Vivacious Victoria - A GL1100 Affair
Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 1:25 am
Like many of you, I have this love affair with a well-aged woman, in my case ever so slightly older. She’s experienced, having traveled thousands of miles before meeting me, but that just makes the ride that much more enjoyable. Unfortunately, she also comes with baggage (literally, we’re talking full Vetter setup here). Dents, rust, scrapes; poor girl’s been through a lot. She’s seen a lot. She came to me fully undressed, ready to start a new chapter.
But seriously, let’s get this thread goin’. I finally decided to start a thread for my 1983 GL1100, Victoria, so I could chronicle her transformation from being old and tired to rejuvenated.
Lately I’ve been working on the engine and getting it squared away before trying to make anything pretty. I had started making a few cosmetic changes last spring while I was rebuilding the suspension and brakes and such, but then tragedy struck when I aligned the timing for the right cam with the wrong timing mark. I was pretty defeated at that point. With an increased demand of my time at work, two boys, and a guards schedule to work around, I put Victoria on the back burner until things slowed down a bit – in case you’re wondering, that’s right now.
I think I’ll start things off with what I got started on before getting into the engine bits, since I had to wait for parts to arrive - sometimes it’s best to build up the momentum so you hit it at full speed when needed. One project was to trim off the backside of a spare seat I bought on eBay and give the foam a little shape to see what it looked like in the flesh. Nothing fancy, and probably pretty standard stuff at this point, but it was a start to rebuilding.
The foam is well-weathered, so I’ll probably get all new foam when the time comes. However, I’ll be polling the audience soon in regards to seat/rear fender options. I have a couple of ideas that I need to flush out yet.
But seriously, let’s get this thread goin’. I finally decided to start a thread for my 1983 GL1100, Victoria, so I could chronicle her transformation from being old and tired to rejuvenated.
Lately I’ve been working on the engine and getting it squared away before trying to make anything pretty. I had started making a few cosmetic changes last spring while I was rebuilding the suspension and brakes and such, but then tragedy struck when I aligned the timing for the right cam with the wrong timing mark. I was pretty defeated at that point. With an increased demand of my time at work, two boys, and a guards schedule to work around, I put Victoria on the back burner until things slowed down a bit – in case you’re wondering, that’s right now.
I think I’ll start things off with what I got started on before getting into the engine bits, since I had to wait for parts to arrive - sometimes it’s best to build up the momentum so you hit it at full speed when needed. One project was to trim off the backside of a spare seat I bought on eBay and give the foam a little shape to see what it looked like in the flesh. Nothing fancy, and probably pretty standard stuff at this point, but it was a start to rebuilding.
The foam is well-weathered, so I’ll probably get all new foam when the time comes. However, I’ll be polling the audience soon in regards to seat/rear fender options. I have a couple of ideas that I need to flush out yet.