Here's the one I'm thinking of at the mo. XVS1100. I'm not sure if I prefer the classic or the normal one (as below) The new Honda 500 customs look nice and manageable, and with Honda reliability etc, but I think for me part of the attraction is that V-twin rumble...
My only real concern is vision from such a low seating position. Any comments in this regard appreciated.

A great machine ,reliable etc .Its down to taste but I did not click with the classic . A friend has a great condition 2009 vn 900 custom in black for sale less than 4K on the clock ,he's looking at 2750 Ono .

With regards to vision you just adjust accordingly .Not a problem .

Ah thanks Ferret.
Your mates VN sounds great but I want to shunt the CBF in (see garage posting) part-ex. so I'd rather use a dealer providing I can get a reasonable deal.

If you go for a drag star there is one mod I must recommend ,that being the fitting of some R1 front calipers as this really improves the stopping distance . The rear shaft drive only needs minimal maintaince but on every tyre change it is advised to grease the splines on the shaft . I put 60k plus on mine never missed a beat and the plastic chrome still looked good .

It sounds like a good recommendation. I've fancied a Dragstar for a couple of years now so maybe nows the time. I see there's also an external filter mounting available so you don't have to remove the offside exhaust to change the oil filter.
I suppose partly it's about me overcoming prejudices, such as when I finally bought my TMax.
PS I would check and grease the splines as a matter of course on a shaftie (used to have a Deauville)

Looked at a VN800 not far from me today, and a Honda Shadow, in lovely nick. I might go and look at the Shadow tomorrow morning all being well, see if I can get a decent part-ex. deal for the CBF.

The shadow is a great little bike ,but lacks a shaft or belt final drive ,unless you can pick up a import or the 600 version . I had a 700 shadow it was a USA import and basically a duevale in custom cloths .

Well, I test rode the Shadow this morning, and I have to say it was a lovely looking bike in great nick and I was ready to buy it despite a pretty poor offer on the CBF. Trouble was it felt awful to ride. Every imperfection in the road came through and the steering felt horrible. Nice otherwise, reasonable comfort, enough power, corners ok. Maybe if I'd ridden it further I would have eventually bonded, but I just couldn't imagine riding it any distance.
I then went and took the VN800 out for a ride. it had a custom paint job and looked really nice. Better steering and more power than the Honda, but almost no brakes and a horrible rattle from the nearside casing. The dealer said he thought it sounded like balancer shaft chain and would be fixed before it was sold..
I ended up at my old dealer and test rode a 2013 XJ600S Diversion with 2,000 miles on the clock. Lovely bike to ride, nice and smooth, nice handling, good brakes etc. Left a deposit on it, will collect early next week.

The xj6 is a great bike and works really well ,but you will need to keep on top of keeping it corrosion protected as its gonna be out all year . Enjoy