{"id":11493,"date":"2010-01-13T14:59:31","date_gmt":"2010-01-13T14:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.influx.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=11493"},"modified":"2022-06-21T15:43:50","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T14:43:50","slug":"vincent-black-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/","title":{"rendered":"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vincent Black Shadow is famous for a lot of reasons. Released in the late-40s, into an era of post-war austerity, it was groundbreaking, intimidating and fast enough to turn a pilot\u2019s eyelids inside out. It made such an impression that Hunter S Thompson still thought it was the last word in hellacious two-wheelers in 1970, 22 years after it was introduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere can we get hold of a Vincent Black Shadow?\u201d HST wondered in his legendary book \u2018Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas\u2019. \u201cThe new model is something like two thousand cubic inches, developing two hundred brake-horsepower at four thousand revolutions per minute on a magnesium frame with two styrofoam seats and a total curb weight of exactly two hundred pounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe f***er’s not much for turning, but it’s pure hell on the straightaway. It’ll outrun the F-111 until takeoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, he got this all wrong. Vincent HRD, the Stevenage-based company that created the Black Shadow, went out of business in 1955. It was just too expensive for the market.\u00a0 But Thompson was channeling the vibe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Shadow is as black as the Earl of Hell\u2019s waistcoat, highlighted by accents of chrome and bare alloy and a splash of gold coachlining on the curved fuel tank.<\/p>\n

It was, still is, a gran turismo rather than a racer, but it\u2019s underseat shock arrangement was still inspiring Yamaha GP bikes in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

It helps to put the Black Shadow in context. This is a bike with a claimed top speed of 125mph that was built a decade before Britain\u2019s first motorway. And they were built to last. Even now Black Shadows are bought to be ridden. The 998cc V-twin will tramp along the fast lane at 100mph on ribbed Dunlop Speedmaster tyres more suited to a wheelbarrow. Not bad for a 60-year-old bike.<\/p>\n

And Rollie Free rode a Black Lightning, the stripped and tuned version of the Shadow, to 157mph at Bonneville while wearing just trunks and plimsolls.<\/p>\n

I hate to think of motorcycles as investments, but a Black Shadow, that you can pick up for between \u00a325-40,000, will outstrip just about anything you care to mention. And you can\u2019t race an F-111 on a share certificate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Straight line speed is just one reason the Vincent Black Shadow’s appeal is timeless<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[332,6],"tags":[953,2816,342,281],"class_list":["post-11493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bikes","category-features","tag-british","tag-british-motorcycles","tag-motorbikes","tag-vincent","manufacturers-vincent"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride - Influx<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Straight line speed is just one reason the Vincent Black Shadow's appeal is timeless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride - Influx\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Straight line speed is just one reason the Vincent Black Shadow's appeal is timeless\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Influx Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-01-13T14:59:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-21T14:43:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Fordham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@influxmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@influxmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Fordham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Fordham\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/person\/a6c91b312024b67eded5a6ab27166bac\"},\"headline\":\"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-13T14:59:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-21T14:43:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/\"},\"wordCount\":377,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"british\",\"british motorcycles\",\"Motorbikes\",\"vincent\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bikes\",\"Features\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/\",\"name\":\"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride - Influx\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-13T14:59:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-21T14:43:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Straight line speed is just one reason the Vincent Black Shadow's appeal is timeless\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/\",\"name\":\"Influx Magazine\",\"description\":\"Cars, Bikes, People, Culture\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Influx Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn-influx-wp.adrianflux.co.uk\/uploads\/2016\/06\/influx-logo.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn-influx-wp.adrianflux.co.uk\/uploads\/2016\/06\/influx-logo.gif\",\"width\":300,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"Influx Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/influxmag\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/person\/a6c91b312024b67eded5a6ab27166bac\",\"name\":\"Michael Fordham\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949366349ea2e847fabfcad335f8699e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949366349ea2e847fabfcad335f8699e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Fordham\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride - Influx","description":"Straight line speed is just one reason the Vincent Black Shadow's appeal is timeless","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride - Influx","og_description":"Straight line speed is just one reason the Vincent Black Shadow's appeal is timeless","og_url":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/","og_site_name":"Influx Magazine","article_published_time":"2010-01-13T14:59:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-21T14:43:50+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Michael Fordham","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@influxmag","twitter_site":"@influxmag","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Fordham","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Fordham","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/person\/a6c91b312024b67eded5a6ab27166bac"},"headline":"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride","datePublished":"2010-01-13T14:59:31+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-21T14:43:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/"},"wordCount":377,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg","keywords":["british","british motorcycles","Motorbikes","vincent"],"articleSection":["Bikes","Features"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/","url":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/","name":"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride - Influx","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg","datePublished":"2010-01-13T14:59:31+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-21T14:43:50+00:00","description":"Straight line speed is just one reason the Vincent Black Shadow's appeal is timeless","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VINCENT_BLACK_SHADOW_V2_WEB.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/features\/vincent-black-shadow\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vincent Black Shadow: Fantasy Ride"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/","name":"Influx Magazine","description":"Cars, Bikes, People, Culture","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#organization","name":"Influx Magazine","url":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn-influx-wp.adrianflux.co.uk\/uploads\/2016\/06\/influx-logo.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn-influx-wp.adrianflux.co.uk\/uploads\/2016\/06\/influx-logo.gif","width":300,"height":60,"caption":"Influx Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/influxmag"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/person\/a6c91b312024b67eded5a6ab27166bac","name":"Michael Fordham","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949366349ea2e847fabfcad335f8699e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949366349ea2e847fabfcad335f8699e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael Fordham"}}]}},"Feature Image":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/vincent-black-shadow-feature.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35325,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11493\/revisions\/35325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}