Motorcycle Repair: starting problems, honda shadow vt700, spark plug wires

Question
Last night My 86' Honda Shadow VT700 which has never had any starting problems before was inadvertently subjected to roughly an hour or two of rainfall. Earlier today when I attempted to start the bike it would not start until a shot of starter fluid was used. It let off a very loud backfire and I assumed, that it was just shaking off the effects of the rain. I rode it about 10 miles to my destination and it seemed slightly sluggish. I tried to start it again and it turns over but will not start. Are there any known weaknesses to rain with my model you know of or any idea what might likely have been affected? Thank you.

Answer
Mike, I would get some compressed air blown in around the handlebar switches (KILL SWITCH) and any other vulnerable electical connections first. After that, I would pull the spark plug wires and check down inside for trapped moisture that is causing arcing of the coil outputs to ground.

Cranking it w/o it starting up flooded the engine. Starter fluid is highly inflammable so went off when it got a whiff of spark, causing big explosion.....

Any 16 year old bike will have some issues dealing with being out in a heavy rain or going through the carwash wands.

Bill