THE LOG / MECHANICS / 2 MIN READ
The Shadow: Where It Started (and Why It Wouldn't Turn)
I bought a 1996 Honda Shadow 1100 ACE, the American Classic Edition. It came with most of its parts, a seized engine, and a past it wasn't talking about. Here's where the rebuild begins.
Brian Feller / Purchase photographs
Some assembly history required
The bike was a 1996 Honda Shadow 1100 ACE, the American Classic Edition. It looked like the engine had been out at some point, and there were hints that it might have been dropped. By the time I bought it, the engine was back in the frame. It was also seized solid. Most of the parts were there, though "there" and "working" turned out to be two very different things.
It had been showering
Apparently the bike had spent some quality time sitting out in the rain. Water found an open intake valve and let itself in. So the starting lineup was an engine that wouldn't turn, a history full of blanks, and a motorcycle with plenty to explain.
Every bolt, screw, and pin
Step one was obvious: take it apart. All of it. I pulled every bolt, screw, and pin, because before this could become a rebuild, it had to become a pile of parts. These photos show the bike exactly as it sat the day I bought it. No cleanup, no glamour shots. This is the "before" picture, and it's a good one.
AS BOUGHT / THE PHOTOGRAPHS
