Pauls GL 1000 Project

[paultjack]

OK, Latest update...

I've now officially logged over 200 mile!

First words out of the Butthead Harley rider at work were to diss my bike. No complements at all... "I wouldn't be caught dead riding with those mufflers!" I guess some people think that when you put 12K in chrome you get the right to rag on anything not up to your standard.

I re-upholstered the seat - pics forthcoming. It looks pretty darn good (pats self on back)
Rear shocks need replacing. Right side puked some fluid out and all over the rim and muffler. Not much of a surprise as I was planning on replacing these anyway. I'm currently in search mode for what I'll use.

Temp gauge indicates extreme heat. I think this is a problem with the temp sensor as the thermostat and fan switch are new. I see the bike cooling and the fan coming on and off so I don't believe it's overheating. This is probably just another result of sitting for so long. I have another temp sensor that I had planned on putting in but when I looked at it last night I realized how difficult it is with the carbs in place.

Fuel sending unit has a mind of its own. When I first pulled it the entire thing was rusted pretty badly. I didn't think there would be any hope at all for it. But, I put it through my electrolysis rust removal and it cleaned up very nicely. I even got some sensible ohm reading from the sending unit instead of 0 or 1. But even then it looked a little flaky. Now that it's been in the tank with gas for a few weeks it's acting a tad bit better. I think over time it'll start behaving instead of going from super full to 1/2 tank in a matter of moments.

New tach unit is working fine. It's a little sluggish for my linking but I suppose I can't complain.

After hitting the highway at 80 I remembered very quickly why I like windshields. My original plan was to put the cafe faring on. But, I'm not sure how much wind protection I'll get. Yes! I cowered out! I purchased a plexi-fairing instead and I hope I'm not going to regret it! But, I decided function was going to take precedence over form. The whole time I was working on the purchase I kept hearing a little voice in my head saying "Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan!"

So, in that spirit I did manage to snag some new handlebars yesterday which do match my original plan. Hopefully they don't look screwy with the fairing! They're at work at the moment and I'll be bringing them home tonight to test them out.

Still working on the badges! I really need to get these on! I started buffing the ones that go on the valve covers last night. I'm ready to paint the background now. That'll probably happen tonight. Then they'll get installed. Side covers are going to take a bit more work though! So, over the next week they'll get finished up too.

It's about time to touch-up of the paint and head off to the Rally!!!

[robin1731]

The problem with the temp. gauge and the fuel gauge could be the 7 volt regulator. That is a pretty common bad spot on these.

[starket]

The fuel guage is for entertainment purposes only. They are not very acurate. My 75 project shows almost empty and has only used 2.5 gal. You just have to learn how it is calibrated. On the temp issue, it is highly dependent on running speed and outside temp. As long as it does not go into the red zone, you are ok. Mine runs in the mid-range to high end of the comfort zone depending on temp and speed. If I sit too long at a stop light, it will go fairly high.

[paultjack]

Mine sees the "Mid-Zone" for a moment on its journey to the far right! It does move left and right, but still remains off the scale.

I have another temp gauge, regulator and sensor. Since the sensor is burried I'll swap out the gauge first and see if that improves things.

The volt meter seems to be working correctly so I think the regulator is probably ok. I still think the issue is with both the temp sensor and the fuel sending unit.

I liked the "For entertainment Purposes!" I'm used to running without a gas gauge as my Rebel doesn't have one. After 2 years with just a trip meter I'm used to running blind.

[roncar]

...The volt meter seems to be working correctly so I think the regulator is probably ok. I still think the issue is with both the temp sensor and the fuel sending unit....

Except the auxiliary (7-volt) regulator has nothing to do with the volt meter. It only feeds the temp and fuel gauges. While your temp and fuel units may both be bad, the 7-volt regulator is the one thing in common with both gauges and nothing else.

[paultjack]

doh! (or should I say Duh!) Alright then Roncar, I'll swap the regulator out first! Thanks for that info!

[Cookie]

Yup, those boys ain't as loony as they look. That seven volt is probably toast.
My yellow bike gas guage is not too bad. I dipped it in acid and then cleaned it with contact cleaner.
With the NAPA thermostat my bike always runs in the little white zone, maybe 3/4 of the way on the guage when warm. That's really what you want as the engine should be fully warmed up but a bit down from boiling.
I reckon that is why they gave my 76 a little white zone!

[paultjack]

I'm done with the restoration!

Here's some pics of me working on the seat cover. After dismantling the old seat I used the original pieces as templates. The only problem is that the vinyl from the old seat cover doesn't lie flat. It's shrunk here and there and very distorted. So, trying to trace a clean pattern is really difficult. After I traced I cut the pieces out and numbered them.


The pieces with the hash marks on them had foam sewn to the back side in a diamond pattern for added comfort, venting for my butt and just a touch of class.

I laid out the diamond pattern using masking tape and sewed the foam backing while following the edge of the tape. First piece I did was the seat. The mistake here was that I put the tape on the outside of the seat. Everywhere the needle pierced the tape was a hassle getting the tape out. The other pieces had the foam sewn onto the back along the outside edged first, then I put the tape pattern down on the back so when I sewed I didn't care if I got all the tape off or not.

I used a ruler to help help lay out the tape in a straight line!


And here's a pic from the backside of what it looks like when I finished sewing in the diamonds.


The foam I used for the back side is actually Headliner material. It is foam with a cloth backing. It's pretty sturdy. I've used this method before and it's served me quite well.

I don't have any pics just yet of just the seat as it looks finished so I'll have to get that tomorrow. So, stay tuned for those (perhaps...)

Yesterday I received my windshield! That was some fast shipping. I'm pretty impressed with the quality of it. I purchased it off of eBay. There was a buy-it-now and a Best-Offer option. I worked the Best Offer up to $120 and that was accepted. I don't think I would have paid any more than that for this windshield but it's good for that price. I really wanted the sports fairing, but I just knew I couldn't manage a long ride with one so it's the windshield I now have.

While putting on the windshield I also installed the handlebars I snagged for $24. I'm quite surprised at how much I really do lean over using the new handle bars. I'm still working with some adjustments to see where I like them best. They look a lot better than the original ones but I'm having second thoughts about using them for long distances. The trip to the rally will tell the tail. Only problem with them is that I can't get my mirrors adjusted right. That's going to take a little work because the right one has the post screwed so tightly into the mount that I can't get it out! Oh well, I'll get it, plus I want to change the mirrors anyway.

Today was spend first working on getting my horns on! One of them worked great but the other was pretty pathetic. There was hardly any volume at all coming from it. I took the pathetic one apart - should have photographed that for those interested in what's in one of those things. There was some debris on the diaphragm which I cleaned off and then reassembled only to discover it still didn't work. Back apart it came, I buffed the diaphragm and reassembled - no go. OK, back apart again! This time I blew into the sound hole on the inside and discovered that there seemed to be an obstruction (A very FOUL taste entered my mouth.) Note, don't blow into the back of the horn with your mouth!

I stuck a wire tie down in and tried to clear the blockage... No luck. So, I poured some water in and swished it about and used the air hose. That worked finally. YUCK! HUGE Bee Larva and other crap fell/blew out. Several more cleanings and finally the blockage was free and bee goo was everywhere. I reassembled and worked the tuning screw until I got the best sound. Finally! I mounted the horns!

I then re-worked the wiring from the handlebars as I had them going every which way. That took a while getting them sorted, cleaned and put in correctly.

Shocks came off for the shock towers to get a good cleaning. The shocks themselves look terrible. But I'm not worried about that as I'm buying new ones - probably next week.

Rear fender got a nice new grommet where the brake and turn signal wires go threw. It also got a little more polishing. It looks terrible still with its flaked chrome, pitting, dirt, etc.... Still, looks 100 times better than when I picked the bike up!

Touched up most of the side-cover paint and gas tank hatch cover.

Painted the cap screws that hold in the handle bars. Buffed and clear-coated the cap that goes over the handle bars. Cut some black rubber plugs to go in the cap screw tops to keep the water out.

Painted the side badges. Wish I could paint the flat tops of the letters gold but at this point I'm not going to risk it. I'm thinking a very hard roller with paint may allow me to get the paint just on the surface. But, that's for a later time.

Spent a couple of hours getting the pen striping on. Now the bike Pops! The pin striping really makes the bike look finished!

OK, enough banter... Here's some pics of the bike. The bike is actually the yellow that shows up in the last photo. These are Cell Phone pics so the quality is not the best.





The clutch problem seems to be mostly worked out. Seems to be many times better and is acceptable at this point.

New issue is that I have one carb starting to act up. I have to sync the carbs and adjust the fuel mixture anyway.

I'm ready for a Rally!

[Cookie]

Good job, much nicer with the labels.

[Roady]

Beautiful job there, you're doing a lot to that ole gal.

Very nice.

[Fred Camper]

Time to start putting serious miles on.

[Old Fogey]

That's looking the business!! Well done!

That yellow is just about the same colour as I did my last Triumph, back in the 70s.

Oh no! I'm starting to think about doing another one, in yellow this time.

See you at the rally!

[Neil]

Paul, that looks really good, well done. Rally coming up

[starket]

Oh no! I'm starting to think about doing another one, in yellow this time.

I hope you are bringing a big suitcase for parts when you visit the USA. Or maybe you could just buy a running bike and have her shipped back.

[Sagebrush]

Time to start putting serious miles on.

Pretty much agree with this statement. The more miles you ride it before the rally to find out where the bugs are and correct them the better your trip will be.

Looking forward to meeting you there, can't have enough yellow bikes