Naked '83 gl1100 to Café Bagger

[karmasoft]

I figured since I've been spamming threads left and right it was time to roll my project into one place. The plan is to refurbish this dusty, 30 year old gold wing into a shining, multi-purpose mount. When I think about what category of bike I want to slide this project into, it would be a, "Café Bagger," -- a sporty, comfortable motorcycle at ease racing from cafe to cafe, cruising the boulevard or riding across state lines.

"The best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry."

Here's what the bike looked like the day I brought it home, Memorial Day 2013:


...and here's what it looks like at the moment:


The first thing I set out to do was remedy the exhaust problem (a muffler unceremoniously fell off during my initial ride home) ... I documented that undertaking in this thread.

The more I peel away at this onion the more layers I find! I won't link all of the threads I've started but its been more than I anticipated. I'm a n00b motorcycle restorer and that's putting my qualifications mildly.

Here's the latest good news... sweet 30a fuse I inherited!


And a great connector:


I wonder if these were contributing to the slight mis-fire which could be heard in the exhaust note? There seem to be some good threads dedicated to the upgrade of the 30a main fuse so I'll follow those leads.

I've decided to paint the motorcycle panels myself, and I'm planning to document my progress (or lack thereof!). Here's what the underside of the faux tank of a 1983 GL1100 looks like, in case anyone was wondering:


Check out the top of the faux tank:


I pointed out the noticeable gap that bothers me and probably doesn't help my bike's weather resistance much. Also, check out how misaligned the faux tank doors are (were).

I disassembled the faux tank but I'm struggling to remove the last piece, which is essentially the large part of the tank door:


Any suggestions for how to get that thing off? Do I have to remove the rivets that bolt the whole faux tank together? Not sure how to do that.

[Neil]

Not sure myself if there is an easier way to do it but I had to remove the rivets to get the shelter apart during my project. Used a rivet gun when ready and reassembled it. Has been working great for 5 years.
If you do take it apart you will want to take pictures of how the door components were installed for later.

[Roady]

I like your plan for the '83 GL1100 Café Bagger.

[karmasoft]

@Neil, the rivets seem a little daunting to me ... well, every time I turn a corner I'm daunted by something new in this project.

I did take a bunch of pictures while I was disassembling the unit. I found this thread which suggests people had luck just removing the rubber seal.

So that's what I did, but with less success than I would have liked:


Fortunately, partzilla appears to carry a replacement seal, so there goes another $22... I'm nickel and diming myself to death in this project.

I *think* i remember the PO saying he had the rear brake pads replaced... do these look ok?


Lastly, there's a place locally who will mount my new tire for a good price (<$35). I'm having a devil of a time freeing the drive spline from the hub:


I've read elsewhere that the hub doesn't want to let the spline go without a fight. The goldwing docs article indicates on step 36 that the drive spline, "just pulls out," but my experience is not unless you are the incredible hulk.

Any tips on getting that loose?

[karmasoft]

Page 76 of the 1983 GL1100 service manual... "Remove the final driven flange,"


How?

[Easter]

Unless you have a good reason to remove the final drive flange, I would skip that part. If you mess up the rubber inserts they will be hard to replace except with ones from another old wheel, equally hardened and swollen. I did remove them from one of my wheels (for powder coating) by removing some of the studs on the reverse side of the wheel that hold the brake rotor in place. Then use a punch and hammer to drive the pens out from the back, working in sequence around the perimeter to keep the pens from binding up.

[robin1731]

Most people leave the drive flange in. Over time they corrode/rust and can be very difficult to remove. No real need to remove it unless you are changing bearings.

On the brake pad's. They look ok. But it looks like someone pushed the pedal a few times. Pushing the pistons out. Be careful they doing this.

[karmasoft]

Ok that's good to know that I'm not necessarily cutting corners by leaving it in there.

I kind of wanted to take it all apart, clean it out thoroughly, re-grease it all, and so on. I don't plan on taking this apart much (never again comes to mind).

I've already sprayed a bunch of de-greaser / wd-40 / etc., down in there in hopes of breaking it loose. I've probably sprayed just enough to get those rubber inserts really decaying, ugh, I didn't know the part was obsolete. My last resort will be to take the wheel to the auto-wash and power wash the dickens out of it. If that doesn't free up the flange then I'll just 'er rest.

[drumgod]

On my '81 it just pulls out. I pull it out when I re-lube the splines. (It makes it easier reach everything.) I put a very light coat of moly on the studs as well... If you put too much on them it will form an airtight seal and spit the flange right back out. lol.

Incidentally, I have found that I have to lube the splines at *least* twice during the life of a rear tire. (1-2 tires a year.) Even with an overdose of Honda moly lube it is often bone dry when I check it. It seems like the more I put on, the more is slung all over the rim but it doesn't necessarily help the splines stay lubed longer... Maybe because I do a lot of 70-80mph highway miles?

[karmasoft]

Well that flange didn't want to come out so it gets to stay in there. Fortunately (at this point) I have no ambition to paint the wheels.

Speaking of wheels... got the new rear tire mounted, woot. $18, including disposing the old one. I didn't get it balanced because I'm going to use beads:


I began spraying down the bike with a solution of 25% Simple Green 25% Clorox dishwashing liquid and 50% water. This mix is working pretty well so far.

Here's a peek at the little parts, nuts and bolts all bagged and tagged:


Now I'm on the path of painting. I bought a good sized air compressor second hand along with the harbor freight reel & hose, which I mounted:


But that's just for show until I sand everything down. Oh lordy sanding is not fun. I'm using 320 grit on these plastic parts. Here is what a half hour's worth of labor on the faux tank looks like. Lots of parts customers waiting in the wings too.


Those pinstripes are super stubborn. I'm going to look like Popeye when this project is over!

[Lucien Harpress]

Nice work so far. I think I prefer the '83s to any of the 1100 'wings. Something about that chunky front tire....

Good work so far. I'll be keeping an eye on this one, as I'm at the same point you are when it comes to a re-paint. Good luck.

[Easter]

Way too neat, way too organized. A messy shop is a creative shop! Yes, sanding is fun.

[sunnbobb]

Looks like you got the shelter hinge off. The hard part is putting them back on, but they will go on. Make sure and mask the rim of the shelter when you to to put it on in order to avoid chipping your paint job. Also, you can sand those panels quickly using an orbital sander and 400 Wet sandpaper. Use lots of water.

[karmasoft]

@sunnbobb I wish I would have read your post before I invested an hour into my 320 grit of manual dry sanding.

I did manage to get the bloody pinstripes off though!!! (and now my arms are rubber)


I do have a question though ... I'm thinking of perma-joining the left and right halves of the faux tank together. I do have the two little rubber joiner pieces, but there doesn't seem to be much point to them. Anyone else do this?

Another question ... the gold wing emblem:


I totally dig it and want to preserve it as is. However I'd prefer to remove it rather than tape / mask it. =/ The problem is, the mounting hardware looks kind of fragile; here's the under side:


Should I try to remove the gold wing emblem or just mask it?

Also, any advice on body filler? I'm thinking of going with Evercoat Rage because it seems pretty darn good from all the reviews.

[Easter]

I molded the two shelter halves together, and so far they are doing fine. Just reinforce the underside with fiberglass to minimize flexing.