Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

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dontwantapickle
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#286

Post by dontwantapickle »

I stand corrected!
but actually I thought the shifter was under the seat by the kitchen sink strainer.
I watched the video again and see now that that lever is the starter and the bike still shifts by foot.
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#287

Post by CrazyJerry »

desertrefugee wrote:Really cool stuff. Thanks for the summary of the rear suspension function. Simplicity epitomized. It also just occurred to me that your explanatory post was NEEDED in this thread!

Great project.

Wish I could help on the material, but have no idea. I'd bet you could experiment with other similar stuff if you wanted.
desertrefugee, you're correct and it does appear there are areas that kinda got skipped over and one of them was the rear leaf setup. In the coming weeks I will indeed be experimenting. Right now the bike has just over 700 miles so everything is being checked and rechecked - looking for any cracked welds, etc..
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#288

Post by CrazyJerry »

ericheath wrote:Does it still have factory stops for turning the forks? I would think with that much and the rake, it would want to flop over when moving it around at very low speed.
ericheath - that's also a good question and I have a lengthy post coming right up about this very topic as it pertains to this bike!
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#289

Post by CrazyJerry »

dontwantapickle wrote:I stand corrected!
but actually I thought the shifter was under the seat by the kitchen sink strainer.
I watched the video again and see now that that lever is the starter and the bike still shifts by foot.
dontwantapickle - the question of shifting and clutching has already come up when the bike is out and about. Folks seem more interested in the jockey shifter horn lever and completely miss the foot shifter! That was the desired effect so mission accomplished!!
lolol
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#290

Post by CrazyJerry »

Working with Wheel Flop - not against it.
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When driving at speed on a motorcycle, some people intuitively negotiate bends in the road by counter-steering and not trying to negotiate the curve solely by leaning. Counter-steering successfully uses the bikes weight and geometry in ways that simply leaning could never do.
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Wheel flop in the case of this 45 degree rake is only an issue on the slowest of parking lot crawls, and, if one tries to address this with arm strength alone - it's going to be tiring! Some strength is necessary but correct balance is key!
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In the photos below - use a piece of paper to block out the front fork/wheel. The rest of the bike seems to defy a lean towards the kick-stand. This is not a camera trick and in either photo, if that front wheel is straightened out, the bike will fall over. These are examples I used to help me understand the impact of the fork-flop and its effect (in this case as a stationary counter-weight that aids in keeping the bike planted on the kick-stand). The wheel flop in this case is very gentle as the bike is not leaning/contributing to it (the flop).
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Image
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Image
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In those two photos, the pavement under the kickstand is slightly higher than where the wheels are, and, with the kickstand down the bike is slightly past center balance (away and not leaning on that kickstand). The rake on the front fork as it is locked in a left turn is what's holding the bike on the stand - and it's not by much. If we understand what effect counter-weight has in relation to rake/wheel flop, then maybe we can work with the bike as a human counter-weight to minimize the wheel flop at very low speeds. This is what I've been doing and in the slow ho-hum parking lot video clips, that's what's being addressed in that video:
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Slow speed in a parking lot at NNCS #2
https://youtu.be/DWHOCfiJYOs
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During the build of the bike, there were times when it was taken off the jack and allowed to rest on its kick-stand. The wheel always flopped until it hit the factory turn-stops. It was a miserable experience every time as this happened abruptly. Two things that have pretty much made this a non-event were the:
1) Re-addition of the shortest top leaf back into the leaf spring setup. This raised the height of the rear of the bike, and changed the overall angle of the front fork in relation to the ground.
2) Release of air pressure in the front forks, thus dropping its height by a few inches and further changing the angle of the front fork in relation to the ground. The picasso below is exaggerated but it does show angle changes in relation to the rear swingarm position:
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Image
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These two things together have done wonders to alleviate this problem. Understanding and practicing slow turns on the bike (using my weight as a counter-weight and a little clutch control) is working out very well! The bike is incapable of completing as tight a turning radius and a stock GL1000, but can still negotiate a tight circle at slow speeds with a good pilot and not alot of arm strength!
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In short, yes there is still wheel flop from the rake but it's not the beast it was initially. Also, there was a thread on one of the chopper forums suggesting that some builders had over-torqued the stem bearings to bind up the steering a bit and lessen the dreaded wheel flop. While this may work, this build was torqued at the recommended amount.
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Image
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Last edited by CrazyJerry on Tue Jun 25, 2019 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#291

Post by CrazyJerry »

Just for fun, the album of the bike's photo-shoot was shared on a couple of facebook groups:
Unusual,Interesting & Rare Motorcycles
POIM (Pics Of Interesting Motorcycles)
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It appears Bon Appetit is well received and garnering a fair amount of attention and comments.
This also follows my experience when stopped at a store, etc...
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Hopefully this will encourage some additional interest in these great machines!
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#292

Post by CrazyJerry »

5speed wrote:
CrazyJerry wrote:
5speed wrote:very cool.
I gotta ask..what is the story on the car..I've been trying to figure out what breed it is.
5speed - that little car has an incredible story... I have a build competition thread located on another site and I'll post a link after this Goldwing story closes.. Stay tuned!
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awesome..I love build threads..and I'm a die hard gear head.
5speed, the story of that little car is in this lengthy build thread:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread. ... 23497.html
Page 70 appears to be the end but things are just paused for a bit. I had a Goldwing fever that I just couldn't shake!
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lolol
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#293

Post by Sugs »

Incredible job on this, you have some great fabrication skills!

There is one thing on this bike that I think could be better, its a minor thing, but its the front fender stay. What you did was creative, but it doesn't match the more minimalist rear fender stays and draws my eye too much. JMO which really is unimportant as its your bike. If you love it then that's all that matters!
Last edited by Sugs on Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#294

Post by bigscheaf »

friday-damn.gif
friday-damn.gif (1.88 MiB) Viewed 210 times
I was initially disappointed that you couldn't use the coffin tank, but after seeing the final outcome, everything flows together so well.

What I really want to know, how comfortable is the ride on it?
1983 GL1100 viewtopic.php?f=16&t=67673#
1981 CB900F (Resto-mod Project)
1979 CB750F (Wiseco 823)
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#295

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Sugs wrote:Incredible job on this, you have some great fabrication skills!

There is one thing on this bike that I think could be better, its a minor thing, but its the front fender stay. What you did was creative, but it doesn't match the more minimalist rear fender stays and draws my eye too much. JMO which really is unimportant as its your bike. If you love it then that's what's all that matters!
Sugs -thanks for the feedback! There was a time when I thought the rear leaf spring was going to be the predominant feature on the bike and the rest might not even be noticed. This is no longer the case as there are points of interest on every corner of the bike. The front stays appear to be interesting even at a distance and that entire setup is becoming part of the lure and signature of the bike - they have to "stay"!
lolol
What scares me the most though, is once the women start to notice all the kitchen accessories on the bike, they dominate the conversation about all the stuff they have that they'd like to donate!
:lol:
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#296

Post by CrazyJerry »

bigscheaf wrote:friday-damn.gif
I was initially disappointed that you couldn't use the coffin tank, but after seeing the final outcome, everything flows together so well.

What I really want to know, how comfortable is the ride on it?
bigschief, There are three licensed Goldwings here ('78 GL1000 - 1984 GL1200 - and the one in this thread). In my opinion, this GL1100 bike is different than the other two in terms of riding.

The 1984 GL1200 has all the luggage, windshield, etc, and for all practical purposes it isolates one from everything a bike can. It's a parade float.

The GL1000 is as nimble as a Goldwing can be and with no fairings and a firm suspension, and those classic tank gauges - it's easy to feel aggressive on it.

This GL1100 rides much firmer than the GL1200 and slightly firmer than the GL1000 - however - it can be almost as smooth as the GL1200 in about 15 minutes. Using little to no air in the front fork helps absorb bumps better due to that rake- but at about 10 psi it firms right up. The rear leaf can be as smooth as butter, hard as a bobber, or anything in between. Removing the smallest upper leaf provides the most travel to absorb everything (although the risk of the rear fender rising up to hit the seat mount is a real possibility.)

With all the leafs in place, and a little grease on the leaf's rear wear pad (I've just tried grease after a conversation with desertrefugee a couple of posts back), the bike rides excellent! You feel the road but none of the little holes and bumps. It's now a bit softer in the rear than the GL1000 (that has progressive springs) but still feels very sport-bike - not mushy at all.

If you don't like a bike without a windshield you'd hate this. With everything so low, you really feel exposed and you feel the wind, bugs, etc... It's wonderful really! The bike is rock solid up to 90 mph with no shock in the rear - that includes normal sweeping bends, hils, etc. 90 feels like 150 with nothing but skinny handlebars in front and a pair of airhorns to the left.

The way the suspension is currently setup, there are no plans to pad or add springs to the seat. Even though it's rigid aluminum, it's very comfortable and as the air rolls past the underside, it'll pull the heat out of your bottom. It's also the only bike I've ever ridden that is as enjoyable at 40 as it is at higher speeds.

The small 2 gallon tank will take time to get used to but at 45 mpg mixed I can get in a good ride before being accosted at the gas station. The seat is 26" off the ground so balancing even with a little sand on the pavement is a non-issue. The footpegs place my legs at a very comparable angle as I would have on the GL1000 (this may be due to the seat being set rearward more.)

Riding for an hour is not a problem and when dismounting there's no transition time from riding in that position to walking normal. The exhaust is a symphony in my opinion. You hear it but it's not obnoxious. With a full face helmet on, at about 2500 on the tach (around 40-45 in top gear) it sounds and feels like there's a V8 sitting under that tank. This bike is faster than it should be and doesn't slow down on the uphills. You can pretty much take off without stalling it on just the 1100 rpm idle, and it just pulls very smoothly. If you get crazy and twist the throttle, the intake comes alive and you hear it like you've never heard one of thee before.

The aluminum tank does nothing to help muffle the sound of the carbs when they start singing. The one thing as mentioned elsewhere, is practicing the very slow parking lot sharp turn due to the fork rake. Tonight at our local convenient store was a real test and of course there were people watching. Practice paid of this time and I am very close to mastering this!
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Last edited by CrazyJerry on Fri Jun 28, 2019 6:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#297

Post by CrazyJerry »

:crosso
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#298

Post by bigscheaf »

Sounds like one of the most customizable, and unique, suspensions you can have on a bike. Almost makes me want to setup a bike with a similar suspension - I have no twisties to worry about since everything here is dang near grid squares for the roads.

I honestly prefer a motorcycle without a windshield and such. Maybe a smaller fairing, but nothing that really takes away from the experience of the ride. Although I do wear a full face helmet most of the time due to grasshoppers and rocks - getting smoked by either at 7,000 RPMs on a CB900F is not a pleasant experience. I have to go by RPMs with that bike since it had no speedometer when I got it, but that's a different story.

The low and long profile is what really makes the bike stand out. What did the wheelbase end up being on it? Looks can be rather deceiving, but I'd guess 72-74".
1983 GL1100 viewtopic.php?f=16&t=67673#
1981 CB900F (Resto-mod Project)
1979 CB750F (Wiseco 823)
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#299

Post by CrazyJerry »

bigscheaf wrote:Sounds like one of the most customizable, and unique, suspensions you can have on a bike. Almost makes me want to setup a bike with a similar suspension - I have no twisties to worry about since everything here is dang near grid squares for the roads.

I honestly prefer a motorcycle without a windshield and such. Maybe a smaller fairing, but nothing that really takes away from the experience of the ride. Although I do wear a full face helmet most of the time due to grasshoppers and rocks - getting smoked by either at 7,000 RPMs on a CB900F is not a pleasant experience. I have to go by RPMs with that bike since it had no speedometer when I got it, but that's a different story.

The low and long profile is what really makes the bike stand out. What did the wheelbase end up being on it? Looks can be rather deceiving, but I'd guess 72-74".
bigscheaf - You are very close! Just measured it to be sure and - axle to axle comes in at 70".
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Re: Who built this one? GL custom in Oklahoma

#300

Post by bigscheaf »

CrazyJerry wrote:bigscheaf - You are very close! Just measured it to be sure and - axle to axle comes in at 70".
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CrazyJerry, I told you looks can be deceiving! I was going to be the weight guesser at the carnival, but I didn’t want to get slapped multiple times a day.
1983 GL1100 viewtopic.php?f=16&t=67673#
1981 CB900F (Resto-mod Project)
1979 CB750F (Wiseco 823)
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