Up and running

I posted my dilemma on Honda Shadow Forum last Thursday. After a few clarifying posts, Chalie Mac really nail right on the head what my issue was. I printed the instructions from the link he posted (http://www.rattlebars.com/mtz/starter.html) and aided my courage of taking apart my Alexia with my lucky Buddha charm.

I took apart the Starter assembly on Saturday. After taking off my brake lever and then pulling off my entire handle, I was able to open up the Starter assembly and position it exactly like the picture in the link. I got down to the starter contacts and cleaned the starter and headlight contacts as suggested. I then picked up the starter button to remove the shunt and clean that, and noticed it wasn't coming out as easily as I had thought it would, or as easily as the instructions had lead me to believe. Upon closer inspection, I found that the surrounding plastic had melted over the shunt. I think that the contacts may have overheated and melted the plastic, causing it to pool over the shunt and harden.

I drove down to Mission Motorsport and asked the parts counter if they had a starter button in stock for my bike. They said you can't just buy the button, you have to get the whole assembly which is $75.00, and that they didn't have any in stock. I was headed out the door to go home and start making some calls to all the local dealers, and on a inkling stopped at the service counter. I showed one of the mechanics my melted starter button and asked if they recommended a way to get the plastic off, or if they knew of a place that would just sell the shunt. The guy took it into the back area and appeared a few minutes later with a really dirty handful of wires. He said he had an extra button and wires if I wanted them.

Hell yes I did!!!! So he gave them to me for free saying it was an old extra they had lying around. The button looks 10 years older, but I rushed home and swapped it out and Voila!! the bike started up!

So thanks to all they guys on the Honda Shadow forum! ShadowDave also posted the reason behind my starter melting. He found an article in Cycle World, October '06 and quoted it for me:

"Honda's technique was to put a second set of contacts on the starter pushbutton switch to reduce the load on the battery while the rider tries to start the bike. But that switch is not ruggedly constructed. Repeated making and breaking a 5-amp connection causes corrosion and pitting of the switch's headlight contacts. The heat caused by the corrosion of the contacts melts and deforms the plastic inside the switch, so after a period of time, the switch fails-sometimes just the headlight contacts, but often the starter contacts as well. Changing to a higher-wattage headlight bulb causes those contacts to fail sooner. The lightbar the Honda dealer would likely sell ... is a Hondaline product wired to get its power from the taillight circuit, not the headlight, so it would not add to the current through the starter switch's headlight contacts."

"To safely run a more powerful headlight in a Honda, ... I recommend adding a relay to the headlight circuit. Power for the headlight would come directly from the battery, the voltage for the coil of the relay could come from the headlight contacts in the starter pushbutton switch. This would reduce the current through the headlight contacts of that switch from five amps to one-half amp or less."

And my lesson of the week: Always ask a mechanic instead of the guy trying to sell you parts.

A picture of the melted switch is to follow. And here it is!

When the spark is gone...

Very sad story. Alexia is currently out of commission.

Here is the sad, sad tale:

So I went with T to look at RV's Sunday night, just a short jaunt up the 5 freeway. We looked around for 45 min or so and then decided to ride over to dinner. I get on the bike, turn it on, flip the engine kill to on and then push the Start, nothin. I kept flipping the engine kill switch on and off and then tried to start again, and nothin! My headlight dimmed when I hit the Start, so I finally decided it wasn't the starter going out on me. I also tried to start in N and in 1st, nothing. Also tried to run start it, first by myself and then with T pushing along. Big ol' nothin! I figured its probably the engine kill switch causing all the problems as the bike is acting like it is flipped to off.

Anyway, long wait story made short, I had to call AAA to get it towed home. The RV place was closing up, so at about 5:30 I decided to push my bike to the front so they could lock the gates if they needed to. Around 6:00 the Tow Truck showed up. They were nice and cleaned off their flat bed so my motorcycle wouldn't slide around on the oil spill on it. They mentioned that they aren't even supposed to tow motorcycles, but that AAA's contract with the company makes them.

So AAA offers motorcycle/RV coverage for an extra $25 a year. But I am finding out that motorcycle seems to have been tacked on as an after thought. When I had my Vulcan and needed a jump start on that, I was told that while that was covered under my AAA card, they wouldn't jump certain types of bikes. I also needed to have my Vulcan towed once, and was informed that they would send out a request for a tow truck, but that there was no guarantee the one that showed up could haul a motorcycle. AAA needs to get their act together and refigure out their Motorcycle add-on.

So I have been trying to figure out how to get Alexia to Mach 1's, but may have to have it towed to Mission Motorsport. I also think there might be a custom chopper shop around the corner from me. It might as well be as far away as Mission or Mach's as I have no way of towing or hauling my bike to either spot.

So, any suggestions? Comments? Ways to rewire my bike to bypass the engine kill?