3 x '77 GL1000's

1951 Views 33 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Ansimp, Jun 6, 2013

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · Apr 29, 2013

Hey Guys,
Quite a few weeks I've been having!
Two weeks ago I acquired two '77 GL1000's. One was reported to "run pretty well" (18000 miles), and one that was "a parts bike that could be restored" (15000).
Well it turned out that the running bike needed at least some carb work (two of the plastic buttons were broken), and a tank cleaning; and the parts bike was missing a lot of parts; but the price was right ($800 for the set), so I picked 'em up.
Today, I went and picked up a third '77 GL1000 (nearly 50000). This one the owner had taken apart to fix a broken clutch plate, and had lost interest during reassembly; I got it for $600.
This thread will be covering the process of bringing two of these three bikes back to life. My plan is to drive one out to California this summer (literally the reason I first bought a bike 5 years ago was for a XC US tour; now my sister needs some help with childcare and I've got the time, so I'm forcing the issue a bit) and sell the other (maybe the parts bike too) for some spending money on the drive. I'm sure that I'll have PLENTY of questions.

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1 - 20 of 34 Posts

BenMilner

· #2 · Apr 29, 2013

Congratulations on your Goldwings!

Ansimp

· #3 · Apr 29, 2013

Good luck with your fleet.

OnaWingAndaPrayer

· #4 · Apr 29, 2013

Hello and Welcome . When you have questions , the folks here have answeres . Sounds like a nice summer ride coming soon .

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 29, 2013

7

Alright, so got started cleaning out my tank yesterday. I chose to do electrolysis as I just don't have the time to pull it out of my bike. I know many of you will be harsh on my choice to use BAKING soda :lash: but I couldn't be bothered to make a trip all the way to town to search out some washing soda, and after a good amount of research I believe this will work just fine.
I used 2 tblspns per gallon of tap water.
My 12V charger only ramps up to 6 amps, so it's going to be slllooooowwww; but that's ok, plenty of other projects in the meantime.
The dirty underwear you see at the end there is what happened when I used them to filter the gas I drained. There's PLENTY more rust sitting at the bottom of the tank, although the sides don't seem too too bad.

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OnaWingAndaPrayer

· #6 · Apr 30, 2013

I'll be watching for an update as this tank cleaning process moves forward.

esturdivant

· #7 · Apr 30, 2013

nice - just bought my first wing - an 82. I'll be following yours as well as I'm sure we'll be running into similar issues!

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 1, 2013

4

Well I've been on a little bit of a hiatus with the bikes. I've been told that my occupation of our north driveway is... inconvenient for the parents. So, in deciding to move my projects to the barn where they're both out of the way, and in a protected space, I had to do quite a bit of storage removal, reorganization, and finally, cleaning and redecorating!
I am pooped, so no heavy lifting for a few days. That being said, I'm dying to move forward on the bikes!

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sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 1, 2013

9

So here are all the pics I've taken of the latest wing. Got it from a guy who had taken it apart to replace the clutch plate, and had lost interest during reassembly. It's been sitting for two years, on a lift, in a garage. Only thing wrong with it is its exhaust and the fact that it needs a good bit of reassembly.

I think the first thing I'll be doing is putting the tank back in, which means removal of rear wheel and master cylinder?

Any other suggestions from what one can see in the pictures?

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JerryH

· #10 · May 1, 2013

Wow, you've got as many bikes as I do. Three Goldwings, a Silverwing or CX, and I can't identify the Yamaha Special in the back.

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 1, 2013

JerryH said:
I can't identify the Yamaha Special in the back.

It's an 82 Yamaha Maxim 400. A friend gave it to me to do some fixing and sell it.
There's also a 71 Kawasaki A7SS in the way back. That one's my dad's.

Got the rear tire off the blue GL1000. Got the tank in. Started piecing together some other reassembly (a lot of this came to me in bins, so there's a good amount of "puzzling" when trying to find the correct bolts/washers/etc.) until I got to putting on the rear fender and found this.

I've got 3 bikes, all of them could use pretty much the same fender treatments. So, I figured I'd wait until my dad got home to discuss some restoration (he's really been researching electroplating lately). Any suggestions?

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JerryH

· #12 · May 2, 2013

There are 2 ways to deal with something like that. Having rebuilt a rusty VW bug, I have used them both. You can either use acid to dissolve the rust (I use full strength muriatic acid) or you can get paint/rust remover wheels that will go on an electric drill or angle grinder.

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 2, 2013

anyone ever done any nickel spot plating or electroless nickel plating for this job?
I hear you on the rust removal, but I'd like to seal the metal and add some corrosion resistance.
As far as I'm concerned, sanding the part down or using acid treatment just to make it look good is very unsustainable. It really just allows for further rusting (leaving what rust is there alone would actually be better off in the long run) and eventually you've got nothing left!

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 10, 2013

So I've been continuing to do electrical reassembly on my blue GL1000, which has kept me busy (between guesswork, and comparing to my assembled, red GL1000 - slow going) and allowed me to mostly ignore the fact that I'll have some major fixing to do when I get to my rusty pipes.

In the meantime, while my carbs are out of both bikes, I was thinking I should do some cleaning to them. I've been planning on doing the in situ method recommended by Randakk once they're back in the bike. However, I'm just getting antsy. Plus as long as they're just sitting there while I'm getting everything else in order, it might as well be productive sitting.
After a lot of looking around, I've decided on using pinesol. However, I don't know how much to buy. Does anyone have any recommendations for this? Part of this question is, would it be okay to dilute the pinesol with water, or would I need to use it pure?

Cyclebuster

· #15 · May 10, 2013

I know this is off topic, but I buy antique hardware, and those hinges and knobs off those old doors are one thing I buy

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 10, 2013

Cyclebuster said:
I know this is off topic, but I buy antique hardware, and those hinges and knobs off those old doors are one thing I buy

You would have a field day in that barn. I've found all kinds of knick knacks from pre mechanized agriculture and construction. Unfortunately, it all belongs to my parents, so I have no say in it's sale. Also, I'm pretty sure if you asked them, they'd say they had plans for those doors (who knows when those plans will culminate, they've been in 'storage' for almost 30 years).

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 10, 2013

I've run into a snag in my electrical reassembly. There's a wire that attaches to the engine, on the right side, at the very bottom, towards the front. It seems almost impossible to get at without dropping the engine, as it's RIGHT behind/under the frame.
On my bike, this wire has snapped. I'm wondering:
1 what does it do (can I do without it)?
2 if i need to reattach, how?!

sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 10, 2013

Here's a picture of a few things I'm having trouble with. As I've said, a lot of this bike came to me in boxes, so identification has been an issue.
These horns, Yar Jon horns, I have no idea how to mount. The aftermarket wiring on the bike seems to allude to one horn on each side of the bike, but I can only find the stock horn's mount, nothing on the other side of the bike.
The two identical bolts in the upper right are the same size as the bolts which attach the rear fender to the inner fender, but I have no idea what they're for.
ANY help with the identification of any of the parts in this picture would be a great help.

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sproutroot

Discussion Starter · #19 · May 10, 2013

Any advice for this guy?

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Bike...and Dennis

· #20 · May 10, 2013

Those parts may not actually belong to the bike you're working on. One thing looks like a clutch slave cylinder. No such goody on a GL1000.
At least that's what it looks like in the pic.
The rest of the stuff could just be random pieces or stuff that someone replaced,

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