Motorcycle Repair: shadow wont start, honda shadow, airbox

Question
hi mark I have a 85 honda shadow 700, it run great last year but this year I can't seem to get her to start, I did get her once to barely idle for about 15 sec. before she died.
I replaced plugs and put in a new battery.
also in the airbox I notice fuel spitting in

Answer
Hi Ray, Being in the used bike buz, I can almost guarantee you The carbs  need to be cleaned. What happens is, there are very small jets called slow or pilot jets. The size of these holes is so small its almost hard to even see light through them, however IS possible when they are clean. These need to be free of any debris or dries up fuel because the engine relies on this fuel to stay at an idle. This is one of the most common things gone wrong after a long winter of sitting in stale fuel.

Hope this helps!

~Mark