Listening to other Honda Shadow’s on the net I can hear the kick back sound so it’s not that.
Carb diagram, #'s 7 & 8. The pump housing is part of the bowl, #4.
The manual I posted earlier also only mentions a single carb (and the exploded diagrams show it behind the air cleaner housing, but still require pulling the tank to get at it). I think Excavating was just saying that HIS bike has two carbs, but his bike is the 1100cc version of my 750cc bike.
I have to say, I never thought to drain the carb on my bike. At the end of the season, I’d always put some Seafoam in the tank, top if off, ride around for a few minutes, park it in my garage, shut the fuel off and let the engine starve. Then I’d crank it a few more times and leave it at that.
I should have known better. I learned my lesson with my snow blower and make a point of draining the bowl on that. I’m going to have to go and see if it’s easily accessible on the bike.
Yes, it always makes that sound. I want to say that’s the starter disengaging, but I can’t say for sure…might make that sound every time I shut it off.
I was going to push start it at one point, which is easy since my driveway is sloped towards the road, but I knew if it didn’t start that would mean I’d have to push it back up and I really didn’t want to have to do that, and since it didn’t seem like a starter issue I didn’t try that.
I’ll pay closer attention next time I go play with it, but it won’t be tonight at this point. I do keep it on a battery tender. That’s not to say that there isn’t something wrong with the battery, but that first start should be good, I’d think.
No, I’ve tried, it doesn’t seem to matter how much I turn the throttle, it doesn’t make a difference. I also did spray some starting fluid down the air intake and it didn’t act any different either.
Regarding the starting fluid not doing anything when I spray it down the air intake, that doesn’t really narrow anything down. About the only thing it tells me is that it doesn’t have anything to do with the air intake itself since the housing was open and the filter was removed, so there weren’t any restrictions.
There are two “sub air filters” on this bike, but I don’t think they come into play at all in this case. From what I can tell, they just introduce outside air into the exhaust to help with emissions.
But, having said all that, I’d still like to pull the tank off (seems like something I should be able to do anyways) and see what I can see. I did grab a my siphon and some buckets so I’ll be able to empty it first.
To answer a previous question, it’s been on the charger for the past hour or so (but the light was still red, so not ‘fully’ charged).
It read 13.06v when it was off, dropped to 12.5v when I turned it on and then down to about 10.5 while the starter was cranking…then I didn’t notice that one of the probes had fallen out, so that’s why it quickly falls out (I was concerned about the 4.5, but I’ll chalk that up to the probe not making full contact as it was falling out.
From what I can tell, quickly reading, it looks like the Battery Tender I use intially charges the battery to 14.4v, then maintains it at 13.2v. I’ll double check the actual voltage the next time I see the light green.
Looks like a new battery is about a hundred dollars, so I’d prefer not to change this ‘just because’ if I don’t need to (unlike $10 worth or spark plugs)…actually, I see it’s closer to $35 on Amazon, so that’s different.
I wouldn’t be concerned with the batt. It sounded cock-strong in your video. 13v, 12.5v; both completely acceptable in this situation.
Everything points to a fuel/air -ultimately carburetion- issue. I’d put fresh fuel in there, say a prayer and light a few Jesus candles, then hit the button a few more times. If that works, be very thankful.
If it doesn’t, check air inlet / vent hoses. That’s simplest and requires no, to minimal, disassembly. Also, this condition (clogged vent) sounds plausible.
Oh, speaking of vents, open the fuel cap to equalize the pressure on both sides of the tank and then close it back. If the vent to the tank is clogged, it won’t (want to) run. I don’t think this is it, but it’s an easy check.
Ooooh, I didn’t think of opening the fuel tank, I’ll (try to remember to) do that next time, that would/might rule out some venting issues. Yes, I do think this is a fuel issue. I really don’t think this is electrical in nature. I doubt it’s issue, but i want to take a look at the plugs, and I might as well change them while I’m at them and it does crank plenty strong (to my untrained ear)…at least the first few times, then I throw it back on the tender for a few hours.
A simple clogged, collapsed, cracked hose that reveals itself when I pull the tank would be great, but I have a sneaking suspension it’s going to be a bit ‘deeper’ than that. Luckily, for better or for worse, I’m not really afraid to take things apart (but, with that, I know when I’m getting in over my head). Some cursory poking looking around under the tank with a flashlight didn’t reveal anything, but there’s a lot going on under there so it’s tough to tell. I think the fresh gas and removing the tank are my next step.
I keep forgetting (it was mentioned upthread as well) to open the tank after cranking it a few times to see if it’s drawing a vacuum. I’ll do it now, but I but unless it’s a 100% blockage (which the symptoms don’t point to), I’d be willing to bet any vacuum may have formed has since equalized.
Also, ISTM, before taking the carb apart, I should probably replace the fuel filter, simpler and quicker and even if it does nothing, it’s good basic maintenance (like the plugs and the air filter that I should probably do too).
Oh and I remember ‘back in the day’* I could just start a car, pull a random vacuum line (usually grabbed the one on the brake booster, since it was right there), stick it in the bottle of Seafoam and let it suck some up. Is that still the case? Can I find the/a vacuum line that runs to the carb (probably the emissions one I mentioned earlier) and stick it in a container of Seafoam while I try to start it to see if that might clear out some of the gunk?
*By ‘back in the day’ I mean 15 or so years ago when I was working on an early 70’s Ford.
Also, now that I think it’ll help since this didn’t start right off the bat, but I haven’t tried the full throttle trick for dealing with a flooded engine. Like I said, probably won’t help, but shouldn’t hurt.
Oh, vent (and overflow) hoses can be clogged at the very bottom, close to the road. I’d get on my back and shuffle under there with your flashlight to check the outlets of those hoses. Let us know what you find.
I think I’ll find a faceful of concrete. The bottom of the bike is just a few inches off the ground. I can, however, just reach under and feel them by hand (or use my phone/camera) to look. This (well not this exactly) was one of the reasons I mentioned getting a lift.
You can always check for vacuum leaks by spraying the motor with starting fluid after it starts. What’s puzzling is how easy it starts. It’s almost like the choke cable is disconnected. When my carbs were gummed up it would only run if I ran the rpm up on start.
This: http://www.aerostich.com/twinmax-synchronizer.html
Works beautifully. I used one for my BMW for years.
Does it have a fuel pump? Can you hear it running for a second or two after turning on the ignition?
I had just been reading this thread the other day. Then I went out to ride my Honda 2002 Sabre (V1100C2) and it wouldn’t start. It had been sitting for a couple weeks due to hurricane Matthew. It will fire, run for a second or two (when choked), and then die. It will repeat almost immediately, never running more than two seconds.
Anybody familiar with these knows that the fuel filter, fuel pump, and just about everything else having to do with the fuel/carb system is hard to get to. In fact, about the only thing I can do myself (I’m a healthy 66 YO, but no longer 30) is raise the fuel tank, disconnect the fuel line before the carb, and check that it’s getting fuel. (Theoretically, you need a lift to get to the filter and pump.)
Prior to my lifting the tank, does anyone have any other suggestions (i.e., things I should be prepared to check or tools I should have at hand)? I tried some generic “dry gas,” but no joy. Plenty of battery voltage available and it spins fine. For the moments it’s running, it sounds fine.
If it’s a carb problem, or anything else internal, I’ll have to do the mobile service ($$$) or get it trailered to a service shop ($$).
As a fellow motorcycle enthusiast, I would like to point out the one solution everyone is overlooking.
It’s time for another motorcycle!! Don’t you know that the proper equation for how many motorcycles you need is N+1, where N=the number you currently own?
Jeez, I thought everyone knew this. 
GREAT idea! I was actually thinking that I could sell the Sabre as needing some “minor” work and buy something similar for less than what it would cost me to fix it.
At least you could get to everything on a Yamaha or Triumph 650 twin.
Just to be rather nonconformist about this one, I thought I’d throw some discussion back in the other direction.
It could be that you’ve got one cyclinder firing (and possibly only on that one plug you found was good) and the other cyclinder (or the other three plugs) are crapped out from improper storage.
I haven’t heard of Seafoam. I winterized my old motorcycles (a Suzuki VX800 and a Kawasaki KZ550) by pouring Marvel Mystery Oil into the plug holes and then leaving it alone during my year-long absence. The MMO prevents the piston and cylinder from seizing when they’re not being used for long periods.
Just check with the bike or plug manufacturer; you might need be an 18mm spark plug socket rather than a fractional-inch size. For that matter, did your bike come with a little bundle of tools? You’d find them in a little compartment underneath the seat or under the pillion (passenger) seat. Or you could get a replacement set from any dealership. The point is that the set will tend to have wrenches and allen wrenches in the sizes needed for that bike, plus a spark plug tool made specifically to fit those plugs and reach far enough into the piston’s plug-well to do the job right. I actually have the 18mm spark plug socket that fits my bike but I found the spark plug tool that came with the bike does a better job of reaching in and doing the job properly.
Check ALL your plugs. After all the failed attempts to get the bike to start, I’d be surprised if the plugs aren’t coated with oil and fuel. If they’re fouled and/or wet, they won’t fire properly. Check all your spark plug lines, too; lack of use may have allowed them to dry out and crack and fail to transmit electrical pulses properly.
For your basic oil-changes and such you only need a wheel-lift, rather than a bike lift. The wheel lift will also stabilize the bike vertically so you can easily walk around the bike and check the oil level window without having to simultaneously try to balance it.
Don’t just drain your tank. Take it off the bike, drain it, plug the lines, and toss a pint of fresh fuel in there. Swish it around – particularly vigorously around the narrow end where the petcock connects – and dump the solution out through the filler hole. You’re trying to make sure there’s no particulate or slime or sludge blocking the valves.
That’s all I can think of (that hasn’t been suggested by others).
Good luck!
–G!
I haven’t forgot about this yet.
Few things:
I never did check the vents.
I did check for spark, not at the plugs but at the end of all the wires. All four wires do have power.
I did pull the plugs, they are dirty/fouled, but I couldn’t tell you if they’re fouled because the engine isn’t running or they other way around. Either way, I picked up new plugs. I’m going to do eveything all at once. Plugs, clean the jets and put in new fuel.
I saw a mention of a new bike up thread. I had to go to the bike shop to get the plug socket, while I was there I saw a bike that was identical to mine but I think it was a 2016 and about a thousand dollars less than I paid for mine (so maybe it was a few years old). For a second I considered asking them what mine was worth and trading it in.
So, anyways. I pulled the tank, found the carb drain and drained the gas. BTW, gas will melt right through the bottom a Solo cup. Then I poured seafoam into the fuel hose, cranked the starter a few times, topped it back off with seafoam and let it sit overnight. A few hours ago I drained the Seafoam out. I’m not sure what I expected, but since it drained back out the same color it went in, I figured I should pull the jets out and clean those.
As of right now, I have the carb half pulled away from the bike because I didn’t want to pull the coolant lines off of it. This is where I’m currently stuck, three if the screws for the bowl loosened just fine and the last one, way in the back stripped (the head, not the threads). Tomorrow I’ll see if I can find some grinding compound or something to help me get get a better grip on what’s left of the head. If not I’ll have to pull the carb all the way out so I can flip it over and just cut a slot in it for a flat screwdriver or see if I can grab it with a pliers. But at that point I may just put it back together and revisit it next year before I start to forget where all the parts go.
Oh, and now that I know where the carb drain is, I’ll have to see if I can reach it with the bike assembled. I assume it’s possible with a long screwdriver and some tubing, but it’s buried behind the air cleaner (which requires pulling the tank to remove).
It sounds like you’re on the right track, and looking at the video, my guess is that the bike needed a little more gas at and just off of idle.
Back when I was a motorcycle mechanic I never worked on a ‘make run’ without first refilling the tank with fresh gas (or topping up if the tank was almost empty) and draining the carburetor float bowls. It seemed to us at the time that the transistor controlled ignitions in bikes just weren’t strong enough or didn’t spark long enough to fire off old gas. It worked well enough in our cars, but it was a headache in the bikes.
Gas at the time was also terrible about clogging the pilot jets. A 750 twin will have bigger jets, but it wasn’t uncommon for a four cylinder or smaller bike to clog its pilot jets within a month of sitting in summer heat or if the bike was left to sit through the winter. A lot of the time the bikes would still idle somewhat off of the pilot jets, but a lot of times they wouldn’t and they would at least have trouble accelerating off of idle or running at low throttle.
Also, the big twins of the time (750cc and up, I mostly worked on Yamahas) all tended to spit on acceleration until the engine had warmed up for a few minutes. I think that the EPA at the time was dictating leaner idle mixtures than the carburetors of the time could manage well.
(On edit, hope I’m not being an ass to say this, but I don’t think that those carbs have an accelerator pump, and working the throttle with the bike not running doesn’t do anything.)
In case the need ever arises ----- if you have an excess of old styrofoam and a little left-over gas you can make a heck of a home-made napalm. Just dissolve the foam to saturation and be as creative as you wish from there. 
Carb’s out. Here’s the screw I wrecked. Looks like I’m going to have to pick up a Dremel to get that out.
