Shadow - Sometimes these things are better done with a pressure supply from the bottom upward....it pushes the bubbles up the hose easier (use a large syringe filled with brake fluid).  Then the only thing you need to open the bottom bleeder for - is to get the air out of the slave cylinder (not the hose).

Savage - One of the problems you are having (and can be horribly stressful) - is that you are trying to do things harder than your current abilities allow.  You need to start with small things and work your way up.....repairing a broken and frozen exhaust stud is difficult, and tearing the engine down to remove the head and getting the engine back together properly is a pretty advanced process.  Most folks have owned bikes for a lot of years and been through lots of simple repairs long before they move onto the advanced stuff.  

Put Dot 3 in it. Thought about using 4, but it called for 3. I thought maybe you could interchange, but I was doubtful, and that's what it called for. I had some old fluid. Used it up. Had some more "heavy duty" fluid. It was sealed. Used a lot of it. The line flexes a bit, but I can't say it's a bad line. A braided hose might help, but I'd be better off actually fixing the problem. So far, I'm not sure I can get the oem line. It seems unavailable. I might try rebuilding the cylinders. If I don't get a substantial improvement soon, I may end up using the bigger master cylinder idea. What if I clean, rebuild, and replace every single component in the clutch hydraulics, and it still barely works? The honda people think that It'll work fine, but I'm still suspicious. Just sayin'.

The clutch is usable, but I'd like it to work better.


In other news...

My Dad took his first road trip today to get his inspection sticker. It's been years since he's actually had it on the highway. Got stranded twice, including once at a red light. I had to go home and get the jumper cables. That thing is hard to crank. The battery is kinda weak, but it will turn over plenty of times. Dad brought it up to 60, and around 60-65, it wouldn't go any faster. He had it in overdrive, which is pretty tall, but it should still have done better. That bike is supposed to do 120+ mph. I'm suspicious that the fuel pump might not be working, but it ought to gravity feed okay, shouldn't it? Maybe a carb dip is in order? I cleaned it out with ether when I rejetted it, but maybe there's still something stopping it up. There's an exhaust leak and an airbox leak. When I removed the carbs, one of them had gotten mud in it from the intake hose being left off.  

That darned honda is full of gremlins!

The clutch would have worked fine some time in the past, and how many other shadow owners have upgraded to a bigger master cylinder? None? If you fix it properly , it will work.maybe the problem is inside. Warped steel plates can cause clutch drag. If  the hose squirms when you squeeze the lever, you're losing pressure and clutch throw by expanding the hose. Consider replacing it. EBay is a good place to look for inexpensive braided hoses made up.
The starter motor might be causing the starting problem. Have yyou rebuilt it yet? They can turn fine, but draw too much power for the ignition to work. Maybe try bump starting it and see what happens?
Or, throw that freakin' thing away and buy something that just works. An XT will run forever....
Re: the lifestyle.good luck finding the stress free easy ride. Find something you don't hate and see where it takes you. F.ck the pizza shop. That's not a career.

Just talked to a fellow at an OReilly Auto Parts store, and you know how I like to talk.   Went to talking about bikes, and he said something like, with my passion, I would be more suitable working there than he is. That was close to his words. I had applied beforehand, but before I could get an interview, the manager had a meeting with upper management and suddenly decided that he was no longer in the position to hire. And yes, he was getting ready to hire, as he had somebody that was going to quit. Even had a hiring poster on the window.

He's gonna give his boss a note, and maybe he can talk him into hiring me. When I explained how fast my boss wants me to prepare the pizzas, he told me that if it were him, that would "get old fast" or something like that.

My job at the pizzeria is pretty relaxed in a way, but from what I've gathered, it's still rather demanding work for very little pay.  You've got a point, gizzo. Some do make a career out of it. Doubtful it will be me. I just haven't adapted well. Not making a lot of progress compared to some of the others. Some do stay in fast food. There's an old fellow in his 60's that works there, and he's pretty good at some things for his age. Better than me. He's been there 4 years, at least, and he's been in the restaurant business for more than that. I pay alot of attention to detail and tend to lose focus. Maybe I'm too relaxed a guy for fast food. Seems like people get by in this business by not paying too much attention to detail. I don't know... Maybe I'm just OCD. I've been told that I work hard by at least one co-worker. Who knows? People say things. Can you always take their praise seriously?

I can say that a good mechanic pays attention to detail. If he doesn't, it could mean, thousands of dollars in destroyed parts or worse... injury/death. Forget to tighten one bolt, and something bad could happen. That's not saying I wouldn't be vulnerable to making such mistakes.

But with these mechanic's shops, they want you to be fast so they can charge $75 or more an hour. But then, they probably go by book hour, so that might not even apply.

Now just how many bikes do you have to disassemble/reassemble or tires changed to be able to do it in a reasonable amount of time? All different makes and models? Much less FAST and relaxed without rushing and cutting corners??? And how do they expect these mechanics to be created??? Out of expensive schools!?! Likely not! It takes doing it. Wonder if MMI has their students assemble/disassemble/overhaul a bazillion bikes, or do they just give 'em a few "hands on" exercises with stupid classwork and call them "mechanics?"

Talking to local people in the industry, I've heard bad things about MMI. One fellow had to get a job in another industry just to pay it off! Talk about a bad deal! Another shop owner told me the MMI people (one or two) he hired didn't want to work or something.

Hey, if MMI grads make 10 bucks an hour under some shop, I could probably work for myself at that rate, and every cheapie that was willing to hire a slow beginner would flock to me, especially if I gave 'em a good deal. Who wants to hire a pro for $75 an hour? Too many of those hours doing silly things, and you could end up paying as much as you would for another bike. Maybe those are book hours instead of real hours... sometimes??? Still, if they went for $75 per real hour, and it took two days to fix the problem... Something really problematic...Say that broken bolt, that's $1200 for just the labor! I paid less than that for the whole bike!

Can't people work hard for nothing anymore, or are the Chinese the only ones crazy, desperate, and humble enough for that? Hey... In my position, I'd work for cheap.

And don't say these mechanics get provided tools. Nope. I'd assume the heavy machinery is covered, but mechanics often have to buy their own handtools, so it seems.

A roof over one's head? Location? Heavy machinery? Advertising? Name? Reputation? Backing? Are all these things really worth the cost of working under someone else's roof for pennies? Perhaps one other important thing... Experience. It's like working for someone else is some sort of internship or something.

If I have to work for pennies, why don't I work for myself and give the customer a good deal? A deal that I'd be proud of: not one that leaves a stressed out, unhappy customer. Isn't that what dealerships do? Stress people out and leave their pockets and hearts dried up?

Before you set up shop for yourself and give your customers great service, you have to get good at what your doing. Your working at it but your not there yet. Plus, some PR skills wouldn't hurt. You really think people would work for peanuts? $10/hr, only if I was starving.
We don't have expensive schools teaching mechanics here. If you want a trade, you do an apprenticeship. The best way to learn. Maybe that's the difference between a tradesman and a technician. Most guys that make it through an apprenticeship end up with useable skills.
Keep chipping away at it and keep you chin up. Oh yeah, getting a root sounds like a good idea, too.

This is about all I could find so far on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Spiegler-Stainless-Braided-Clutch-ORG-Line-GRN-Fit-Ho...

Lifetime warranty sounds promising. I thought that braided lines had to be replaced or something. Something about not being able to tell if they were bad.

Yes the dual sport. Utterly soulless and boringly reliable.
I have a set of eBay braided hoses on my Ducati and can't fault them. Try looking on eBay UK if you can't find what you need.