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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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#77 ·
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Wow, that is one fine lookingHawk and it appears completely stock including the flat bars , grey fenders and side panels. I have to admit the one that I just sold had chrome fenders and painted side panels which as you know were not stock. And we also referred to them as CB77 here in New Scotland as well. To briefly change the subject for a bit my wife and I spent some time last evening watching videos about the Orkney Islands...very interesting. My wife is of Scottish decent. Her mother was a "War Bride" who came to Canada after the 2nd war at the age of 16 and settled into a community on the French shore of Nova Scotia called, New Edinburgh. ( a strange name for apredominantly French community) The French call it" bot de la riviere" which means the bottom of the river. Could never figure out how or why New Edinburgh equated to the bottom of the river. Both names are on the sign...........
 
#78 ·
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Excellent thread!! I know on the 1000's the real limiter for most is the cam journal wear. Once the wobble starts ( generally around 150 k miles) they can get real challenging to keep running good. A steel cam riding on aluminum journals with a film of oil just does not last forever:D
 
#79 ·
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I actually have a 66 Dream. My wife is after me to get it done. It was running a year ago. I also have a 66 yamaha 305 2 stroke. I can't get the 2 stroke to turn over though. I have one jug off but the other one is froze tight. It has been sitting since '68 and was just given to me a couple months ago.
 
#80 ·
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You should listen to your wife and get that old Dream running. If it ran last year it should run again. I never liked the Yamaha 305.....ever sincemy Superhawk wasbeaten in a legal track drag race by a Yamaha 305 Big Bear scrambler in the mid 60's sometime. I think the smoke got in my eyes!! (just kidding those old Yamahas were great bikes as well)
 
#81 ·
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If you would have been in front the smoke wouldn't have gotten in you eyes. (lol) Hopefully I can get it freed up and get it running again. It was a friends dad's bike and they were cleaning up and selling the home and no one wanted the bike and someone said that I was interested in it.
They say the Dream could do over 90 mph. I don't think I would want to though. I need to get it going but I have so many projects now. What I need to do is retire so I would have the time to do them.
 
#82 ·
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I got to use a 305 Super Hawk in 1966 for a few months. My roommate laid it down with his leg under it to keep it from being damaged, and had to spend a few months in the hospital during the skin grafts. He let me drive it in the meantime. It was one sweet bike. I took it to the local Honda dealer because I thought the cams had stopped oiling. He said it was O.K. they never had that kind of problems. Two days later I took it back, he screamed "Shut it off!" Seems the cams had stopped oiling and it needed major surgery. Told ya' so. Speaking about the Yamaha 250 Big Bears, they were the fastest things around, they could eat the 305 for breakfast and the 450 for lunch and a Harley for dessert. Nothing would touch them in a drag race.
 
#83 ·
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I think it was last year that H-D made a big deal about one of theirs going over 1 million miles, but after you got to reading the details in the press release, you find out the only original part was the frame. The motor had been replaced 3 times and there were a total of 9 major rebuilds along the way. I think I amgoing to pass this thread along to some of my H_D buddies, see what kind of reaction they have to this:D.
 
#93 ·
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Guess it was not t he mileage as much as wondering just how it had been maintained. With almost 75000 on it now I have just let my silly worries melt away. I think it will go 250 or 300000 with no major problems/trouble.
 
#94 ·
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giturgun wrote:
Guess it was not t he mileage as much as wondering just how it had been maintained. With almost 75000 on it now I have just let my silly worries melt away. I think it will go 250 or 300000 with no major problems/trouble.
I can understand that. If you have reservations about the maintenance history of a vehicle, or the capabilities of the prior owner, that can make or break the reliabilty of a vehicle.
 
#96 ·
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rgbeard wrote:
I can understand that. If you have reservations about the maintenance history of a vehicle, or the capabilities of the prior owner, that can make or break the reliabilty of a vehicle.
Truer words were never spoken, Rusty.

It is my firm (and proven) belief that a ham-fisted nitwit with a toolbox can do much more damage thana littleneglect.
 
#97 ·
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I know first hand about the old hammer mechanic thing.
Was a mech for about 6 1/2 years and seen some real stupid stuff. Actually had some nut come in one day and complain about his brake pads not lasting this time . He had worn them out and flipped them over to use the back side . His complaint was they only lasted about 10 miles . Yeah stupid till the paint wore off em .900 Kaw rider.
 
#99 ·
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Must be still fixing the flat tire on the snow blower. ;) Anyone else heard about this bike lately?
 
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