'76 Yellow Wing - Winter '24/5 Project is On

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

Moving along.

We had a freakishly warm 78-degree Saturday. I took the opportunity to paint the replacement fuel tank, which had a significant amount of bare metal. And today, I managed to pop the tank back in, which is a good thing.

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The black is more glossy than the original, which I sort of regret. I did manage to scratch only two small places reinstalling the tank, which is something of a feat.

I also primed and painted the seat pan. I have a '78/9 seat that I'm going to use, and my reproduction cover is in the mail. The foam is mostly good, with a little wear from exposure to the elements where a seam gave way right by the passenger strap. It'll be fine. And I cleaned up the aluminum seat trim, so I can button it all up when the cover gets here.

And the braided stainless brake lines are also mounted up - though not yet tightened down.

Once my copper exhaust gaskets arrive, I'll be in a position to bolt up the headers and move to a carb sync.

I'll need to ponder the right time to mount the horseshoe muffler, perhaps before I bolt on the headers. Not sure yet.

I'm also not sure I'm going to use the Progressive shocks I picked up a couple months back. Maybe I'll ride the originals and see how she rolls.

I can see daylight at the end of the tunnel, and I can now tell that it's not a train bearing down on this project!

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

I hooked up and bled the front brakes, which wasn't that hard even with the retained splitter. The rear brake will sit until I mount the tire and install the wheel.

My punchlist on this Sulphur Yellow '76 still runs a couple pages, with most of it pretty straightforward.

I took a little time to clean and wax the panels and get a good look at things. The paint is really gorgeous, though it is pretty obvious that the shelter lid has a bit more UV fading than the other panels. It's not bad, but jumps out a bit next to the shelter sides.

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I didn't take a photo of it, but my ABS-cemented fix for the broken tab on the left side panel is solid and holds up well. A little of the black cement is visible right where the tab hooks onto the frame. It could be brought down flush if I were going to repaint, but I'm not.

I used a sacrificial ABS side panel and cut a suitable chunk from it to reform the "hook" portion of the tab. I then shaped the mating contours to closely fit the broken part of the side panel. Using ABS cement and some fiberglass cloth to help hold some goop together on the underside, I bonded the pieces. The "angle" of the hook is not quite a match for the original, which means it requires a little fidgeting and care to install/remove. But that's true for almost any motorcycle side panel.

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

I took a little time this week to recover the seat I'll be using on this build, a '78/9 number with good foam.

I had to do a little work to clean the rust, prime, and repaint the pan. The metal prep left me with a couple cheese-grater size holes out near the edges on one side. But it was plenty solid to withstand a wire brush mounted to a drill. It should last another 45 years if it isn't stored outside and in the harsh rainy/snowy New England elements.

The cover is a high-quality reproduction of the OEM cover, down to the pattern and lettering. I've sourced a couple other repro covers from that vendor and have been quite pleased. This Honda GL1000 cover is quite good and came with the strap. I reused the original hardware.

The trim pieces went back on nicely, and it all looks quite nice. There are few smudges of anti-seize visible in the photos. They'll wipe off. The few creases in the vinyl are from shipping and will likely disappear or become less notable in the coming weeks.

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[Fred Camper]

Wow, post a link to the source. BADDOG's cover is doing a second seam separation and a new cover would be a good idea.

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

Fred.

I've sourced a few reproduction covers from an outfit called Pit Replica - couple Hondas and a Suzuki. They're on eBay.

I think I paid about $65 with shipping, which is a great price for that level of attention to detail. (I don't work for them or get any sort of price break.)

Shipping is pretty quick, though that might change with what I think is the elimination of the US sub-$800 import loophole utilized by many Asian vendors.

I've purchased other covers as well. They've been fine but have not advertised exact reproduction - and they have not been nearly as close to the original.

Pit Replica also does a thing with other vintage bits. They have contacted me before about sending a poor condition vintage bike component, which they will use as a template for a faithful reproduction. You pay shipping to them. They make a reproduction and send you a free new one - and, I think, the original. I almost sent them a '70s CB grab bar a couple years back but didn't end up doing it mostly due to laziness on my part.

I think they may now make a repro grab bar for the early Wings.

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

I've made some progress but seem not to have documented much of it with photos.

I think the "big" news is that the exhaust is mounted up. I have a photo.

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I scored a horseshoe muffler in truly great condition early in the winter parts-acquisition period. After mounting it, I sort of wish I had gotten out the high-temp black paint and resprayed it. It still looks really nice.

After snapping the photo, I mounted up the plastic splash guard under the rear seat, attached the rear fender, and bolted up the blinkers - front and rear.

Wheels are now out for tire mounting and balancing, and I added fluids.

Next up, I'll reinstall a battery, check for glitchy wiring on the reassembly, fire her up for the first time since December, and synchronize the carbs.

When the wheels are back from the shop, I'll be ready to button up the rear brakes, mount the front fender, and hopefully roll her out of the shop. I can almost taste the bugs getting caught in my teeth as I smile all the way down the road.

Fun fact:
My youngest son graduates from college this coming weekend, which will delay progress on the '76. He and I tackled our first naked GoldWing project back when he was still in high school: the Blue Phoenix build of 2020-21 (https://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic ... ue+phoenix). Time flies!

The Phoenix is still very much alive and well. I pulled it out of winter storage last weekend, opened the petcock, cranked her about 3 times, and she woke right up! After 30 seconds, I threw a leg over her and rode off. Love it.

[Lucien Harpress]

Every time I see a decent looking horseshoe muffler, I have to recommend looking into getting it ceramic coated. Prices aren't much more than powdercoat, it's a great way to preserve a relatively rare part, and it sure beats re-spraying the exhaust every year or two to keep it pretty.

I did mine, and it was the best money I ever spent.

[Fred Camper]

Good idea Lucien. I have one in storage and may get it done.