Vincent black shadow

There is a big list of bikes which still are remembered even after decades of its arrival. It all because of the uniqueness of those bikes and obviously their performance. Until the Kawasaki Z1 came along in1973, the 1950s Black Shadow was still the fastest production motorcycle in the world, even though production had been ended in 1955. Its 998cc V-twin made 55 horsepower, and the bike was capable of seeing 200Kmph. As an ultra-high performance mount for the connoisseur, the hand built Vincent Black Shadow was the post-war equivalent of the Brough Superior. Its v-twin produced an incredible mixture of high speed and docility made possible by a compression ratio of only 6.45 to 1 and a top gear ratio of 3.5 to 1. At the designed maximum speed of 125mph, the engine shaft was turning at a lazy 5800rpm. The bike was obviously heavy with its powerful engine and massive body. All subsequent Rapides, Lightnings, Knights and Princes bore only the name “Vincent”. All these machines had 998cc engines, four speeds, dual carburettors and two brakes on each axle.