removing left engine guard/crash bar

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if you get the front of the bike way up you can get the guards off and on with the exhaust on. iits still a little puzzle but it worked for me. If the outsides of the guards hit the ground doing this you dont have it up high enough. On a table it might not be a problem but my table was occupied at the time I did it. JB

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On a 1200? All right I'll take another look at it.

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escogold wrote:

On a 1200? All right I'll take another look at it.

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I've not been successful in getting it off on a 1200 without dropping the headers, but I have heard it's possible.

John

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I can tell you from personal experience that you have to drop the exhaust header to remove the crash guard assuming you are talking about Honda crash guard and not an aftermarket crashguard. I've gotten really good at dropping the exhaust. One good thing is that it gives you access to clean things that are a P.I.T.A. to get to otherwise.

Steve

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Thanks guys. Sure looked that way to me! And it does need cleaning. I think all the gunk in there is from a leaking fork seal. It's caked in there and all over the shift lever fastener. I thought maybe it was the lever seal but starting to think the source was the fork seal. I'll find out when I get it cleaned off. Yuck. I kinda used to like to get greasy but now- not so much! I've never dropped the exhaust headers. Will they bolt back up without leaking or do I have to get some kind of new seals?

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There are exhaust crush washers (gaskets) on the headers that you need to watch out for. If in doubt, it's not a bad idea to have some new ones on hand, they are pretty available on ebay usually for less than $20 including shipping.

Steve

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escogold wrote:

Thanks guys. Sure looked that way to me! And it does need cleaning. I think all the gunk in there is from a leaking fork seal. It's caked in there and all over the shift lever fastener. I thought maybe it was the lever seal but starting to think the source was the fork seal. I'll find out when I get it cleaned off. Yuck. I kinda used to like to get greasy but now- not so much! I've never dropped the exhaust headers. Will they bolt back up without leaking or do I have to get some kind of new seals?

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The header gaskets are the crush type. As long as they're in good shape I've had no problem getting them to reseal. Be careful not to overtorque the nuts on the header studs thoughbecause the studs will break if you do. Also tighten them down in stages, not all at once on each nut.

I've had to replace several of those shift lever seals on 1200's. They're cheap and easy to replace. If you have all kinds of grease around it, it's likely leaking.
I believe this is the part number, but check with the dealer to make sure. It's number 35 on the cylinder block exploded diagram. Part #91206-286-013

John

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I don't touch the exhaust pulling the OEM crashguard off my 87 1200. Take the clamps and nuts off, loosten the lower frame bolt, almost till the nut is at the end, tap the shaft with a piece of wood and the crash bar will come out between the headers. Don't even need to jack up the bike.

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Thanks y'all and especially John. Thank you. When I first started twisting wrenches I never used a torque wrench except for the obvious stuff. Now I torque everything to spec. Great advice guys especially the cautionary variety.

esco

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You're quite welcome!

John

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P Yanney wrote:

I don't touch the exhaust pulling the OEM crashguard off my 87 1200. Take the clamps and nuts off, loosten the lower frame bolt, almost till the nut is at the end, tap the shaft with a piece of wood and the crash bar will come out between the headers. Don't even need to jack up the bike.

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Yeah, what he said...me too.

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In my humble opinion - buy 4 new crush washers and the (asbestos?) o-rings that mate the headers to the exhaust pipes. You'll be surprised at the sound level difference when you finish.

Generally I've found that they have a little noise that gets solved from leaks around either of those two items.

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Good suggestion thank you. Always a good idea to freshen anything up when you got it apart. Where do ya get 'em and how much$?

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Thank you rg.


I gotta take a look at it again to see what Yanney and Dennis mean. Just looked at it again. By "tap the shaft" do you mean the frame bolt? If I get if offa there, I'll take a pic of it all nice and shiny after the permatex bath.

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P Yanney wrote:

I don't touch the exhaust pulling the OEM crashguard off my 87 1200. Take the clamps and nuts off, loosten the lower frame bolt, almost till the nut is at the end, tap the shaft with a piece of wood and the crash bar will come out between the headers. Don't even need to jack up the bike.

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In total agreement. Tony

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What we mean is (sorry if I'm speaking out of turn for you guys) when you have the lower plastic and bar clamps off, loosten the lower engine mount bolt, which goes all he way across and leave the nut side almost off, and turn the bolt head side so it will move. You might need some WD-40 on it. Tap the engine mount bolt so the crash bar flops down. You can twist it out between the pipes, it's easier than it sounds. You don't need to remove the shift lever either. I would not touch the exhaust unless you have a ticking sound coming from it. It can be a real bugger to get the pipes in the heads if you don't have help. Paul

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Thanks Yanney. I got hung up with the carbs today. I seafoamed the gas and I've ridden it about sixty miles. This bike sat for six years and I'm trying to bring her back to her former glory. It's a shame because it's only got 36K on it and that's for real cause the former owner is a best bud I've known since he bought it new. It starts up great, doesn't wanna idle, backfires on deceleration and so forth. But that's another post ha. Anyway with the info y'all gave me I'll go back out and give that engine guard another look. Most of the plastic is off. Got most of the guard polished and it looks great compared to the way it was. Thanks again y'all.

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Sorry for a thread-jack, but have you poured any seafoam straight in the air intake side of the carbs?

I just got a GL-1500 that's been "put away" for too many years and I'm about to get aggressive with the seafoam on it as well.