If it was a wannabe Harley, it would have plastic timing chain guides that break apart* and it would be programmed to deactivate one cylinder to avoid overheating**. 
*https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/73/
**https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/a11811/harley-davidson-rear-cylinder-cutout/
Considering how well Shadows run, Harley’s Evolution engine is a wannabe Shadow engine, except Honda’s Shadow engine doesn’t need a rebuild after 100,000 miles.
Yeah, my 05 Lesabre is no corner carver for sure, with 15” tires and rear air shocks. But it rides really well. I don’t see any point in trying to carve a corner in my frumpy grannie sedan anyway 
. But I prefer a soft ride over a firm ride. Basic transportation, comfortable, and generally reliable. Not much of a sports car, though, for sure.
Honda put in a great deal of effort to make that bike look like a Harley @Whitey. And the most common heat damage on old Harleys resulted from over advanced timing I was told back in the good ole days. The Brits bikes were a lot more fun to drive back then but Japan quickly ran over all of them by building a bike for every taste, even a plethora of wannabe Harleys copied to the point of putting both rods on the same throw to produce the thump. Like a John Deere Harleys and their wannabes sounded like they were misfiring.
It’s interesting you should mention that, because the Shadow 750 engine is unique, and has its own distinctive sound thanks to several key innovations:
-Rather than use a 45 degree V-twin design, the Shadow has a 52-degree V-twin design.
-Rather than a single crankpin, it has an offset crankshaft that evens out the firing of the cylinders a bit so one doesn’t have to fire right after the other.
-Rather than use two valves per cylinder for massive low-end torque, the Shadow uses three valves per cylinder to push the peak of the torque curve closer to the middle of the RPM range.
-Adding two spark plugs per cylinder burns more fuel, which is how Honda was able to make pre-fuel injection motorcycles that met CARB emission standards. Meanwhile, Harley had to retard the timing of its stock engines to meet CARB standards.
Harley has never had a monopoly on the V-twin cruiser design. In fact, Harleys are just wannabe Indians. 
I rode a Harley 750 way back when they were trying to compete with the Brits. But the Brits owned the road then. Anything that a Triumph or BSA couldn’t handle the Vincents could. But Honda eventually rewrote the book on motorcycles from 50cc up. But that 750 is just too obviously a Harley wannabe.
A REAL man won’t ride a motorcycle with an electric starter though.
Harley started selling the Street 750 in 2014* to compete with the Honda Shadow, which has been on the market since 1984**.
In reality, the Harley Davidson Street 750 is a wannabe Honda Shadow, and Harley has been making liquid-cooled Harley wannabe 750 cc motorcycles for five years.
The Harley 750 I am familiar with is several years older than that @Whitey. Flat head, kick start and right foot shift. Long before SISSY bikes.
I guess what you really want is more than “simple, practical, economical, reliable transportation.”
What you really want is a lot more complicated, and comes with all kinds of qualifiers.
My first motorcycle was a 1965 Honda 305 Scrambler. I bought it from a high school buddy in 1968. He had bought a new 350 Scrambler. I loved it! Light and powerful. I bought my second motorcycle in 1971. A 1966 Triumph 650 Bonneville. My final motorcycle? (I finally got tired of being invisible to other vehicle drivers) was a 1981 Yamaha 650 bought in 1984. It had electric and kick start. I used the electric start 2 or 3 times as a novelty. It always started on the first kick. I sold it in 1993. I compare the Triumph and Yamaha to 2 cars I have owned. 1966 MGB (Triumph) and 1996 Mazda Miata (Yamaha).
I don’t really consider crotch rockets practical transportation. Or any performance bike actually @Whitey. It was you who introduced bikes into the conversation though.
India’s motorized rickshaws are technically motorcycles and they appear to be very practical in the streets of Bombay and Calcutta. But without air bags the safety patrol won’t allow them here. Wouldn’t it be great if the safety patrol jumped on school buses and didn’t look up until they all had air bags and seat belts. But even I must draw the line a few degrees beyond rickshaws. The model 181 might be the lower limit of accepted safety for me.
I don’t have that problem. Both my motorcycle and I wear bright colors, and use the high beam headlight during daylight hours.
…and I don’t consider the 750 Honda Shadow a “crotch rocket.” I consider it moderately powered reliable transportation, which is the only reason I mentioned it. It’s about as simple, practical, economical, and reliable as you can get.
Sold my 71 Triumph a few months ago, Hip replacement made me a little leery about kick start. Really don’t need or want another cycle as of now.
It’s not for everyone, but if you’re looking for simple, practical, economical, reliable transportation, it’s one of the last vestiges for an able-bodied individual in a warm climate.
That 305 that I had for a few weeks was mine by accident. While in Okinawa I loaned a fellow Jar Head the money to buy it but payday came and went without him paying me so I took it and rode a few tanks of gas out of it until he paid me just in time to return home.I had grown up on Allstates, Cushmans, Harleys and British bikes and that Scrambler was the most fun bike that I ever rode. I can only guess that it would reach 80 mph based on acceleration up to about 45 which was the safe limit on the roads dodging Habus and skating across sand after a few Orions.
A few officers bought Hondas in Japan and shipped them home for free. A lieutenant bought several for a few hundred dollars. The exchange rate then was 360y/$.
Lol, if real men don’t ride bikes with electric start, then real men don’t drive cars with electric starters either!
I agree with comfortable and generally reliable
Basic transportation . . . no way
A LeSabre is not basic transportation
A Cobalt or Yaris would be basic transportation
Those terms definitely don’t apply to the Belgium 1942 Saroléa motorcycle Corey bought on Pawn Stars. Recent episode in my area. He is well known for having a “thing” for rare motorcycles. He paid $4300 for a bike that didn’t work. Later quoted $30K by a restorer shop to complete a restoration, high price due to scarcity of parts. Rick went ballistic … lol … but Corey got off the hook when it sold as-is for $7000 at a rare motorcycle auction.
My basic is more luxurious than your basic. I’m not a real man. Haha!
No, what I mean by basic is non specialized. Not a true luxury car, certainly not a sports car, and not an economy car. Doesn’t do anything the best, but does everything well. A “standard” sedan. A Cobalt or a Yaris, I doubt I could stand. A good old all around sedan is more my speed.
A friend bought a Honda scooter with a fluid drive of some kind. He swears some outrageous gas mileage and it is obviously powerful enough to keep up with city traffic. I don’t think I could deal with road rash these days like I did in 1962 when I bought my first bike. It would be fun to occasionally cruise around on rural roads on 2 wheels but I want to be ‘in’ something not ‘on’ something when dealing with traffic. Even a scooter is more than I would want to deal with as a daily driver.
And from 45 to 72 cubic inches the old Harleys would start for me on the second kick if not on the first all those years ago and I weighed 149 pounds when I got my license.