Let’s jump into another “how to” post! Above is today’s patient a 1997 Honda Shadow, a great riding 1100cc v-twin that while still running very well, needed a little tweaking. These motorcycles came from the factory with the carburetors set up toward the lean end of the spectrum for emissions reasons. This led to some drivability issues on some of them, when you combine the original lean jetting with a set of drag pipes, and 17 years of ethanol contamination it was running mighty lean indeed. The engine had a tendency to run hot, hesitate on acceleration, and frequent backfiring on deceleration. So I am going to pull the carbs off, clean them up a bit and install a Dynojet Research jet kit in them. To hear what this bike sounds like before the carb tuning click here go to my youtube channel.
First get the bolt out of the rear of the passenger seat.
Then remove the 2 from beneath the drivers seat one on either side
Lift it up and set it out of the way.
Locate the petcock and shut off the fuel.
Remove the bolt at the rear of the tank,
and the other one at the front of the tank.
Disconnect the fuel line from the petcock.
afterwards lift the tank high enough to remove this vent hose from the bottom
After you have removed the gas tank and placed it in a safe location this is what you should see.
The yellow plastic container is there to catch any oil that happens to emanate from the crankcase ventilation system, so unbolt it,
pull the hoses loose, and set it out of the way.
Next loosen the hose clamps on the rubber piping that leads from the frame to the inlet of the carburetors.
Now we can finally see the carbs!
Time to remove the throttle cables, remove the 2 screws (indicated by arrows) and you will be able to get the cables out of the pulley on the end of the butterfly shaft.
The cold start enrichener is next. These 2 little plungers take the place of choke flaps on the most of the last production carbureted motorcycles. Instead of blocking the air they just add more gas. It works well but is a bit more aggravating to remove. I used to have a special home made tool for getting these out but it has been at least 10 years since I saw it last so I just you whatever combination of open wrench & needle nose pliers that allows me to remove & reinstall them without boogering them up.
Here I am holding one of the enrichment plungers so you can see what it looks like on the inside.
Go around to the right side of the bike and pull the hoses in this tee junction that was connected to the crankcase vent reservoir and fold them back out of the way.
The rear spark plug wire runs through a loom that is attached to the right carburetor so remove it and the enrichener on this side.
You can reach under the carbs now & loosen the clamps holding the carbs to the spigots.
With a rocking and twisting motion you should be able to pop the carburetors loose, but dont rush to pull them up out of the frame just yet.
Before you try to pull them all the way out remove all of the fuel lines and vent hoses, being sure to note which hose goes to which barb.
These carbs come out of the top, just tilt them up sideways and turn them as needed, this is actually much easier than most Japanese cruisers of the same time period that require you to remove the carbs from the side.
Here are the carbs sitting on the workbench ready for cleaning. The next step is into the parts washer to get all of the exterior crud off for dis-assembly.
Keep checking back as I will be posting part 2 of this series very soon.
Peace Y’all
Part 2 of this how to article is up & you can reach it by clicking here.
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