[apbling]

So, I got my nearly stock 93 VT 1100...

What can I do to it? :mrgreen:

I've already got the cobra pipes. Is there anything else that alot of people do for mods? I already say the chrome covers for the switch housings, shaft and different hand levers... I didn't see any options for an intake though?

Any suggestions? Any other parts site than Dennis Kirk?

 

[Dunesgirl]

You can do nearly anything to it when money is no option. :mrgreen:

There is no intake modifications I know of except for the drop in K&N air filter, but combine that and your Cobra pipes, you WILL need to rejet to have the bike run properly.

Other suggestions? It's your bike, and without knowing what kind of look/feel/ride you're going for, can't help ya.

Here are some other sites to look at if you want:

J&P Cycles
Cruiser Customizing
Scootworks
eBay Motors
www.bikebandit.com

PS. Ebay is my favorite.

 

[oconeedan]

Those blue pipes indicate you may be running lean.

There is no limit to what you can do to your bike if you want to spend the money and time on it.

I would start with floor boards and saddlebags.

Dan

 

[apbling]

I already have some leather ones, but took them off for cleaning. As for the blueing, alot of it came off (after pic was taken) when I polished them. On my old bikes when you were running lean, they would backfire on de-acceleration and have fuel starvation issues. So far, this bike has none of that. Not even a flutter of a pop on de-accel, and the plugs that came out looked good...even rich maybe. I chalked it up to maybe cheap pipes? I am not sure if the original owner adjusted the pilots at all. The mains seem ok. She pulls really hard and doesn't miss a beat at WOT.

As for my style... I'd like to keep a clean look to it... But I'd like to maybe add a temp gauge, tach, oil pressure gauge etc. Some chrome pieces would be cool. Maybe some LED lights... I was looking at some seats on DK and I really really like the smaller, one piece seats that are kind of a clean, minimal look... But, my wife already doesn't like that idea. She likes the backrest and cushy seat.

I thought I saw a fake hypercharger around somehwere...maybe that was a different year?

Parts Unlimited Flame Stitch Predator Seat - DennisKirk.com

 

[-AJ]

there are many things you can do to it.
windshield, saddlebags, chrome accessories, seats, crash bars, floorboards, the list could go on forever.....

 

[Spool]

Those Cobra pipes will blue even if you're not running lean. They are very thin walled and don't take the heat well.

As for mods, a few have switched to a VTX headlight. It's a good look on the Shadow.

 

[iamcmf]

perhaps a small sledgehammer to the sides of the gas tank? That and some cheap rustoleum paint can make for some 1 of customizing! LOL..sorry, early morning back to work humor..

 

[93gc40]

I already have some leather ones, but took them off for cleaning. As for the blueing, alot of it came off (after pic was taken) when I polished them. On my old bikes when you were running lean, they would backfire on de-acceleration and have fuel starvation issues. So far, this bike has none of that. Not even a flutter of a pop on de-accel, and the plugs that came out looked good...even rich maybe. I chalked it up to maybe cheap pipes? I am not sure if the original owner adjusted the pilots at all. The mains seem ok. She pulls really hard and doesn't miss a beat at WOT.

If the pipes are single wall and thin, they are going to blue. But, FWI, On a shadow Running Lean does not always include decel popping. The decel pops come from a Lean Idle circuit in the carb. Your shadow DOES NOT "run" on this circuit. At speed the bike is running on the main jets and needle. It is possible to be rich or lean on the Main jet circuit, and that have little to no affect on the idle circuit and vise versa.

 

[apbling]

iamcmf- Hey now, thats a good idea...haha. I've seen enough of that with my old KZ's. Guy buys one, mods the heck outta it, makes "knee notches" in his gas tank, puts clubman bars on, rattle can the whole thing, puts on his converse shoes and calls it a cafe racer... sorry, not my thing!

93gc40- good point on the pilot vs mains. Wouldn't I notice some on WOT or white color on the plugs though if I was running lean on the main jets?

Also, I saw some chrome neck covers... Looks like these go just under the front of the tank... From the tiny little pic I saw they looked cool. Any experiences?

Also looking at some chrome radiator covers. Nothing wild, but just chrome look. Any ones to be aware of?

 

[93gc40]

93gc40- good point on the pilot vs mains. Wouldn't I notice some on WOT or white color on the plugs though if I was running lean on the main jets?

QUOTE]


Maybe... Might not be out of adjustment enough to affect "feel" but still out enough to burn the pipes. Some pipes tend to blue no matter what. Just wanted to point out there are multiple carb circuits, and that they can have independant affects. With all the mandated additives in gas these days, spark plugs are NOT a reliable indicator. About to only way to get reliable plug readings is with fresh plugs and condition specific sampling.

 

[Indiana_Dan]

blue pipes

I think most of the blue is due to the thin wall cobra pipes. I have nearly the same bike, and the same pipes, and mine are very blue. I might be running a bit lean, but not by much. After I put the baffles back in the pipes, the decel pop got a lot better. Still pops a little, but not much. I put the baffles back in because I like my neighbors I fire my baby up at 5:45am every morning to ride to work! With the baffles the cobra pipes are very loud, without them it was obnoxiously loud

The cobra pipes were installed by the PO. The original pipes came with the bike, and I have been debating putting them back on, but I'm not sure if he rejetted the carbs when he changed the pipes...

Future plans for my bike:
New bars. The PO put short bars on it, I would prefer a more relaxed stance.
Light bar for the front.
Luggage rack and small bags.
floor boards and heel / toe shift (if possible)

And maybe a wind shield. I prefer the looks without it, but Memphis Shades sells some pretty good looking shields so I'm still on the fence on this one...

Good luck with your bike!
Later,

 

[markspike]

Get rid of those dammed ugly tires and get a good set of Metzeler ME880's!:mrgreen::wink:

 

[apbling]

Dan- nice bike you got there. I see you have the blinker grills. How do you like them?

My bike also came with the stock pipes, but I have no plans on putting them back on. I'm not sure if my cobras have the baffles in them or not... I didn't look that close. I know it's very loud right now...which is what I've dreamed about having since I was a little guy....I fire mine up at 7, so not toooo bad. I'm easy on the throttle too...at least until I'm in the country.

How do the baffles attach in the cobra pipes? I didn't see a mounting location. To tell you the truth, I'm not even 100% sure if I have cobras, but they look the closet to what I got and the heat shields and mounts look identical to the ones picture online...but I have yet to see any stamping anywhere on my pipes.

hehe, what's so ugly about the tires? the letter, tread or white wall stripe?? (they'll go next year...not a ton of tread left on them)

 

[Spool]

Dan- nice bike you got there. I see you have the blinker grills. How do you like them?

My bike also came with the stock pipes, but I have no plans on putting them back on. I'm not sure if my cobras have the baffles in them or not... I didn't look that close. I know it's very loud right now...which is what I've dreamed about having since I was a little guy....I fire mine up at 7, so not toooo bad. I'm easy on the throttle too...at least until I'm in the country.

How do the baffles attach in the cobra pipes? I didn't see a mounting location. To tell you the truth, I'm not even 100% sure if I have cobras, but they look the closet to what I got and the heat shields and mounts look identical to the ones picture online...but I have yet to see any stamping anywhere on my pipes.

hehe, what's so ugly about the tires? the letter, tread or white wall stripe?? (they'll go next year...not a ton of tread left on them)

They certainly look like the Cobra drag pipes I had on my bike. There are no markings on mine except the rear mount on the top pipe, the part number is stamped into that tab. 1270 if I remember correctly. The baffles mount by sliding into the pipe, then there is one screw that holds them in place. Sort of on the bottom of the pipe closer to the frame side. You can easily see the baffles just by looking into the end of the pipe.

If you don't have baffles the Cobra's are obnoxiously loud. Headache inducing loud. With the baffles in they don't have a very deep sound and are rather tinny sounding. I personally hate the Cobra's and installed a Vance and Hines Pro Pipe on my bike. Way better sound in my opinion.

 

[Indiana_Dan]

baffles

Dan- nice bike you got there. I see you have the blinker grills. How do you like them?

My bike also came with the stock pipes, but I have no plans on putting them back on. I'm not sure if my cobras have the baffles in them or not... I didn't look that close. I know it's very loud right now...which is what I've dreamed about having since I was a little guy....I fire mine up at 7, so not toooo bad. I'm easy on the throttle too...at least until I'm in the country.

How do the baffles attach in the cobra pipes? I didn't see a mounting location. To tell you the truth, I'm not even 100% sure if I have cobras, but they look the closet to what I got and the heat shields and mounts look identical to the ones picture online...but I have yet to see any stamping anywhere on my pipes.

hehe, what's so ugly about the tires? the letter, tread or white wall stripe?? (they'll go next year...not a ton of tread left on them)

Spool is correct, you can easily see the baffles from the end of the pipes. If you look into the end of the pipe, and all you see is pipe, then the baffles have been pulled There is one bold that holds them in, about 6 or 8 inches from the end of the pipe, on the frame side, is a 1/4" or so hole for the bolt...

I don't see any markings on my pipes, but the box they came in say "Cobra Boulavard", and they look just like yours. Except mine are a lot more blue I haven't looked for the "model number" stamp, but it isn't obvious.

If you change your bars give me a shout, I would like to go back to the stock bars

Time to go for a ride,
Later,

 

[apbling]

Will do. I'll take a look at mine. See, I obsolutely love the loud pipe sound. My buddy has a 1500 vulcan with VH pipes and it sounds good.

I just took mine for a spin and I noticed the blueing is progressing down the pipe a bit. Not as bad as yours, but worse than the pic shows. Maybe I'll look into going up a main jet size. If these carbs use the main jet I think they do, I actually have a bunch laying around from a buddies bike and my old 1980 Kawasaki 750.

 

[Big John]

I always hated the chrome radiator covers. It is not the slickest looking radiator. I don't see the point in drawing attention to it.

The nice thing is that just about any part will go from one model and year 1100 shadow to a different one with little to no modification. By the time I was done with my 87 vt1100c (spirit) it had parts from 87 to 2000's shadows and had parts from Spirit, ACE and Sabre on it. (I was about to add the bags and brackets from a Tourer and the fairing from a Harley when I sold it).

It went from

to

Have fun with it.

 

[apbling]

I was wondering if the ACE, aero and sabre had interchangable parts. Looks like some might have had chrome case covers, whereas mine are aluminum. I'd love to go with the chrome... IMHO chrome is easier to clean and shine and looks better.

And I hate the round cover on both sides that says V-twin.

 

[Collector]

Chop that sucker. 'Nuff said.

Collector

 

[Kingshead]

Welcome to the horde.

I say bob the hiell out of it.

We like our pictures big.