1976 GL1000 LTD

[ZanVooden]

Hi all. So I just recently picked up this 1976 GL1000 LTD for $375 from a guy in Milwaukee. This will be my first wing, but I have spent the last couple years working on cb750 ('78 K and F over on the sohc4 forum), so this will be interesting.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but it does run, not as well as it should, I'm guess it needs a carb sync, timing and a valve job to start.
I am a little concerned as the odometer reads 97,xxx miles and I have no reason to believe this is inaccurate so I'm not sure what I'm in for as far as the engine.
My initial plan is to see if I cant sure up the motor. i.e. new oil and coolant, new plugs, all typical maintenance adjustment. Before I start tearing this thing apart I want to now the engine is still good.

The guy I bought it from said there was originally a vetter touring package on it that was removed, thus no headlight, turn signals, or grab rail.

And yes, it does have GL1100 valve covers on it, but the serial number on the engine checks out as a 76 1000.

So yeah. Looking forward to this one.

[northwood]

I am confused by the 1100 motor in a 76 LTD. What gives? Congrats and good luck!

[ZanVooden]

Well its not an 1100 motor. Its a correct 1000 motor with 1100 valve covers... Not sure why... yet.

[polkadot]

What is the serial number? Is the color black or burgundy?

[BearWing]

There's an LTD currently on eBay, for a STARTING bid of $6500.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Go ... 3cbc3b5a81

[Roady]

That looks like a very interesting project.

Be sure to put a timing belt change on your to-do list.

[ZanVooden]

The serial on the engine is G1E-2035488. I dont have the frame number off hand. The color is blackish or really dark brown

[achmedachmed]

NICE!! and that for just $400 Lucky guy!
Are you going to restore it? Keep it as original as possible since only 2000 were made?

I wanted to make my Yellow 76 a Cafe-racer, but now I want it to be as original as possible

A forummember here sells the cheapest good quality timingbelts http://www.cascadecycle.com/newhondaparts.htm

Have fun
Feraz

[ZanVooden]

Well like i said my first order of business is to make sure the motor is in good enough shape to justify a rebuild. If that's the case then im probably try to restore it as much as i can

[Dog Boy]

Nice find.
It looks like it's been played with a bit but sounds like you have a handle on it.
Good luck with your project

AL

[murrayf]

the engine is the correct one for the bike and is a ltd engine

[Fred Camper]

Yes, those look like '76 carbs so seems like the bike is a keeper provided you get compression on all 4. Bet you do.

[dbtroudy]

It certainly looks like it has the various parts to be an LTD, right frame number, gold rims, chromed parts. Some pvo didn't realize what he had here and played around mixing and matching various parts. If your engine compression test comes out good, you'll have a fun bike to restore. Did you check your carbs to make sure they are all matching numbers?

Don

[ZanVooden]

So time for some updates.

For those wondering the frame serial number is GL1-2036968.

So I started investigating the engine and the rest of the bike. Pulled the radiator and the timing belt covers. Belts look good. dont look visibly worn. I will leave them on for now as I try to tune the engine and carbs to prove that it runs well.

Compression checked out alright. I did a first check and got:
#1 #2 #3 #4
120 118 120 140

Added a bit of oil to each cylinder, did the compression check again, and got:
#1 #2 #3 #4
160 160 155 160

So I thought a bit, and the first test I did, the bike had been sitting for a while and figured maybe the issue was just that the cylinders were dry. So I turned the engine over a couple times once in awhile and let it sit, then redid the compression check now that the cylinder wall were lubricated and got:
#1 #2 #3 #4
150 150 150 150

With that I assuming my compression is alright. So I moved on and pulled the valve covers and set the valve lash. Nothing too far off, or surprising there.
Figured I would also check my point gap while I had the feeler gauges in hand. Pulled the points cover and found I have a Dyna S electronic ignition under there. So that threw for a bit of a loop. I have no idea how to set timing with one of these. Coils appear stock still. So I need to do a bit of research on this thing.
Checked the plugs, found three different spark plugs... (2x d7ea, d8ea, and a nkg-r plug) Replaced those all with d8's and set the plug gap.

Regardless, I drained the oil and replaced it and the filter with new. Put the radiator back in place, and topped off the coolant. I drained the gas and put in fresh.

[ZanVooden]

It took a bit of playing but I got the bike to start up and run. Smoked like a chimney but that lessen after awhile, so not worried there.

The biggest issue I have is with the carbs currently. It appears that they are set incredibly rich. I could only get the bike to start with the throttle wide open, and there was considerable backfires through the exhaust. At one point I noticed raw fuel dripping from a leak in the exhaust pipe. Also after getting it to start and run, if I let the rpm drop anywhere near idle, it would die, and would start again until I pulled the plugs and dried them off, as they were dripping with fuel. So much so that the fuel would bridge the gap of the plug and therefore the plugs would not spark.

So my next step is to adjust the fuel mixture and attempt to lean it out some and try to dial in the fuel mixture, then sync the carbs, then adjust the mixture and sync once more.