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Hello from Katy

Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
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Location
Katy, Republic of Texas
First Name
Nolan
Hello all! :wave:

I just bought a '94 Shadow VT1100.
I have been out of riding for over 20 years (just realized I actually quit riding around the time this bike was made, how ironic).

I had a few little things to work out on the bike though.
The biggest one is previous owner had added some aux lights and wired them up wrong. They had wired them to get power to a 3 way switch (they are hi/lo aux lights) totally wrong. They had 2 power wires to the switch, one in the correct center pole (from low beam headlight), but then had wired a hot from the left front running light to the low beam pole on the switch. :doh:
Needless to say the fuse for the headlight blew, but the low beam still worked due to feedback in the wiring. But the lights would turn off when the left turn signal was turned on. :eek2:
Then for some reason, they took apart the headlight switch and the contact fell out of it. :confused:
I got the Aux light wired correctly with it's own relay and fuse and replaced the headlight fues, but I had no headlight due to the missing contact in the switch. I have done a hard splice in the switch to just have a low beam, but still have no hi beam. Need to find a replacement switch for that.

Other than that though, bike seems to be in great shape and runs and rides very well.
I have already done an oil and filter change (old oil filter was dented), changed the shaft drive fluid, and changed the brake and clutch fluid. Still need to do the coolant. Pulled the plugs and they are new (previous owner said the bike had just been services, carbs cleaned and such).

I need to get it inspected (not sure if it will pass with no main hi beam, but the aux lights have a hi setting?) and registered still.

I will be needing new tires soon due to their age (tires are 7 years old, but have great tread), probably come spring time.
Current tires are Dunlop 404, which don't seem to have good reviews. I am looking at probably some Shinko 777 or 230 tires, maybe some Perilli M66.


Here is the bike in the driveway right after I got it home.
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It has a few extras that I think made it a great deal for me. It has a windshield, Mustang seat, back rest, rear rack and aux light bar, all of which I would want to add anyway.
It also has a mini crash bar with highway pegs (not something I would add, but probably will not take off) and some passanger floorboards (wanting to take them off, the look bad IMO, need to find some rear pegs).
It also has a n AGM battery that seems to be new (no dates on the battery, but holds a charge well so far).

Only thing I am really debating on adding is some floorboards for me. I am not crazy about my legs being forward like they are.
My brother has an 883 with floorboards and a heel/toe shift and I really do like that.
Problem is being a '94, not a lot of accessories for it (there were a few changes made between '94 and '95, so many things for '95 and newer do not fit).
 

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Welcome back to riding. There are quite a few of us retread riders here. Nice looking bike. If you haven't yet met Tourmeister, our fearless forum leader, he also lives in Katy. And lots of other TWTers in and around Houston.
 
Welcome to the site, make sure to check the Katy Empanadas Night on Wednesdays.
 
Welcome to the site! :wave:

:tab I hope you weathered Harvey well!

If you haven't yet met Tourmeister, our fearless forum leader, he also lives in Katy. And lots of other TWTers in and around Houston.

:tab I am in Huntsville :-P I have lived in Katy, but that was WAY back in 1993...
 
Welcome to the site! :wave:

:tab I hope you weathered Harvey well!



:tab I am in Huntsville :-P I have lived in Katy, but that was WAY back in 1993...

Oopsy. I got that totally backwards. :doh: On the good side, I spelled your name right.
 
Welcome, people getting back into riding after 20+ years seems to be a theme here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yup. Lots of us discover that raising children and managing a career (IT troubleshooting in my case) is very time consuming. One day in 1985, I realized my CB400 hadn't been started in well over a year; that's when the For Sale sign went up. When I retired in '08, it was a good time to jump back in.
 
Welcome and Congrats! Nice looking bike. And nice that you seem to know your way around them two wheels.

I too was off bikes' for maybe 16+ years, last bike was a KLR650. Started shopping for a used bike last summer. My buddy rides a Kawi cruiser and I was heading that way for my purchase. And there were so many great deals on like new, loaded, low priced bikes just in my area.

But as usual, I went the other way. After much window (online) shopping. In Feb, I bought a '11 Suzi, DL650 "Oui" adventure bike. Just seemed a more fun bike to me than a cruiser.

Seller, a well known TWTer, trailer-ed it here to me from Waco. Thanks Rob. :mrgreen:

The bike came very nicely upgraded performance wise and well farkled up too. Just that I don't know a **** thing about it, other than oil/filter changes I plan to do my own. I want to add some Aux DRL's/running lights and a aftermarket 'louder' horn and will prolly pay thru the nose to have that done. So good on you for knowing what you got.

But I digress,:doh: again welcome to a fellow re-rider and have a safe, fun time now.:rider: peace, e.
 
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Thanks for the welcome all.

I have seen the Wednesday night empanadas thread here, I unfortunately have plans with kids stuff every Wednesday, but may be able to make it sometime.

I have gotten the headlight issue fixed. It needed a contact in the hi/lo switch, and I found a used one off an '92 VT1100 from a guy in La Grange. I just needed a $1 piece of copper from the switch, but he just gave me the whole thing (it was from a parts bike, and the harness for the signal switch had been cut, so he did not want or need it).
I did not realize how much I missed riding. I have ridden almost every day since I got it all legal (which was a pain for title transfer since the tax office on Clay was flooded, had to go to the one off Bingle north of I-10).
Wife laughs at me when I say I am going for a ride, she asks where to, and I just say not sure.

So far I have changed the aux lights to LED (I really can't see any better compared to the halogen that were in there, but other can see me better), changed the rear turn signals to halogen bulbs (much brighter) and changed the front turn and rear running/brake lights to 2357 bulbs. They are supposed to be the same filament on the running light and a brighter secondary (for turn signal or brake light). I can't really see a difference in the brake lights, but the front turns do look a little brighter when flashing.
I also added a phone holder. It has a charging plug (not wired up yet) and it seems to work well so far.

I went for a ride to La Grange last week (to pick up the switch housing) and found that I am not crazy about the front pegs on this bike. All my past bikes have been very upright with mid or even almost rear controls, so forward controls is awkward. I am finding that I sometimes go to put my feet lower than I should when starting from a stop, sometimes totally missing the peg. I have looked, but can't seem to find anything to move them back for my bike. Everything for Shadows is '97 and up, no love for the '94 model.

I also found the helmet I got with the bike (a HJC 3/4 with bubble faceshield) was not quite big enough. It is a XXL, which I normally wear, but I have a little more of an oval head, and after about 30 minutes of wearing it, my forehead starts hurting. After 45 minutes, I have to stop and take it off.
I got a new XXXL LS2 Strobe Modular from Amazon for $65 (was a return, still new in box). My head fits much better, but the cheek pads are too thick. Need to see if they sell thinner ones, or I will need to thin them out myself. Otherwise it fits well and I like it.
 
Might try one of the Honda VT1100 Shadow forums for suggestions on foot placement, you're probably not the first person to try and tackle the issue. I've found that the more specific forums have more information.
 
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