Motorcycle Repair: 1983 honda shadow, fuel pump relay, jumper wire

Question
I have a shadow that I am bringing back to life, I am having a fuel pump problem.If I hook it up straight to the battery with a jumper wire the bike runs good. I if I have the fuel pump relay hooked up the pump fails to fill the carbs and bike will eventually die for no gas.I don't understand what the relay is for? or how it works? If I take the hot wire that is going to the relay plug in and jump it straight to the fuel pump it still runs out of gas. The only way the bike runs is if I go straight from the battery. DO I have a wiring problem as far as the hot wire going to the relay? I tested it and there is juice going through it but not enough to run the fuel pump if it is hooked straight up( Bypassing the relay) Why is this?
Thanks if you could help me diagnose this and explain the how the relay is supposed to work and its purpose I would appreciate it

Answer
Randy, the relay is a safety device that keeps the fuel pump from continuing to pump fuel if the engine isn't running.  Like when the bike tips over or in an accident.  The relay gets power through a fuse and from the ignition circuit to trigger the relay to close.  I've by passed those relays before but they're pretty easy to find on ebay and don't cost too much.  If you're in a pinch you can hot wire the fuel pump to the black and white wire going to the ignition spark boxes.  That way, when you push the kill switch it cuts voltage to the fuel pump too.

Regards
Rich