[oldmopars]

Hello,
My name is Scott and I recently bought a 1982 GL1100 Interstate. I have been riding a Reflex Scooter clone for a while and wanted something bigger for long distance cruising. I had a very low budget and so I did a lot of looking. I found this bike on CL and gave the guy $300 for it. I was able to get it home and had to have a new key made. It came with title, but no key. I jump started it and it fired right up. My first ride was short to get the feel for it and see what all it needs. I know I will need to do the fork seals and get a new battery(had to borrow the scooters). I will be doing all the normal fluid changes and brake inspections etc.
As I looked over the bike I was pleased with all the extras to PO had put on this thing. It has Jardine pipes, UNI air filter, Super Brace on the forks, Travelcade seat and lots of extra chrome bits.
So, a few questions.
1. The forks, I know they use air, but I have seem progressive springs available. Is this a good upgrade or should I stick with the air(after rebuild)?
2. My Tachometer still works good, but the glass is missing and it had a chrome trim added, it is missing also. My speedo and center lights have chrome trim. I assume this was a kit, where can I get a replacement for the tach?
3. The headlight just flops, the adjustment knob is not attached anymore, how do I get it out to reattach the adjuster?
4. Were the chrome trim and lights on the front brakes factory installed in 82 or aftermarket? (they cover the calipers and rotor)
5. There are 2 or 3 of the windscreen captive nuts missing, where can I get those?
6. Even after only a short run, the faux tank was real warm and was warm on my legs, is this normal? (not hot hot, just very warm)
So, here is a picture of it, any other things I need to know? I know the side cover is missing over the battery. Is this color Brandywine?
Thank you so much and I look forward to getting to know you all.
Scott

 

[jackjohn]

Hi Scott and welcome to the forum. Since your new ride starts and runs, you got a heck of a deal for $300. There have been a number of threads on the forum concerning resurrecting these bikes. Do some searching and you will find volumes of information. I'll answer any of the questions that I can. If you don't have one, get an OEM Honda Service Manual, this will go a long way to help with your work.

1) A lot of us have changed to Progressive springs. They will hold the front of the bike up without air. The thirty year old OEM springs just can't hold the front end up any longer. You don't have to cap the air off, just put all the connections back on after changing the springs and you will be good to go.
2) The glass on the tach cannot simply be changed. It will be much quicker and less expensive to find a replacement on Ebay.
3) There is a nut on the adjustor stem, remove it to get the headlight out. You may need a helper to ensure the light doesn't fall when that nut is removed.
4) Those are aftermarket, as is most of the chrome I see in the picture.
5) They may be in the bottom of the fairing, Get a magnet on a stick and fish around down in there through the turn signal holes.
6) Very warm is a relative term, the GoldWing (all versions) will blow more heat on the rider that the scooter you are used to.

Be sure to change the cam belts first, these give no warning before breaking and always look good except for the break. If this should happen, the very least that will happen will be bent valves and it can get much worse from there. Good luck with your resurrection, keep posting and let us know how it is going.

 

[namsgt1946]

82 Wing

Hello Scott! I have an '82 with quite a bit of upgrades. I am running progressive springs on front and rear-- eliminated the air completely. It was a good change-over. Also a big second on changing the timing belts. I also did the follower rollers at the same time. There are great articles in forum an these changes. PM if you have any questions I can help with>

 

[wda-83wing]

:waving: welcome to the site.

as you see there is a bunch of info available here .
if you don't have a manual , of witch there are 3 . i like the Honda one the best. but i have used all 3 on the same problem. some times you can find one in the wanted/for sale . just watch the years covered. yes , there are a bunch of changes .
best of luck .

 

[oldmopars]

I will do the cam belts soon, thanks for letting me know that. I will keep posting as I get this thing back on the road. I am on a very tight budget, so it may be slow, but that is OK, I wanted a project. I had a VW Bug and sold it to get a new project, just smaller.

 

[Bike...and Dennis]

Welcome to the forum.
That's a great deal.

 

[swjones214]

Scott, welcome to the forum. Loads of good advice here, all of it free; lots of free advice here, some of it good... The best advice I've gotten on this site was to go with progressive springs, followed by something on oil- a lot of guys on this forum use Delo 15-40 oil in their Wings. It seems to make everything run a little better, and eliminates annoying little problems with shifting these older trannys. I didn't pick up on this for about a year after experiencing a couple of issues, switched to Delo, and the problems went away. Give it a whirl. You'll find that the Wings are great bikes, will run forever, and have a passionate following. They just need a little TLC.