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GL1500 - 300,000 mile rebuild

34K views 104 replies 42 participants last post by  siouxindian 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
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This 94 1500 has 300,000 miles showing on the clock. A friend of mine got it for a song. The body is in pretty good shape .The history is unknown but it doesnt look like the previous owner(s) had maintenance high on their list of priorities. It was smoking like a plugged up woodstove and #1 cylinder had about 40 lbs of compression. Today I removed one cylinder head and here is what I found so far. Lots of crud, carbon and a burnt exhaust valve in the #1 cylinder. I havent gone any further . ( I dont know what the owner wants to do yet) Just wanted to say that these are amazing engines... ..I drove it home the other day and despite these problems, and aside from smoking bad on startup and when backing off the throttle , it drove ok......If a poorly maintained engine with these problems is still running at 300,000 how far will a properly maintained engine go ?

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#55 ·
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Great Pictures and detailed information. Thank you for sharing, very important to torque headbolts in staggered sequence.
 
#56 ·
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There's a 1500 not too far away from where I live with amost 400,000 miles on the odometer. The only non-routine engine work it has had so far was a clutch a hundred thousand miles ago or so. There was also a 1500 on eBay last summer with 515,000 miles on it that was claimed to run okay. Just shows what you can do with plenty of displacement, detuning, water cooling and a slow turning engine.
 
#59 ·
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Yesterday I finished putting bike back together enough to start it. It fired right up ..had a lot of tappet noise for about a minute or so and then it stopped after they pumped up.........initially there was no smoke at all. After a few minutes I observed smoke coming evenly from each exhaust. I expected that to happen so I wasnt worried. (residue) I let it idle for a long time until the fans came on while I was purging air form the rad. I snapped the throttle several times while it was heating and the smoke began to subside until there was almost none. The engine sounds good except for an exhaust leak between the left header pipe and the muffler. At that point I quit...... This morning I went out at 7am and started it again ( temp was 0 cel (32 Far) It was parked on the center stand...no smoke at all... previously it would fill the garage and yard with clouds. I let it run for about five minutes. Tonight I will park it on the sidestand and see if it smokes tomorrow. I dont care about a little smoke on startup since most wings do that anyway. Now what it needs is a good long drive and then another oil change before it is put away for the winter. The weather will determine whether it gets driven or not. (Cant work on it today ,have to go for my swine flu shot) At this point I am satisfied with the outcome but I will have to see how it works on the road and with subsequent starts. Our season is pretty much over now so I dont know if or how much it will be driven. I think there is some life left in it yet..... I will postagain when it is all back together and tested further................ Thanks to all for your interest in this project and I hope that the info may help someone else in the future........... GM
 
#62 ·
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And I was leary about mine with 44,750 when I picked it up. Still amazes me when I crack the throttle in 3rd , it just seems like a 100 hp electric motor , I been looking to see if one of the CSX trains lost theirs . Actually find my self smiling as I go down the road.
 
#63 ·
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Since the news says we have a" nor'easter" blowing through tonight and tomorrow with the possibility of heavy snow and high winds I figured that this would be my last chance to get this bike out for a ride this season. I didnt plan on going too far because it is only about 4 cel (40 far) which is too cold for me. Once again it fired right up with no smoke. I let it warm up a bit and left.My wife told me later that when I pulled out of our driveway she saw a little puff of smoke but that was it. I went into the sub-division behind us and drove around for probably 3 miles. I had the mirrors tipped down some so I could see if it was smoking any and it was not. It felt like it wanted to stall when I slowed down and stopped but I think that is fuel related or perhaps I bumped off a vacuum line or something like that. As quiet as 1500's are they are a lot louder when the plastic is off. There is also an exhaust leak to be fixed. So far so good. Sometime later on I will address that possible stalling problem . Even though it was cold it felt good to get out for a ride. So now I have to divert my attention to fixing a flat tire on my snowblower.............
 

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#65 ·
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Thanks for the update, it sounds like it is a good running bike now. It could just be that you need to do a carb sync before you get it all buttoned upwith the plastics and once you get the exhaust leak taken of it'll quiet right down.
 
#66 ·
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Hi,

Thanks for a great set of posts and pics on the high miler. It has had me gripped and wanting the next instalment. When I had repaired my previouscosmetically damaged 1500 Wing and had only re-fitted the fairing body and wiring, I couldn't resist taking it out for a spin and was amazed how noisy it was. As soon as all of the tupperware was back there was a world of difference! So quiet and smooth.



Looking around the rest of the bike, there's a lot of life left in it and some rewarding polishing and riding to do - the new owner should be rightly pleased with his purchase and your careful work.
 
#68 ·
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Yes , it is a '65 Dream. From what I understand it was last running about 10 years ago. I have it as a winter project. Back in the 60's I had a '66 305 Superhawk and if you will remember they were pretty hot. They carried the same engine as the Dream but sported twin carbs. They would challenge any 500 or 650 of that era. I picked up and restored another '66 Hawk back in 1997 but sold it last year. I never used it and it was taking up space . I actually only drove it once or twice ( either they shrunk or I grew over the years....I think I know which) but it was fun. The plan with the Dream is to first get it running and perhaps restore it.......
 

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#69 ·
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That's a nice Dream, it'll be sweet once you get it done. They were definately good Bikes.
 
#70 ·
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GOOD LORD I'M GOING TO A HARLEY DAVIDSON WEBSITE AND TRY TO FIND A 300,000 MILE V TWIN ENGINE BEING REBUILT AND SOOOO MANY PEOPLE SAYING "GEE" IT DON'T LOOK SO BAD. PLEASE SOMEONE GET BACK IF THEY FIND ANYTHING
 
#72 ·
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P. S. I have a chance to buy an O L D small honda been sitting inside under enough rugs and stufff and stuff so the paint still looks like new....... anyone tell me the difference between dream and hawk etc. etc. and maybey what this may be worth........ I mean it's cherry ........ parts still available or nnot ??? thanks rmd
 
#73 ·
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The previous picture is that of a 305 Dream. They were, I guess, sort of the touring model , with the big fenders etc. They only had 1 carb but could still put out for their size. The 305's were one of the bigger models of that era surpassed only by the Honda 450 Black Bomber. The picture in this post is a 1966 305 Superhawk, totally different from the Dream except for the same engine and twin carbs. ( I restored this one a number of years ago and sold it last year for $3500. ( The picture is not too good as it is a picture of a picture) If you have a chance to buy any size vintage Honda of that era I would jump on it especially if it is in as good a shape as you say. They are a lot of fun to fix up and maybe you can make a few bucks on it as well....
 

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#75 ·
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SO many bike I saw on the road this year being towed/hauled instead of ridden, even out to South Dakota's big Ta-do! Got 112K on mine and I hope to double it before I end up getting rid of it ... or it gets rid of me!
 
#76 ·
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Still got my Superhawk - they were just called plain old CB77 over here. This one's only 15 years younger than I am!



http://www.stallard-engineering.co.uk/stories/Bikes/Japanese/1964hondacb77.htm





These bikes and their smaller siblings (Hawk - CB72) hammered a very big shiny nail into the British Motorcycle Industry'scoffin - which was made out of one of last year's side-cars anyway.
 
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