1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...
Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 12:39 pm
Hey guys!
New to the forum and Goldwings, but not new to resurrecting a bike (went through roughly the same thing with my '83 Shadow). Last fall I picked up a 1982 GL1100 Interstate corpse, and was recently able to drag it home since the snow has finally melted up at my place.
I've got a bunch of pics on photobucket, but I'm not approved to post urls yet, so I'll have to share them later.
The ad said "has some cosmetic damage, and the starter relay is burned out so it won't currently start". He was asking a LOT for it, considering it didn't even run...and that's probably why it was for sale for several months before I got it.
When I went to go check it out, I got the whole story... Bike was purchased new in 1982, and sold to the second owner in 1988. The guy wrecked it on the highway roughly a year later, and parked it in his garage intending to fix it...but he never did. He passed away in 2013 in his 70s. His estate sold it to the guy I got it from...he bought it thinking it would be a quick fix, but all he did was take the fairing apart to get to the ignition switch (the estate didn't have a key) so he could get the ignition switch out and have a key cut.
Bike wouldn't turn over, and he covered it with a piece of plywood...and there it sat. Until I dragged it home .
So, after doing an initial autopsy, what did I get? An '82 GL1100I that had damage from the wreck--fairing was trashed, instrument cluster badly damaged, right side crash bar destroyed, timing cover and valve cover damaged, rear crash bar has road rash, as does the hard bag. Front fender has some damage, and the ditch lights were destroyed.
Bike only had 16K on the clock when wrecked, and the engine is very clean. Gas tank is almost full of disgusting 30 year old gas. Front tire is original, rear tire was replaced shortly before the wreck and looks almost new (but is dated 1988). Brake calipers were locked up solid (which led to an adventure getting it off the trailer that I'll maybe tell someday...it wasn't pretty lol). Engine wouldn't turn over all the way even rocking the bike in gear.
She had a bunch of extra lights and bumpers and chrome and stuff stuck all over her...she must have looked like the Queen of the Highway back in the day .
So, what are my plans for her? Going to go semi-naked...sort of a bagger. My Shadow doesn't have any bags, and I'd really like to have a little cargo capacity. Fairing definitely won't be going back on. While I can appreciate the full dresser look, it's not really my thing. While these were still being sold as a standard bike, they've got really nice clean lines under that stuff, and I'd like to let it show some skin. Going to leave the trunk off when I don't have a passenger...also going to finish the truck rack in some sort of black finish so it's not as noticeable when the trunk is off. I would just remove the rack, but my GF loves bikes, and I want to have the option of having the back rest for her. Haven't decided on a paint scheme yet...since it all has to be redone, my options are wide open. Going to lose a lot of the extra chrome and lights and doo-dads... For my own taste, a little chrome goes a long way...I like it as an accent, but it doesn't need to be the star of the show. I tend to like simplicity better. I've already done quite a bit of work on getting her running (it's not yet, but should be in the next few weeks), and I'll post more about that later.
Anyway, just wanted to give a little introduction to my project...I've seen so many great things here that I wanted to share my progess, and ask for help when I hit roadblocks.
Cheers!
Scott
New to the forum and Goldwings, but not new to resurrecting a bike (went through roughly the same thing with my '83 Shadow). Last fall I picked up a 1982 GL1100 Interstate corpse, and was recently able to drag it home since the snow has finally melted up at my place.
I've got a bunch of pics on photobucket, but I'm not approved to post urls yet, so I'll have to share them later.
The ad said "has some cosmetic damage, and the starter relay is burned out so it won't currently start". He was asking a LOT for it, considering it didn't even run...and that's probably why it was for sale for several months before I got it.
When I went to go check it out, I got the whole story... Bike was purchased new in 1982, and sold to the second owner in 1988. The guy wrecked it on the highway roughly a year later, and parked it in his garage intending to fix it...but he never did. He passed away in 2013 in his 70s. His estate sold it to the guy I got it from...he bought it thinking it would be a quick fix, but all he did was take the fairing apart to get to the ignition switch (the estate didn't have a key) so he could get the ignition switch out and have a key cut.
Bike wouldn't turn over, and he covered it with a piece of plywood...and there it sat. Until I dragged it home .
So, after doing an initial autopsy, what did I get? An '82 GL1100I that had damage from the wreck--fairing was trashed, instrument cluster badly damaged, right side crash bar destroyed, timing cover and valve cover damaged, rear crash bar has road rash, as does the hard bag. Front fender has some damage, and the ditch lights were destroyed.
Bike only had 16K on the clock when wrecked, and the engine is very clean. Gas tank is almost full of disgusting 30 year old gas. Front tire is original, rear tire was replaced shortly before the wreck and looks almost new (but is dated 1988). Brake calipers were locked up solid (which led to an adventure getting it off the trailer that I'll maybe tell someday...it wasn't pretty lol). Engine wouldn't turn over all the way even rocking the bike in gear.
She had a bunch of extra lights and bumpers and chrome and stuff stuck all over her...she must have looked like the Queen of the Highway back in the day .
So, what are my plans for her? Going to go semi-naked...sort of a bagger. My Shadow doesn't have any bags, and I'd really like to have a little cargo capacity. Fairing definitely won't be going back on. While I can appreciate the full dresser look, it's not really my thing. While these were still being sold as a standard bike, they've got really nice clean lines under that stuff, and I'd like to let it show some skin. Going to leave the trunk off when I don't have a passenger...also going to finish the truck rack in some sort of black finish so it's not as noticeable when the trunk is off. I would just remove the rack, but my GF loves bikes, and I want to have the option of having the back rest for her. Haven't decided on a paint scheme yet...since it all has to be redone, my options are wide open. Going to lose a lot of the extra chrome and lights and doo-dads... For my own taste, a little chrome goes a long way...I like it as an accent, but it doesn't need to be the star of the show. I tend to like simplicity better. I've already done quite a bit of work on getting her running (it's not yet, but should be in the next few weeks), and I'll post more about that later.
Anyway, just wanted to give a little introduction to my project...I've seen so many great things here that I wanted to share my progess, and ask for help when I hit roadblocks.
Cheers!
Scott