'85 GL1200 LIMITED parts bike? NOT!

3068 Views 57 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Steve-n-TN, 2 d ago

Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

I came upon an '85 GL1200 Aspencade that was last started in 1994 with only 8550 miles. It has been garage kept since the owner passed away. This bike is 100% there with no abuse, but a lot of rheumatism from sitting all that time. Unsure yet what I'm going to find as I start going through it. A lot of surface rust that will need to be dealt with but this will be a summer project. I also recently picked up an '85 GL1200 LIMITED. This one was basically gotten as a parts bike and shows signs of "Shade Tree Mechanicing" I started evaluating it and correcting some wiring issues just to see how far gone it was since it was rolling and stopping. The guy I got it from had bought it not running and never got it running, though it would kinda run if you gave it a shot of either. I went ahead and put a rebuilt set of fuel injectors and a new fuel filter. Tested fuel flow and pressure before trying to actually start it. I removed a rats nest of wires that were tagged across fuses and hooked the battery up. Tried to start it and it spun over pretty good and according to the Diagnostics on the ECU the Camshaft position sensor was either bad or an open wire. Long story short I found that the cable from the sensor had been misrun and was being twanged by the throttle cable. It had caused one of the wires to be pulled out of the connector. Repaired the broken wire and dressed it properly so that would not happen ever again. Crossed my fingers turned the key and hit the start button. SHAZZAM! It fired immediately and ran pretty good and idled at 1050 rpm. It smoked quite a bit when I first started it, but I ran it at idle about 15 minutes to normal temperature and it quit smoking. I was floored I have never had a fuel injected bike before. I am amazed that is not cold natured like my GL1100. There are still lots of ills that need correcting but I think it's going to be a keeper.

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Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · #41 · 2 mo ago

Since the radiator was off I was going to replace the Fan Thermoswitch and thermostat. I removed the front housing on the thermostat and couldn't believe what I saw. The thermostat had been "Modified". See the pictures of the modification..... I installed the new thermoswitch and then tested the old one in a pan of boiling water. It tested bad after boiling for 3 minutes. This points out as to why the fan wiring was hacked up. After installing the radiator and filling the coolant and running up to normal temp, I was pleased that the fan indeed started and ran when the temp gauge reached the 6th bar. I am happy until I find the next piece of sketchy crap that I have to fix. Hopefully, I'll go into reassembly mode soon.

Coil spring Helmet Wood Gas Auto part

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Bryanlj

· #42 · 2 mo ago

How can somebody justify doing all the work to butcher that without replacing it astounds me

Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · #43 · 2 mo ago

So my wife tells me, since I am retired "You know you can work on bikes for extra money" Nope, I was a control system programmer and electronic engineer and I can make a whole lot more money doing side jobs. Working on bikes (my own) is a hobby that is something totally different than what I did to make a living. We would be starving if I had to to rely on working on bikes for food. I have had several people ask "Can you work on my bike?" My answer is "No, but I will help YOU to fix yours." I am a Field Rep for the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club here in Tennessee and learned long ago that if you were going to ride a vintage bike, you better learn how to fix it yourself. That being said, my goal is to have this bike in shape to ride at our National Rally in Mid May. Don't know if I'll make the date, but I'm trying really hard.

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Bryanlj

· #44 · 2 mo ago

I used to work on them for a living, now i should have retired but drive big trucks to pay the bills!

DaveO430

· #45 · 2 mo ago

Steve-n-TN said:
Since the radiator was off I was going to replace the Fan Thermoswitch and thermostat. I removed the front housing on the thermostat and couldn't believe what I saw. The thermostat had been "Modified". See the pictures of the modification..... I installed the new thermoswitch and then tested the old one in a pan of boiling water. It tested bad after boiling for 3 minutes. This points out as to why the fan wiring was hacked up. After installing the radiator and filling the coolant and running up to normal temp, I was pleased that the fan indeed started and ran when the temp gauge reached the 6th bar. I am happy until I find the next piece of sketchy crap that I have to fix. Hopefully, I'll go into reassembly mode soon. View attachment 332032

That is the only way I have ever seen a Honda OEM thermostat fail and have seen that several times.

C-130 Jumper

· #46 · 2 mo ago

When the radiator was off my new to me GL1200 I tested the thermostat, fan switch and temp sending unit in boiling water but ordered all three ahead of time. The original thermostat was slow, fan switch never went to ground so these two went in the trash while the sending unit was saved in a box of spares. I'm a believer in replacing parts BEFORE they fail and whereas some may consider that a waste of money three points:
1. It's cheaper than a tow truck
2. In aviation after x hours a part is considered timed out so that is a good practice
3. People blow money on non-functional garbage to bolt on and rarely, no make that never, have I seen such purchases criticized

Rednaxs60

· #47 · 2 mo ago

Buyer beware and MacGyver is alive and well with personal possessions. People do a lot of things at home that would never be done at work.

Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · #48 · 1 mo ago

I have started reassembling since all the mechanical issues appear to be sorted out for now. I've got some issues with things like the radio tuning switch kinda works, it will tune down but not up, I can turn on the Cruise control and the "Cruise On" light illuminates, but it will not set yet. Also I have put the false tank on and connected the trip computer. I do have the LCD readout reading but the US Map has a section on the western portion that flashes on - off in time with the Colon on the clock. I may need to open up the travel computer and look for some corrosion. At least this is something I'm used to since I was an electronics tech for over 50 years. Now I'm working on cleaning all the switch contacts on the controls that were exposed to the weather. If the cleaning doesn't fix the issues, I guess I'll be going through the troubleshooting guide to see what's wrong.

Rednaxs60

· #49 · 1 mo ago

The clock function does flash the time zone that you have it set for. The west coast of the US flashing indicates the Pacific coast time zone. The nice issue with this is that you can change the time zone and the time automatically sets for the new time zone selected, no need to reset the time. No need to correct.

Recommend testing the other functions, still not familiar with the travel management section, but don't use it.

The fuel management section is quite good. If the fuel amount is not functioning, has dashes across the screen, the sending unit thermistor has failed and needs to be replaced, or you can replace the sending unit if you can find one. When the sending unit thermistor is good, it will indicate FULL after fuelling and provide distance readouts for remaining fuel. The FUEL dash indicator light should come on when there is approximately 5-6 litres of fuel remaining in the tank. You can change the fuel management to metric without changing the dash indication to metric.

Check the dash tripmeter with the travel computer, switch from MPH to KPH, and change the engine temp and fuel level for the oil temp and pressure. You can change the dash RPM display as well - digital readout with the bar graph, or digital readout and no bar graph - think that is how it goes.

Have to be going faster than 40 MPH (?) and in the higher gears, 3rd minimum (?). There are 18 ways to cancel the cruise control on these bikes, yes that is correct. Clutch, brake, al the normal ones. The one I appreciate the most is the throttle control over the cruise. There is a switch on the throttle linkage that when you close the throttle and then continue to close the throttle (keep rolling the throttle closed) the cruise function will disengage. This is a good function in that you do not have to do the clutch/brake thing to release the cruise.

Keep up the good work. Cheers

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julimike54

· #50 · 1 mo ago

Steve-n-TN said:
I have started reassembling since all the mechanical issues appear to be sorted out for now. I've got some issues with things like the radio tuning switch kinda works, it will tune down but not up, I can turn on the Cruise control and the "Cruise On" light illuminates, but it will not set yet. Also I have put the false tank on and connected the trip computer. I do have the LCD readout reading but the US Map has a section on the western portion that flashes on - off in time with the Colon on the clock. I may need to open up the travel computer and look for some corrosion. At least this is something I'm used to since I was an electronics tech for over 50 years. Now I'm working on cleaning all the switch contacts on the controls that were exposed to the weather. If the cleaning doesn't fix the issues, I guess I'll be going through the troubleshooting guide to see what's wrong.

Be interested in how you get into the radio tuning switch, mine has been doing the same.

Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · #51 · 1 mo ago

I have spent the last couple of days doing what I know best and that is chasing electrical issues. I have found some additional sketchy crap buried in the fairing wiring harness and have taken care of that. When I pulled the instrument cluster out to see why the voltmeter wasn't working, I found that there had been a varmint munching on the wiring. I think I said earlier that the pockets were not installed in the fairing when I got the bike and spent quite awhile vacuuming leaves out of places that leaves should not reside. I also found the wiring for the voltmeter buried. Hooked it up to the voltmeter, but no bueno. Gotta dig into that voltmeter later on to see what's fubar. I repaired a couple of wires and now I have dash lights! I also found the air duct on the right side down in the bottom of the fairing. I used a magnet on a stick to fish a good quantity of hardware that was also lurking in the bottom of the fairing. I swear, I have been to the auto supply 4 days this week buying hardware. At least I now have an over abundance of nuts. I am almost to the point that I can post a few pictures.

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Bike...and Dennis

· #52 · 1 mo ago

We have to see pics before we believe it happened.

Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · #53 · 28 d ago

I've been working on the electronics and discovered that on the Travel Computer that there was only 1 out of 8 bulbs that was not burnt out. These lamps are #74 incandescent bulbs that sell in a pack of 2 for about $6.50 at the local parts houses. I also needed Green lamps for the backlight of the LCD display which no one stocks. I am on a mission to do some power shedding anyway so I did a search on good old Amazon and found LED equivalent with new T5 sockets for $10.99 for a pack of 10. I ordered a 10 pack of White and a 10 pack of Green and they were delivered overnight. BTW, the difference in power consumption went from 91.4 Watts (7.6 amps) for the incandescent to 4 Watts (.333 amps) for all the LED's. Now I'm going to replace the lamps in the instrument cluster with LED before I put the windshield back on the fairing. Here is the screen capture of the LEDs I ordered.

Automotive tire Product Font Screenshot Audio equipment

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RambozoClown

· #54 · 28 d ago

Just think, if you reduce the load enough you will be able to grill steaks on your shunt regulator while you drive.

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Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · #55 · 27 d ago

I think I'll be ok due to some of the Christmas Tree lights that one of the PO's installed. I have removed a few, but I am going to leave some of the lights that would leave holes in the front fender and bags. I changed out the 25 amp fuse that someone had installed for the lighting back to a 15 amp. Like I said, I am trying to remove the sketchy work.

wildman

· #56 · 16 d ago

julimike54 said:
Be interested in how you get into the radio tuning switch, mine has been doing the same.

Mine acts up from time to time. If you look, there is a small weep hole in the bottom of the housing. I spray a lot of electronics cleaner in there while flipping the lever up and down. Had to do it a lot the first time when I got the bike. Now it's just every year or two for a few minutes. Sometimes I remember to do it in the Spring and then I don't have to touch it for the rest of the year.

wildman

· #57 · 16 d ago

julimike54 said:
Be interested in how you get into the radio tuning switch, mine has been doing the same.

Mine acts up from time to time. If you look, there is a small weep hole in the bottom of the housing. I spray a lot of electronics cleaner in there while flipping the lever up and down. Had to do it a lot the first time when I got the bike. Now it's just every year or two for a few minutes. Sometimes I remember to do it in the Spring and then I don't have to touch it for the rest of the year.

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Steve-n-TN

Discussion Starter · #58 · 2 d ago

4

After a strenuous month of "Honey Do's" and prepping for the VJMC National Rally, I have finally been able to give some attention to "Goldie". I finally got the radio working on all speakers after cleaning all the connectors on the travel computer and the amp connections in the fairing. Once I receive the 5mm x .8 standoffs that I had to order from China I will be able to permanently remount the amplifier, since the hardware was missing and stuff was floating around inside the fairing. Also the CB works now! While I had the shelter off and troubleshooting, I was able to verify that the voltage when running @ 2200 rpm was 12.7 - 12.9 volts, however with the shelter mounted during a 15 mile ride the voltage dropped to 11.6 - 11.4 @ 2200 rpm. I may have to double check the connections under the shelter to make sure that I haven't pulled anything loose when I mounted the shelter. I got all the running lights and brake / turn signals working properly. I still have to mount the lower fairings and troubleshoot the air compressor before I can remount the pockets in the fairing. I am working on fabricating a new bottom for the rear trunk so it hasn't been mounted yet. I am slowly making progress, but still a few gremlins to shoo away. Here are a few pictures that I took today.

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