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Thanks for the tip on IDing which seat I have.

I thought it was a later GL1000 seat, as I had read about the bump on the later ones. But it's tough to really tell in lots of the photos I've seen, and in 40+ years lots can happen by way of seat swaps.

I have the version with pleats for the driver, a break, then pleats for the pillion. Before I buy a replica cover, I'll share a photo and get confirmation that I have a 78/9 seat.

It did not come on the bike. I rode about an hour last spring to fetch it from a guy who was deep, deep into his own naked GL project and seeking to offload its seat. I thought I got a great deal for the pan, good foam, and a cover that needs replacing.

I don't think the LEDs were needed on the speedo/tach, but the package had enough bulbs and it's one size for all instruments on that bike. (Or the ones I opened.)

I was sort of afraid to try the LED instrument swap. I've done headlights, which is really a game changer for night vision. I've done signals as well, with less dramatic effect and more of a pain.

I did nothing fancy on the color: basic white bulbs. The ones I picked up have a kind of "frosted" bulb cover that probably dims them enough that they don't have the issues so often reported in the online spaces.

Now that I've done it for this bike, I'm going to look to replace my lights for my GL1100 fuel and temp gauges, which are impossible to read at night. I'll need to figure out the right match there.

The other nice thing about LED in instruments is they do not heat up. Without LED the constant "on" neutral (when the switch or diode goes bad) then melts the plastic housing causing a light leak and the neutral light then makes the others glow. But no such melting with LED bulbs.

Weeks go by, and no updates from me. I'm making progress, to be sure.

Life has also interrupted, in good and less than good ways: My oldest son graduated college, which is awesome!; I had 3 pipes burst in that mother-of-all-coldsnaps a couple weeks back; work; and a work trip to Chicago.

Tires
I ordered up some tires, as it's time to get more serious about seeing the end game - a bike on the road. Motosport reported they were available, until I bought them. Now, they await inventory. I shifted to Motosport for tires about a year ago, after they really helped me out on a bad tire purchase when they didn't have to. My former typical source, a company whose initials are DK, got really aggro on the phone when I called about some tires they sent with a date code from a couple years back: "We're legally able to sell tires up to 5 years after manufacture." I didn't even start off testy. What the...? I'll put the miles on those tires as quickly as possible, but I won't buy from those folks again. Oh, well.

Cockpit
I don't have much in the way of photos to share. Mostly, I'm tinkering, it seems. I did take a nice shot of the LED instruments - before the headlight was mounted and installed. It's a pretty good look. I flipped the voltmeter and fuel gauge. I was thinking I'd mount up a digital voltmeter with a USB port - gps/phone charging. I have to say that the voltmeter on the bike is spot-on accurate, at least as compared to my multimeter readout. I don't need to know it's 14.4 and not 14.1. Mainly, I need to know if I'm overcharging or simply not putting juice back to the battery. For now, I think I'm good with what I've got. When I use my phone gps, I only use the headphone and audio directions. I don't own a phone mount for a bike - eyes on the road, or mostly on the people out there on the road who always seem too preoccupied with their phones while driving to notice much of anything.

Cable Routing - Woes and Wins
Everyone here knows that cable routing can get dicey once you go with lower, and lower rise bars. I'm running superbike bars with something like a 2.5" rise. I'm good on tank clearance from lock to lock, which is important.

The clutch cable routing is too clever by half. While it works, I do think I have more of a bend in one spot than I want. I'm not sure I'm satisfied "enough" with what I've got and may attempt one more route maneuver.

Throttle cables were a disaster, after they weren't. Things were fine until I started buttoning up the wiring/bucket up front. My cables were way out in front, and that just wasn't going to cut it as I started bolting on bits.

As I tucked the cables in, things bound pretty quickly. I learned a few things on the forum that anyone needs to know when trying to change routing on the GL1000.

• Throttle cables route "behind" the crossmember running just above the rear of the carb rack. It seems weird, as the tank goes right in there as well. But there's a hard 75-90 degree tweak on the cables if routed from in front of the crossmember. (I think I owe Whiskerfish thanks for that guidance in the search results.) The cables were incorrectly routed when I got the bike; I just repeated the mistake when I reattached them.

• It's extremely helpful if the cables are routed up OVER the top of the air filter unit, as it helps draw in length without kinking things. (Cyborg's or Pidjones' tip, I think.)

• Single cable. I was about to go with one cable in an old skool move, as it's recommended by several. (Cyborg; Sidecar Bob, as I recall.) I mounted up one, got 'er working smoothly, spring retracting things nicely, etc. Then I decided to route the second cable and see what happened. I got both in there, and the throttle isn't binding. I did run around the front of the right fork tube then back under the bucket and along the left inside of the shelter, with a nice upward arc to bring the cables around with a minimum of tight bends.

After a strange 60 minutes that involved multiple connects, disconnects, etc., things are feeling, working, and looking pretty clean.

Fenders
I ended up chopping both the front and rear chrome fenders. I went back and forth on this decision, mainly because I didn't want to molest the vintage fenders. (I was eyeballing CB900 fender up front and a CX500 in the rear.) But my fenders are really not in great shape - nice from 10 feet. I couldn't use the whole front fender with the '83 forks. When I chopped the back of it to cut off the mounting holes left by the bracket and started cleaning up the underside, I exposed some actual pinholes in the metal. So I had to cut the front fender a bit more than originally planned. (It's still a real fender.)

It looks like the GL1000 fender is going to have enough tire clearance when mounted to the stock location on the GL1100 forks. I'll check that again after I get new tires mounted. If needed, I'll fabricate a small riser bracket.

I cut the rear from the "front" to retain the mounting holes and rolled edge out back. Basically, I just pushed the fender up and in. I have yet to drill new mounting holes, but the mock up gives me enough clearance to retain the grab bar and have about 1/2" of room to the taillight mount.

Lighting
Headlight and front signals are now mounted and working well. I ended up using some CB650 fork ears, which have posts to mount up signals. I'm using what were likely rear signals from a 70s CB up front, and they go nicely on the posts. I don't have the lights on all the time signals up front, but I don't think that'll run me afoul of the constabulary. They'll match the rears perfectly, which are also ready to get mounted up.

Headlight bucket is from a GL1100. I was able to make use of the plastic connector holder to keep things pretty tidy on the inside. As the chrome is pretty pitted and rusted, I opted to paint the bucket and keep the trim ring chrome. Not bad.

I noticed that my bike lacks the little "cover" that hides all the wires associated with the idiot lights. I don't think I took it off at any point, or it would have been stashed with other instrument cluster bits - which I clearly pulled out and mounted up. It's not really noticeable, but it does keep those wires out in the elements.

Electrical Gremlins
Some may recall that I had a bit of a headache sorting out a good bit of the rat's nest wiring I found when the bike rolled off the trailer in my driveway. I'm so glad the electricals seem to be coming together pretty well here. (I remember the days when I sat there next to the left side of the bike just trying to sort out what I needed, didn't need, and what the wires I needed were doing with the bike.) Solder, heat shrink tubing, connectors, and liquid electrical tape are friends.

On Sunday afternoon, as I was getting all my lights tested (front/rear signals, brakes, etc.), I noticed that my rear brake didn't activate the light. Switch? Wiring? After applying some electrical parts cleaner to key connections and the switch, and after tying the wires together to test the wiring, it seemed the switch was to blame. It turns out that the GL1100 uses the same basic switch, with a slightly different "plug" on the cable end. And I had a quick GL1100 rear brake switch handy, so I was able to get the rear brake to activate my light without too much trouble.

Every few times I'm working on the bike, I stumble on a likely issue with the clutch kill switch. Usually, I make a quick mental note that I need to eventually focus on it. And then I don't think about it. Is it disconnected? Are wires cut? Is the switch bad? I've seen bypassed switches, broken switches, missing switches. I'll get around to it, I expect. I've not actually had to think about it, as the bike sits in neutral on the stand and starts when I ask her to.

One thing that can help with clutch cable routing when you have Superbike bars is to go from the lever up over the headlight bucket then down over the air cleaner. Resulted in less cable effort for me with my low rise bars. This allow me not to have to shorten the cable. I do run a fly swater windshield that hinds the routing.

it looks like the leds you got have a wide dispersment which is perfect for instruments. if you had the narrow ones, they just don't light up the panel well.

I figured someone down the line will benefit from another "look" at cable routing with low-rise bars, so here's where I'm at. The clutch has a pretty good feel, or so I think for now.

Things look pretty tidy, even if things are a bit packed in. The clutch cable runs "under" the choke mount, atop the triple tree but under the cover for the lights, and around the horn. In order to reduce immediate bends out of the lever and the stresses on the instrument cluster cover, I took a dremel to the choke mount. There's still plenty of meat on the mount. I know I saw that somewhere else here but cannot remember who wrote it up first and can't give the credit due.
Coming out the right side, the clutch and throttle cables cross each other. And the view from the front is suitably clean, with the caveat that I don't have the little lower cover for the instrument cluster. Unless I discover some real issues once the bike is on the road again, I think I have the routing mostly dialed in at this point.

Seems to work well, since you do not have a screen going over the headlight bucket was a no-go. Good choice overall due to the too long cable.

Love the double banjo on the brake master. makes bleeding the fronts effortless. With 44K miles you will be able to take her on the highway soon, Only 50K needed for highway use LOL.

Fred: Love it. 50k for highway use. I'll keep that in mind. The bike is almost 45 years young and not yet broken in for serious service.

Will someone be changing the belts in 2068, when the bike is 90? Hmm. It won't be me - unless the recent age-reversal discoveries in mice yield a major medical breakthrough (https://www.science.org/content/article ... aging-mice).

I like the double-banjo and lines. I was thinking I'd do that once I started in on the fork swap. Then I really scored on the replacement MC from an ST1100, as it came with the Galfer lines and double banjo. It's in better shape than the rig on my ST1100 - and the length is perfect for the bike. If the bars were even 4" taller, the lines would likely be too short. With the ST1100 MC, I get low-profile and know it'll move enough fluid for a pair of double-piston calipers. I installed bar-end mirrors, so I don't need the mirror mount any longer.

I'm really pleased with the way the whole cockpit is looking - during the day, and with the LEDs in the dark.

I guess I'm making up for uneven progress reports, as I have another quick update.

Before I forgot about it for another month, I took up the clutch kill switch this weekend. I was unaware - until now - that the switch was an easy "pop out" from the clutch lever housing. I had imagined it was somehow integrated and might require replacement of the clutch lever unit.

Anyway, I popped it out and doused it with electronic parts cleaner, working the button in and out about 30 times. I started hearing the "click" in the button. After it dried, I put an ohmmeter to it to confirm continuity when pressed - and none when not. I reinstalled, snipped the wires that had been soldered to bypass the switch, soldered up some more wire with female plugs, and she's good to go.
It's not as unobtrusive as the original, as is obvious, but it's mine.

I plan to paint the final drive housing black, so I pulled it to start cleaning/degreasing. While I was "down there," I remembered I had not yet removed the brake pedal for a fresh lube. The very old cotter pin was very stuck, but she eventually came loose.

Given the location, I had imagined the post would be pretty corroded. But no, she was really quite clean, and it was nice to see the recess that enables a good gob of grease to sit in there for, umm, 45 years. I wiped it all down.

I trip to Ace later, and I had a fresh pin on site. I slathered on a heaping teaspoon of bearing grease, slid the pedal and spring back on, affixed the rusty but serviceable washer, and slipped the new pin on. Happy me.
It's really too early, but I got tired of staring at those old, painted-by-PO rear shocks when I have nice Progressives sitting in a box. I had the right shock almost off, so I fished out the Progressives and tried them on for size. They're a perfect fit. (Surprise! Not really, as they're made for a GL1000.)
I did notice that I'm going to need some washers/spacers up top, as they're not as wide as the originals and I have a little left/right play on the posts.

And, of course, a weekend around the bike wouldn't be complete without starting her up and letting her come up to operating temperature. Even with the frigid temps, very old tired battery, and no trickler on it for weeks, she kicked right over and started right up. No surprise at this point, really, except the part about not having to use a portable jumper to boost the battery.

Good news all around. Love the rear shocks. Need a nice set of those but at CB750 length.

Good things do come up on eBay from time to time. Patience can be a good thing.

For a few months, on/off, I had my eyes out for some decent replacement shocks, and a bike breaker posted these old-but-still-very-good Progressives pulled off a GL1000. Thinking they wouldn't sit up there for long, I took the plunge.

I made some time today to re-insert the fuel tank. It's been a while. Next, I'll put fuel in the tank, disconnect the hanging fuel cell, and start running fuel through the tank.

I'm hoping I don't discover that I need to yank it for access to some thing or other. But then it's not all that daunting.

If it were May, I really do think I'd have the bike out for a test ride as soon as possible.
But we've had snow twice in the last 5 days, and I think we're due for a couple more bouts of the white stuff by Sunday.

I need tires mounted, brakes hooked up and bled, a little futzing with the exhaust, a good carb sync, and paint. And the panels are in primer, so paint isn't even needed, really. I think the bike is that close.

I've noticed rebuilds tend to go that way.

Far from done, far from done, far from done, almost doneBOOM- ready to go.

Thankfully while it may make a lot easier to do, the tank doesn't NEED to be removed to get at much. Looking forward to the end result!

Those of us in Michigan are doing repairs now as wrenching can take our minds off of riding as te roads are not yet ready for us. Makes repair more relaxing.

I'm sooooo glad to not live any farther north. My available winter riding days are usually plentiful. Tomorrow we are expecting near 70 degrees. This year has been different because I've been staying closer to home for the past four months. Boss's health is improving just in time for nicer weather. Staying home hasn't been too bad since I had my project to occupy myself.

I'm clearly rounding the home stretch on this build, which is a really good feeling!

The saddle sitch: I've been working on a fiberglass pan to build my own seat. And I have an original 78/9 seat that can be recovered. But I've also been eyeballing those Texavina cafe-style solo seats, wondering about the possibilities. Then it happened: a Corbin Gunfighter (black, no flames) popped up on the marketplace just outside of Boston, two days before I was going to be delivering my oldest son to Logan airport (at 6AM, joy). After the drop off, I headed west against rush hour traffic to become the proud owner of a Corbin in great shape - one tiny nick to one of the vinyl sides that I'm confident I can repair easily enough. I'm happy as a clam.

Tires finally came in - sheesh, what drama. Saturday, I took a run out to get them mounted and balanced, and I used the opportunity to swap out the front tire on my ST1100. I've been riding the last couple months with a bit less tread than is advisable - as in, nearly bald - waiting on the tires for the GL. With tires mounted and balanced, I was ready to tackle brakes and start buttoning up the bits that make her safe.

Brakes and the tail end: My youngest son is back for Spring Break, and I got him to assist me a bit on the rear brake line/master/caliper/wheel assembly.

I had rebuilt the master months ago, and Raymond at Apex sent me a custom braided rear line with fittings to run from the MC directly to the caliper. It's all been waiting, and waiting.

I was afraid to fish out that little pressed-in brass piece that prevents use of a regular sized banjo. 45 year old part, costs for another unit, etc. This morning, as I started pondering the work to cut down a banjo, I decided to just go for it with a drywall screw and screwdriver. Once I had the screw well seated into the brass insert, I started pulling and wiggling. She popped right out. The Apex custom unit has a quick 90-degree bend right out of the master/banjo, which mates to another fitting to allow adjustments to get the banjo angled correctly over at the caliper. Routing of the line is basically the same as the original, only I'm not using a hard line. I made use of the little grommet and bracket over behind the battery, as well as the clasp on the swing arm. I did. use a piece of hose around the line to reduce wear at the clasp. I had painted up the final drive unit to help offset the aluminum on the rear Comstar a bit, as I'm using non-matching Comstars. The front wheel is an '82 Comstar off a parts GL, and it's black and aluminum.
It doesn't really work to mask the difference in the wheels, but that's ok. I'm pretty happy with the look. As I was working on the brakes, I was super mindful of an issue I have with the Wings: the brake pedal is just too high for my leg/foot position and ankle angle. I adjust to the max, but it's still an issue. The Gunfighter saddle sits lower and further back a bit, which exacerbates the issue. I decided to pull the pedal, get out the torch, and bend that baby down a bit. After a few tries, I think I've managed something that works for me. (I might give it another go if I discover it's not quite there.) I have a similar issue with the shift lever - on the downshift. The header pipes limit adjustment, as folks know. I might get busy on that side as well.

With the brakes done and the wheel installed, I bolted on the rear fender and tail light assembly. After a little futzing, all my lights are working as they should.

No pictures to document it today, but I also filled the front master, hooked up the Galfer lines, and bled the front brakes. Not a lot of drama there. Two lines coming off the master and no splitter seems to have minimized problems.

I've been working a bit to mount the mufflers without losing the center stand stop. I cut down the left muffler mount a bit, retaining the stand stop. I've got a bit more work to do on that side, and there's work to do on the right. It's not going to be tough.

OK. This build is complete enough to be ridden down the road - if I didn't have 18" of snow in the yard, right where I'd need to land the bike at the bottom of the ramp out of the shed, I probably would have found a way to make a ride happen. That's a really good feeling!

Just for kicks, I installed the shelter side and battery cover (in primer), along with the Gunfighter, to see the whole package - briefly.