Proud new owner of an ’85 GL1200 LTD

[ronvdm]

Hello everyone. As you can tell from my user name, my name is Ron. I have never owned or operated a bike before but just recently decided to purchase one. I looked at a lot of bikes but was won over by the Honda Goldwing. I found a 1985 Goldwing GL1200 LTD for sale just a couple of miles from where I live in Burnaby, BC Canada.

It had been sitting for a number of years and would not start but it had only 30,000 or so km's on it and, according to the seller, had been running and was in good condition when he parked it several years ago. It had been stored indoors and cosmetically was in a very nice condition. I decided that it would be a fun project to work on (despite having no experience with working on motorcycles) and purchased it for $600 CDN.

My intention is to strip it down and turn it into a naked Goldwing as I will only be riding it locally and will not need all of the bags attached to it. I have heard on other forums that it is not a good idea, and possibly not possible, to turn a standard '85 GL1200 LTD into a naked version. Any responses to this issue would be very much appreciated.

If it is possible to turn it into a naked GL1200 LTD, then I suspect that I will have a lot of questions as I begin tearing it down. I look forward to learning as much as possible from all of you. I can't wait to get it running and to take a ride on such a beautiful bike. All the best, Ron.

[CYBORG]

Welcome , and thanks for the intro. Lots of help here, just ask when you need. 1200 is a good one to start with. and the LTD is the cream of the crop

[delling3]

Anything is possible with enough $$$. I am not an expert, but the biggest hurdles to making a naked '85 revolve around the instrumentation and the "gas tank". Of course not a tank at all, the shelter on the LTD, Aspencade, etc. are integrated with the fairing. Removal of the fairing will leave big holes in the front of the shelter. The shelter also houses a lot of electronics - most of which would not be used on a naked bike, so you will need to find an alternate shelter solution and deal with a lot of no longer used wire harness. The instrumentation is digital - more of a dashboard than instrument cluster, so you will likely want to source a completely different instrument package. Again, it can all be done, just going to require more work than starting from another bike.

[Sugs]

Welcome to the site!

[77Gowing]

Welcome, enjoy.

[5speed]

Not another Canuck???

welcome to the site..Be sure to change the belts and start a build thread!

[Track T 2411]

Welcome from south of the border!

[ronvdm]

Anything is possible with enough $$$. I am not an expert, but the biggest hurdles to making a naked '85 revolve around the instrumentation and the "gas tank". Of course not a tank at all, the shelter on the LTD, Aspencade, etc. are integrated with the fairing. Removal of the fairing will leave big holes in the front of the shelter. The shelter also houses a lot of electronics - most of which would not be used on a naked bike, so you will need to find an alternate shelter solution and deal with a lot of no longer used wire harness. The instrumentation is digital - more of a dashboard than instrument cluster, so you will likely want to source a completely different instrument package. Again, it can all be done, just going to require more work than starting from another bike.

Hi, and thank you for responding to my questions. After thinking about it, I will likely keep the shelter and fill in the holes, that are left after the removal of the fairing, with fiberglass. I saw somebody on youtube do the same thing and also changed the shelter so that it looked like a cafe racer style tank.

The person then removed all of the digital gauges and imbedded new ones flat into the surface of the shelter. If possible, I might try that as well. I want a minimal number of gauges while still keeping the important ones (Fuel gauge, High beam, Neutral, OIl gauge, Odometer, Speedometer, Tachometer, and Temperature gauge). I would also remove the trip computer.

Someone else in another site suggested that the removal of the fairing/bags would negatively impact the fuel injector (maybe it is attached to the fairing in some way?). Are you familiar with this issue? If so, can you provide further info. regarding it? Thanks again for responding to my post. All the best, Ron.

[Sundance]

You have picked a nice bit of work to involve yourself in. Welcome here to a really helpful group of 'wing-lovers'...and I do suspect that 'wing-love' is the whole reason you (as well as me) made your choice. It shall be interesting!!
....Sundance

[Martiangod]

just do it,
im a newb, tackling an 83 aspencade. be prepared for lots of work/fun.
welcome to the site, make sure you start a build thread, the animals love pictures

[ronvdm]

Hello again everyone. I thought that you might all like to know what I have decided to do with my bike. First thing to note is that I am doing this as a project with my brother who has copd, which is not curable and will likely lead to an early passing. So, this build is more about spending time with my brother than anything else.

Having said that, we intend on proceeding as follows:

(1) take off the fairing and the bags;

(2) try to get it running without tearing the engine apart;

(3) remove all parts down to the frame so that we can paint it and clean the engine so that it shines (might paint parts of the engine as well;

(4) once it is running, replace all of the non-engine related parts that have likely worn out (i.e. shocks, tires, etc);

(5) this is where it gets difficult, we are going to either (a) replace the shelter/false tank with an actual gas tank and remove the existing tank or (b) keep the shelter/false tank and fill in the holes left by the removal of the fairing;

(6) (a) if we remove the shelter, then we will have to find a new place to hide the wiring (maybe under the seat where the original tank had been) and eliminate all of the wires for the components we will not be keeping (such as the trip computer, the radio, etc) or (b) if we keep the shelter in place, then we will remove the wiring we won't need;

(7) cut down the fenders, then paint the fenders and the tank/shelter;

(8) replace the rear dual shocks with a mono shock (as seen in my avatar);

(9) replace the lights; speedometer, tachometer, handlebars; seat etc so that it looks more like my avatar; and

(10) take it out for a ride!!!

I may have forgotten a few things but this is generally what we would like to do. I will, of course, be seeking help and guidance from all of you as we move along.

All the best,

Ron.

[77Gowing]

Ron, what a noble cause you have to spend time on this build with your brother. I hope he improves and you both enjoy your times together.
I started my project because my elder brother kept telling me about his 75 and 75 GWs he bought brand new.
I bought my basket case to build for him, but he declined, so I offered it to my son who also declined (Mind you I told them both that I would build it and they could have it). Well after screwing up a few times on my first MC build it fell to me. Next I had to learn to ride (still do it seems).

all the best to you and your brother I'm sure all of us here are rooting for you.

[ronvdm]

Ron, what a noble cause you have to spend time on this build with your brother. I hope he improves and you both enjoy your times together.
I started my project because my elder brother kept telling me about his 75 and 75 GWs he bought brand new.
I bought my basket case to build for him, but he declined, so I offered it to my son who also declined (Mind you I told them both that I would build it and they could have it). Well after screwing up a few times on my first MC build it fell to me. Next I had to learn to ride (still do it seems).

all the best to you and your brother I'm sure all of us here are rooting for you.

Thank you so much 77Gowing! That really means a lot to me.

[77Gowing]

It is my pleasure. I'll be watching and learning. Remember pictures.

All the best.

[robin1731]

I want to see one built like the one in your avatar.

.