Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

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MegaDan
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#31

Post by MegaDan »

Well, after wrestling for a few hours getting my new back tire on... twice because I pinched the tube :x ... I got the rear end done. New redline 75w90 synthetic oil, and moly77 all over the appropriate spots. I need to track down a new fill hole bolt/plug as the current one is ptretty chewed from someone using the wrong size wrench or pliers on it. I also had a difficult time getting the drive flange out of the rubber isolators thanks to some light rust. I cleaned the pins and metal sleeves as best as I could with wd40, steel wool, and some brushes, and put some anti-sieze on them before putting it back together. I also put 2oz of ceramic balance beads in the rear for good measure.

I also got the right side exhaust permanently affixed with new stainless steel studs and hardware. Have to wait on the left side until I can get a longer bolt for the muffler hanger thanks to the center stand extension.

Now to finish up the front, make a ground strap for the battery, and put some fuel in this girl. FINALLY, I can see the end of the tunnel. I have been itching to ride so bad. :crosso
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1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#32

Post by wingrider »

Every once in a while tires can certainly give you fits! Sounds like you are almost there!
2002 1800 Wing
2001 Valkyrie Interstate
1978 1200 EFI Wing with Motorvation Coupe Royale sidecar
1977 1200 Wing cafe/bobber project
1974 Suzuki GT550
MegaDan
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#33

Post by MegaDan »

wingrider wrote:Every once in a while tires can certainly give you fits! Sounds like you are almost there!

For now, until I pursue some other unecessary "great idea" for this bike that I don't need to do but would make me feel better. Specifically thinking of a full M unit install and re-wire. :lol: I think that project will wait until next winter.
1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.
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wingrider
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#34

Post by wingrider »

M-units are nice! If you grab one, the replacement wiring kit from Revival is also a nice addition to your project.
2002 1800 Wing
2001 Valkyrie Interstate
1978 1200 EFI Wing with Motorvation Coupe Royale sidecar
1977 1200 Wing cafe/bobber project
1974 Suzuki GT550
MegaDan
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#35

Post by MegaDan »

So, new update.
Front Forks: Drained them of their nasty dirty old fork oil, tossed the old springs in the bin, removed the dampening rods and drilled the existing lower holes to 1/4" and added 4 more holes per dampening rod. Only 2 are needed, but as the rep. at racetech told me, you can't have too many, but too few is a problem. Installed the adapters, and Cartridge emulators, Filled them up with PJ-1 synthetic 15wt oil, and put in the Progressive 11-1100 Springs, and put them back together.

Some notes with the gold valve emulators:

Since the valve takes over dampening duty from the dampening rod, the weight of the fork oil used only affects rebound dampening, and you can tune it with the weight of fork oil used. I used 15wt because it's right in the middle. The heavier you go, the heavier the rebound dampening, and lighter obvious means less.

Current setup with my forks for notation purposes.
Progressive 11-1100 Springs - 0.80kg/mm to 1.25kg/mm dual rate spring.

Preload - about 30mm, all of it entirely added by the emulators and adapters. - It is worth mentioning that Racetech
recommended 25mm of preload with 1kg spring rates. Progressive's springs on the other hand state to remove
any spacers with their springs, and are run with only a fraction of preload to keep the springs from moving
around. With the forks on the bike, and my weight, while much firmer, there is still plenty of actuation and
travel with the front forks, so if you want to try this combination I say go for it.

Racetech Gold Valve Emulators - Per Racetech's initial setup for this bike and my weight. This is the Blue/40lb spring for
the valves with 3 turns of preload on it's adjustment bolt. I went with 4 turns to start because I tend to like
more aggressive dampening. If I find it is still too soft for me, then I am going to skip straight to the Yellow/64;b
springs with 2 turns of preload and see how that feels.

I reinstalled the fork tubes with the triples one inch lower on the tubes to even out the way the bike sits, and to give the steering just a tiny bit more sharpness.
1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#36

Post by MegaDan »

I just have a few little odds and ends to sort out and I should be able to balance the carbs and start riding her, hopefully next weekend. Until then, I decided to wheel it outside and let it see the sun for the first time in a few months. Forgive how dirty it is. She needs a good was and detail session once she is done!


The only issue I ran into currently is that I will be going fenderless. I discovered that the fork brace I bought and the front fender, even with the brace spacers, don't agree on who should occupy that space. I chose the fork brace, function always wins in my eyes. So, aside from the side covers that I haven't put on yet, this is how it is going to look.
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1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#37

Post by MegaDan »

Filled it up a week ago, going to go on my first ride, when my fuel sending unit seal revealed it had given up after 42 years. Got a new one in and replaced that Thursday and have been riding ever since.

Now that I have put about 200 miles on it, some observations.

First, the hydraulic clutch setup. I love it. Still a bit of a heavy clutch pull, but unlike the cable, the engagement range is much smaller, or the engagement point going out is much further out from the grip. I personally like this a lot, although admittedly it makes it harder to feather it at first until you get used to it.

Second, the new clutches, steels, and Plate B removal. I never have a problem finding neutral now. I generally have to go from 2nd to 1st, then up the neutral, but I hit it every time with zero struggles. I also no longer have an issue with the transmission getting stuck in gear.

As far as removing Plate B, the only real difference I have noticed is that sometimes the clutch will chatter and rattle a bit while taking off from a stop. Otherwise, it engages just like it used to.

Third, Now that I have some miles and bumps in on my front suspension it has loosened up a little bit. At first it was a bit stiff, and almost felt like the forks weren't moving much at all, but now I can feel them working, and those gold valves have completely transformed the bike. Way less dive under braking, and when it does, it is very controlled. The 15wt fork oil feels just about right for rebound dampening as well. It allows for a quick return without ever feeling overly sprung.

That said, I do feel that there is still just a bit more dive still than what I would like to see. Later this year I am going to remove the gold valves so I can put the heavier blue springs on and try those with 2 or 3 turns of preload on them.

Four, The front brakes with the new master cylinder are amazing. Now the rear feels like complete crap in comparison. I would love to look into a potential upgrade for the rear end to get a bit more feel/bite out of the back, but without going too far and making it easy to lock up.

Lastly, if you haven't bought a fork brace of some kind for your bike yet, do so. The brace combined with the new springs and gold valves have completely transformed this bike. The suspension goodies combined with the Shinko 230 tires have taken this bike from something that I felt was limiting me around corners and curves, to a bike where I feel is more capable than I am. More than once now I have gone around a bend, not realizing just how fast I was going. The confidence I have on this bike now is on a whole different level, and It has been transformed into a completely different bike, and I absolutely LOVE it.

As a side note, my fuel mileage is back with a vengance. Before I parked the bike, I was lucky to get 20mpg out of the bike. This was one of a couple indicators that something wasn't right with the carbs or something else with the bike. I have yet to fully balance the carbs yet as I need to find the right adapter for my intakes - because they have larger than stock threads for whatever reason, so this may yet improve, but I have subjected this bike to city, highway, light throttle, and getting on it quite a bit, and I have so far averaged out at a hair over 35mpg.
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shakedown.jpg
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1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#38

Post by Brant »

Lookin' good.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#39

Post by sunnbobb »

Love all the modern updates!
I found the end of the internet

---- Bradshaw Bikes custom polishing for your wing. Visit us on facebook!

1978 Learning Experience
1980 County Road Hauler "Brain Damage"
1978 Cafe Custom Gl1000 "Vyper"
1977 Bulldog Inspired "Vaincre"
1981 Street Fighter GL1100 "No Quarter"
1983 Supercharged Street Drag "Anubis" (in worx)
1983 gl1100 mint restoration "Kristen"
1985 Aspencade..pondering.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#40

Post by Rednaxs60 »

Excellent read and you've done a great job.

Tried replacing the Plate B on my 1200, but was not happy with the play in the clutch stack after it was assembled. Did manage to find a NOS and installed the new damper plate. Good to hear that with some play clutch still works good.

Have race Tech springs and the gold valves installed in the front forks and Progressive non-air shocks in the rear. Pleased with the performance, but need to get a better understanding of how the Race Tech system works. Have the Race Tech book as well.

Firm believer that with a bike of 30 plus years, not only are the safety items such as brakes needing overhauling, the suspension needs to be upgraded with new or an aftermarket setup as this relates to safety as well.

Good to hear that everything you have done has met your expectations. Great looking bike.

Cheers
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BustedKnuckles
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#41

Post by BustedKnuckles »

Thank you for the comprehensive suspension write-up. I'm focused on my engines state of tune, and ordered some Hagon rear shocks, but have no idea what to do with the front. You provided me with something to consider, and got the conversation started with my bike!
1976 GL1000
1969 CL350 Scrambler
1982 CB450T

1967 Chevy El Camino 396
1978 Dodge Class C Georgie Boy Cruise Master
MegaDan
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#42

Post by MegaDan »

So, time for an update.

In my last and most recent thread in another section I talked about how my bike is dead. In short, bad slapping noises in the rear case, odd off and on surging while riding, and then my oil light came on. It could be something simple, or something bad. The engine itself makes no bad noises to speak of, so I suspect something with one of the pumps, or the chain/sprocket. I managed to snag a complete pump, chain, sprocket setup from a low mile bike for relatively cheap. even if I don't need it all, spare parts are always a good idea.

That leaves me with one of two ideas. A big part of me wants to do a minimal amount of work and get it back on the road. The other side of me wants to try and clean it up as much as I can internally. Especially the sight glass. Plus, I like the idea and peace of mind of a full gasket set, putting in a metal impellar water pump, and inspecting other parts of the motor. It will put it down for a lot longer, but would net a better end result.

I did manage to ride it for about 3000 miles this year at least. Far more than I did last year.

In other news, after a lot of debating on different intake setups I decided to go the simplest EFI route possible. I managed to pick up a GL1200 EFI intake setup for a really good price, and thusly ordered a Microsquirt for it. I just need to sort out a couple of items like a fuel pump and a wideband O2 system, and a return setup for the fuel.

Anyway, enjoy some pictures from my summer of fun. The first one is thanks to my Girlfriend. She is an actual photographer. The last 3 were just me and my Cell phone at random times. Not bad if I say so myself. The very last one really highlights what the pearl and metallic of this paint do in different light conditions.
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1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#43

Post by Sugs »

Bummer about the problems you are having, but bike looks great. I'll be very interested in following the EFI conversion.
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MegaDan
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#44

Post by MegaDan »

Sugs wrote:Bummer about the problems you are having, but bike looks great. I'll be very interested in following the EFI conversion.
I plan on covering the efi setup in it's own thread. I am not going to get very fancy with it and mainly following in Socrace's footsteps of shortening up the 1200 plenum. No ignition control to start with, just fuel, so the only real thing to figure out besides the fueling side of things is getting a good tach signal from the coils. I can at least get the intake setup and sensor locations easily figured out when the engine is out of the bike.

The only "fancy" idea I had was making a custom top plate to utilize the GL1000 air box, but I may even skip that if the 1200 can be made to fit.

The nice thing about this particular intake setup is that it came off of a bike with just under 10k miles on it, so everything looks to be in really good shape.

Some of my other goodies I got from a local guy's stash were a Swing Arm, Diff, axle, drive flange and drive shaft from a 78 all in really good shape, a second 79 driveshaft that looks brand spanking new. Also a complete 76 rear wheel in OK shape, a complete front 75 wheel for with insanely rusty spokes. Both wheels have rotors on them too, so free spares! All of that haul was $170 and an hour drive.

I bought the wheels mainly for the hubs as I want to lace up different/wider rims (18x2.15 front and 18x4.25 rear), which is also why I snagged the swing arm, so I have a spare to modify to fit a 150 tire (I want to run a 150/70-18 rear and 110/90-18 front) The wheels will likely be much later, but having the hubs.

Once I pull the motor, I may make it a semi-restoration and clean up and paint the frame, swing arm, and triple clamps chassis black as well as possibly install an M-unit. I can also finally get around to installing my tapered roller bearings in the steering neck as well as the roller bearing upgrades for the swing arm.
1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.
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Re: Unpimp ze motorrad: 1975 GL1000

#45

Post by 5speed »

your bike looks great.
what handle bars and mirrors are you using?
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
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1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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