1983 honda shadow does not get any power... i charge the battery and it holds a charge, but nothing when i turn the key, it will not crank, no indicator lights no blinker lights, nothing at all. i checked all the wiring and it is all firmly connected and nothing is loose.all the fuses are good also.. everything appears to be in place. all that is not connected is the headlight and the left blinker... i am stumped on what it can be, any suggestions?

We had the same problem, thought it was ignition but found out it was fried connector in juction box, the red and black wires that connect to another set of red black wires but gives juice to the whole box, we pulled them and jumpered together but then had to us small jumper wires to give power back to box, violla took us 3 weeks! :-)

In the absence of cranking, my short list of possible culprits:

starter solenoid (it would "throw" if it were good, producing a click noise).
ignition switch
ignition cylinder

The manual says: (disregard the ECC entry):

Priority Action Part Type Cause
1 Inspect Choke - Stuck or Improperly Functioning Choke.
2 Inspect Fuel Filter - Clogged or Dirty Fuel Filter.
3 Inspect Relay - Fuel Pump Relay - Faulty Fuel Pump Relay.
4 Inspect Fuel Injector Pressure Regulator - Faulty Fuel Injector Pressure Regulator.
5 Inspect Fuel Pump - Low Fuel Pressure.
6 Inspect Engine Control Computer - Incorrect Operating Information Being Delivered and Sent From The EEC.
7 Inspect Fuel Pump Strainer - Clogged or Dirty Fuel Pump Strainer

Some of those older hondas had a fusible link under a plastic cover on the solenoid.
Check for power coming out of the solenoid

To make this much easier it is best to check the charge retained on the battery before we can go further. If there is no charge on the battery then we need not go further than to replace the battery . But if your headlights and horn works with good power the fault can be only with the starter circuit, the ignition switch of the solenoid or the starter motor.
So isolate the fault after checking with the battery removed and tested. The use a multimeter to check if there is voltage to the starter solenoid if not the ignition switch needs a check. if there is supply to the solenoid on switch over then the starter motor brushes or coil or commutator is a suspect.