"New" Goldwing.

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AA1
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"New" Goldwing.

#1

Post by AA1 »

Well, hello! Situated in South Africa, Johannesburg, having just acquired an early largely original Goldwing GL1000 with spokes.
I seem to have had a bit of bother registering on this forum, but now that has been sorted with an email received this morning, so here I am!.
I recently bought the Goldwing that has been standing for 10 years.
It has a few problems which I am going through one by one.
Steep learning curve, finding the tank can't be taken out to be cleaned and sealed, so I cleaned it in situ, with bi-carbonate of soda, Deoxidene (mild acid) and gave it a spray with ATF.
I got the bike started, it runs well, smoked a lot, but that is now over. The starter clutch is not working, I have found out what to do, but short of removing the engine, I will try and spray light oil up from the starter entrance. And btw, there is no way, the my starter motor will come out on mine, from the side, and there was no oil loss when I moved the starter, although I could see a bit of water/emulsified oil.
I took the bike on a 800 km trip, and it behaved well, solid, comfortable, brakes binding at times, had to add water from time to time, but no pressure and no overheating, which was a relief. I only broke down once, when it turned out that the reserve setting of the fuel stop had no effect! I could still see petrol in the tank, but nothing came out! Plenty of pushing the bike, when not able to stop on a hill, but easy starting apart from that!

I have a weird slow speed behavior as if the front tyre is flat, so fitted a new front tyre, but the feeling is still there, despite running 2.8 Bar pressure in the front. I think there is a slight braking effect on the front discs when I turn the steering, although I have no idea how that could happen!
There is also a small leak of water into cylinder no four, so I have slacked off the head bolts, one by one, and greased and refitted to torque. They (the bolts) were all dry, the engine has been rebuilt less than 1000 km ago, although 10 years ago, so I regard this as a late re-torque after rebuild. If it works, I don't know. Fitted new thermostat, flushed the radiator and also found a temperature switch for the fan, from a Honda car, not exactly the same, the thermostat opens at 75 (Celcius) degrees and the fan comes on at 95 and goes off at 90, a bit earlier than standard, which I am happy with here in this hot climate.
The two gauges (petrol and temp) don't work, and the voltage regulator is the culprit. I scraped all of the internals out of the aluminium box (literally chiseled it out) and I have found a small print, a DC to DC buck converter, that will regulate with a trim pot, it is small enough to fit inside the original box, has a small red led that can be seen from inside the tank, provided I use a clear resin to seal the unit again, which I will do.
Now the front brake master is off and so are the front calipers to fit new rubber parts and pads, hope that will sort out the binding.
Apart from that, a stunningly good bike for the open road. Super comfortable and capable and surprisingly sure footed, once on the go, I didn't take it past 160km per hour, but I am still surprised in many ways. The only thing is the seat, it is pink and white, from an 1100, I guess and fugly as sin. My last Honda was many years ago, a 450 twin, and that handled far worse than this Goldwing.!
But super comfortable, 400 km in a day is nothing on this bike.
All in all highly chuffed and positively impressed!
I normally drive Moto Guzzi, Norton and Suzuki, so this is a new experience.!
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pidjones
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#2

Post by pidjones »

Welcome! Early 'wings were fitted with ball head bearings that can get "notchy" feeling. Tapered bearings are available to replace, and I recommend replacing the lower at a minimum. Starter clutches can loosen up by slight over-fill with ATF added to the oil, then regularly parked on a steep up-hill (a tilting trailer would be ideal). If the head gasket still leaks, it is a fairly easy replacement. Make extra-certain the head and block are flat before re-fitting.
"Love 'em all.... let God sort 'em out!"
Ex 2006 GL1800 - the Black Pearl SOLD! to make room for:
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Rat
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#3

Post by Rat »

Welcome to the 'Wingdom.

Lots of helpers here and good info in Shop Talk.

Gord
"I'd rather Ride than Shine"
‘14 KLR650 ... not a rat ... yet
‘84 GL1200i ‘R2B6' (Rat to Be 6, the last, adopted by twowings)
My Original 'RAT' was a hybrid '82 CB900/1100F
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rcmatt007
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#4

Post by rcmatt007 »

Welcome to NGW. agree the ball bearing (even the later tapered ones) can wear little notches in the race.

Starter clutches can be fickle and not engage. often they will improve a the bike is used, but mine still will do the "not engage thing" when I am at a gas station and there are other brand motorcycles around
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
AA1
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#5

Post by AA1 »

Ha ha.
It is like with British bikes. Starting ability is inversely correlated to the number of spectators!
Found the seals for the front calipers! Still waiting for the rest.
I will give the head stock bearing a good look!
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rcmatt007
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#6

Post by rcmatt007 »

AA1 wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:06 am Ha ha.
It is like with British bikes. Starting ability is inversely correlated to the number of spectators!
Found the seals for the front calipers! Still waiting for the rest.
I will give the head stock bearing a good look!
yes, I have a Morgan three wheeler anim-cheers1
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
AA1
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Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2021 12:38 pm

Re: "New" Goldwing.

#7

Post by AA1 »

Comes in handy if you have had too much! anim-cheers1
JAP engine?
And I filled a bit of ATF. The starter has now engaged twice. The first time for one compression, the next time for about 4 firing strokes. So I will persevere. It certainly has made a difference.
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Rambler
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#8

Post by Rambler »

Welcome to NGW.
Randolph, Maine
KC1W
1982 Standard GL1100 … Alas no longer mine.. :(
Would really like to find another GL1100 .. the perfect bike.
AA1
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#9

Post by AA1 »

Thanks for the advice and welcomes!
just an update on the starting.
the bike has now started twice!
The ATF trick has certainly improved things!
Gowing
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#10

Post by Gowing »

Welcome, great first post. Reads like a tutorial for all new wingers bringing back a stored bike.
And yes, most experienced rider/owners are surprised how well our bikes feel and run.
👍
Dave

1975 GL 1000
1980 XS650
1981 ct110
1972 F7 KAW 175
2000 moby blaze 40cc
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Paola Zago
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#11

Post by Paola Zago »

Welcome AA1 !! can someone explain to me the "trick" of the ATF, , which if I'm not mistaken is the oil for the hydraulic transmissions and for the automatic gearboxes. it is always interesting to discover new things
Paola (Italy)
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rcmatt007
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#12

Post by rcmatt007 »

Paola Zago wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:35 am Welcome AA1 !! can someone explain to me the "trick" of the ATF, , which if I'm not mistaken is the oil for the hydraulic transmissions and for the automatic gearboxes. it is always interesting to discover new things
Paola (Italy)
I think the idea is that the ATF is thin and it helps clean off accumulated crud. The risk of course is that putting too much in, or leaving it in too long, you might compromise the lubrication the engine needs. People also have added "Marvel Mystery Oil" which is basically the same thing.
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
Paola Zago
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#13

Post by Paola Zago »

in practice if I understand correctly, if the clutch is blocked, do you recommend to put the ATF in the engine instead of the normal engine oil? obviously then once the clutch is released, the ATF is removed and the normal oil is added. Quite right?
Paola (Italy)
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rcmatt007
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#14

Post by rcmatt007 »

like marvel mystery oil, you add it to the regular oil
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
Paola Zago
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Re: "New" Goldwing.

#15

Post by Paola Zago »

rcmatt007 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 9:08 am like marvel mystery oil, you add it to the regular oil
ah, ok, now it's all clear! . just add just enough to unlock the clutch. but then you leave it or do you recommend changing all the engine oil with right oil?
thanks for your patience
Paola (Italy)
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