOM LINE WITH ALL THAT SHADOW VS. RAPIDE BULLSHIT IS THAT THE "RARE" AND "VALUABLE" BLACK SHADOWS HAVE HAD SO MUCH BULLSHIT OVERSTATING/INFLATING/FLAT OUT LYING ABOUT THEIR "PERFORMANCE" AND SUPPOSED STATUS AS THE "WORLD'S FASTEST BIKE" WHEN THEY WERE "NEW" BUT LAUGHABLY OBSOLETE IN EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR "ENGINEERING" ESPECIALLY AS SUPPOSED "SPORT BIKES" IN "RACE TUNE" AND "COLLECTORS" THAT HAVE REALLY EVER "RIDDEN HARD" A BLACK SHADOW AND USED SOMETHING BESIDES THOSE LAUGHABLY "ACCURATE" AND "PRECISE" SPEEDOS TO MEASURE "PERFORMANCE" KNOW THEY'RE NOWHERE NEAR AS "FAST" AS CLAIMED "HISTORICALLY" BUT HAVE HIDDEN BEHIND THE SUPPOSED "RARITY" AND "VALUE" AND SUPPOSED "RACE TUNE" HORSESHIT AS EXCUSES AND JUSTIFICATIONS FOR WHY "RIDING HARD" A BLACK SHADOW IN "PUBLIC" AND PROVING THOSE "HISTORICAL" CLAIMS IS "IMPRACTICAL" OR "IMPOSSIBLE". AND ALL THE "VALUE" IS IN THAT CLAIMED/SUGGESTED/ADVERTISED/PUBLISHED "WORLD'S FASTEST" BULLSHIT. "JUST OVER 125 MPH" AS "INDICATED" ON THAT "INSTRUMENT" IS MAYBE 110 MPH "TRUE GROUND SPEED" IF TESTED/MEASURED/CHECKED "SCIENTIFICALLY" AND THAT WOULD BE IN IDEAL "WEATHER" FOR TESTING AND AT "SEA LEVEL" IN A "HIGH STATE OF TUNE" WITH SOME LITTLE 125-LB MOTORCYCLE "JOCKEY" ON THE THING "LAYING ON THE TANK"". WHICH IS F'ING PATHETIC FOR A 1000-CC V-TWIN IN WHAT IS WHAT, A 300-LB BIKE IF THAT? AND A SHORT, NARROW SKINNY LITTLE ONE AT THAT? THE REAL PROBLEM FOR THE "ICONIC" AND "LEGENDARY" AND "WORLD BEATING" AND "RECORD SETTING" AND SUPPOSEDLY SUPER RARE/SPECIAL/VALUABLE/PROFITABLE (TO "FLIP" IF YOU'RE "FORTUNATE" TO "PRESERVE" ONE "PRE-RAPIDE RENAISSANCE") IS THE "LOWLY" RAPIDE. WHICH IS "COMMON" AND "AFFORDABLE" BY COMPARISON AND WHICH IS THE "SAME EXACT BIKE" EXCEPT SUPPOSEDLY "LESS POWERFUL" BECAUSE "SMALLER CARB". BUT THE PROBLEM IS ITS "SILVER ENGINE" WHICH IS "NATURAL FINISH" OR "BARE METAL" IS THE EXACT SAME ENGINE BESIDES "SMALLER CARB" AND "COLOR". WHICH IS "SILVER" ONLY BECAUSE IT IS NOT PAINTED BLACK. WHICH MEANS ITS ACTUALLY LIGHTER. MAYBE "ONLY" LIGHTER BY A HANDFUL OF OUNCES BUT LIGHTER NO LESS. AND THE BIKE IS LIGHTER IN OTHER WAYS. SMALL WAYS BUT THEY ADD UP TO POUNDS IF BOTH BIKES ARE "ORIGINAL". AND AN UNPAINTED AIR-COOLED ENGINE ALWAYS RUNS COOLER AND/OR LONGER AT ANY GIVEN "SPEED" AND/OR "POWER" THAN A PAINTED ONE WITH NO "ILL EFFECTS". AND BEING SO MUCH MORE COMMON AND AFFORDABLE AND LESS "SOUGHT AFTER" THAN THE B.S. - WHICH FITS BLACK SHADOW AND BULL SHIT CONVENIENTLY - A LOT MORE PEOPLE CAN AFFORD TO BUY, RESTORE, KEEP ORIGINAL, UPGRADE, TUNE, TEST, RIDE, RACE, WIND UP, HOP UP AND BLOW UP RAPIDES AND EVEN BUILD B.S. "CLONES" AND SEE WHAT THEY'LL REALLY DO "FLAT OUT". AND THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED TOO AND BEEN DONE BY "VINCENT FEVER SUFFERERS" THAT ARE "FORTUNATE ENOUGH" TO HAVE "ACQUIRED" MULTIPLE RAPIDES AND BLACK SHADOWS AND HAVE "INVESTED" BIG-TIME IN THE VINCENT "RESTORATION INDUSTRY" AND THE "WORLD'S FASTEST" BULLSHIT PLANNING TO GET THEIR "ROI" WHEN "YOUNG" DUMB HIPSTER-ESQUE WANNABE VINTAGE "MOTORCYCLE ENTHUSIASTS" THAT ARE MANY TAX BRACKETS AND/OR TIME ZONES AND/OR VAT COLLECTIONSN FROM BEING ABLE TO AFFORD A TRULY "ICONIC" AND "MODERN" AND "WORLD CLASS" V-TWIN "SPORT BIKE" AND ONE THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE "FASTEST" TO BE "COOLEST" AND/OR "RARE" TO BE "SPECIAL" - I.E. A HARLEY-DAVIDSON "BIG TWIN" - LOOK AT "ASKING PRICES" FOR H-DS VS. VINCENTS AND SUPPOSED "RESTORATION COSTS" AND "AUCTION PRICES" AND GO "RUSHING" TO GO WITH A "RARE" VINCENT THEY CAN "MAKE MONEY" ON. THE "PERFORMANCE" NUMBERS JUST AREN'T THERE OR ANYWHERE CLOSE AND NEVER WILL BE, YOU'LL NEVER RUN A VINCENT "HARD" - (80, 90, 100 MPH according to a Vincent "expert" that lives in a "nation" that doesn't have a "freeway" or even an "open road" long, straight and level long enough per "stretch" to get any "sport bike" actually capable of 125+ mph "true groundspeed" from "0-125-0" anywhere close to "safely" i.e. with an "escape route" if things go "sideways" and also claims they'll EASILY go "100,000+" (miles presumedly) before needing "rebuilt" but yet won't ride his most "special" and "loved" sub-8000 (miles presumedly) that has been "restored" at least once on any but "special occasion") B.S.) any length of time anywhere the outdoor temp is much above "room temp" and/or the elevation is much above "sea level" and/or the road is open, flat, level, straight, smooth and empty enough to get one there and keep it there and least of all one in a "high state of tune" and with a coat of thick black "special" insulation paint covering the entire air-cooled boat anchor "beast" of an engine. Not to mention you'd be out of gas in 10 miles if you could get one to "just over 125 miles per hour". The "lowly" Rapides - translation "rapid" - are making the B.S. look like...B.S. And SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE! What kind of idiots think a shadow has any "speed" besides as "measured" on a SUNDIAL much less is "rapid" unless what's CASTING IT IS MOVING.