1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

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CYBORG
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#91

Post by CYBORG »

everything old is new again
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robin1731
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#92

Post by robin1731 »

When using electrolysis it works best if you clean the "pipe in your case" once in awhile while it works. Once an hour or two works good. The clean pipe will help it to work faster.
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#93

Post by Easter »

RAT wrote:" the third had the sleeves cut off in classic 1980s fashion" ..... I had no Idea I was so old fashioned .....

Gord :oldies hippie1
Rat, since I have never seen you in person, you will have to forgive me but I am visualizing some of the old guys around here (I am almost 69 so I speak of my peers) wearing baggy, sleeve-less tees with the arms cut off--and it is not a sexy vision! :IDTS:
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83 XL 600r with a 2004 XR650L engine
And a slightly worse for the wear BMW GS adventure bike awaiting repair
83 GL in process :IDTS:
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toolbox
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#94

Post by toolbox »

Easter wrote:
RAT wrote:" the third had the sleeves cut off in classic 1980s fashion" ..... I had no Idea I was so old fashioned .....

Gord :oldies hippie1
Rat, since I have never seen you in person, you will have to forgive me but I am visualizing some of the old guys around here (I am almost 69 so I speak of my peers) wearing baggy, sleeve-less tees with the arms cut off--and it is not a sexy vision! :IDTS:

You guys kill me lolol . Hey, if anyone wants one of those..."vintage"...t-shirts to model, just drop me a line :lol: .

Not much progress to report...still getting rust out of the tank. Been cleaning the electrode as often as I can (which isn't often enough), and flushing/refilling every evening. Still getting quite a bit of rust out...kind of surprised at how long this is taking, guess it was worse than I thought. Metal is looking mostly pretty good inside the tank, but it's still got a bit to go. Still working on the back of the tank...reserve pickup looks good, most of the metal is bare, though not all of it. Hoping to have it nice and clean by the end of the week. Might also try and do the intake runners tonight if I have time. Also need to clean and maybe repaint the radiator...

Anyway, still hacking at it, but kind of stuck on the rusty tank.
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#95

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Tank is getting closer...I think tonight I'll do the drain/rinse/refill routine one more time, then put the sender back in so I can fill the neck up all the way and start attacking that.
Also decided to try and test the carbs for leaks last night...I bought a big chunk of fuel line, and decided to use the pump on the bike to fill them off a gas can. Couldn't get it to move any fuel for a little while--ended up kind of having to prime it and futz with it for a while before it worked. Guess it was a good chance to get the pump squared away before I try to actually start it.
Once I actually got the pump to move fuel, I hooked it up to the carb rack. Cranked the bike over to fill it up, and...fuel started pooling in the plenum :IDTS: . Opened the butterflies, and it just dumped out the 1/3 side of it. I opened them up and watched as I cranked the bike over...gas was shooting out of the main jets like Old Faithful :shock: . I started seeing dollar signs thinking about new needle valves... Soooo...you guys were right lol. Best to test them off the bike first. I took the float bowls off the side that was leaking--one of the float arms seemed to be kind of hung up (?)...it went back into place when I bumped it. The other one seemed fine (?). With the rack upside down, I blew in the inlet hose, and it seemed to seal up tight...put it all back together, and filled it up again. Guess I fixed whatever the problem was...no more leaks :). So, hopefully the carbs are good to go...
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#96

Post by Rat »

Easter wrote:
RAT wrote:" the third had the sleeves cut off in classic 1980s fashion" ..... I had no Idea I was so old fashioned .....

Gord :oldies hippie1
Rat, since I have never seen you in person, you will have to forgive me but I am visualizing some of the old guys around here (I am almost 69 so I speak of my peers) wearing baggy, sleeve-less tees with the arms cut off--and it is not a sexy vision! :IDTS:

Not likely to be your peer .... unless we're talking about drinking BEER anim-cheers1 ..... be 75 this season .....

Gord (have to cut the sleeves off myself) Jones hippie1
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#97

Post by Audiowize »

Ha, my neighbor's bike has a float issue also, which we resolved, but now seems to be back on a different bowl. I'm thinking that the old fuel hose my be breaking down, and chunks of fuel line are keeping the float valve from closing.

It was so bad that one cylinder hydrolocked with gas and we had to remove a plug and use the starter to squirt it out.
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toolbox
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#98

Post by toolbox »

RAT wrote:
Easter wrote:
RAT wrote:" the third had the sleeves cut off in classic 1980s fashion" ..... I had no Idea I was so old fashioned .....

Gord :oldies hippie1
Rat, since I have never seen you in person, you will have to forgive me but I am visualizing some of the old guys around here (I am almost 69 so I speak of my peers) wearing baggy, sleeve-less tees with the arms cut off--and it is not a sexy vision! :IDTS:

Not likely to be your peer .... unless we're talking about drinking BEER anim-cheers1 ..... be 75 this season .....

Gord (have to cut the sleeves off myself) Jones hippie1
The offer is still open to anyone that wants one of those original "stored in a motorcycle for 30 years" t-shirts :lol: . Though any potential takers should be warned, just judging by their size I think they probably belonged to the last owners slightly more diminutive passenger ;) . Not that any of you guys wouldn't look great in a skin tight ratty old sleeveless t-shirt...I'm sure everyone here would be cool enough to pull it off :).
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#99

Post by toolbox »

Audiowize wrote:Ha, my neighbor's bike has a float issue also, which we resolved, but now seems to be back on a different bowl. I'm thinking that the old fuel hose my be breaking down, and chunks of fuel line are keeping the float valve from closing.

It was so bad that one cylinder hydrolocked with gas and we had to remove a plug and use the starter to squirt it out.
Yea, it doesn't take much...the sealing surface is so small on those. The little screen at the bottom of the inlet should be the last line of defense against crud getting in there, but stuff can still get by. I'm sure if I'd just hooked them up the first time I would have had similar issues...gas was just pouring out of the thing lol. The original hoses on mine look fine, but I figured at a dollar something a foot for new lines, I might as well just replace them to be on the safe side... Actually that reminds me, I need to get a new filter before I can use the tank too.
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#100

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Tank is looking really good...spent some more time bonding with it last night. I decided to try skimming the crud off the top with my carpet cleaner, rather than just siphon it out right away...a lot of the crud floats, and that allowed me to get it off the surface, so it didn't just drop with the water level and coat everything. You can eventually rinse it out, but I think this is faster.

Image

I was getting a mix of rain and snow, so I was working on it with the tarp just peeled back. (Had a good half inch of fresh snow on the ground this morning...so tired of it!!)

Siphoned the rest of the water out. Did the rinse/drain thing again a few times. Also probed around in there with my shop vac picking up a bunch of sediment that was in the very bottom. I couldn't get in there all that well with the hose because it just barely fit, but was able to get pretty much everywhere in there with a piece of garden hose stuck on the vacuum. The back half looks basically done, so I put the sender back in so I could fill the neck all the way and work on that.

The pipe of course sits deeper in the neck than the back, so I moved the tape insulator up. It's pretty amazing how much of the pipe is just gone at this point...they don't call it a sacrificial electrode for nothing...

Image

Filled the tank with hot water and put it back to work...starting making yummy rust soup very quickly.

Image

Tank should be ready for fuel by the end of the weekend I would think... I still need to rebuild the petcock, and get a new filter before it's ready for the big dance though.

Also spent some quality time with the intake runners, so I have some more shiny bits...

Image

More sanding, more polishing. Again, they're not perfect but they look great...and if anyone is looking close enough to tell the difference, I've probably got other problems lol.
I don't know for sure what paint technology Honda used on these engines, but I can tell you that it's not chemical resistant. You can literally wash the clearcoat off these things using carb cleaner. Actually, if you get it anywhere on the engine it will dissolve the paint almost instantly. I can't imagine they were using lacquer in the 1980s, but who knows...it does't hold up like even a synthetic enamel should. Anyway, be careful with the carb cleaner unless you want to strip the paint.

Also got the radiator and brackets mostly cleaned up... It came with one of those chrome grill cover things, and the chrome is pitted and falling off in places. I'm going to paint it, though I haven't decided what color I'm going to go with yet. The radiator looks great, and the paint is pretty nice, so I think cleaning will be enough. Will need to clean up the frame before it goes back in though.
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#101

Post by toolbox »

Weekend update: After a week of electrolysis, I pronounced the fuel tank done. Looks great inside now, though I won't be shocked if the fuel filter picks up little micro bits of crud for a while. I filled it up with 91 octane (no corn)...figured that would be as easy a way to keep it from rusting as any. I ran some fuel out of it through the old filter, and it came out all clean and sparkly...so far so good. Glad to be finished with that particular part of the project...I must have filled and rinsed that tank more than two dozen times. And as much fun as that is, I'm kind of glad to be moving on :lol:

Also tossed the radiator back in temporarily to check the system for leaks since I put the new head on...the crossover tube was dripping steadily from the head side :x . I put new OEM o-rings on the tube when I put the head back on, but I guess I goofed that one up somehow :IDTS: . I took the elbow off the original head and started cleaning the gasket off so it's just ready to go...I'll order a new gasket and pull that back apart and fix it. I got 4 o-rings, so I still have two spares I can use.

Not much else to report...still getting below freezing at night, and we're supposed to get some more snow. Kind of wishing I didn't have use the driveway for this project lol.

The bike is on the center stand right now, and I think the next thing is going to be dismantling the rest of the rear end, and starting on that stuff...bags off (and luggage rack), rear wheel out, etc. Found an '83 rear wheel for cheap...looks like it comes with the drive flange, but not the rotor or axle. Did a bunch of searches on this swap, and some people basically said "it just bolts in" and others said "use all the '83 parts". I guess I'll see who's right...'83 axles (with the spacers) are cheap on ebay, so I may just get one. Hopefully the rotor is a direct swap (I think I remember reading that only the Aspy is different 81-83?). Can also start rebuilding the rear brakes. The calipers look like the same ones from my Shadow (or very similar), so they should be easy to go through. Rear MC looks like kind of a pain to remove? Haven't looked it up in the manual yet.
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#102

Post by robin1731 »

I always put some plumbers grease on the O-rings before putting the tubes back together.
1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
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toolbox
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#103

Post by toolbox »

robin1731 wrote:I always put some plumbers grease on the O-rings before putting the tubes back together.
I actually did grease them, but I still goofed it up somehow :oops: . Guess I'll figure out what went wrong when I get it apart...maybe I didn't use enough grease, and it got hung up or something. The inboard one is fine, so I guess at least I got that one right.
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#104

Post by toolbox »

Got a little more done last night...rear wheel came in the mail. It had an ancient Dunlop still mounted on it, so I decided to get it off of there. I broke out my redneck bead breaker and the tire spoons...

Image

I built it to do the tires on my Shadow (cost $6 for the hardware). While I was jumping up and down on the 2x4 I suddenly remembered something...I hate doing motorcycle tires :lol: . I've never changed a newer one, just these rock hard, mummified ancient things that were once made out of rubber. The bead was fairly well fused to the rim, but eventually I did get it to break. It did rip some of the rubber off, and I'll have to scrape that off the wheel before a new tire can go on. It also seems like I never do this in the middle of summer, when you can throw the thing out the driveway and let it get good and hot and mushy before you play with it, it's always like 37* :oops: . This was no exception. At least it wasn't snowing... Anyway, I got the rim off the bead, but not out of the tire yet. I fought with it for a while and then moved on to other things. I'll play with it more tonight maybe. There's only one MC shop in town that can do tires, and I refuse to step foot in the place (long story). My only other option would be the Harley dealer 45 miles north of here, and I'm too cheap and stubborn to drive there and pay money to have someone else do it :lol: . I'll just use lots of dish soap and four letter words :).

Oh, and it's going to need bearings and all that, so I'll add that to my list.

Also go the bags off, and thought about taking the whole rack off, but ran out of time.

Image

It looks like the rack is off center...it looks like when the bike went down, it also bent the rear rack a bit. I think I can bend it back just by pulling on it really hard. It's not really noticeable unless you look at the rear tire...the gap on one side is quite a bit bigger than the other.
Also removed the old battery finally. There was some rust in the battery box, so that'll need to be cleaned up and painted. It's not too bad though.

Oh, also got the new fuel lines cut and installed with the original clamps. Just need the new filter to go in between them. Anyone else run anything other than the factory filter? I usually use only OEM parts on my bikes, but it's almost $20 before shipping, which seems like a lot for a fuel filter... What I might do is just find a cheap one locally that will fit, and use that to catch whatever crud works itself loose from the tank, then switch to an OEM one once she's got a few miles on her...
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Re: 1982 GL1100 Corpse resurrection...er restoration...

#105

Post by handysmurf »

looking good. great job on the restoration of the covers.
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