Gaskets to address my coolant leaks arrived this week, and I stole a few hours to work on the Cabernet today.
I replaced the small o-ring seal in front of the water pump, which has been dripping a bit.
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And I pulled the right coolant tube to address the leak above the head. It's pretty clear that pinched o-ring was part of my problem - despite my "super careful" approach to installing the coolant tube o-rings earlier - was a pinched o-ring.
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It's possible that was my only issue with the leak, but I also re-replaced the gasket that mates the tube to the head.
I ran the bike through several fan on/off cycles - probably 30+ minutes, running it up above 5500rpm a few times. No issues on the coolant yet (fingers crossed).
I also got serious about my little electrical issue: the Neutral light was coming on whenever I pulled the clutch lever.
I had thought I crossed some wires when mounting up the bucket and put some real time in that nest - including a couple trips to the wiring diagram.
Then it was goldwing forums to the rescue, as the issue I had is an obvious symptom of a... wait for it... failed neutral diode.
The hard part was finding the darned thing on the bike. After that, easy peasy - because the gods saw fit to give me a spare - from our '83 GL1100 donor.
Here are a couple shots of the neutral diode in its native habitat.
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- PXL_20210828_212005242.jpg (216.16 KiB) Viewed 437 times
Pull the airbox, and it's a plug and play swap.
I also relocated the front signals just below the Honda emblem. If my measurements are roughly accurate, I have at least 3/4" between the bottom of the rubber signal mounts and the top of the fork travel. I'm a little nervous about mounting them in that area, so I'll be watching fork compression and clearance carefully once I get her on the road. I do have about 3/8" of room between the signal and the frame at full lock, and it's all below the faux tank - so that's good.
And I'm awaiting delivery of my tap and die set to hopefully not screw up a fix on the broken shock mount stud. After considerable thought and suggestions from the NGW tech forum, I'm going to start with the least dramatic fix: tap a slightly smaller hole in the mount, don't go especially deep into the mount, and use a bolt and lock washer to keep the shock in place. First, the nut/bolt mostly keeps the shock on its post, so it's not taking all the weight. I don't want to risk weakening the part that does bear all the stress. Second, if that approach doesn't work, I'll be able to size up and drill deeper if needed. Third, if it all unravels on me, I'll drill out through the frame and run a bolt out through the hole. I think that's something of a last resort.
I'm really itching to plate this bike and run her 1000 miles to get a feel for the ride. That little 4-mile stretch last weekend was barely a tease.
Avatar is a summer '21 photo of the Blue Phoenix, our 1983 GL1100I rescue gone naked.
In the Stable and Ridable
1992 ST1100 - my longer haul tourer
1992 XJ600S - son's streetfighter
1987 VFR700 - son's latest, in blue/silver
1983 - GL1100I - naked Blue Phoenix (son's, really)
1982 GL1100I - naked bagger Cabernet
1979 GL1000 - Ginger Lynn, but not that Ginger Lynn (Wing and a Prayer)
1978 CB550K - son's cafe (carb issues still vex)
Active Project(s)
1979 GL1000 - Confirmed one owner, with original paperwork. Vetter fairing and bags, off the road in dry, heated storage for 35 years.
Sold
Not lookin' back to avoid regrets