New 86 VT1100C owner

[shineycrab]

Hi fellow Shaodow owners.

I just bought an 86 VT1100C Shadow, w/ 23 K miles on it; I upgraded from an 82 Nighthawk 450. From what I gather, these are pretty reliable bikes. Mine ran fine for the first 40 miles....then the fuel pump crapped out. Its running fine now with the new fuel pump. I like to keep a small stock of "problem parts" or hard-to-find parts on hand, just in case, like a spare starter or relay, switches etc. Do you experts have any suggestions as to what I should keep an eye out for based on known failure items?

Thanks in advance, Dave

[callmeal]

Remove the rear wheel and make sure the splines have grease on them. Very easy to do especially with the centerstand.

Change final drive gear oil, only takes a few ounces.

If it gets hard to start, clean the engine cutoff switch.

The only spare parts I keep on hand are an oil filter and a H4 headlight.

85 vt1100

[trekrider]

shineycrab, WELCOME to the club!

Are you SURE the fuel pump crapped out??
I bought my Shadow 3 1/2 years ago with 20k miles on it. Early last year, while riding round the block she gave out, just sputtered twice, then died! She had a full tank of fresh fuel. A (knowledgeable) friend tracked it down to a faulty "fuel cutoff re-lay".
Two posts to read on the topic: http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/vie...hlight=#773099

The work around:
http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/vie...hlight=#610626

You may want to check it out, hate to see you get stranded thinking it's a bad pump again!

trek

[shineycrab]

Hi callmeal and trekrider

Thanks for the tips. Will check the rear wheel and drive for sure.
100% sure it was the fuel pump....put it on a bench and applied power....nothing! She's running good now w/ a new pump!