Vincent Black Shadow and C bikes having 1⅛" Amal 289 carburettors and Series D bikes having 1⅛" Amal Type 389/10 units. While other contemporary motorcycles tended to be polished and chromed, founder Philip Conrad Vincent (PCV) decreed that the Black Shadow engine itself be black. The engine's signature colour was achieved by applying a "pyluminising" coating of chromate anti-corrosion primer over which a layer of Pinchin & Johnson black enamel was added. The part was then baked in an oven for 2 hours at . Although some have claimed that the black finish increased the rate of heat rejection from the engine, its
Vincent Black Shadow use Ferodo's MR41 linings, which was new on the Shadows. The primary instrumentation on Series B and Series C Black Shadows is a Smiths chronometric speedometer that from 1949 on was a large unit mounted almost vertically. Speedometers on domestic models are calibrated up to 150 mph, while export models are fitted with a 240 kph equivalent. Series D Black Shadows do not use the 5 inch speedometer but rather a 150 mph version of the ordinary S576/L instrument. While the Series B Rapide was not designed to be a racer, PCV felt that steady improvement was necessary and drew