1976 GL1000 - "The Phoenix"

[kjmarti2]

I had quickly reinstalled the engine after the fasteners and paint were dealt with, but when reattaching the clutch cable I had issues turning the wheel (I later found out that was just normal clutch drag). So I then decided to install a new clutch. It wasn't necessary at the end of the day, but I'm really glad I did. I ordered a new Barnett set and went to town. I got most of the job done in the frame by removing the rear wheel but I couldn't get the old gasket off, so I removed the engine AGAIN. I then buttoned everything up, installed the engine again and when I got the newly coated exhaust I was ready to start reassembling things.

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[kjmarti2]

Things moved pretty quickly from here. I got the carbs back from Mark Boody and the crash bars back from the chrome shop so I started putting everything back together. When I started replacing cables I saw that I was probably pretty close to being stranded somewhere on the side of the road

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The radiator install was a giant pain. The replacement hoses I bought were super tight and took incredible strength to get into position, even with vaseline. My arms hurt for days afterward. It was a struggle to get the top clamp at the upper hose into position as well.

[kjmarti2]

The bike was back together, but there were a few loose ends to tie up. The gauge cushions were extremely cracked and ugly so I replaced them with GL1100 units. I also wasn't getting any power to the starter so I replaced the killswitch and found yet another fastener issue.

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Once that was fixed I started her up and she ran great! At least until the coolant leak started..

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[kjmarti2]

Turns out that stock clamp at the upper hose was deformed, so I replaced it with a different style clamp and it worked great.

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I added a tank decal, and the rest is history.

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[kjmarti2]

Looking forward to enjoying her now and reaping the benefits of all my hard work. We're at generation 3 now for this bike, here's to the next one!

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Thanks for reading and for helping me along on this project. This is a great forum, especially for newbies like me.

-Kyle

[Paola Zago]

Kjmarti2, you did an incredible job, and you declare yourself a neophyte ?? you were very good and you did a wonderful job! On this site you do crazy jobs on the GL, you are not professional mechanics, but simple and true fans! I am always speechless, I would like to thank you all one by one, for all that you publish and I absorb like a sponge, but that I will never be able to do! I take advantage of this post to send an applause and a hug to all of you!
Paola

[Fred Camper]

It is a 1976, but could those be either 76 LTD or 1977 handlebar? It was a popular mod back in the day. Great documentation of the restore.

[kjmarti2]

Thanks Paola, I appreciate the kind words! As I'm finding on my LTD work, every project is different and so I feel like a newbie all over again

Fred, yep they are '77 handlebars. My Dad had those installed by Pete as he wanted a bit more upright riding position. I had intended to replace them with a '76 set, but decided to keep them for now because they are pretty comfy.

[Track T 2411]

Great read, and nice work!

[JAG]

Love the write up. Glad to see her restore. Love the yellow!!

[kjmarti2]

It's been a while since I've posted a status on my GL1000 projects. When I last posted about the Phoenix I assumed that I was done with the really hard work and could enjoy it for a few years with just basic maintenance.

After a bit of a honeymoon period enjoying the Phoenix I had to pull it offline a few months ago for a few reasons. #1, the mpg I was getting was way too low - about 22 mpg. I actually was left stranded on the highway because of it sometime back in the late spring, luckily I was close enough to a gas station that I could wheel it there myself. After a good bit of detective work I found out that cylinder 4 only had 65# of compression and the other 3 cylinders had in the 115# range. I think the actual magnitudes of those numbers are a little suspect because the starter isn't in the best shape but the difference was enough that I knew something was wrong. But it wasn't a blown head gasket or anything so I kept riding it with the intention of doing something about it in the winter. Then I blew a head gasket..

[kjmarti2]

I finally got around to pulling the heads a few days ago. Here's a few pics of the left head.

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The tops of the pistons look pretty clean to me to be almost 45 years old. I haven't inspected the cylinder walls yet but I'm not expecting any issues. The left-most intake valves are from cylinder #4 which is the one that had low compression. It turns out the exhaust valve was bent.

The right head gasket was blown. A few pics below.

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The right head was super easy to remove and a ton of coolant spilled out when I pulled it. You can see that the #3 valves have a good bit of coolant on them, and the top of cylinder 3 has lots of carbon buildup. I'm not sure if that is just due to the coolant leak or if I had a bad valve seal that leaked oil, or if it was running really rich. Could be all 3 I suppose.

I've got all the valves removed and will be sending both of these heads off to be rebuilt. In the meantime I will be cleaning up the pistons and the block, and then turning my attention to the water pump which needs replacing.

[gltriker]

Geez Louise!
number 1 cylinder wall appears extremely eroded from the corrosive effects of water .

[kjmarti2]

Geez Louise!
number 1 cylinder wall appears extremely eroded from the corrosive effects of water .

I had to go out and look. I didn't look in there when I pulled the head and I couldn't see it well on my phone, but blown up on my computer it looks like there's a lot going on in there. I think it's just a reflection of the cylinder head on the wall. I just snapped another pic and looked in there and it looks pretty good. Whew!

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