Newbie to riding!

[Turkeyman]

Hey,
New to this forum so hello. Also new to riding in general and I had some question for you veteran's of the sport. I am looking at an 84 shadow 500. The guy wants to trade for my atv. Here is the add if anyone is interested in having a look.

1984 Honda Shadow 500cc. - Ontario Street Motorcycles, Cruisers, Choppers For Sale - Kijiji Ontario Canada.

My question to you all is about the 84 shadow. Is it a good bike to buy? I really like the looks of it, especially the old ones. I wanna go look at it this weekend, if all goes well probly get it. Any good advise of things to look at? Any typical mechanical issues with the bike? If how what ndo I need to look at.
Thanks guys, hope to hear from some of you soon.

[coreenleann]

Welcome from Missouri!! Sorry I can't give any advice, I don't know nuthin'. Maybe someone else will chime in for you.

[joe in calif]

Your in Canada and prices are higher there but that sounds HIGH for that old of a bike. Remember it's 28 years old and parts might be hard to come by.

[Turkeyman]

I know it's highway Robery! Iv looked on kijiji and there doesn't seem to much under 1500 that I would wanna buy even being 28 years old. I am trading my atv for it on a straight trade, its an 87 yami warrior. I gotta call my dealer and see about getting parts. I'm just hoping to get some advice on what to look for to tell if there is a problem mechanically. Things like fork seals? Driveshaft? Ect.
Thanks guys

[Turkeyman]

Oh and btw thanks for the welcoming

[lazyboy]

Welcome to the forum! The price seems high but if it is mint and you like it,take it to a bike shop and have it checked out!

[KPAero]

Welcome from NJ. I woulx not buy anything that is more than 10 years older. However well maintained it might be. I am just not comfortable forking out money for bike older than 10 years. Thats just. Me.


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[SuperboyX]

Welcome to the Forum.

[Espiritus]

Well, I haven't had alot of personal experience with the '85 500, but it seems to me in the back of my mind that there was an issue with the shaft drive splines on them. They have carburetors which I like AFTER I get them cleaned, synchronized and generally working correctly. Those jets gum up pretty quick. Try "mechanic in a bottle" if you need to try to ungum them.

Those old bikes are very easy to work on. There might have been a petcock vacuum issue, but it probably has been resolved. Also, seem to think there was a first gear issue with that year. Do a google search for issues and I am sure there are lots of posts about common problems and repairs.

All old bikes should have their fork seals checked, compression checked, check the regular oil and shaft hypoid. When was it changed last? If you can, go to the Yamaha xs11 forum and look for a thread (might me a permanent one) about what to check on an old bike prior to buying it. I seem to think it was a pretty detailed list of what and how to check, starting with the BRAKES. . .

I'd sure check for frame integrity with all that northern salt.

All those older bikes were extremely well balanced. Buy a manual for easy instructions on all the basic repair things. Just remember to have FUN with it!

[Turkeyman]

Thanks for the reply. Ya I don't wanna buy any garbage, I really don't feel like fixing it all the time. Thanks for the info, it's still worth checking it out as I'm trading it. I'll let ya know how it goes.
Thanks