Rust and pitting on GL1000 cylinder wall

[LLRelease]

Hi All,

This is my first post on this forum. I purchased a non-running 79 GL1000 as a restoration project after it sat in a garage since 2001. After getting the engine un-seized, I removed the heads and found rust and pitting in cylinder 3 (the intake tube was removed). Has anyone had success running a motor with one cylinder in this condition? I am trying to gage how much it might burn oil and smoke, and whether compression may get better over time.

Plan B is to try to find a descent used motor, but these seem to be hard to come by. I could also take the motor apart and hone the cylinder, but this is probably more than I can take on right now. I also have questions about whether I would need to get oversized rings and pistons.

This is what it looks like after a little cleanup up with 800 then 1500 grit sandpaper. I was very careful to block grit from getting to the rings and clean out all the debris.

IMG_1706.jpeg (85.69 KiB) Viewed 1847 times

[wingrider]

Welcome to the site! Very knowledgeable folks here. I'd run your current engine and see how bad it is...chances are, there are a handful of Wings running around with worse cylinders than that.

[LLRelease]

Thanks wingrider. This is good to hear! Would you recommend saving the OEM head gaskets I purchased for the project and going with less expensive Athena or other name brand gaskets just in case? The OEM gaskets were hard to find and expensive.

[wingrider]

Seems folks have had good luck with aftermarket provided their prep was good. I like OEM gaskets personally.

Where are you located?

[LLRelease]

Thanks for your help! I am in Charleston, SC

[wingrider]

You may want to fill that into your profile...Many of us are willing to help out if you have trouble and we are local to you.

[redglbx]

Are you asking about reusing head gaskets ? If so that’s not a good idea, I personally prefer the oe Honda gaskets but have used non-Honda gaskets in the past but due to having problems have just stuck to the Honda gasket which are indeed expensive but less troublesome.

But since this is a sort-of experiment I’d use some Cometic or similar less expensive gaskets, the motor will probably smoke a bit for a while but a lot of times these motors have just cleared up and run fine with miles added. One thing I would suggest is that you retorque the head bolts after one or two full heat cycles, it’s a good practice that helps keep from blowing the head gaskets. My .02

[LLRelease]

Hi redglbx,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

I would not reuse a head gasket, but may try a less expensive (vs OEM) to see how the bike runs. I found another GL1000 (a 77) that is in better shape, and this will probably be the one I keep.

However, I would still like to get the 79 running and on the road - especially after all the $ and effort so far. It will also be interesting to track any smoking and compression over time. I see lots of posts about rust in the cylinders, but few people report back on how the bike runs long term.

[pidjones]

I/d take some single-edge razor blades clamped in hemostats to check that none of that is proud of the cylinders walls.

[CYBORG]

You can talk yourself into believing that it is "O.K.", but the reality of it is that if it was correct, the factory would have sent the engine out that way. You can pay to do the right thing now, or pay later when it causes perhaps, an even bigger problem. Rings, by design, need a smooth, and flat surface to go up and down on, and to build compression. Do what you like, but if I was going to go down that slippery slope, I wojld at least run a proper hone thru that cyl., and make sure when I was done, it was smooth, had the right hone marks in it. And if I had o go to over size rings, or pkiston,.....I would. And then sit back and enjoy 100,000 fun, care free miles of riding. But that's just how I roll

[LLRelease]

I am still deliberating on the best course of action while I work on other parts of the bike (rebuild carbs and heads, repair fuel tank, rebuild/ repaint brakes, repaint swing arm, and more). It’s against my nature to do things half way, but I am a little scared to split the motor. At this point, I will probably pull the motor out to clean and repaint, and I may just bite the bullet and tear into it! There is no specific timeframe for the bike as I have a running GL500 and Triumph Tiger 900. Besides being impatient to hear the motor run, i hope to park the car in the garage again!

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

LLRelease.

I'm not sure quite what counts as "long term" for you.

I have 5k on my '79 that had rust in cylinder 3.

Here's the post I made: viewtopic.php?p=805065#p805065

I do believe that my cylinder cleaned up a little better than what your photo seems to show. But photos are deceiving.

I don't think 5k is long term by any stretch, and each bike is different. But my '79 runs like a champ. I don't have blow-by/smoke, have compression around 150 in all 4 cylinders, etc.

[LLRelease]

Hi All, I really appreciate all the help and suggestions. I decided to split the cases to hone the cylinders, but have run into a roadblock trying to remove the main driven gear shaft. The Haynes manual says to tilt it up from the front end, but the end cap and / or shift fork (see arrows in photo) seem to be in the way. I tried putting it in gear but no luck. I am hesitant to forcefully remove the black end cap as it appears to be easily damaged. I am at my wits end and hope someone can help. Thanks!

[Whiskerfish]

I replied to this on FB Yesterday. You need to remove the Shift fork Shaft. Then the forks will drop out of the way.

[rcmatt007]

When I split the cases on my LTD, I had to squeeze my hand inside to compress the rings on the left side when I put it back together.