84 VT700 Issue upon issue

[CtJim]

Over the summer I got a good deal on an 84 Shadow. Previous owner said it had acceleration problems he thought was related to fuel. Basically the bike bogs down when you get on the gas. As it was the end of summer I've been slowly tried to find out the issue. I have a downloaded copy of the owners manual.

First thing I did was bought a new battery, plugs, fuel pump, and fuel filter. Then took apart down to the carbs. Carbs were clean. While putting it together noticed a crimped fuel line and adjusted it, no luck. Thought maybe it was ignition related. Tested the coils and they came up bad. Replaced coils and wires. While taking it out for a spin to test the coils it died on me and wouldn't start. Let it sit, it started and died. Had it towed home.

Put it on a charger and it fired right up. Before I started it the voltage on the battery was 12.65 volts. With it idling it dropped to 12.41. At 4000 RPM went up to 13.4 volts. I assumed the rectifier or stator was bad.

Tested the rectifier, yellow to green and yellow to red/white, no continuity. It appears the rectifier is bad. I want to check the stator but the previous owner did the 3 wire fix. Is there a way to check the stator without taking the wires apart?

Could a bad rectifier/stator cause it to bog down?

[vonh]

Sounds more like a fuel problem to me. Rebuild the carbs again and check the gas filter again for crap!! If its dirty drain and try new gas. 13.4 volts @ 4k seems fine to me. And check for any loose wires from the work you just did, might be you didn't tighten something properly. thats where i'd start. Clean carb and plugged jet = won't go or won't go properly. Old bikes can have crud in the gas tank and reserve you might have to drain and flush both to get it to work properly I know this from first hand experience.

[jpr1968]

Voltage seems ok. You need to seperate the wires from the stator to R/R to check the stator. Use this troubleshooting guide for checking charging circuit--http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/diagnosis-center. What do the sparkplugs look like.

[Ramie]

check out threads on the 3 yellow wire mod, it can cause problems.