Slowly fixing things on my 1976 Gl1000....

[mr west]

Hi!

First of all thanks for a great forum! I have learned alot here about restaurations and how to fix things. But know I think I need to start my own thread...
I bought my bike three years ago as I finally took the drivers license. I don´t want tear it down completely right now, but rather keep it on the road and fix a few things every now and then.

Next up I like to replace my low european handlebars to a higher touring bar. Before starting to dissasembly I would like to know what kind of electrical cables I need to run through the handle bar, as the original ones probably are to short? Is it 0.75mm2? How many are there in each side of the handlebar and what colours are they? Couldn´t figure that out from the electrical diagram....

And those of you who have drilled holes in your handlebars, are there any risk of the chrome cracking up, or how do you prevent that from happening?

Cheers!

[Roady]

Long time member ... first time posting. Glad to see it!

What year/model is your bike? Do you have any pictures?

[Oldewing]

Gee Roady, title to thread is.................................on my 1976 GL1000

[mr west]

Hehe... I don´t find any good pictures, but attached is one from 2011, looking like it did when i bought it.

Any idea about the handlebar wiring?

[Roady]

Sorry, I'm an 1100 guy so my wiring goes outside the bar.

Gee Roady, title to thread is.................................on my 1976 GL1000

Who reads titles? .#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.# besides you, of course.

[Easter]

Welcome, regarding the handle bars--many of us are taking off the high bars and replacing them with lower ones so there are probably several members with bars that still have the controls on them--much easier than trying to drill and thread the wire through the new bars. Even Honda abandoned the process after a few years.

[mr west]

That´s a thought of course, because I would prefer the original high USA-model handlebar that came stock. If any of you have a spare one it could be considered depending on the shipping. I doubt there´s too many of them here in Sweden though. I already bought a new higher handlebar that I´m planning to install, as all the ones I found here coming of the 70´s Hondas were expensive, bent out of shape or rusty.

[Easter]

OK, I didn't notice you were in Sweden. That changes things a bit. I think the wire gauge is about 14. I have only drilled the small locater holes but I have not had any problem with the chrome pealing back. But you are dealing with aftermarket stuff and that means it could be different quality from stock.

[mr west]

Really? Isn´t 14 gauge about 2 mm2? Seems a bit thick? Anyone knows how many cables and which colours I need inside?

I also have another question. I have already changed tires, forks, fork oil, progressive springs and so on, and know I´m curious to see what a fork brace could do to the handling. Seems impossible to find a used one in Sweden and new ones seems quite expensive. Anyone here willing to sell a used forkbrace? Or you have any ideas about if it´s possible to use a brace from antother bike with maybe the same measurements?

[mr west]

Took a closer look at the wiring and the good news are that there are probably enough wiring under the shelter also when using the higher bar. The other wires I have, so now it´s only drilling and swapping left...

But theres a new problem:
Engine misses out a lot on the lower rpm´s, and this has been getting worse.... When I coast to a stop I get a lot of pops and backfiring, I think from the exhaust. It also misses on idle and sometimes stops completely. When riding at around 5000 rpm it´s really not noticeable... there´s plenty of power in the higher rpms.

I understand best way to start is to check the ignition...
So I changed the breaker points, adjusted the timing according to the "split-timing technique". The coils including wires and caps measure the same, and the condensers measure the same. I even installed a "condenser ground upgrade cable" and checked and cleaned all connections at the condensers and coils. Battery has around 12,6 volts at the moment.

Set valves too, but they were pretty close before.

Also made sure the exhaust is tight without leaks.

Spark plugs looks fine all around. I tightened the caps anyway.

After all this I still have the same symptoms. What to do?! Could it be the coils or condensers anyway or do you have any other ideas?

[Roady]

What have you done with the carbs? Your problem sounds like the low-idle circuits need attention.

[mr west]

Thanks for the reply! I have done nothing about the carbs... do you normally have to do something with them if you use your bike regularly? I first wanted to rule out all electrical stuff.

I have the Clymers manual, and it says the most problems are likely to be electric, also Randakk says a lot of ignition problems mimic carburator problems.... so my first guess was that its the condensers or the coils, as symptoms of faulty coils or condensers seem like what I have.

Today I tried a new set of condensers, same problem.
Tried new resistor on the coils, same problem.
Cleaned up alot of connectors from the coils and starter switch, same problem.
Bought a new battery, same problem
Double checked timing, same problem.
Checked and cleaned out the advance mechanism, because of the theory that it might not return from "full advance" and the advance has been to much for idle and causing it to stop.

So it could still be the coils I think, and after making sure the coils are 100%, then it would be time for carburator rebuild? I think i will just order the Dyna S ignition with coils to have that ruled out (its really a pain to set breaker points as everything moves, and gap affects timing/timing affects gap, and plates are loose and so on...), and after that dig in to the carburaturs...? Sounds like a plan?

But just a thought, wouldnt carburator problem most likely just start at one cylinder at a time? this is more like they all stop at the same time?

Im a little hesitant to start a carburator rebuild in the middle of our short season here, even though I guess I have to do it sooner or later, so im just looking for a quick fix first i guess! Hahaha!

[Roady]

If it was running okay and suddenly changed, I'd guess electrical first too. Finish chasing those gremlins and then it might be time to look into the carbs.

[mr west]

Update:
Changed the fuel lines and filter. Turned out the downside of the old filter was completely black, probably from the 1976 fuel lines deteriorating? Couldn´t open the fuel pump as I will need a vice grip for one of the screws.

A package with my new Dyna stuff from Z1 in the U.S. arrived. Installed the ignition without too much trouble. Just as others I had to grind down a bit of the plastic on one of the modules, to do the timing. The washer for one of the screws holding the Dyna back plate, were just too tight! But the "split-timing technique" were easy enough, not having to worry about the gap and stuff, so it got spot on.

Now the bike runs great. No stopping at idle, pulling all the way through all RPM´s. Great accelaration.

Still there´s some slight hesitation that could be felt when just travelling at a steady speed. Will see what happens after cleaning fuel pump and putting on the new Dyna coils...

Will try to get some pictures up too.

[mr west]

This was probably the cause for stoping at idle?