Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
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- John Schmidt
- Silver Member
- Posts: 726
- Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:28 pm
- Location: Winter Park, Florida
Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
It has been a rather long project, but was bought as a basket case to give me something to do when I couldn't leave the house due to my wife's health. It has filled that need quite handily, albeit a bit frustrating at times. I still have 2-3 items needing attention, most noticeably is covering the seat. After putting the newly painted side covers on, I found the bottom edge on both sides of the pan are hitting the top of the covers so I'll do some trimming before covering. The OEM tank had more holes than metal so got tossed, I adapted this Valkyrie tank by welding new brackets in place to bolt it down. The rear bracket has a hinge welded to it so I can access the air filter, fuse box, petcock, etc.
Full length side shot. The exhaust looks close but is the angle of the picture, it actually has over 7" on the upside when on the sidestand, straight up is slightly over 6" with me on it....depending on my last meal. The headers are aftermarket, the mufflers are Harley with the cats mostly gouged out. The rear fender is for a trailer and came from Northern Tool, I cut about 7" off the tail end and mounted the front to the swingarm. The braces are polished SS straps, it's quite solid. The SS overflow is on the right side mounted adjacent to the downtube and has a clear plastic hose going to it so you can see what the fluid level is. Still need to mount my Bad Boy airhorn just behind it over the motor. The shocks are off my Valkyrie, sit a bit lower than the 1200 OEM shocks.
Left side. The red doodad is an aircraft fuel shutoff, I installed that so I didn't have to keep reaching under the tank every time I parked it. Just noticed I forgot to replace the SS screw in the top of the fuel valve mounting plate.
I fabbed up the sidemount plate and taillight holder, then after cutting the back end of the frame off I added the smaller LED lights. The outer lights are run/turn...made the standoffs for them, the two inner lights are run/brake along with the taillight over the plate. This pic is when in the "run" mode, they're quite bright when on high....just like I wanted.
The cockpit, I adapted this gauge in place of the OEM units. They needed too much work for my taste, and I thought they were kinda ugly anyway. This gauge gives me everything but temp and oil pressure, the temp is on the left, oil pressure is the red light you can see underneath on the right side. With the gear indication harness on the '85 SEi motor I installed, this gauge also shows that on the right side, just above where my clock is reading the incorrect time of 1:03. I did have to fabricate a mount for the gauge. Since I'm using a Hall effect speedo pickup from an Interstate Valkyrie, that made the speed readout off quite a lot. I mounted a GPS and found going down the street at ~18mph, the readout was 127....so I ordered a Speedo Healer. Wired it in and all's well in paradise. One issue was the Valkyrie tank doesn't have a sending unit which made the gauge constantly flicker, telling me I was out of gas. I found the OEM sending unit approximate resistance and installed a small resistor in the circuit. The gauge now always shows full but the constant flickering is gone.
Front shot. The headlight was originally a chrome Adjure, I found with the extra wiring in my creation the OEM bucket didn't have room for it but the Adjure did. I sanded the chrome, used self-etching primer and then satin black with a couple coats of clear which all polished out quite good. The front turns match the rears and operate the same way; run/turn. The shield behind the headlight is just that....a shield. There's a lot of extra wiring going on in there and this just covers it up. The handlebars and controls are from a Valkyrie and I adapted them to the 1200 wiring harness.
You've probably all seen this picture accompanied with "change your belts." This is what I started with, the former owner or mechanic had replaced the belts but obviously didn't know what he was doing. I was able to remove the belts without loosening the tensioners, I checked the timing before doing so and it was off the marks by over an inch on the left side but the three remaining pistons showed signs of valve strikes. At first I replaced the bad piston & rod(this is #4), I honed both left cylinders but couldn't get all the deep scratches out. I got it running but had a bad vibration so decided to chuck it and try another motor. Ended up getting a 43k mile '85 fuelie which I converted to carbs since I'd already gone through them.
So, there it is....such as it is. I'm sure I've forgot some items, my coils are off a Valkyrie, I had to make a tool to create the small lead knob on the end of one throttle cable and a shortened choke cable. Everything is either new or rebuilt....except the engine and rider. The forks were totally dismantled, cleaned and are all new. All calipers are rebuilt and have new pads, the clutch and brake lines are all new SS, new bearings in both wheels, final drive fully serviced. The brakes were modified by blocking off the front port on the rear m/c, thereby isolating the rear brake to just the foot lever. The fronts work fine using the hand lever, I had to install larger controls however. I went from 14mm to 16mm on both m/c and finally got the action I wanted. I mounted a splitter under the headlight, all brakes are fine now. As soon as I trim down the seat pan(Corbin) I'll be getting it covered, then put some miles on it before selling just to make sure there's no bugs. I have a lot of pictures but since this involved a long period of time I decided to not post them. I did find one thing extremely helpful when working on the engine and carbs; a lift table from Harbor Freight. It puts everything at the right height for me so I can sit down in a regular chair and work on stuff. In the final analysis, it's actually a bit scary to ride if you don't control that right hand. It's quick and fast so if I happen to scratch that "itch" I need to hang on....really tight.
Full length side shot. The exhaust looks close but is the angle of the picture, it actually has over 7" on the upside when on the sidestand, straight up is slightly over 6" with me on it....depending on my last meal. The headers are aftermarket, the mufflers are Harley with the cats mostly gouged out. The rear fender is for a trailer and came from Northern Tool, I cut about 7" off the tail end and mounted the front to the swingarm. The braces are polished SS straps, it's quite solid. The SS overflow is on the right side mounted adjacent to the downtube and has a clear plastic hose going to it so you can see what the fluid level is. Still need to mount my Bad Boy airhorn just behind it over the motor. The shocks are off my Valkyrie, sit a bit lower than the 1200 OEM shocks.
Left side. The red doodad is an aircraft fuel shutoff, I installed that so I didn't have to keep reaching under the tank every time I parked it. Just noticed I forgot to replace the SS screw in the top of the fuel valve mounting plate.
I fabbed up the sidemount plate and taillight holder, then after cutting the back end of the frame off I added the smaller LED lights. The outer lights are run/turn...made the standoffs for them, the two inner lights are run/brake along with the taillight over the plate. This pic is when in the "run" mode, they're quite bright when on high....just like I wanted.
The cockpit, I adapted this gauge in place of the OEM units. They needed too much work for my taste, and I thought they were kinda ugly anyway. This gauge gives me everything but temp and oil pressure, the temp is on the left, oil pressure is the red light you can see underneath on the right side. With the gear indication harness on the '85 SEi motor I installed, this gauge also shows that on the right side, just above where my clock is reading the incorrect time of 1:03. I did have to fabricate a mount for the gauge. Since I'm using a Hall effect speedo pickup from an Interstate Valkyrie, that made the speed readout off quite a lot. I mounted a GPS and found going down the street at ~18mph, the readout was 127....so I ordered a Speedo Healer. Wired it in and all's well in paradise. One issue was the Valkyrie tank doesn't have a sending unit which made the gauge constantly flicker, telling me I was out of gas. I found the OEM sending unit approximate resistance and installed a small resistor in the circuit. The gauge now always shows full but the constant flickering is gone.
Front shot. The headlight was originally a chrome Adjure, I found with the extra wiring in my creation the OEM bucket didn't have room for it but the Adjure did. I sanded the chrome, used self-etching primer and then satin black with a couple coats of clear which all polished out quite good. The front turns match the rears and operate the same way; run/turn. The shield behind the headlight is just that....a shield. There's a lot of extra wiring going on in there and this just covers it up. The handlebars and controls are from a Valkyrie and I adapted them to the 1200 wiring harness.
You've probably all seen this picture accompanied with "change your belts." This is what I started with, the former owner or mechanic had replaced the belts but obviously didn't know what he was doing. I was able to remove the belts without loosening the tensioners, I checked the timing before doing so and it was off the marks by over an inch on the left side but the three remaining pistons showed signs of valve strikes. At first I replaced the bad piston & rod(this is #4), I honed both left cylinders but couldn't get all the deep scratches out. I got it running but had a bad vibration so decided to chuck it and try another motor. Ended up getting a 43k mile '85 fuelie which I converted to carbs since I'd already gone through them.
So, there it is....such as it is. I'm sure I've forgot some items, my coils are off a Valkyrie, I had to make a tool to create the small lead knob on the end of one throttle cable and a shortened choke cable. Everything is either new or rebuilt....except the engine and rider. The forks were totally dismantled, cleaned and are all new. All calipers are rebuilt and have new pads, the clutch and brake lines are all new SS, new bearings in both wheels, final drive fully serviced. The brakes were modified by blocking off the front port on the rear m/c, thereby isolating the rear brake to just the foot lever. The fronts work fine using the hand lever, I had to install larger controls however. I went from 14mm to 16mm on both m/c and finally got the action I wanted. I mounted a splitter under the headlight, all brakes are fine now. As soon as I trim down the seat pan(Corbin) I'll be getting it covered, then put some miles on it before selling just to make sure there's no bugs. I have a lot of pictures but since this involved a long period of time I decided to not post them. I did find one thing extremely helpful when working on the engine and carbs; a lift table from Harbor Freight. It puts everything at the right height for me so I can sit down in a regular chair and work on stuff. In the final analysis, it's actually a bit scary to ride if you don't control that right hand. It's quick and fast so if I happen to scratch that "itch" I need to hang on....really tight.
1984 GL1200 Standard, work in progress
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
- desertrefugee
- SUPER BIKER!!!!
- Posts: 3947
- Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:33 pm
- Location: Chandler, AZ, USA
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
I've sure been watching and waiting for this one. That came out nicely, John. Now, it's just a matter of tweaking and enjoying. Gotta have some fun before it goes! Nice work with some really cool ideas rolled into it.
I'd love to do a 1200.
I'd love to do a 1200.
- Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to ride in the rain.
- 5speed
- Honored Life Member
- Posts: 5315
- Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:37 pm
- Location: Nova Scotia Canada
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
love the over all look of your bike.
tagging for more pics.
tagging for more pics.
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)
2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)
2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
- John Schmidt
- Silver Member
- Posts: 726
- Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:28 pm
- Location: Winter Park, Florida
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
5speed, what kind of pics are you looking for, I have quite a few(some only for my own reference when assembling) but don't want to clutter up the site. The first time I took it out for a short spin I got the crap scared outta me. This thing is much quicker than I remembered my other old Wings, so tooling down the street still in 1st gear I gave the throttle a bit of a twist. The rear end broke away on me, much to my surprise. My neighbor laughed when he saw me, said the pucker factor was the only thing holding the loose piece of foam in place that I had on the seat.
1984 GL1200 Standard, work in progress
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
- 5speed
- Honored Life Member
- Posts: 5315
- Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:37 pm
- Location: Nova Scotia Canada
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
any pics you want to post.
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)
2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)
2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
- John Schmidt
- Silver Member
- Posts: 726
- Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:28 pm
- Location: Winter Park, Florida
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
Well, I have so many pics taken over the course of the last 3 yrs. or so, a lot of them would have little interest for anyone but me. As I mentioned before, most are for my own use at the time to help in reassembling a part, some show how I was able to take it apart....such as the forks dive adjuster. Probably the only thing of any interest to most would be the device I made to pour the lead plug on the end of throttle cables and the choke cable. Most of it just isn't that unique.
Did I mention the rear fender is actually a trailer fender I bought at Northern Tool, then cut a bit over 6" off the back end for the bobber look. I then cut and bent the front end to mount directly to the swingarm. That, along with some side braces with bottom attachments I fabbed/welded up will let the fender move with the swingarm.
Did I mention the rear fender is actually a trailer fender I bought at Northern Tool, then cut a bit over 6" off the back end for the bobber look. I then cut and bent the front end to mount directly to the swingarm. That, along with some side braces with bottom attachments I fabbed/welded up will let the fender move with the swingarm.
1984 GL1200 Standard, work in progress
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
- Buli
- Chrome Member
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2016 2:43 pm
- Location: Helsinki Finland
- Track T 2411
- Honored Life Member
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- Location: Prairie du Sac Wisconsin
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
Looks great, and sounds like it's a blast to ride! As far as pics go, stuff like the custom fender and mounts, your unique tank setup, and what you had to move/how you moved stuff to make that work would all be of interest. Post away!
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
"He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail" - Abraham Maslow
"If you can't take the time to do it right the first time, how are you ever going to find the time to do it over?" -Unknown
Current Rides:
'Grumpy' - '81 Standard, now fully dressed.
'Layla' - '81 Standard w/dealer installed fairing and Hondaline bags.
'Scarlett' '76 'Survivor' nekkid as a j-bird!
Under Construction:
The 'Jalopy' '78-'79 Mash-up
'Quikie' '81 gl1100I back on the lift, project with the step-son!
In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson!
New2U Bike? Read Me.
"He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail" - Abraham Maslow
"If you can't take the time to do it right the first time, how are you ever going to find the time to do it over?" -Unknown
Current Rides:
'Grumpy' - '81 Standard, now fully dressed.
'Layla' - '81 Standard w/dealer installed fairing and Hondaline bags.
'Scarlett' '76 'Survivor' nekkid as a j-bird!
Under Construction:
The 'Jalopy' '78-'79 Mash-up
'Quikie' '81 gl1100I back on the lift, project with the step-son!
In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson!
New2U Bike? Read Me.
- wingrider
- SUPER BIKER!!!!
- Posts: 3735
- Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 12:15 pm
- Location: Maple Lake, MN USA
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
Looks great John!
2002 1800 Wing
2001 Valkyrie Interstate
1978 1200 EFI Wing with Motorvation Coupe Royale sidecar
1977 1200 Wing cafe/bobber project
1974 Suzuki GT550
2001 Valkyrie Interstate
1978 1200 EFI Wing with Motorvation Coupe Royale sidecar
1977 1200 Wing cafe/bobber project
1974 Suzuki GT550
- John Schmidt
- Silver Member
- Posts: 726
- Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:28 pm
- Location: Winter Park, Florida
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
OK, I'll put up a few pics at a time with each under a different post. Hopefully that won't clutter up the site, I'll try to restrict my choices to what might be items of interest and will start with the tank mount. I'll try to come up with a different title and post under that name each time.....how about something simple like: "My 1200 resto-mod w/pics", then with each new post put a -1, -2, -3, etc., rather than the same post that keeps getting longer each time.
1984 GL1200 Standard, work in progress
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
- desertrefugee
- SUPER BIKER!!!!
- Posts: 3947
- Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:33 pm
- Location: Chandler, AZ, USA
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
I don't see why you shouldn't (or couldn't) put them all in one thread. Call it "4 Cylinder Valkyrie" or something like that. I'd love to see your stuff detailed and it would (to me) make sense to have it all together. Same storage consumption either way.
- Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to ride in the rain.
- John Schmidt
- Silver Member
- Posts: 726
- Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:28 pm
- Location: Winter Park, Florida
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
I understand your reasoning, but with each additional set of pictures the line gets longer. I'd quickly lose interest if I had to look at the same pictures all the time just to get to 3-4 new ones at the bottom. Just watch for "My 1200 resto-mod with pics" and each new post will have a "-#" after it. That way you'll only have to go through maybe a half dozen pics at a time to see what I posted new.desertrefugee wrote:I don't see why you shouldn't (or couldn't) put them all in one thread. Call it "4 Cylinder Valkyrie" or something like that. I'd love to see your stuff detailed and it would (to me) make sense to have it all together. Same storage consumption either way.
1984 GL1200 Standard, work in progress
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, my Honda Davidson
- robin1731
- Membership Admin
- Posts: 21729
- Joined: Mon May 29, 2006 8:31 am
- Location: Decatur, Indiana
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
John Schmidt wrote:I understand your reasoning, but with each additional set of pictures the line gets longer. I'd quickly lose interest if I had to look at the same pictures all the time just to get to 3-4 new ones at the bottom. Just watch for "My 1200 resto-mod with pics" and each new post will have a "-#" after it. That way you'll only have to go through maybe a half dozen pics at a time to see what I posted new.desertrefugee wrote:I don't see why you shouldn't (or couldn't) put them all in one thread. Call it "4 Cylinder Valkyrie" or something like that. I'd love to see your stuff detailed and it would (to me) make sense to have it all together. Same storage consumption either way.
Much better to have just one thread. I merged the ones you had and sent a PM.
.
1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
Randakk approved Carb Rebuilder
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
Randakk approved Carb Rebuilder
- 230Rocket
- Billet Alum. Member
- Posts: 265
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2015 9:49 am
- Location: McKinney, Texas
Re: Here's where I am on my 1200 "restoration."
Nice job, some very clever touches which is what it's all about. And of course a whole heap of fun!
Cheers
Dean
Cheers
Dean
1982 GL1100 Fat Turtle
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