QuestionI own a 1984 Honda Shadow vt700c with 12k on it (very very clean) Question, my bike in lower RPMs stumbles a lot all of a sudden in the past few days, when its out of gear when you wrap on the gas it stumbles, same when starting from a stop and when shifting gears. I just added some fuel treatment yesterday with the jet fuel in it and no change, so what do I need to look for and what steps do I need to take to solve this problem ! It's my only mode of transportaion !
AnswerHi Jason.
Whether by choice or circumstance we are both in the catagory of "hard core" biker and need the bike running at all times, so I understand where you are coming from.
That bike should have had at least 6 carb synchs done on it in the past 20 years. Chances are it's way overdue. Probably could use the valves being done as well, but it seems like it's not critical yet. Check the cam chain tension as well. The ignition coils may be bginning to fail, so check them against the specs in the repair manual and look for shorts in the ignition system wiring. Double check the connections and contacts for the ignition switch as well.
Since the bike is your only transport, my guess is that it does not spend time in seasonal storage. It may, however, have done that before you got it, so it may need the carbs properly cleaned out.
Since the valves and cam chain need to be done with the engine cold, I suggest doing that on a weekend morning after the bike has set overnight. The carbs can be pulled and cleaned over a couple of hours, so you could do both on the same day, just dedicate a day to the job.
Good luck.
FALCON
