Wheels, brakes, handle bars, and engine love.

Lots of work done today. I took the leap and removed the front and rear wheels. This was a daunting task for me because of the brakes. The book was clear and the work was simple. I got to inspect the rims and I am happy to report that I saw no rust on them! The brake pads are rotten, so I will be ordering a new set, $33 bucks off the interwebz for all 3 brakes for a 33 year old bike is a great deal. The enclosed drive was also a big concern for me, I really was afraid to see what condition the teeth were in; fortunately, they are well within spec according to the manual.

I also took the opportunity to replace my handlebars, it was really easy and took perhaps 15 mins total. I love the new look! I also installed my timing belts and made sure the engine was ready for my new solenoid that should arrive tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get the engine to run.

Whats up with my engine?

Last year I did a top end rebuild. New gaskets, polished the piston heads, repainted the headers, and put it all back together. After all that work, I tried to start the bike and my hard work was rewarded with 2 seconds of the engine turning over and then nothing. Hitting the starter again, all I got was a loud metallic "thunk" (or heavy click). Frustrated and out of bike money (gaskets are not cheap), I left the bike sit for a year. After talking with my father-in-law over this weekend and sharing a rousing discussion as to what could have possibly gone wrong, I got some motivation to revisit the issue. This particular engine is an interference engine, meaning the valves and piston heads can make contact when out of sync. Typically, the valves are no match and end up getting bent, which is a bad thing. So last night I tore into the bike, released the cams from the timing belt, and made sure both cams and the engine could freely by hand. It seems that the valves might not have hit the pistons. Before putting the belts back on, I decided to hook the battery up and make sure the starter could turn the block over and possibly eliminate any questions that might arise if the engine jammed up as I reassemble it. To my surprise, all I got was the same audible "thunk" when I hit the starter button; it should have turned the engine over with ease. It was at this time that I thought the starter was bad. The interwebz confirmed my fear that the starter would be over $200 bucks. Aside from that, the process of pulling the starter was no simple task. 


Deflated, I talked it over with the wife and I decided that this might be the end for the project (at least for this summer). However, tonight I received a call from my father who asked about how the bike project was going. Surprised, I explained to him my unfortunate luck and expressed how upset I was over the situation. The old man pulled through for me and gave me a trick to test if the starter was indeed dead (listen to the video for the tip). It turns out that the starter isn't dead, but rather, the solenoid went bad. Even better news, the solenoid is an easy pull and replace job! My fantastic wife gave me the go-ahead to order the new part off of ebay. $30 bucks well spent if this gets my engine to finally fire up. Check back later this week for an update!

Handle Bars and Headlight

The tear down has officially started. I drained the engine oil and front brake fluid, took apart the speedometer assembly and removed 1/2 of the handle bar gear. Evan helped remove the front headlight with his new tools. He did a great job using his crescent wrench! So far, so good, nothing has been rusted on, nothing has broken, and no lost washers or snapped bolts. I bagged and tagged everything I thought was important; on the rebuild we will see if I did a good enough job!

Video of the work progress. Sorry for the crazy camera work, I am going to work on that.

Setup and Preperation

List of items and things I will need to help with organisation, tear down, and rebuild.

1. Boxes. I am going to start with diaper boxes, as I have a constant supply.

2. Digital camera. I am expecting this camera not to survive the project because I will not be able to wash my hands every time I take a photo.

3. Zip-lock baggies and a felt tip marker. To hold smaller pieces and nuts n' bolts.

4. Masking tap. For labeling parts.

5. Tools. Gotta sort out my metric from SAE. *sigh* that is always fun.

6. Clear garage space and set up tables. The wife is allowing me to lay siege to the garage. Thanks honey! =D


So here is a couple videos of the bike and works space.

The End Game Look

These photos are of GL1000s that have been restored and customized to their owner's taste. They are also my inspiration.

History of the GL1000

The Gold Wing made its debut at the Intermot motorcycle show in October 1974 as the GL1000. It featured a flat-four 999 cc (61.0 cu in) engine, and had a dry weight of 267 kg (590 lb). 13,000 units were sold in the United States in 1975.

Although the GL1000 was listed as a touring motorcycle, it was sold without fairings. Soon, a market developed offering fairings and luggage accessories, including the Windjammer series by Vetter Fairing Company. With only minor differences for different markets, the model remained virtually unchanged during the 1975 to 1977 production run. In 1978 many changes were introduced, including changes to the faux tank shape, instruments on the top of the faux tank, seat, camshafts, carburetors, exhaust system, Comstar wheels, and removal of the kickstart.

During the final run of the GL1000 in 1979, Honda included their own saddlebags and trunk, but still did not offer a fairing. Honda sold more than 97,000 units of the GL1000 in the United States between 1975 and 1979. Source

Model:	Honda GL 1000 LTD Gold Wing
Year:	1978
Category:	Touring
Rating:	73 out of 100. Show full rating and compare with other bikes
Engine and transmission
Displacement:	999.00 ccm (60.96 cubic inches)
Engine type:	Four cylinder boxer, four-stroke
Power:	82.00 HP (59.9 kW)) @ 7500 RPM
Top speed:	196.0 km/h (121.8 mph)
Compression:	9.2:1
Bore x stroke:	72.0 x 61.4 mm (2.8 x 2.4 inches)
Valves per cylinder:	2
Fuel control:	OHC
Cooling system:	Air
Gearbox:	5-speed
Transmission type, final drive:	Shaft drive (cardan)
Chassis, suspension, brakes and wheels
Front tyre dimensions:	3.50-19
Rear tyre dimensions:	4.50-17
Front brakes:	Dual disc
Rear brakes:	Single disc
Physical measures and capacities
Weight incl. oil, gas, etc:	295.0 kg (650.4 pounds)
Fuel capacity:	19.00 litres (5.02 gallons)

Source

Introduction

I am going to take a 34 year old Japanese motorcycle; tear it apart, repaint, refurbish, replace, and rebuild it. The journey will an incredible challenge, however, I will take each day one at a time and try to enjoy every minute of it. It is my hope that the end of this adventure will result in my bike fully operational and ready to ride. I am optimistically giving myself a 20% chance of success on this project, however, I am eagerly looking forward to the challenge and reward that might be waiting for me at the end.

This blog will serve three purposes:

1. To document my work.

2. To share my work with friends and family.

3. To serve as a therapeutic reflection that will allow me to examine what has been done, what needs to be done, and motivate me to continue.

My goals:

1. To have fun, learn about my bike, and each day, take a step forward to completing the project.

2. To restore my bike to a level of fidelity that would allow me to ride across the country.

3. To restore my bike without breaking the bank or consuming my life.

4. To do as much of the restoration as I can without outside help.

5. To blog the entire process!

It is my intention to photo document every step, piece, process, part, victory, and failure in this blog. As far as organisation goes, I doubt this blog will be updated daily, so I may make each "event" or "stage" of the build a separate blog entry. So stick around and check in when you like; at the very least you will get to see a 34 year old motorcycle in pieces!