"New" GL-1200; New Member Intro

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sphen
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"New" GL-1200; New Member Intro

#1

Post by sphen »

Hi folks!

I've been dreaming of a GL restomod for some time, and finally snagged an 86 Aspencade with 33k miles for...gulp...$300!

It's been sitting up for some time....some rust...bad starter....dirty carbs. Etc.

I've begun the tear down and analysis. The big plan is to convert it into something along the lines of a standard with some cues from the cafe and scrambler world - perhaps some custom fiberglass seating/fairing/"gas tank".

For now, i'm tearing down and testing. Pretty sure I'll rebuild starter, carbs, get a new stator, new belts etc. Then revisit the suspension.

Clutch hydraulics are bad, as well as rear brake.

Will be posting updates and questions as I progress!
Project bike "Dixie" - 1986 GL1200 Aspencade being rebuilt from ground up to be a naked 'wing. Build progress thread here: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=71959

Build log video: View it here

BOTM November '22
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rcmatt007
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Re: "New" GL-1200; New Member Intro

#2

Post by rcmatt007 »

welcome to NGW. Unless you know the stator is bad it is a lot of work to replace it. The carb rebuild on a 1200 is really straight forward. What year is it?
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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chewy999
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Re: "New" GL-1200; New Member Intro

#3

Post by chewy999 »

Welcome to the club from the UK. All the help and advice you need can be found here, any questions just ask.

anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1
Previous Rides,
1980 CB250N Good to learn on
1981 CX500 good mid range tourer, went to Austria on it!
1983 GL1100C Pride and joy, sold when I bought my 1st house, big mistake
1985 GL650 Silverwing another mistake, horrible bike
1986 CBX550 Good commuter
1989 Suzuki GS750 (1976) cheap and cheerful until a dog ran out in front of me on Xmas Eve, 1991
Current bikes
2010 CB1300 back on a bike after 19 years, two divorces, children grown up etc
1980 GL1100 NOW ON THE ROAD, still use CB1300.
sphen
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Re: "New" GL-1200; New Member Intro

#4

Post by sphen »

rcmatt007 wrote:welcome to NGW. Unless you know the stator is bad it is a lot of work to replace it. The carb rebuild on a 1200 is really straight forward. What year is it?
1986

Don't know the stator condition yet, but the wires coming off the alternator are burned through. Maybe just age..but..if I have to get in there for the clutch anyway, i may replace with a beefier stator and be done with it.

One mystery I haven't solved yet - just to the left of the battery, the alternator wire/harness mounts on a bracket. There is another harness mount directly to the left of that, but on this bike, there is nothing there. What was that supposed to be? I see the connection in a photo in the shop manual, but never found a reference to what it is/was.

Thanks for the welcome. Looking forward to the knowledge here!

...and i hope youre right about the carbs not being too bad to rebuild/sync. kinda dreading that chore.
Project bike "Dixie" - 1986 GL1200 Aspencade being rebuilt from ground up to be a naked 'wing. Build progress thread here: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=71959

Build log video: View it here

BOTM November '22
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Rat
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Re: "New" GL-1200; New Member Intro

#5

Post by Rat »

Welcome to the 'Wingdom.

Start a thread in the tech forum .... more exposure

Gord
"I'd rather Ride than Shine"
‘14 KLR650 ... not a rat ... yet
‘84 GL1200i ‘R2B6' (Rat to Be 6, the last, adopted by twowings)
My Original 'RAT' was a hybrid '82 CB900/1100F
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rcmatt007
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Re: "New" GL-1200; New Member Intro

#6

Post by rcmatt007 »

that stator connection is a weak spot that overheats. most of our older bikes have had that replaced years ago.

The first 1200's in 84 had some poor quality stators and unfortunately that gave the whole series a bad rap for stators. Having said that, I did have to replace the stator in ours five years ago.... but that is not bad for a 30+ year old bike
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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