My new 79 GL1000 Livingroom project.....pull up a couch!!

[TheGLuer]

Hey All, I just joined the site (which is Awesome btw) and after browsing around I have a few questions, heres what im working with.
Once there was this dude who got a 1979 Honda GL1000. Said dude was not Mechanically Inclined but figured this was his chance to learn. He bought a bunch of parts, he took a bunch of things apart, he never put anything back together. Later he sold it to a buddy with the same intentions who took a few things apart, put nothing back together and then sold it to his buddy about 2 years ago. That 1979 Honda GL1000 is now in my condo livingroom (see Pics)

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I am an Automation Technician with over 12 years experiance in manufacturing working with mechanical, pnuematic, hydraulic, and electrical automated systems so I am not new to turning a wrench so to speak, but i have no experiance with repairing motorcycles though I am not new to riding. I finaly started working on this beauty about a month ago and while I am loving it I have some questions and this definatly seems like the right place to ask them.
Eventually I plan to make a new wiring harness add either an Arduino or Rasberry Pi and a bunch of crazy customizations but I need to get it running as designed first. I was trying to rebuild just the carbs and then peice everything back together and get a ride or 2 in before the snow. After rebuilding the carbs I removed the covers over the intake ports and realized fresh carbs was not enough with all the visible dirt and corrosion. I removed the heads to get a better look at how much work i needed to do and at that point I decided to just tear it down to the frame and do a full rebuild back up as they looked rough, it sounds like alot of fun and also it snowed today...... As you can see from the pictures I basically have it down to the frame. Before I worry about anything else on the bike I figured i would start with its heart and rebuild the block and heads. I was getting ready to dissasemble the block after removal but after looking around for rebuild kits I realized parts are kinda scarce. I found a rebuild kit made by 4into1(uncertain of Quality) that comes with alot of gaskets seals and piston rings but i couldent find anything that comes with new pistons, rods, valves etc. I have Browsed the forum topics but I am not seeing anything though I could be looking in the wrong places. Any suggestions on sourcing internal engine and head parts and recomendations on full block rebuilds, what should definatly be done and what is not necessarily high priority etc would be great! Or where I should be looking on the site for that information. Also whoever created this site is a GOD. So many questions have been answered in the last 4 hours I have been browsing!! Thanks for any assistance. PS.
I ALREADY HAVE NEW TIMING BELTS!!

[TheGLuer]

Additional Pictures

[Oldewing]

Heads don't look bad, seen way worse. Clean them up, if you want, full on rebuild. Then drop them off at a machine shop that speaks motorcycle and have them gone thru. Valve's are NOT to be ground, just a quick lap, seat's can be done. Guide's are pretty stout and normally don't need anything. Clean up the short block and you should be good to go. Rebuild of the short block get's hard and costly real quick. Bearing's are tuff to fine and harder to buy. Most just go with another short block.

Looks like your off to a great start.

Nice shop

[Chainman]

Welcome.
I love the idea that you're doing this in your living room.
You can get this thing out when you're done, right?

[CYBORG]

Welcome to the site. LOVE your work shop I'm guessing no Wife in the background

[5speed]

this is awesome. I have a cousin that rebuilt a goldwing in his apartment..
as mentioned..unless you know the bottom end has issues..I would leave the short block alone.
unbelievable that there isn't a manufacturer out there that reproduces bearings for rods and the crank but apparently not.
one thing I've noticed..the "deck": on the heads were the head gasket goes look very rough. Is the old gasket still stuck to the heads?

[Rednaxs60]

Welcome to the forum - nice workshop. Lots of good info here for the learning. These oldwings are more intimidating than anything else. First recommendation, get the OEM service manual, Honda did a good job compiling all the information you will ever want to know. If you are going to do the work you mention, take the heads in to be done, saves a lot of time. The shop should take the heads apart and put back together, you'll have to supply new valve stem seals.

Have been working on my '85 1200 Limited Edition this year. New paint and engine rebuild. Gasket sets are available, piston rings are a challenge to find, but don't stick with the motorcycle world. Canuckxxxx used rings from an early model chev tracker for his engine rebuild. The only unknown before taking the engine apart are the con rod and crank journal bearings. Have to take the engine apart to see what colour the bearings are. It's necessary to use the same colour bearing. For instance, my crank journal bearings were one black and two browns. Honda used a colour code for the bearings. Another fellow in Aussi, Gc33 I believe is his handle, has sourced some automotive bearings for his rebuild. Check all the internal bearings, replace as required - most are readily available from any bearing company. I had two bearings that were seized, one on the end of the alternator shaft, the other on the end of the final drive shaft. Had a squealing in the engine every time I let the bike sit for a while. Wasn't until I took the engine apart that I found these. Have the cylinders honed to remove the "glaze" that builds up in the cylinders after years of use.

It is mentioned that a lot of people just replace engines. Good advice, but a used engine or part is used and old. These engines are very robust, last a long time. Buying a used engine is a crap shoot, can be good, can be bad. Rebuilding your engine while not inexpensive at least you will know what you have. Depends on whether you intend to keep the bike or not, never recoup the investment.

New wiring harness. Check out the forum thread by mcgovern61 over on the ClassicGoldWings forum. He did a complete rebuild of an 1100 wiring harness. Have a good look at the connectors and either replace or clean the originals. Get yourself a good set of wire strippers, and tools to work on the connectors.

I have looked into a suitable aftermarket ECU replacement for the ECU on my '85 1200 Limited Edition fuel injected bike. The challenge is to keep the same functionality that I now have in that the ECU, travel computer, and dash are interconnected. Settled on the Speeduino project for the replacement. It's on hold at the moment because of the paint and engine project. Unless you are going to go fuel injection, I'd stay with the bike systems as is. Many have tried the conversion to fuel injection, but not a lot come to fruition - it's a lot of work.

Best of luck. Keep posting. Cheers

[flyin900]

That back cylinder on the right hand side looks like some water may have entered on the bottom of the liner it has some stains. The one head cavity also has some scuzzy material vs the other chambers and may match that cylinder. Clean up the bores and see how it looks afterwards.
These bikes do not have much value when finished, so I would be careful in spending or over replacing parts in there. You can end up underwater financially pretty quickly.

[pidjones]

Not too bad. Check the valves and seats on that cylinder to make sure they aren't pitted. Maybe shave the cylinder walls with single-edge razor blades to get a bit of the build-up off of them. New head gaskets (valve stem seals while the heads are off), new water tube o-rings, rebuild the carbs, new belts, flush the crankcase side, clean electrical connectors (about two weeks if done properly), put it together, set everything, fire it up!

Unavoidable costs: brake system rebuild, carb kits (and tools if you don't have them), tires, battery?, gaskets, fluids. I'm presently doing a '76 RD400c that will end up costing a LOT more than any of the three GL1000s I've rescued.

[5speed]

3 days..no updates..
wonder if his condo assoc saw this thread and evicted him?

[CYBORG]

3 days..no updates..
wonder if his condo assoc saw this thread and evicted him?

thats the thing about condos........ about all they allow is paying the dues