New GL1000 Owner

[jdunn45]

Hello!

I am the proud new owner of a 1979 almost naked GL1000. I thought I would introduce myself, and talk about my experiences with the bike so far, and ask a few (ok several) questions.

The bike is a not quite naked 79. the PO installed a vetter fairing and vetter bags and trunk. The bike was also poorly painted blue and had some carbon fiber decals added. That will be going.. I have the Honda pearl maroon paint, but I want a nice metallic black I think. Any suggestions? also, were the original pin stripes painted or vinyl?
I want to restore it to it's beautiful naked state, and a more original color.

I have always been a Harley guy... Ive owned an 03 Sportster and an 01 Heritage Softail Classic, both from new, so I have really only experienced modern bikes. Both were naturally aspirated, but the carbs on my bikes are completely different beasts from these Goldwings.
My only experience on vintage bikes are on a good friends early 70s BMW R500/5. It looked amazing, was really quirky to drive, and just had a cool factor, so I had to have one. I have always liked the cafe look, but I also really like the look of a classic naked cruiser. I had to have one. I did a ton of research and dreaming, and I ended up with the GL1000.

Driving thoughts - I have only owned the bike for a week, and I have had a good mix of city traffic, highway, and winding country roads. All I can say is wow.. People use the word "smooth" when they talk about driving a goldwing. I never really understood what that meant until now. It is incredibly smooth. It is also surprisingly nimble, comfortable, and feels strong on the highway.
It is superior to the BMW in every way! Lets just say it is really different from the harleys though. They are modern bikes, and they have their pros, but have their cons too. My sportster is loud, vibrates like a terribly, and doesn't perfrom well on the highway. The Softail is big powerful, comfortable, but not very nimble. Both bring joy in different ways.

This bike feels a lot more versatile, but I realized I have no comparison to other GL1000s, so I have no idea how my bike stacks up which leads me to the questions:

Heat - this bike does not like city traffic (I don't either). It starts to heat up quickly when in stop and go traffic. The PO installed a fan switch to take control of the fan. He assured me it comes on automatically too, but I am not sure. I definitely need to manually turn on the fan when stuck in traffic.

Battery - Bikes shows 14+ volts when cruising around, but starts to drop when I am idling. How long will this bike withstand idling before the battery is too low?

Starting - she starts perfectly from cold with about half to 3/4 choke, and takes a bit of time to warm up. I assume this is normal. This bike will not start in gear!! My neutral light is also burnt out. Before I take it apart, is it a simple LED that I can replace? I also found that I can only really find neutral easily if the bike has some forward motion. Is this normal?
It blows very very very little white smoke on startup. I hear a little is normal for these bikes. It lives on its center stand.

How much faith can I put in the fuel gauge? I noticed it creeps down rather quickly. Also, because the tank is so low, it is hard to tell how full it is when I am filling it up. Any tricks there?

The bike also emits a bit of a gas smell when it is running. I assume this is normal. It sounds like it is running/idling well.

The throttle seems to stick a little when I am driving through town at low speeds. Like there is a bit of resistance when I twist it. Any thoughts?

The two forward carb slide covers have aluminum foil tape covering them. It feels like the white buttons are still there underneath. The PO said it was leaking a bit there. He also said the carbs were rebuilt last year which makes me think it wasn't done very well. Are these part available?

The vetter fairing has a headlight in it, that the PO says was original to the bike. I tried getting it out of the fairing, but there are no nuts on the inside of the fairing. How do these come out?

Last thing I think. Where should I be driving this bike RPM wise? I noticed the power is in the higher RPM range, but I can't imagine it driving like that all of the time being good. Maybe it is. I notice about 4000rpm at 100km/h
For city/country road driving i played around between 2500 and 3500 rpms, but I really couldn't tell which the bike liked best.

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[jdunn45]

A few more pics..

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[delling3]

Looks like a good foundation. I'll be the first to say, change the timing belts, unless you have proof that they have been done recently.

As for the carbs, they may have been "rebuilt" previously, but not well. The aluminum foil is a big tell-tale. I am assuming that the plastic caps are probably cracked and leaking, and aluminum foil is not an appropriate fix. Getting them properly rebuilt will likely eliminate your hanging throttle, and also the fuel smell. I would put the carbs as #2 on your list after the belts.

Can't say for sure, but those tires look fairly old. Don't be fooled by their physical appearance, check the date code on the sidewall. Tires harden and age even without use or UV exposure, and as they age the loose the ability to provide the grip that is needed to handle safely.

As for RPM, these bikes do rev much higher than what you are used to with a Harley. Around 4000 RPM is typical for highway speeds, and the bikes will run mile after mile happily at 4000 - 5000 RPM.

Lots of help here - good luck with the old girl.

[Track T 2411]

Welcome from Wisconsin! As said above, belts should be first on the list, and the carbs sound like they could use some love, as well. Personally, I don't like a manual fan switch, and it's a relatively easy fix to replace the switch if it's not operating properly. Both the fuel gauge and temperature gauge are 'relative' in that different bikes will read differently. Some folks say the fuel gauge 'is for entertainment purposes only' although I've found mine to be fairly accurate below 1/2 a tank.
The charging system, as you've discovered, isn't the greatest on these, especially at idle. One thing you should look at is the 'three yellow wire' plug that is just to the front (left) of the battery box. Those three wires run from the stator to the regulator, and that plug is notorious for failing (overheating and melting) over time. The most common fix is to cut out the plug and solder the three wires. You'll find lots of discussion about it.
There are several issues with the neutral light and switch. Again, lots of posts about it. IIRC, the '79 should only start in neutral or with the clutch lever pulled in.
The other quirks you've brought up, such as finding neutral, smoking on start-up, etc are common, and just add to the experience, lol! And yes, these old girls just LOVE to run all day at 4 to 5 grand! Anything below 3k is lugging it, lol!

[jdunn45]

Thanks for the feedback. I was going to mention timing belts.
The previous owner gave me a list of all the things he did in the last two years:
Timing belts
Carbs - he had some spare o-rings and gaskets to give me from this job
Brakes
Fluids

He did mention the tires have about a season left on them.

I have no proof of any of this though. My plan for the winter is to start stripping it down and take care of everything that needs it.. including the belts.
I am not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always done my own maintenance (belts, fluids, brakes etc)
I will make sure belts and carbs are top of the list.. I was looking at randakks carb kit. But it definitely looks daunting.
I'm also considering a C5 ignition.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

[warhead_71]

Welcome and congrats on the new ol' 'Wing. Repeating previous replies... check those belts. Solder the yellow wires. A little smoke on startup is "normal" for the mileage. You can epoxy the carb-top "buttons" instead of that foil tape... I've even seen people epoxy coins over them. In the meantime... you got a runner. Go put some miles on it!

[5speed]

I was looking at randakks carb kit. But it definitely looks daunting.


Thanks for the feedback so far!

Like you..I'm not a mechanic but I've been wrenching on my own vehicles for 35+ years.
My GL1000 is my first bike and first motorcycle I've worked on.
Buy Randalls kits and the dvd...and follow his suggestions to a T and rebuilding your carbs will be an enjoyable experience and a great lesson on how they work.
I rebuilt mine using his kits and video and my bike fired right up.
I changed all the fluids in my 76...so I know
A. there were no issues like chunks of metal or other things that shouldn't be there
B..and they are all fresh.
the condition of the final drive fluid and fork oil will give you an idea how well maintained the bike was.