Today I bought a new project bike. I recently sold off my 59 Chevy truck, and I needed something new to start tinkering with. I'm hoping it doesn't become a huge money pit!
I met the seller yesterday, he lives about 20 min north of Justintyme in Ft Collins, CO. He let me take the bike for a test ride while I was there, the poor trusting soul. Justin helped me bring it home today, and it didn't crash on me or burst into a ball of flames during the 60 mile ride home, so it could be worse...It is an '81 GL-1100 Goldwing (or Oldwing, as I think of it.) I paid a whopping $750 bucks for it.
The bike runs, and it rides out ok...but it is NOT without issues. I'm hoping to have the problems sorted by spring time, and to have made big progress on the style that I'm aiming for. Some of you may recall that I've been interested in turning an old Goldwing into a cafe bike for awhile.
The front brakes need work, probably a rebuild on the calipers, and a new master cylinder while I'm at it...Braided lines would not be outside the realm of possibility a little bit down the path, but I need to budget myself a bit, and I want to get it roadworthy as soon as possible. The carbs need rebuilding and synching, too. It runs, but it could run MUCH better...Those two issues are the big ones, followed by flaking paint all over and a bunch of surface rust, and then everything else. I think I may end up buying a powder coating set-up to accomplish my goals...If so, I would be willing to do up some parts for other folks too, to help offset my funding.
I'm finding myself torn...I know I should totally strip it down and start fresh, from the ground up...But I really need some instant gratification here, too. I had a very tough time resisting the urge to rush out and start buying cans of spray paint to see how my ideas will look. I may not prove to be so strong tomorrow... In the morning, this thing is going to start shedding chrome bits and other parts like the autumn leaves. It wants to be NAKED! It wants to become unshackled from it's previous life! I can hear it cryng out for help!
The awful Vetter fairing, and barfulous chrome engine cover plates will be the first to go!
Anyway, here are some pics of how it looks now.
I hope you guys will have a sprinkling of genuine thoughts & advice to share among the usual flood of sarcasm and foolishness! :lmao:
Wish me luck!
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Well, fire the engines! Spur this iron space-pony on!
new brakelines / brake serviceing first and formost... i could care if the thing runs like shit... if u cant stop your fucked.... new brakelines at a minimum! Hit up GnJ .... full set for a 919 is 75 bucks... for sexy SS lines...
If your front calipers are at all leaking past the seals, watch out for water saturated brake fluid induced corrosion in the square cut groove for the piston seal.
You are in a dry area, so all may be well and hopefully it is.
"Security is mostly a superstition, it does not exist in nature: avoiding danger in the long run is no safer than outright being exposed. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."-Helen Keller
Here is a link to my photobucket...these pics are a bunch of other bikes I'm gaining inspiration from. These builders have done some very fine work, starting with a blank canvas similar to what I have. Check out the details, exhaust systems, seats, gauges...My bike is not going to be identical to any of these, but there are many separate elements I might borrow!
Looks great, this is going to be a really cool project. Can you take the headlight out of the fairing and re-use it?
I can reuse the headlight itself, but there is no bucket behind it...thank goodness for ebay! I have one on the way, and should have it mounted this weekend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeliMech
Looks great!! I've been thinking about doing this same project for awhile. Gotta love the randakks dual weber carb setup!
That setup is very cool, but im planning to stick with oem carbs, unless i can score a supercharger or a turbo kit. That will probably be for the future sometime since it would
Be very expensive...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toast
The new seat will make the bike. what are your plans?
What, you don't like the look of that road-sofa? Its quite comfy... lol...no, truly! It really is!
i have a couple ideas, but my first priority is putting it back in good riding condition first...in other words...Shhh! Its a secret! I think you guys will approve, though...
Ive been doing a lot of thinking about paintjobs, and have some ideas there, too. Im pretty sure that whatever i choose to do, the best i will be able to achieve will be temporary satisfaction. I just have too many ideas right now!
Today, ive been thinking a lot about wheels & tires. The oem comstar wheels have some appeal, but spoked wheels might be even better. The stock rims are quite narrow, and there isnt a huge variety of tires available...and the widest that will fit is a 140 on the rear. Skinny tires just dont shout out "POWER CRUISER!" the way I'd like. If I go with spoked wheels, i can squeeze a 150 into the swingarm. Heck, i could do a 140 on the front, and do 150 on the back...the fat tire up front might look good! ...but how would that handle on the road, I wonder...
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__________________
Well, fire the engines! Spur this iron space-pony on!
I drained the old suspicious oil and put in a new filter, then used a 50/50 mix of oil and Dexron Tranny fluid...ran the bike for 20 minutes @ 3500rpm with this unholy mixture, and enjoyed the fragrance of hot engine & stinky smoke that signified my engine internals being de-gunked. While crawling around on the ground like a reptile, I also located some old gaskets that are leaking "Harley blood" on the exhaust headers... both valve covers, and the shifter seal gasket...not a biggie!
Then I drained the disgusting mess of fluids (Phew! STINKY!) out of the bike, swished half a quart of fresh oil around in the engine (kill switch off & crank the starter for 15 seconds) drained that, too and then re-replaced the filter and filled with fresh, wholesome Rotella T. Mmmmm! I could feel the old girl sigh with relief...
All this was quite challenging, using only my left arm, with my right arm in a sling! It still only took an hour and a half! Tomorrow I may try a compression test!
After that, next on the agenda is, change the coolant and address the brake issues!
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__________________
Well, fire the engines! Spur this iron space-pony on!
Nice lookin bike, and great progress. I too have had my bike on the chopping block, i got a post under the customs forum. Anyways just wanted to say its lookin great so far, and me personally if u want to get it on the street as quick as possible dont think about paint or wheels yet i would ditch the big ass "street sofa" and get a solo seat if possible, it would make such an amazing difference. But thats also the beauty of customizing your bike to how u want it. Either way its looking good and i cant wait to see this beast when its done!
When I bought this poor old bike back in late September, I expected that I woould have it pretty much complete and on the road by now...But that was before I crashed my 919, my primary bike and my favorite! Since then, I've been slowly buying the few mechanical parts the Oldwing needs so that I can make rapid progress after I get my 9er rolling again.
I did ride the Wing to a new location (at my GF's place) a couple weeks ago...It was my first time on two wheels since my crash, and boy did it feel good! This old Wing is going to be really nice someday soon! Stay tuned for further updates!
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__________________
Well, fire the engines! Spur this iron space-pony on!
The gl1100 is a great bike. I just finished "refreshing" my fourth one, this one for my son. I rebuilt the carbs using the randak kits, highly recommended. The best thing you can do for the ride quality is put in some Progressive fork springs and shocks. The difference is like night and day. After trying several different tires I've come to believe that the Bridgestone Spitfires suit the gl the best. Excellent mileage and because they are dual compound the handling is great.
I had a single carb set-up on my 81 that was killer. Unfortunately the guy that made the kit is no longer in business. victim of the economy. But if you can find a "Cycle Innovations" kit it would be worth the swap. But make sure it is for the 1100. wish I had a photo handy of my 81 to show you.
I passed on the chrome stuff and polished my forks, valve & timing covers and intakes. It looked great. ditched the stock seat and put a Valkyrie solo seat on. added a Mac exhaust and trimmed about 25 lbs.
When I sold the bike it had 286K and ran like a clock. Enjoy.
Hey, thanks for the tips! when I'm not here on WT, I've been perusing the goldwing forums looking for ideas. My personal opinion is that the old GL is a bit frumpy looking (and performing) in stock form, so I'm trying to update things a bit where it counts...I think there is a lot more scope for that on the GL than there is on the 919. I'm not planning ot get totally crazy, but some improvements are definitely needed!
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__________________
Well, fire the engines! Spur this iron space-pony on!
It's really hard to go too far wrong in making a bike look like Octane's Bulldog bike! That thing is BAD ASS! Look for vids of it on youtube...There's one of it going 0-120ish in like 3 seconds!
( I have a Speed Triple seat that I'm planning to use in my build, like this one)
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Well, fire the engines! Spur this iron space-pony on!
It's really hard to go too far wrong in making a bike look like Octane's Bulldog bike! That thing is BAD ASS! Look for vids of it on youtube...There's one of it going 0-120ish in like 3 seconds!
( I have a Speed Triple seat that I'm planning to use in my build, like this one
The only thing I don't like is the exhaust. And that's the ONLY thing.
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“You may have thought you heard me say I wanted a lot of bacon and eggs, but what I said was: Give me all the bacon and eggs you have.”-Ron Swanson
It's really hard to go too far wrong in making a bike look like Octane's Bulldog bike! That thing is BAD ASS! Look for vids of it on youtube...There's one of it going 0-120ish in like 3 seconds!
agreed! it is one of my goals to cafe an older style GL one of these days!
Quote:
Originally Posted by fordboy357
The only thing I don't like is the exhaust. And that's the ONLY thing.
agreed as well.... actually, only thing i dont like are the gattling gun tips. the rest of the exhaust is spot on!
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