I Bought A Thing

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54) 09/12/2016 at 10:03 • Filed to: Two Wheels Good

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You may have seen my last post that I was pondering it. Well, now I own it. 1995 Honda Shadow ACE 1100. Decent price, great condition, and already has all the accessories I would’ve added myself anyway (it also has a removable windshield, which I took off yesterday). The only thing wrong with it is the rear turn signals, which are missing after the hard bags were installed since they attempted to occupy identical time/space coordinates. That’s easy, and I’m already working on multiple solutions.

I’m psyched.

Hammerdown > Justin Hughes 09/12/2016 at 10:08

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Congrats! Those Shadows are great bikes.

McMike > Justin Hughes 09/12/2016 at 10:18

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I had a ‘96 ACE 1100 for like, 10 years. Great bike.

I think the only issue I had with it was a voltage regulator. Other than that, I just changed fluids, tires, brakes, filters, etc...

Someone (back when I had it) made a relocation kit for the rear turn signals that used the license plate mounting location. I remember having to remove the rear fender to run the wires, but it made the bags possible.

http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/53-gener…

Edit. Look and see if Saddlemen has a kit.

Justin Hughes > McMike 09/12/2016 at 10:26

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Yep, those voltage regulators can go bad. This bike recently had its replaced. And apparently the ACE has a different one than other versions of the Shadow.

I hope I don’t need to remove the rear fender. There are wires running to a license plate frame with microscopic amber strips that only passed inspection because the owner knew a guy, so I’m hoping to liberate those. A cheap but effective solution I have in mind is trailer lights mounted to the hard bags. Then, with a converter, I can wire them up to be run/turn/brake lights as well. for added visibility. I just need to figure out how to get to all that wiring and run my own.

McMike > Justin Hughes 09/12/2016 at 10:32

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It was at least 15 years ago when I did it, but I don’t remember the fender being that hard to remove. Did the rear signals come with the bike, or are they long gone?

The fuel pump/filter on the other hand? What a PITA. Those are tucked in under the battery.

I only had to change the filter, not the pump.

I used to call it my “Hardly Davidson” when people asked me what kind of bike it was.

I definitely like the sound of the single-pin crank engines Honda put in the 1100s and 750s back then. I think they still might put them in the current VTX1300, but I can’t remember. I know they didn’t put them in the Sabre and the big 1800.

Justin Hughes > McMike 09/12/2016 at 10:55

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I’m so new to the Shadow that I still know basically nothing about it. :) I’ll have to look into it.

The owner before the guy I bought it from installed the bags, and the rear signals disappeared at that time. I got the stock front signals, left over from the driving light install, but they won’t work on the back.

“Hardly Davidson” - I love that! Mind if I steal it?

McMike > Justin Hughes 09/12/2016 at 11:37

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Steal away.

Honda and other Japanese manufacturers came out with these in the 90s as Harley was making customers wait months and months to get a bike. It worked.

It worked so well that HD tried to patent/trademark their sound back in the mid-90s because the Japanese were putting single-pin cranks in their engines. Not only did they look like Harleys, they started sounding like them.

Dual pin engines fire evenly - once every 360 degrees. 0-360-360-360-360

Single pins don’t. They fire 0-315-405-315-405, so there is a slight pause after the second cylinder fires, which is why they have a Milwaukee-type sound.

The dual pins engines are smoother and actually have more HP.

DynamicWeight > Justin Hughes 09/12/2016 at 11:52

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A Honda Shadow A.C.E. was my second bike and my first big boy bike. Really fond memories of that thing. It was the first bike where people knew me as “That guy always rides a motorcycle to work”

Congrats!

The Compromiser > McMike 09/12/2016 at 19:20

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Vtx1300 does. Can confirm. Sitting in garage.

McMike > Justin Hughes 09/12/2016 at 19:26

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Now that I’m home...

I miss that bike.

Justin Hughes > McMike 09/13/2016 at 09:47

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Awesome! Looks a lot like mine, except for soft saddlebags instead of hard bags.

I found a blown fuse, as well as these crappy turn signals in my toolbox I removed from my GS1100L something like 7 years ago. With a $5 pair of stainless L-brackets I’m good to go for now, but I intend to get bigger and more visible turn signals.

The more I ride this bike, the more I’m loving it. I totally get why you miss yours so much.

I need to figure out a way to tilt my driving lights up. Right now they’re aimed just ahead of the front wheel. Unfortunately there seems to be no adjustment on the light bar, which means I may have to try carefully bending the whole thing.

McMike > Justin Hughes 09/13/2016 at 09:56

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Are they National Cycle? If so... (pdf)

http://www.nationalcycle.com/media/wysiwyg/…

Justin Hughes > McMike 09/13/2016 at 10:06

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I’m not sure what brand they are, but I’ll see if this or some similar procedure works. Thanks!!!