Raising the Red Flag... Rebuild 1995 GL1500 SE

Weekend #1

First weekend's work consisted of sizing up the bike and planning the removal of all the bodywork in order to:

:readit:

1. Completetly clean the bike inside/out
2. Inventory all the missing pieces for the bodywork
3. Size up the extent of the electrical damage and plan removal of the main wiring harness
4. Plan fluid swaps
5. Evaluate braking system

The first weekend I removed just enough of the panels and saddle bags to take a decent look at the harness damage, the bodywork, the frame, engine, and controls.

The very first issue was the contents of the saddlebags, The left bag opened easy enough, but the right was being quite a bugger. The cat I bought DDRougette (Mark) from was never able to get the right saddlebag open. I figured it out in about 10 minutes, and inside was a BIG surprise: something about 12x12x8 that was FIBERGLASSED completely into the saddlebag.

At first thought, I was thinking "extra gas tank" or "Trip to Mexico special storage space" (Everybody get that one?) It's AZ bike, so maybe it was ammo storage... anyways, I went for the most reasonable explanation: gas. Trouble was. I couldn't find any fuel lines running to the bag. So I looked under the bag and surprise.... a 10" round hole in the bottom of the bag for a sub-woofer speaker. Mystery solved: Amp and subwoofer, which explained the extra battery, the wires, the FRIED WIRES, and all the extra wires running to the trashed-out speakers.

This was a disheartening start, as I was now going to have to replace both saddlebags ( the left one had multiple holes drilled in it). But I got lucky, and found a set 95 Pearl white bags the next day here in Sacramento (Buddah bless Craigslist!) So off came the bags, the seats, the main console radio, lowers, side panel(left).

The Main harness was bad, really bad. And there were many wiring patches for LED light strips (none soldered or shrink-wrapped). The guy Mark had bought the bike from had added on a funky "relay" to route the power for the amps and lights with all the lines exposed and easily shorted. The ends of the harness had melted, and I had to pry them from the front and rear connection points. But I got lucky: all the damage appeared to be in the main harness, and when I hooked up the battery charger, the console actually lit up , and the radio worked! I also tested the Interstate battery, and amazingly it was holding a charge.

Time in so far: 21 hours

Parts:

Saddlebags (2) 75.00
WD-40 (2 cans) 8.00
Paper towels 5.00

88.00


Cost-to-date:

Bike 1200.00
Trailer Rental 105.00
Parts 88.00

WEEKEND1 1393.00


NEXT: WEEKEND 2 - Clean,clean,clean......

Weekend #2



They look so gorgoeus, don't they? TheGoldwing has got to be one of the most beautiful pieces of engineering man has ever produced....


But inside her heart is a dirty, dirty girl :wtf:

Weekend two begins in thundering rainstorms sweeping across Northern Califronia. Inside my humble garage, I have removed all the plastic from the GL1500. The main harness has been disconnected front and back, and is ready to be removed.



It takes most of Saturday to do this, and as the semi-sun is setting, I roll her out to be washed.

Body work removed:

(removed previously)

• Seats
• Center console
• Key Console
• Radio

1. Mirrors
2. Windshield and trim
3. Upper front covers
4. Side covers
5. Headlight
6. Lower left Front
7. Lower right front
8. Left and right Vents
9. Speaker Panel and fairing top
10. Cluster and gauges
11. Front Fairing
12. Fans (L/R)
13. Trunk lid
14. Trunk trim and anntennae
15. Trunk
16. Left saddlebag
17. Right Saddlebag
18. Front Fork Trim
19. Rotor Covers
20. Front fender
21. Airbox
22. Rear Plate Panel and trim

I put some gentle detergent in the power washer, and using a medium setting I wash her as best I can. It's mostly dust and grime on the ground, and I manage to get her pretty good except for her underbelly.

OH, did I mention my jack gave out? Yes, my 10-year moto jack finally gave up the ghost, so off to Pep Boys for a new one (99.00).

Cleaning supplies by my side, and a six-roll bundle of paper towels, the manual cleaning began and by 10:30pm I had a decent cleanup done. (notice the big pile of rags in the pic above).

I used a citrus based cleaner for most of the frame and parts, but for the greasy underbelly, I used a mild version of grill/oven cleaner to foam away the crud. This worked well and did not compromise the metal or plastic.



So Far my missing parts list and replacements is pretty short. I go two sets of Japanese metrics from Cycle Gear, and I will hit Ace Hardware for the rest.

Remember how I said the brakes were working? Well, the rotors are pretty worn so they'll have to be replaced (You could actually feel the convex curve of the rotor surfaces, front and back. But no leaks, and the pads are worn but solid.



Finally, out with that damaged harness. Here's pics of the old one and the used rpelacement. Again, I lucked out got a full 1995 SE harness! :claps:




So as of Sunday afternoon, She's stripped down good and cleaned up. Out comes all the old oil, and I have flushed her with two new quarts of oil. I put a small STP filter on to do the first 1000 miles just to clear out all the cobwebs, with a larger Bosch filter waiting for the first real oil change to Rotella Synthetic.

Hey, anther nice surprise. The bike has a K&N Filter. Coolio.

Final task for the day: clean and flush the carbs. Manually pumped out all the old gas, and filled the pots with cleaner, letting them drain out the pot screws

Note: GL1500 pot screws will require a 16" + straight screw driver to reach from the front radiators. Be careful not to screw them completely out!


Time in so far: 41 hours

Parts:

Cleaning supplies 20.00
Screw/bolt set 18.00
Oil/Filters 30.00
Jack 99.00
Windshield grommets 15.00
Multi-Gauge 15.00
Carb Cleaner 9.00
Oil drain plug 5.00

226.00


Cost-to-date:

WEEKEND1 1393.00
WEEKEND2 226.00

TOTAL 1619.00


NEXT: WEEKEND 3 - NEW WIRING HARNESS and electrical

Best of luck with it. I did a similar project with a 1200 LTD (or what was left of one) a couple of years ago. Rebuilt it from the frame and engine up. Engine was solid. Most of the LTD specific stuff was trashed, and was no longer available. Which is just as well. I put over 200 hours of work and close to $3000 into it, and am still having issues. I even had to replace the rear wheel. It was one of the ones that the bearing/bearing recess was defective from the factory. I have it down to a very basic model now, all the LTD stuff is gone except the fuel injection, which was a nightmare in itself to get working again, because no parts were available. I spent $300 for a nice seat and backrest from eBay, put a new windshield on it, spent another $300 for brand new Progressive 416 rear shocks, $150 for a new regulator, and on and on. And right now it is sitting in front of my house and won't start.

The project you've embarked on will be frustrating, laborious, and one of great satisfaction and pride. There's a lot of satisfaction in bringing a neglected machine like that one back to it's glory days. One thing to remember, eBay is your friend.
I've rebuilt some GL1100s in my old shop that were further gone than that. One I stripped down to a bare frame and started back up from there. I'd tend to disagree with using hex headed bolts, it's way to easy for allen bolt heads to strip, they're okay where Honda uses them to hold plastic parts together but in any stressed use whre they need serious torque I always use hex bolts. It makes for a lot easier life later on down the road. Also when rebuilding a bike like that I used a fine wire wheel to clean the threads and heads of all bolts and fasteners. Getting rust and corrosion off fasteners is an imperative for a decent rebuild. When re-reinstalling steel bolts into aluminum threads I always used a little dab of aluminum anti-seize. Prevents steel bolts from galling aluminum threads. I never over bored and rethreaded bolt holes either the best repair is to use a Helicoil so that the repaired fitting can use the same size and thread bolt as the original. Be prepared for a lot of work and a great bike when finished.