QuestionI have a 1985 honda shadow 500vt, I can't seem to find a lever or anyghing to release to remove the seat, and yesterday while I was riding my bike started to run on one cylinder, then after a few seconds the second cylinder would kick in, it never did this before, I remover the plugs today and they look fine.
AnswerGail, this was a puzzling question as the normal resources I use for illustrations:
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/honda-motorcycle-vt500c-1985/o/m171...
http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-vt500c-shadow-500-1985-us_model7641/partslist/F++1502...
show only the seat and not the way it attaches.
http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-vt500c-shadow-500-1985-us_model7641/partslist/F++25.h... shows two bolts facing forwards, at the middle of the backrest. Those could be your connection bolts.
I did find a bottom view photo on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SEAT-FROM-1984-HONDA-SHADOW-VT500C-VT500-VT-500-C...
but it doesn't show me much else. It does show that there is a forward hook for the front of the seat, but I am having to guess that the seat is bolted down, probably at the rear, near the rear sissybar/backrest. Honda seats either release with the key/helmet holder or they are bolted down from the end or the sides and sometimes underneath. Gently tug around the sides and rear of the seat, looking/feeling for where it is anchored. You MAY need allen wrenches to remove it, as I have seen that on some Honda cruiser models.
Here is a clue I found on the web....
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.motorcycles/2005-09/msg01501.htm...
If you get that far, then pull the seat backwards, to unlatch it from the front mount.
As far as the intermittent miss.... you have 4 spark plugs with wire connectors that have resistors in them, so all of those should be checked for resistance values around 5k ohms. You have 2 carburetors, which could have caught up some water or other contaminates that are floating back and forth in the float bowls. You might want to find the drain screws and drain both carbs, to be sure that there is nothing but fuel inside.
You have two pulse generators, down by the flywheel, which generate a weak signal to the spark control unit. If there are loose connections or one of the pulse coils are on the way out, then you could have one affected cylinder. Watch your tachometer, as Honda often uses one of the ignition coils to generate a signal to the tachometer. If the tachometer starts fluctuating, then that coil could have a loose connection or isn't getting a good signal from the ignition module or the coil is breaking down.
Bill Silver
