Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

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rjdoles
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Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#1

Post by rjdoles »

Hello All
I am 72 years old. Retired since 2008. I have ridden various scooters and motorcycles since my 1958 Cushman Highlander that I bought in 1962. My wife also has her MC endorsement and we rode together until she was hit from behind while making a left turn. She never regained her confidence after that. Last year I was hit from behind. What are the chances of that happening twice. Since we don't heal like we used to we decided to sell the bikes but riding never leaves your blood.

Stuck at home with this virus and still feeling the need to tinker with something, I told my wife that I wanted to find a fixer upper scooter or mororcycle to give me something to do with my time. I started checking Craigslist and found a barn find 1977 Goldwing for $500 that had 45,000 miles on it. The previous owner said that it developed an ignition problem and he just parked it. It has been sitting for 15 years. I picked it up a couple weeks ago. It is the highest displacement bike I have owned. My previous "big bike" was a CB750.

I joined this site and wrote an introduction. I started adding to my introduction the process of bringing it back to life. Members suggested that I do it as a new topic rather than in the introduction section which makes sense so if you are interested in the process, here it is.

I am not trying to make it perfect but make a clean safe motorcycle to go out on for a ride in the evenings. Since I do like tinkering I will probably eventually fix every thing that is wrong with it.

I have never owned a Goldwing before but I thought the bike had good bones and it would be a good learning experience while keeping me occupied for a while. When I looked the bike over, it turned over with the kick starter so I knew that the engine wasn't frozen. There was no battery so I couldn't check the electrics. I looked in the fuel tank and it was clean. The previous owner had drained the fuel before he parked it. The rear brake didn't work and the pedal stayed down if you pressed on the pedal. The front brake handle flopped back and forth as the piston in the reservoir was stuck in. The throttle was stuck which I suspected was a stuck butterfly.

I brought it home and sprayed it down with degreaser, powerwashed it and then used a blow dryer to dry it back off. This is square one. Where do you start when you have to check everything?

The picture is what the bike looked like after the powerwashing.
GL1000 after wash.jpg
GL1000 after wash.jpg (142.97 KiB) Viewed 759 times
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#2

Post by Rat »

Looks like a great find .... keep us in the loop.

ShopTalk has all sorts of good stuff

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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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#3

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Never had a Goldwing before so figuring out where things especially electrical things are located and what they do will be a process. I got the seat and whatever you call the tank cover off to begin my project.
GL1000 disassembled.jpg
GL1000 disassembled.jpg (86.45 KiB) Viewed 746 times
There was no battery in this bike so i ordered a new battery. I could find them for $60 but every Honda I have owned had a Yuasa battery so I order one of those. It was $97. It was an AGM battery so I was surprised that it came with the acid in a separate inline 6 pack. You open the 6 vials and set it on top of the battery and the correct amount of acid drains into each cell.

I started with the stuck throttle. With the tank cover off I could see the butterflies moving a little when I twisted the throttle. I disconnected the throttle cables and discovered the butterflies operate freely from the linkage and the carbs snap shut when you release the linkage. Ordered a new set of throttle cables.

The rear brake pedal stayed down when you press on it. I drained the rear brake reservoir and put in fresh brake fluid. After pumping the pedal a hundred times with the bleeder open the pedal freed up and it now snaps back up when released. The rear tire spins fairly easily and when you press on the brake pedal it stop immediately.

After 15 years both of the tires are dry rotted. Converting the 1977 tire labeling system over to today's sizes was a little confusing but I managed to get them ordered.

I also ordered timing belts even though they only had a few thousand miles, they are 15 years old.

I ordered a front brake reservoir/master cylinder.

Back to waiting on parts.
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#4

Post by Track T 2411 »

Looks like a keeper! While you're waiting for parts there are a few relatively simple and inexpensive electrical maintenance and upgrades you might consider. Servicing the stator connector is good practice. It's the three yellow wire white connector just forward of the battery box. Just behind the battery box you'll find the starter solenoid, and an associated wire that has a 'dogbone' fuse, which is the main fuse for the electrical system. They are known to deteriorate with age, and it's a fairly simple process to replace the short section of wires and use a modern waterproof blade type fuse holder. I believe you'll find links that describe these procedures on the 'ShopTalk' page. There's also full color coded downloadable files of the wiring harness that you'll probably find very helpful.
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

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'Layla' - '81 Standard w/dealer installed fairing and Hondaline bags.
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'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson!
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rjdoles
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#5

Post by rjdoles »

TrackT2411: Thanks for the suggestion. The stator scares me because I believe you have to remove the engine to get to it.

If I have learned anything about working on a Goldwing over the past couple weeks it's that there isn't much room to do anything. Once I put something on, I end up having to take it back off because I did something out of order.

Case in point I got the new timing belts today and installing them was pretty easy but after reinstalling the radiator I realized that I could not reach the fan connector to plug it in so I had to remove the radiator again to plug the fan in and then reinstall the radiator again.

I took the muffler off which was a job. I was surprised that it was one big U-shaped crossover muffler with the two header pipes at the front. Cleaned and painted it. Reinstalling it was worse than removing it and the connection on the right to the headpipe is questionable. I am sure it is going to leak and be noisy.

Received the battery. I decided to get a Yuasa. It was more expensive than some other brands but that is what has come in every Honda I have owned. I was surprised that an AGM battery had the acid shipped separately. There is a six bottle inline reservoir of acid that you just unseal and set on top of the battery and the correct amount of acid goes in each cell. I installed the battery and turned the ignition switch on. The appropriate lights came on and when I pressed the starter button the engine cranked so the starter is good. Seems like most of the electrical is OK.

I did find that there is no spark. The previous owner said he parked it when it developed an ignition problem. I check the resistance of the coils and they seem to be fine. There is a no-name electronic ignition on the bike and I believe that is the problem. I ordered a Dynatek replacement for it.

I also installed the new front brake reservoir and bled the front brakes. Both front calipers are hanging up so I will order rebuild kits for them.

Makin' progress but getting anxious.
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#6

Post by Rat »

Buy a good runner so you can go for toot when the wrenching gets boring ....

One is never enough ....

Gord(mbs)Jones
"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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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#7

Post by Fred Camper »

Another item that is an issue after 40 years is the Reserve lighting unit. It was to let you know if the headlight was out and would work the taillights if one burned out. Easier to just keep the bulbs good so if you have lighting issues you will find the process to bypass it. Once you bypass it you find you have spare diodes so when the neutral light is stuck on, you have another diode to put in that spot to see if it is the diode or switch that is bad. You also should print out the wiring diagram for the bike as overtime you will reference it much.
Proud member of the NGW Cartel (Rochester MI)
1977 GL1000 BADDOG (April 2012 BOTM)
1976 LTD - '993 LTD...and so it begins'

You should remember that it's peace of mind you're after and not just fixing the machine. R.Pirsig
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#8

Post by gltriker »

"I also installed the new front brake reservoir and bled the front brakes. Both front calipers are hanging up so I will order rebuild kits for them."

Rebuild the front master cylinder, too. ;)
Cliff (74yrs ;) )

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RE: a thorough fuel tank cleaning
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'75 GL1000 home built trike; http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=39996
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previous rides:
1953 H-D Servi-car, naked, 1969-1978 (serial#53G1559 committed to memory!)
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#9

Post by rjdoles »

The previous owner said that he parked the bike when it developed an ignition problem about 15 years ago. I confirmed that the spark was erratic. I tested the ignition components and the coils seemed to be good. I removed a no name ignition pickup plate that was connected to an encapsulated box and harness from the fuse panel.

Going to install my Dynatek ignition kit today. I removed the spool from the previous ignition and cleaned the spark advance as it was sticking. I installed the spool, pickup and replacement ballast resistor. The original ballast was 3 ohms and the new one measures about 1.5 ohms. The new ballast should put more voltage on the coils and provide a hotter spark.

I connected a 12 volt test lamp to the blue coil wire to set the timing using the static method. I shifted the transmission into 5th gear and I was using the kick starter lever to roll the engine over to get close to the timing marks and then rotating the tire to move it back and forth past the timing mark to set the timing.

One problem is that the Dynatek pickup sensors interfere with the original lockdown screws/washers as the sensors extend almost to the edge of the pickup plate and cause it to hang so it won't rotate freely. Found some smaller washers that would still secure the plate and got the T2 timing set.

I sprayed a little starter fluid in the air filter box and tried to fire the bike up. Yaaaaaay. After two weeks it is running. Smoke, plenty of smoke. The garage immediately filled up with smoke. Some was the fresh paint from the exhaust curing, oily hand prints burning off, smoke from the exhaust as the Stabil fogging oil that I sprayed in the cylinders is burning off. The engine is running really rough, backfiring and it won't idle. After a minute I shut it down.

I went back to the ignition timing and static checked the (T2) blue wire again. It is pretty close. I then checked the (T1) yellow wire timing and it was off quite a bit. I static timed the sensor for the yellow wire and then started the engine again without starting fluid. Much less smoke as things began settling down, no backfiring and it ran much better. Still won't idle.

I felt the exhaust from both sides. Exhaust pulses were there from all four cylinders. There was quite a bit more heat/exhaust volume from the left muffler so I tweaked the side to side throttle linkage to get a rough balance from both sides. The engine is beginning to idle down. The smoke has stopped.

I let the engine run for a while and as the temperature gauge reached midpoint the radiator fan kicked on. No leaks of oil or coolant.

I have ordered a timing light and fittings to sync the carbs. I plan to gap the plugs a little wider, adjust the valves, sync the carbs and use the timing light to set the timing and then figure out what my next step will be.

All in all a good day. Life is good.
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#10

Post by robin1731 »

Gapping the plugs wider won't really do anything. Plug gap even with Dyna ignition is best at .028"-.032". Wider gap just makes the ignition work harder.

.
1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#11

Post by rjdoles »

I got my front caliper rebuild kits today. Used the front brake handle to pump the pistons out as far as they would go then removed the calipers from the bike. One piston came out easily and cleaned up very well and the other was harder to remove but I got it out. It had a little bit of pitting at the front but I don't believe that it extended far enough back to come in contact with the square O-ring.

I ground down one of the paint can opener churchkeys to the width of the square O-ring notch. I cleaned out the white scale and crud from the notch and then ran a bit of scotchbrite around it to get the last little bit. I popped the new square O-rings in and wetted the face of them with a little brake fluid before pushing the pistons back in. Popped the dust boots on and then installed the calipers back on the bike.

I used one of the Harbor Freight hand vacuum pumps to bleed the brakes but there is still some air in the system somewhere because the front brake handle feels a little spongy and it wasn't before I started. I will tackle this bleeding again tomorrow. I would like to have gotten the front brakes completely done today but being 72 years old there is a limit to how many times I can get up and down before my knees are all in so tomorrow is another day.

The bike rolls easily now and when I squeeze the front brake it stops immediately. After releasing the brake handle, the bike again rolls easily. Prior to the rebuild, the front brakes stayed stuck on which made it almost impossible to roll the bike around in the garage.

I am waiting on the rebuild kit for the rear caliper and once it is done then I can put a check mark on my to-do list next to the brakes.
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#12

Post by Rat »

Tie the front brake lever 3/4 of the way back to the grip and turn the bars hard left, on the side stand .... leave it overnight .... often the last bits of air will make their way up to the reservoir

Gord anim-cheers1
"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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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#13

Post by rjdoles »

Rat wrote:Tie the front brake lever 3/4 of the way back to the grip and turn the bars hard left, on the side stand .... leave it overnight .... often the last bits of air will make their way up to the reservoir

Gord anim-cheers1
Thanks for a great hint. I did this last night and checked the front brake this morning and it worked. I am thankful that I don't have to do more brake bleeding. At least no more bleeding on the front. My rebuild kit for the rear brake arrives on Thursday.
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#14

Post by Rat »

action1

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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rjdoles
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Re: Restoring a barn find 77 GL1000

#15

Post by rjdoles »

July 4. Thank all you vets for your service.

Went for my first ride on the bike this morning at 6 am. At that time of day it was still cool out and there was not another car on the road. Just a short ride. I will probably take a lot of short rides as I adjust things and then lengthen the rides as I get more comfortable riding it and also gain more confidence that everything is working OK. This is the biggest bike I have ever owned. Prior to acquiring this one it was a CB750 and a 750 Shadow spirit.

Even with the ignition timing static set and a rough carb balance the bike pulls very strong but idle is a little rough and it drifts from a low rpm to a higher rpm and back. I probably have carburetor work to do. The previous owner did drain the tank and ran the bike out of gas so they aren't too bad. I just rebuilt the carb on my sisters pontoon boat and saw firsthand what ethanol will do. Here is a picture of the jet area of the boat carb.
Ethanol.jpg
Ethanol.jpg (89.21 KiB) Viewed 617 times
I haven't learned the best tecnique for cold starting it yet. The choke seems to flood a couple of cylinders and then they begin firing again.

For carb balance I made a simple manometer by adding a little transmission fluid in about 25' of tubing. I connected the two ends of the tubing to cylinders 1 and 3 to balance the two right carbs. Then I connected the tubing to cylinders 2 and 4 to balance the right carbs against each other. Finally I attached it to cylinders 3 and 4 for side to side balance. This is not a perfect method but it is getting things closer.

Still waiting on my timing light to arrive.

Bike as it looks on July 4th.
July 4th.jpg
July 4th.jpg (116.89 KiB) Viewed 617 times
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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