Pauls GL 1000 Project

[paultjack]

Now that I've acutally begun rebuilding on my GL1000 I thought it time to start my offical Project Thread.


[Edit] Here's the bike as it looked when I picked it up from the PO.



Here's a picture of it just after I got the bike started. It's been sitting for something like 12 years so getting it started was a real treat. Since I didn't have a battery I was jumping it from my car. I had several electrical problems to work out, too.


Here you can see the penetrating oil burning off. What a cloud that made!


Now that I have it running I've begun pulling the engine. I started with removing the timing covers and have those polished already.




This week I pulled the the Carbs which are now in rebuild progress. For the most part they're done, I just have to replace the plenum gasket and then button the whole thing back up. I spent today finishing the polishing. Brrrrr, it was 34 today.

Also, the Radiator, fuel pump and headers are off. I'm ready to finish pulling the engine as soon as I get my work bench back from the Carb Rebuild.

It's late now so I'll post some progress pics tomorrow.

[peteybug]

looks good for sitting that long. Every one I have brought back to life smoked like that . Like Wf says lots of pen-oil makes them clean up alot easier.

[Cookie]

Heck if I leave old yellow for a few weeks she will fog ya out.

[sunnbobb]

Thanks for starting a thread on your project. I am really glad i did one as well. I look back now and draw inspiration for moving forward...

[paultjack]

Sunnbobb, I've been drawing a lot of inspiration on what you've done! I really love the Radiator Overflow bottle! I don't think I'm up for putting on a real tank, but I really like the way yours turned out!

I don't know how to weld and I can only rattle can paint, but I think I have the other skills needed for this. Plus, I have the help of this and other web sites. However, I'll be primarily counting on this site for assistance!

[Roady]

Very nice job on those covers. Talk about coming back from the dead.

I agree with Sunny, it's great to have a record of your progress. Keeps you humble.

[paultjack]

There was nothing terribly fantastic about cleaning this set of carbs. I don't think I came across anything really notable as I had the typical rust particles in the fuel bows and minor varnish in the regular places. Carb Cleaner, Engine Degreaser, Scotch Brite and my Wife's Tooth brush (She was not happy) were what I used to clean. I did try some B-12 fuel injector cleaner - liquid in a can, not spray - and that worked really well. Some spray carb cleaner spray from Track Auto - hated that stuff! And, some spray carb cleaner from Auto Zone - that stuff was pretty good!

I went through about 5 pairs of nitrile gloves which shows the harshness of these products. The Auto Zone cleaner turned them into blow-up balloons while the Track Auto was pretty greasy.

OK, Here's the Carb pics I promised.

We begin with the original carbs:






This is how they look now. After I took these pics I decided the screws were still pretty cruddy so I did buy new screws but they're not in these photos. You'll have to wait until I remount them on the bike to see the pretty screws. I'm still waiting on the Plenum gaskets so I haven't finished hooking everything up. As soon as those gaskets come in the fuel lines will get added and everything completed. Oh yeah, I did also polish the throttle brackets after these photos were taken. Then these carbs get put in a bag and put away for a while.




OH! Watch out when buffing the carb tops! I totally removed "Japan" off one of them!

Next pics will be the final Engine Removal... Stay tuned.

[Track T 2411]

Yum! Looks very purty! I think I'm going to try the fork sliders on my '81. Not sure if I'm gonna like polishing, but I'll try it once!

Todd

[sunnbobb]

Hit those intakes with some Flitz Metal Polish, you will be surprised at how much more they mirror up...

[Sagebrush]

Carbs look nice . I hope you'll be taking a critical look at your fuel tank before you remount them. Hate to see all that cleaning go to waste because of gunk in the tank.

[lsgyger]

Those are some pretty good looking carbs! I'd run mine down to you for you to touch up, but I understand the Frederick Area got nailed! Not a flake of snow up here! Just cold and windy.
Larry

[morganfrmn]

so tell me how to polish metal like that...

I have never done it before...

what do you use...a drill.. or a roto tool...

[paultjack]

Hey Larry, you luck duck! You can have all my snow! I really could use some better weather so I could continue my bike work!

Morganfrmn, I won't pretend to be an expert on polishing. This is my first attempt and I can tell that I still have a lot to learn. Honestly, things look much better in the photos than they do in person.

As for the "tool" that I'm using I'm just using my 3/4HP bench grinder. I removed the grinding wheels and placed some 6" cotton pads on it. From what I can tell is this should be equivalent to a 3/4HP buffer, but it doesn't have the longer shafts that give you more space between the wheel and the motor. It really hasn't been much of a problem though.

So, my polishing technique has been this so far. Start by ensuring all the clear coat has been removed! It just makes a real mess if you don't. For the timing covers I had to really sand a huge amount first to get the corrosion off before I began buffing. That took forever. The carb parts were not so bad so I just buffed those.

I began using the black stick as it's the most aggressive. I learned not to put the stick on the wheel for very long - just about a second only. Just enough to get some on the wheel. Any more and you're just throwing it away! Then, buff, buff, buff. After I get it shiney with the black I moved on to the Red stick to try and take out the small scratches. Then, finished off with white.

I realized I'll not get the Sunnbob finish with my quick shine buffing. But they look 100 times better than when I started. Plus, I already planned on buffing again in the fall so it didn't have to be perfect this time. Just "Good Enough" for the moment. My main goal is to get the bike rebuilt. I'm not trying to take shortcuts though, just trying to keep certain things in perspective as to how much of a priority they are.

One final note. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POLISH INSIDE YOUR HOUSE! You will regret it! Buffing really is an increadably dirty job! You will end up looking like you just came out of a coal mine or a fire! The clothes you wear had better be disposable. You DONT want to put them in your clothes washer. I did and it left a horrible gookie film that was a real pain to clean up. And be sure to wear safety goggles! You will get polishing dust in your eyes and that's not fun! Oh, and be sure to wear some rubber gloves or else you'll have black hands for a week.

[Roady]

paultjack, would you mind if I put a link to your last post in my Making Shiny Parts thread?

You have an excellent method and used about 1/20th of the words as I did. I just love Cliffe Notes.

How do you secure the parts while polishing?

[paultjack]

Sure! Post away! It was in one of the links you posted about polishing that I used as my guide! They were all very good but one of them I liked better than the others - it was the one comenting on applying the stick to the wheel just a little but often. Before I read that I was really working the stick. Stuff was flying everywhere! What a real mess!

Secure parts? I had them removed and just hand held them. As long as you keep the parts low the wheel doesn't grab them.

Like I said before, I'm no expert - I've got a lot of learning to do about polishing. I wouldn't even call myself a beginner. I'm happy with my results for the most part and I guess that's all that matters. I'll be going back over these parts and trying some of Sunnbob's suggestions too. Always room for improvement!