I'm looking for some information and opinions around combining the best bits of an 84 Aspencade and an 87 Interstate. I've been looking for a winter project (I know winter is over... call me a chronic procrastinator!) so I thought I'd do a motorcycle project instead of an automotive one this time. Since I love travelling on my existing bikes (a 2001 GS500 and a 1991 Nighthawk 750), I've been wanting to get something that was actually built for that sort of riding so I thought I'd combine that desire with my desire to tinker with a project.
Basically, the '84 is purported to have a good motor with 60k on it (I heard/saw it run and it was driven onto the trailer), but the starter is toast (my fault after I got it home). The compressor for the air suspension works, as does the digital dash and all the lights on the luggage. There is some leakage from the rear wheel, so there's something wrong with the shaft drive somewhere. When it's running, there's clean coolant escaping from somewhere, but I haven't really narrowed down where it's coming from, other than to say that it's first visible under the carbs on the right side, so it could be a loose hose or a bad gasket somewhere. The front brake reservoir is absolutely slopped with JB Weld, so I suspect that has a crack in it that has been "repaired", and the choke level is broken off. The fairings and luggage are mostly intact, but the paint is faded and swirled pretty bad. Front and rear tires are both in very good condition and don't show any dry rot. Biggest problem with this bike is that it has title issues so the frame's pretty much worthless to me except for what I can get from the scrap yard.
The '87 runs, however, the solenoid is shot so it takes some convoluted jumper cable magic to start the bike. The shop that I bought it from said that it had low compression and the bike does smoke a bit, so that motor isn't long for this world, even though it only has about 70k on the clock. The luggage has had some holes put in it to accommodate some aftermarket speakers, so I probably won't use that particular trunk. The other big problem with the bike is that it is orange. Apparently, the guy that used to own it really wanted a Harley so he gave this thing a hideous orange w/ black trim paint job with extra orange peel and a large side of overspray. Otherwise, the bike is in okay condition, and other than burning oil, actually rides pretty well.
I know that there are some differences between the '84 and '87 motors, but my overall plan is to completely tear down the '84, since the VIN is basically worthless. I was thinking that I can pick through the various fairing and luggage bits and use the best from each bike to repair, sand down, prime, paint, and clear so that I'll have something that looks decent -- although I won't be using an original color. For mechanicals, I'd like to pull the '84 motor and put it in the '87 frame. With the engine out of the bike, I'll go ahead and do the timing belts as some cheap insurance. I have an irrational attachment to the digital dash, so I'd like to bring that bit over, along with the associated bits for the speedometer and such. I'm honestly not sure if bringing the air suspension over is worth it, but I'm open to opinions on that. There are some other bits on the '84 that I'd like to move over, like the engine guards, floorboards, forward pegs, rear saddlebag guards and the like. Both bikes have terribly hacked-in aftermarket radios, so I'll need to devise something that actually works and doesn't awful, but that's probably one of the last things I'll do.
Questions that I have, though: Are there any major differences between the two years and styles that are going to be major projects to overcome? I know that the motors are different, and that it's probably best if I swap gas tanks along with the motors. I also seem to recall that there was a different pickup on the back of the motor for the digital dash than for the analog. Also, I understand that the starter might be a bit different. What is different about it? Is it a matter of fabbing up a new bracket? I've got a couple core '84 starters, can I use the housing from one of those to put the brushes and such from the '87 in so the holes all mount up, or are they more different than that? What's the value of keeping the air suspension?
That worked out to be much more long-winded than I intended, but I'd love to hear any comments or advice you've got to give!
Basically, the '84 is purported to have a good motor with 60k on it (I heard/saw it run and it was driven onto the trailer), but the starter is toast (my fault after I got it home). The compressor for the air suspension works, as does the digital dash and all the lights on the luggage. There is some leakage from the rear wheel, so there's something wrong with the shaft drive somewhere. When it's running, there's clean coolant escaping from somewhere, but I haven't really narrowed down where it's coming from, other than to say that it's first visible under the carbs on the right side, so it could be a loose hose or a bad gasket somewhere. The front brake reservoir is absolutely slopped with JB Weld, so I suspect that has a crack in it that has been "repaired", and the choke level is broken off. The fairings and luggage are mostly intact, but the paint is faded and swirled pretty bad. Front and rear tires are both in very good condition and don't show any dry rot. Biggest problem with this bike is that it has title issues so the frame's pretty much worthless to me except for what I can get from the scrap yard.
The '87 runs, however, the solenoid is shot so it takes some convoluted jumper cable magic to start the bike. The shop that I bought it from said that it had low compression and the bike does smoke a bit, so that motor isn't long for this world, even though it only has about 70k on the clock. The luggage has had some holes put in it to accommodate some aftermarket speakers, so I probably won't use that particular trunk. The other big problem with the bike is that it is orange. Apparently, the guy that used to own it really wanted a Harley so he gave this thing a hideous orange w/ black trim paint job with extra orange peel and a large side of overspray. Otherwise, the bike is in okay condition, and other than burning oil, actually rides pretty well.
I know that there are some differences between the '84 and '87 motors, but my overall plan is to completely tear down the '84, since the VIN is basically worthless. I was thinking that I can pick through the various fairing and luggage bits and use the best from each bike to repair, sand down, prime, paint, and clear so that I'll have something that looks decent -- although I won't be using an original color. For mechanicals, I'd like to pull the '84 motor and put it in the '87 frame. With the engine out of the bike, I'll go ahead and do the timing belts as some cheap insurance. I have an irrational attachment to the digital dash, so I'd like to bring that bit over, along with the associated bits for the speedometer and such. I'm honestly not sure if bringing the air suspension over is worth it, but I'm open to opinions on that. There are some other bits on the '84 that I'd like to move over, like the engine guards, floorboards, forward pegs, rear saddlebag guards and the like. Both bikes have terribly hacked-in aftermarket radios, so I'll need to devise something that actually works and doesn't awful, but that's probably one of the last things I'll do.
Questions that I have, though: Are there any major differences between the two years and styles that are going to be major projects to overcome? I know that the motors are different, and that it's probably best if I swap gas tanks along with the motors. I also seem to recall that there was a different pickup on the back of the motor for the digital dash than for the analog. Also, I understand that the starter might be a bit different. What is different about it? Is it a matter of fabbing up a new bracket? I've got a couple core '84 starters, can I use the housing from one of those to put the brushes and such from the '87 in so the holes all mount up, or are they more different than that? What's the value of keeping the air suspension?
That worked out to be much more long-winded than I intended, but I'd love to hear any comments or advice you've got to give!