02 shadow problems

If there is not an inline fuel filter I would stick one in there because it sounds like something be it rust dirt or paint found its way to the carb. before getting to involved have you tried any fuel system cleaners (personally I trust sea foam because it has served me well in the past) Also because I like to take the lazy approach first and then assess whether more work is needed I have had good luck with this type of scenario by draining most of the fuel from the tank and letting the bike run and burn through a good pint to a quart of 99% isopropanal alcohol (if you cant find that cvs or walgreens will usually carry a 91% version but then with the next tank of fuel it helps to add some fuel system water remover. The whole process won't cost any more than $10 to $15. your not out much and it very well may work for you.

Be careful, running alcohol can void your warrantee, if you have one. Alcohol can also dry out rubber seals.

Other than that, slicknick218 has some good suggestions. I always put a big clear inline filter on my bikes. Also, check your vacuum hoses and make sure you're not flooding the carb. Make sure your float assembly works without binding.

i have tried the gad treatment carb cleaner but it wasnt sea foam i will give that a try, and add a filter to avoid future problems. i have drained the tank several times but it didnt seem to help so i figure the problem has already made its way to the carb. if the sea foam dosnt work i will try the alcohol because the bike has no warrenty. also the float works fine been that route already.

Another thing to check is the rubber boots the carbs fit in to. If they have a small crack in them it will allow air into the intake tract causing a lean mixture. That will give you headaches also. Throw some new plugs in it while you are at it. Sometimes old plugs can give ya drivability problems at cruising speed.

Some good ideas, but also check your spark plug gap when you swap them out. Check your vacuum hoses/emissions hoses for leaks, while you're at it.

i already changed out plugs and gapped them to .44 i think that is the correct gap setting im new to working on motorcycles i work mostly on cars and small engines. have not thought about the boot but i will be sure to check it out next time im down that way. have not had a chance to do anything on it yet probly get to it tomarrow.

i put the acohol in the tank but to my supprise it runs worse now than it did any ideas on whats going on with that

The first thing I think I would do is drain the tank and then take the pet**** out and get all the gas out of it. Replace it with fresh gas and try again. When you clean the carbs again pull the jets out of the carb, there are small holes along the side of the jet up in the carb body that need to be open also.

already cleaned the tank and took the pet**** out several times. do the jets screw in and out like most i have worked on or what. do you think the seafoam will help i was thinking of pickin up a bottle of it tomarrow and adding it to the tank. this problem has got me stumped. but im sure its the carb.

It's worth a shot. The jets should screw in and out like most bikes. The only one thus far I have ever ran into that doesn't was my Honda 50 minitrail.

i didnt know i do a lot of mecanic work but this is my first bike and i have never worked on any before but i figure that it cant be much different than a car, lawnmower, weedeater or chain saw that im use to working on. you all seem very helpful and i greatly appreciate it.

It's a little different than a car but real different than a weed eater, unless it's a 2 stroke Pick yourself up a shop manual, either Clymer, Haynes or drop the money on a factory Honda one. www.repairmanual.com

i was looking around online today and was thinking about putting a cobra jet kit in the carb. do any of you have any advice if this would be a good thing to do. i dont wanna do something thats gonna make it run worse than it already is. im also thinkin about adding some cobra exhaust in the future but not now, i dont know if the jet kit will do fine with stock exhaust or will i have to do them both at the same time. also thinkin about tradeing up for a bigger bike for i am 5'11" and i find the 600 to be a little cramped ride, will doing these additions help me sell it in the future. i dont to do a lot of mods if im not gonna be able to get my money back out of it.

It really won't make much difference with the stock intake and exaust IMO unless the fuel air mix was seriously off from new. If you are going to trade in a year or 2 I wouldn't change a thing.

I own a 2001 Honda shadow with 6500miles on it. The problem you are having in my opinion is due to design flaw with the fuel tank. The tank collects water at the end where you sit and will eventually cause rusting and leakage of gas.When there is enough water in the tank the over flow gets into gas line. The metal the tank is made of is also very thin. I had the same problem you had but now my fuel tank suddenly started leaking first water and then gas. This is very dangerous. The dealer now wants 750 dollars for a new tank!!! Thats not including labour.

If i were you i would drain the fuel tank completely and make sure there is no water there.