GL1000 carbs & Dyna S on GL1100 engine?????

[Sidecar Bob]

Some of you will recall that I have an '83 with a '79 engine. That results in overall gearing more than one gear higher than stock, which worked really well as a solo bike for 12 years. But then I added a sidecar and I have been less than satisfied with the gearing since. It is a fairly heavy sidecar (steel body with probably 30 Lb of FRP & Bondo) and had to be wider than I would have preferred, which results in an outfit that doesn't have as much pep as my CX650E based winter machine.

I have had ongoing clutch problems, even after replacing the plates last year; I think a lot of that may have too do with me getting used to releasing the clutch at much lower RPM on the 650 and forgetting that the 'Wing needs a lot higher RPM to pull away because of the higher gearing because it has been much better behaved since I got it into my mind that I have to do it that way.

I have to gear down in town and up hills more than with the 650 too, especially when I have a passenger, also related to the higher gearing.

I have been thinking lately that switching to an 1100 engine would lower the gearing and increase the torque, which is exactly what I need.

Before I start looking for one I need to decide what else I need to change to make it work.
- Can I keep my '79 carbs? I know using carbs from a different year 1000 isn't recommended unless you also have that year's cams so I am thinking the same would hold for 1000 carbs on an 1100.
- Related to that, what about the ignition? I think I still have the TI units that came with the bike but IIRC the timing advance on an 1100 is controlled by engine vacuum. If I use 1100 carbs that would be OK but if I can keep the 1000 carbs...
BUT I am currently running a Dyna S and I have to ask if I can mount that on the 1100?

Gee I ask some strange questions sometimes, don't I?

[robin1731]

You could mount the ignition if you swap the 1000 cams over too. I'm not sure if the 1100 heads have the mounting holes for points base though. So you may have to switch heads too.

I'd use the 1000 carbs no matter what you did since you know they work.

On another note, if you had access to a 1200 engine that would be better yet. The gearing for that would be great for a car with the 1000 rearend. Plus the added cc's.

.

[Sidecar Bob]

Yeah, no... I have an 1100 rear end...

The bore of the 1000 and 1100 are different. If I was to put 1000 heads on an 1100 which gasket would I have to use? Has anyone done that before?

One thing I'm concerned about with that scenario is whether using 1000 carbs & cams would change the tuning enough to reduce the effect of the larger engine.

[robin1731]

Use 1100 head gaskets. If you were using 75-76 cams you would loose some bottom end. With the 79 cams I think you'll be ok.

[Sidecar Bob]

Of course, this is all dependant on whether I can find an engine and whether it comes with carbs...

[ericheath]

Or just swap the 1000 cam's onto the 1100 heads, saves the cost of head gaskets if you know the 1100 gaskets are good. Joedrum did this on his first mod. I think he had to grind a little somewhere for the points assembly to mount to the 1100 head. His opinion was a big improvement using 75-77 cam's. BI'm looking at an 83 and a 77 right now and they look like they would mate right up. I've been dabbling with these changes some, not with my 1100 yet, but I wonder if the 1100 cam's aren't the best of both worlds?? It's profile seemed to be about right in the middle between the early75-77 cam's and the later 78-79 cam's. At least one person has drilled the cam of an 1100 to accept a C5 ignition. Must have tapped it too, but I can't recall for sure.

Your 79 carbs will bolt right up to the 1100 heads or 1000 heads on the 1100. They might actually perform better. Rebuilding 1100 carbs can get expensive due to the accelerator pumps. Another $100 anyways.

I have had two 1200's with 1000 heads. I need to dump my 1100 cam's in for kicks and see what happens, but I can tell you the bottom end torque is addicting. You'd be happier with a 1200, but it would involve swapping final drive output shafts to have a snap ring groove for your 1100 final drive.

I picked one 85 1200 up for $122 and the other for $200. I know you aren't too far from Buffalo. Watch Craigslist, they show up.

1200 gearing is pretty close to 1100, the same in 84. Keep in mind an 84 won't go in a 79 frame as easily as 85-87. The other item you could maybe do is if your 1100 final is using a 80-82? rear rim, look for an 83 as it was 16". That would pull your gearing down a little. I believe the 83 transmission had a taller fifth gear which you might want to stay away from with a side car.

[Sidecar Bob]

OK, to clarify: I had a '77 with a '79 engine and in '95 a car made a left turn into my path & the bike was written off. I bought the wreck in order to keep a few of the parts and discovered that the engine was still OK. Bonus. Someone I told about the accident said "You need to get in touch with Dave. He has a GoldWing with a seized motor & you have a motor with a seized GoldWing." A phone call later I was bringing home an '83 GL1100. I didn't put it together & christen it Mr.Honda until '97.

So what I have now is an '83 frame &c with a '79 engine &c, with Dyna ignition & GL1500 coils, a 2 X 2 into 1 exhaust (same FXF mufflers I put on in '97) a resto-modded Dnepr sidecar and a bunch of other updates (lighting, instrument panel &c) &c that don't matter to this discussion.

I also have the original bike's engine ('77) and its camshafts are OK so maybe I could use those in an 1100 engine with my '79 carbs and Dyna S? If that would work it would be a pretty straightforward & inexpensive job and the bike won't be any more complicated than it is now. And I can leave the '79 engine complete (someone will need one).

As you may have noticed, next year will be Mr.H's 20th buildday. I missed out on my plans to restore Eccles (the 650) for its 10th buildday this year because of my son dying and all the aftereffects thereof. Right now I am doing what Eccles has to have done before winter and planning a 100,000 Km (since I got it) resto next year and I was thinking of doing something for Mr.H's 20th. Upgrading it to an 1100 engine sounds like just the thing...

BTW: Buffalo is about 3 hours from here, almost all on (yuck!!) major highways. And then there would be finding someone with a trailer to go with me and getting it across the border. And I would have to get a passport. But I have a friend in the next town over who buys, fixes & sells older bikes and he is watching for one for me.