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socrace wrote:I looked at using the LTD/SEI thermostat housing also, in order to use its bosch type coolant sensor. But it's not drilled for the GL1100 coolant bypass passage in the block, so gave up on it. Guess that won't be a problem on yours, though, since you're also using the matching pump cover and external line.

Hopefully everything else matches up. I'm just going by some research and feedback from the other person that had done a geo throttle body conversion. I think that the heated manifold is key though. It should give it much better manners on cool days.

irishcarbomb wrote:I used an early version of the Spartan wideband that 14point7 sells for a while. Worked well, took a while for it to show up though since he was building them to order. Not sure if that's the case now though.

Any reason you stopped using it? I'm glad to see somebody else has some real-world experience with them.

Toehead wrote:Any reason you stopped using it? I'm glad to see somebody else has some real-world experience with them.

It doesn't have two wideband outputs, and I needed that so I could run a gauge.

I bought two originally when I was non turbo thinking I could tune each bank, but just ended up running the gauge off one and the microsquirt from the other.

Once I went to a single sensor with the turbo I got an LC1 from innovate.

Heated manifold installed, using the GL1200 thermostat housing and water pump cover.

300 miles on her today with no issues. Power is at least equal to the stock carbs.

Good to know that the gl1200 parts worked and it's running well

The one issue is that I needed to cut off a tab (unused as far as I can tell) on the top of the 1000 engine case to allow the coolant hose to exit. The 1200 SEI bikes didn't have this tab. Other than that, the 1200 parts fit right up and work as required!

Quick update:

The SLCFree worked as intended, but was too big when cased to be mounted discreetly on the bike. I couldn't find anywhere that it would look good (YMMV).

Irishcarbomb went above and beyond and shipped me, gratis, his unused spartan wideband (also from 14.7). I really appreciate the help!

I got everything mounted. The much smaller spartan wideband hides easily.

A few hours of riding with autotune, and the bike is running even better than it was. The verdict is that I was pretty close (but lean) at mid to full throttle, but very rich when cruising at high vacuum. The verdict is still out on performance: It feels really quick, but I need to ride it back to back with my 77 to be sure.

The best part about this conversion is the smoothness! The power delivery is just butter smooth, and the part throttle manners are amazing. Despite having very well synced carbs, there is always a slight burble at part throttle. That's completely gone on this bike, and it makes for a very pleasant experience. I'll post some pictures of the O2 sensor mounted as soon as I remember to take some.

glad to hear it worked for you.

My efi conversion gained some smooth running also, although probably not as much as yours. I remember riding a brand new Goldwing (in 1975, showing my age) and being amazed at how smooth the engine ran. Wonder if CV carbs might tend to corrode internally and wear mechanically over the years just enough to loose that original glass smooth running.
More pictures would be good!

As promised, some pictures!

Since last time, I added a 2 wire bosch idle valve. Without this, my bike wouldn't idle well when cold. Now, the computer is able to compensate. It has a closed loop idle curve that depends on coolant temp. It starts at about 1800 RPM when cold, and tapers down to my normal idle as the bike warms up. It also compensates for load/etc. The valve is rather large and clunky, so I needed to fabricate a mount to put it somewhere discrete. I lined the mount with 2mm thick roofing rubber to avoid mangling the frame at the attachment point.
I put it the only place I have enough room for the thing: Right above the radiator cap. The brass fitting is the manifold that connects to the bypass air hoses that go to the throttle body. You may notice that the harness has a lump of electrical tape in the middle: This covers the flyback diode that I added. I have found that this makes the valve much more controllable when using PWM. I covered the harness with wire loom afterwards.

All buttoned up! I still need to arrange a better air filter setup, but for now I am happy.

here is my O2 installation: Nice n simple. I still need to find time to remove the crash bar and fix the wire routing

What color do you guys think I should paint the radiator fins? The red is starting to grate on me

It's just a wild idea, but how about yellow?

Think this is original color. Notice still has Hondaline sticker on the case savers

I painted my radiator shrouds gloss black on the outside to match the frame -- pretty much disappears from the bike profile. I painted them with PlastiDip on the inside... as they tend to get nailed with rocks and bugs, hoping it will bounce off instead of ding the paint. I also sprayed the radiator screen with PlastiDip for the same reason. Thinking of doing my timing belt and valve covers as well. It's durable, and peels off if I want to go back to bare aluminum.

That's a good idea. I'll use a rubberized coating on the inside.

The bike needs to be completely painted as well... It spent from 1993 - 2015 sitting in the elements and the panels are very well faded.