Clutch problem on 94 Shadow 1100

The clutch on a 94 Shadow 1100 I amworking on is giving me fits. I've
just bled the clutch (over and over) and got all the air bubbles out.
I "spurted" the top banjo bolt to make sure there's not an air bubble
up there too. When the bike's not running, I can drop it in first and
roll it with the clutch in and feel just the slightest resistance, so
the clutch is obviously disengaged. However, with the bike running,
dropping it into first (or second) with the clutch in kills the motor
immediately.

What gives?

John H.

 

Sidestand up or down?

Could the problem be a sidestand safety interlock switch shutting off
power to the ignition coils?

There is an inscrutable logic of neutral switch, clutch switch and
sidestand switch on modern motorcycles to make a fool of the rider who
thinks he
understands them.

Honda and Yamaha rely on the sidestand safety interlock switch to OPEN
when the sidestand is down, as I recall, but Kawasaki is opposite, they
rely on the sidestand safety switch to be CLOSED.

My Suzukis just make a sidestand light go ON when the stand is down.

 

Grr. Now I remember why I ride a Harley. Don't get me wrong, the
Honda is a nice ride, but just like their cars, they are always telling
me what I can and can not do. You are of course right, and thanks for
the advice. It got me because I never imagined I couldn't even put the
bike in gear with the sidestand down.

Next thing, is there an adjustment for the range? The clutch works ok
now, but the action is within the last half-inch of the level pull,
making it a bit jumpy. On a normal mechanical clutch, I could adjust
this but I'm a bit lost with this hydraulic thingy.

Thanks again!

John H.

 

I remember the first time I encountered the ignition safety interlock
on an American car. If your passenger got pissed off and grabbed the
ignition key and threw it out the window, the steering wheel would lock
in the straight forward position. What kind of genius thinks of stuff
like that?

The DOT and the motorcycle manufacturers have worked to somewhat
standardize
the control systems on motorcycles in order to protect novice riders
from harming themselves in certain situations.

This standardization sometimes makes experienced riders into idiots. I
remember telling the lot boy at the Suzuki dealers that I had been
riding forever, and there was nothing he could tell me about
motorcycles. Then I switched off the engine and couldn't restart it.

Suzuki had introduced the clutch safety interlock switch to keep the
motorcycle from lurching forward if the starter button was pressed
without disengaging the clutch. The
safety interlock didn't have anything to do with the sidestand or the
neutral switch.

My Yamaha FZR1000 has a circuit that links clutch, neutral switch, and
sidestand into a logic that shuts of the ignition if I put the
transmission into gear with the sidestand down. The starter won't crank
the engine if it's in gear or if the clutch isn't disengaged. Too
complicated.

Each Japanese manufacturer has their own ideas about how to build a
motorcycle and they respect each others' intellectual property. So it's
amazing that they can get anywhere near a standard for protecting
riders from their own klutzy mistakes. I have been in situations where
I believe the safety interlock system caused me to crash.

I looked at the clutch master cylinder fiche for 1994 VT1100C Shadow on
www.partsfish.com. You can register on that site and look at diagrams
for free. or you can use www.bikebandit.com

If there is any adjustment for where the clutch engages or disengages,
it might be that
# 2 push rod that is between the barrel on the clutch lever and the
internal guts of the
master cylinder. The # 2 rod may be threaded.

There doesn't seem to be any clutch adjustment access hole in the right
side crankcase cover. It looks like the clutch slave cylinder is on the
right hand side of the engine. A "clutch piston" is shown the clutch
diagram.

 

Someone who's telling you that you should be more selective in your
choice of travelling companions....

 

Isn't it now the case that vehicles with the steering wheel interlock
also typically prevent you from removing the key unless it's in the
"off" position? There might very well have been a time when this wasn't
true, but I've not run into an automobile made in the last 20 years that
didn't have both features.

--
Later,
John



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