Another 77 Resto...

[txtriathlete]

Can't believe I did it again...and with the 82 still in the shop. Although the Phat Gurl (so she says) is about 3/4 complete: just carb rebuild, paint and some minor metalwork left, so space should be opening up soon...

Anyway saw an ad for a 77 (listed as an 83) for $250 and couldn't resist. Its all there, very clean (ish) but a total restoration is needed. +/- 35,000 miles.





The PO had tried to get some work done on the heads - gaskets I think - which didn't pan out and left him with a somewhat disassembled bike. Once I got it back to my shop and off the trailer I had a chance to inventory everything and it appears to be all there. No tool kit (sad panda) but it does still have the kick starter.

One item I know I am missing is a head bolt - the bolts on the open head were just sitting in their holes and I lost one on the drive home, the other 5 were lying on the trailer bed. Looking at Partzilla fische it appears they are aren't available anymore so I'll have to search around for that, along with a headlight ring and standard seat. And it looks like the neutral switch wire was cut so I'll have to figure out what to do there as well.

I pulled the Vetter off and the wiring is very clean with just the scotchlock cuts on the wire shielding from the vetter install. The headlight wire is somewhat burned where the scotchlock was so I may need to splice in a short piece there. One happy surprise is that the PO had converted the points to electronic ignition so that's good news (if it still works).

Gas tank is not terrible, certainly not the worst I have seen, and should clean with electrolysis. Of course all the usual stuff will need to be replaced/serviced: brake parts, fork seals, water pump, tires, carbs, etc.

Speaking of carbs it came with a second carb deck which was nice. The plastic buttons on all the caps look solid and not cracked.

I was able to turn it a bit by hand so I know it isn't frozen, but I didn't want to try and crank it without knowing what was up with the previous head/valve job. Visions of smashed valves from an out of time engine...it does turn freely although it hangs up after two or three turns of the crank bolt. I'm thinking there's something (valve maybe?!?) keeping it from turning smoothly. Its going to get new head gaskets so it will all come apart for inspection anyway.

Still not sure what direction I'll take this one. Its clean enough for a total restoration, although I'm not sure I'm up for that level of detail. I may just refurbish it enough to ride as a naked standard. But now that its inventoried and superficially inspected I'll push it out of the way for a while until I finish the Phat Gurl.

[5speed]

nice buy..

[Graham Cracker]

Awesome...good luck with your project

[pidjones]

Do you know which head bolt you need? I believe there are two different lengths. I have some spares, but it would be next week before I can post one.

[txtriathlete]

Do you know which head bolt you need? I believe there are two different lengths. I have some spares, but it would be next week before I can post one.

I have 3 short and 2 long, so must be the one short I'm missing. I won't get back to this one until the snow is blowing so no rush, but if you have one to share I would be much appreciative. Just let me know what I owe you. Thanks!

[pidjones]

Do you know which head bolt you need? I believe there are two different lengths. I have some spares, but it would be next week before I can post one.

I have 3 short and 2 long, so must be the one short I'm missing. I won't get back to this one until the snow is blowing so no rush, but if you have one to share I would be much appreciative. Just let me know what I owe you. Thanks!

Let me check. I actually might have another entire set in the shed come to think of it. I took down a '79 engine that was rusted solid last year. I think that I saved them, plus I had purchased another set to replace one bolt.

[Fred Camper]

Clean canvas on that Gurl so you have lots of options. Runner, custom or restored runner. Need a name for the gal.

[wannabridin]

I too have head bolts should you need any. Also have a decent parts cache, lmk

[txtriathlete]

I too have head bolts should you need any. Also have a decent parts cache, lmk

Thank you for the kind offer. At this point the only thing I've found that I can't do without is the head bolt, but there's bound to be more once I dig into it.

[pidjones]

Found 'em! I've set aside a nice looking short and washer. PM me mailing info and I'll get it out to you next week.

[txtriathlete]

message sent. Thank you!

[txtriathlete]

No plan survives first contact...

First some background. Last year I planned an Alaska trip. About 7,500 miles +/- round trip from my house in South Dakota. As part of the itinerary I wanted to travel to Prudhoe Bay, the furthest point north you can drive. To get there you have to take the Dalton Highway, essentially a 414-mile gravel road used by oil tanker trucks. From the Wiki page: "The road itself is mostly gravel, very primitive in places, and small vehicle and motorcycle traffic carries significant risk." Gnarly. But life lead me other places last summer and I didn't go. This summer is COVID and borders are closed. So now I'm planning next summer.

I've been playing with the idea of selling the Valk and getting an ADV bike for the trip - not sure I want to do 400 miles of gravel road on the Valk. But I've got 3,000 miles of (mostly) asphalt between here and there, so not gonna take a dirt bike either. ADV seems the right compromise. So I've been looking at bigger ADV bikes for sale on the internet. Super Tenare and the like.

Enter the new to me 77 wing.

I've seen the ADV builds here (Wog, Kriss) and while they are exceptional, they are also well beyond my fabrication ability. But I think I can build a fully functional ADV out of the 77 without all the pretty fab work.

I think I can, I think I can...build an ADV bike, from a GL1000, that will carry me 7,500 miles over mixed surfaces, with only an oil change en route. And get it built and off-road tested before July 2021. 7500 mile trip to Alaska on a 45 year old, highly modified motorcycle - what could possible go wrong? Whoo hoo!

High level thoughts:
ADV tires are readily available to fit the stock 77 rims.
Fork extensions are also readily available. But are 77 forks stout enough to handle the off road pounding? Switch in 1200 forks? Change triple tree and use 1500 forks?
Stock handlebars are much too tall for this, but shorter bars are readily available and fairly inexpensive.
I have an old windscreen I can adapt for a windshield, I've done them before.
Longer travel rear shocks are readily available online, but how long? How much can I drop the rear wheel and not jank up the driveshaft? Can I get 2 inches over stock?
Exhaust will need to change, but that's a pretty easy fix to swap out the stock cans for a generic aftermarket set.
I have a set of 1100 side bags from another project that I think will mount with minimal fab. But they are thin ABS plastic, not metal - most ADV bags are metal or hard plastic. These are not.
I have a rear rack to mount a Givi or Pelican box for more storage.
Wog's build incorporated a set of auxiliary gas tanks. I really like that idea, especially given some of the distances between gas stops on the AK highway. Where did they come from? How do I get some? How do I plumb them in?
I know these late 70's wings have limited electrical capacity, but I would like to add a set of LED driving lights. Should I convert the headlight to LED? Tail and turn signals also? Can I squeeze out enough electrical capacity to also add a cruise unit and heated grips? A phone charger would also be grand...

I sense this may be moving over to the Underground Customizing forum soon...

[Track T 2411]

Reads like you've spent some time going through the possibilities...
Forks: 1100 forks w/ triple tree will swap right on, and are a little heavier. The '80-81 uses the same size tires as the 1000's. '82-83 is one inch smaller diameter, but wider. The 1200 forks w/ triple tree will swap also, are heavier still, but the tires are one inch smaller diameter than the 1100 (ground clearance?). You'll also be going to Comstar or cast rims unless you do some significant mods.
Fuel tanks: The auxiliary fuel tanks made for the early wings are pretty rare. They had a fairly complicated fuel line hookup. There is an installation manual posted in one of the forums that would give you an idea of the setup.
Lights: Swapping out the headlight for an LED and adding LED driving lights it's a good plan. Going through all the electrical connections would alleviate most issues with the charging system.