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

[ericheath]

Until they grow up and ask you to stay up later.

[BigJakePeterson]

I think I may be asking you a ton of questions in the near future. I have an 82 gl1100i that got hit by a semi. Still runs but i need to replace the front end. Starting with the handle bars and forks. I've not done that before, but Im a quick study.

[Patriccio]

Hey, where did he go?

[toolbox]

Well, it is that time of year when folks around here kind of hole up in their cabin and hunker down for the winter . Been meaning to check in one of these days...when it became obvious that winter was just about here, priorities had to shift faster than someone in the quarter mile lol. Once school starts, I also just have a lot less time to play...my kids did flag football this year, and between that and scouts I'm tied up pretty much every night. But I did get I got fuel stabilizer in all the equipment, including the GL...I let it run a good while, and get the fuel circulated into the carbs. She's probably going to be taking a nap for most of the winter...even if it's warm enough to get a few things done, it gets dark so early there's no time to do anything . I'm not gonna lie to you guys...I get just a little jealous of all the guys out there with a heated, well lit shop with enough space to *cough* actually work on something lol. But, I have gotten some stuff done in my winter prep and other things...
Been gathering wood like a rabid beaver lol. There's log home builders all up and down the valley here, and most of them sell their castoff mill trimmings pretty cheap...found one that sells these bunks of wood for...$20! It's a crazy amount of wood...some of it is actually suitable for making things, and the rest is dry and ready to burn once you process it into stove size chunks. They sneak some small stuff into the middle that's not really good for much but makes good kindling and stuff for the fire pit. If you lay it in kind of a pile you can cut a bunch at once, and it actually goes pretty fast.



Also got a USFS firewood permit, which has given me a great excuse to go and explore some of the national forest land around here...it's been kind of a fun adventure for me and the boys, taking the flatbed up in the mountains. Kind of neat because I probably wouldn't get out there and explore if I didn't have a good reason to. I've learned a lot about logging so far...the biggest thing being that I have to find a better way to skid logs than just packing them out on my back lol. While it does create a pretty fantastic full body workout, it has one major drawback--it's incredibly slow . I'm not the only guy cutting firewood around here, and most of the low hanging fruit has already been picked, so I'm working on a way to get to stuff that's less accessible (like down slope or further from the road). Maybe a gin pole on the flatbed, or I'm thinking of taking an old PTO winch I have from a Jeep, and putting a motor on it to make it more portable. In the meantime, I'm just going to skid them with the truck, a couple of blocks, and lot of cable. Anyway, here's my seven year old hiding behind a bunch of logs we harvested after our last trip...



And you guys can hate me just a little for this one... There's a pawn shop that I frequent, and they put this out the day I stopped in...Stihl 038 Magnum II (with a full wrap handle) . Wasn't running, but it was mine for $90 out the door...I was a pretty happy camper .



This was when I had it apart for fixin'. Needed the kill switch fixed, new rim sprocket, clutch drum bearing, fuel line and filter, oil pump rebuild, etc. Basic stuff old saws need. It looks like it led a fairly pampered life until recently...the last owner apparently didn't believe in cleaning things out lol. Nice shape anyway. Oh, and it looks like the bar was never flipped, which is kind of too bad...but at least the chain still has a little life in it. Really rips compared to my other (original) 038...still might replace the AV mounts, but it should be a great felling saw. My other one can be a backup/bucking saw. Oh, also got a carcass of an 064...needs a LOT of love, so it may not be done until like next summer, but will be an awesome machine when it is.

Also built a wood rack under my back porch, so it's easy to get to. Pallets were free, paint was like $25. They're just screwed in, and would be easy to remove if I ever wanted to. Will keep the siding from getting destroyed by throwing wood at it lol.



And it's starting to fill up now too...



Other stuff...working on doing some decorating inside. Made a coat rack from the top of a big ponderosa..



Sanded it, and finished it with Linseed oil. Now the kids don't have any excuse for leaving their coats and backpacks on the floor lol.

Oh, and one more MC related thing...I got this at a local thrift store--Tourmaster Transitions jacket in really nice shape.



Fits like I ordered it for myself, and it's in great condition. I looked on epay, and they sell new for about $270...mine cost me a whopping $9 . Very comfy, has full crash pads, and I think will go pretty well with the GL .
Anyway, I'm still around and lurking...and I'll be back at it with the GL as soon as I can. Now, that may mean in the spring, but it'll be as soon as I can .

[5speed]

I feel your pain. I've been getting things ready for the winter as well.
removed the mower deck from the tractor and attached the front mount blower.
Had to push the vt500 to the garage from the shed to get it running. finally managed to coax it to start and let it run for 15-20 minutes to get the fuel stabilizer into the carbs.
Still have to winterize the 750 but it will be staying in the garage with the wing. Stored the car away so now I have the whole garage to myself until she who must be obeyed starts parking her car in one side for the winter.
The garage has baseboard hot water registers in it but in the 13 years we've been here I've never heated it.
I decided I might try this winter and if the boiler isn't running 24/7 to keep that zone up to temp I will have a heated man cave. .
Reading about your wood gathering reminded me why I don't have wood heat. Love the heat..hate all the work and dirt that comes with it...lol

[ericheath]

Stihl 038, nice. Hope I never use one again. Nothing wrong with spending time with the kids.

[BikeMaine]

Hmmmm, for some reason I can't see your photos.

I do see the photos on your older posts, and the photos on the other threads though....

[Patriccio]

Yep, I second Kevin; pictures won't load. On other builds/pages it states Photobucket down for maintenance.

(Five hours later & the pics load just fine.)

[BikeMaine]

Yep, I second Kevin; pictures won't load. On other builds/pages it states Photobucket down for maintenance.

(Five hours later & the pics load just fine.)

Yep, photos are there now.

[Easter]

All that firewood reminds me of the "good old days". There was a sawmill in town that used to sell the same kind of cast off that you have. I could only go on Saturdays and they were only open till noon --a pick-up load for $20. The gate guy was always aggravated with me for loading so much on (Old rusty truck looked like the Beverly Hillbillies shopping for siding) but I only had time for one trip so needed to carry as much as I could. I would have gladly paid more but he just growled at me.

[toolbox]

Hey guys! I'm baaaaaaaaack . Been a long time since I posted, because, well...it's been a long time since I worked on the bike . You know how it is...life gets in the way of doing the things you enjoy and all. I've had a lot of my plate this summer, and the list projects I need to get done is a lot longer than the ones that will actually be completed, but that's pretty normal. I've gotten to where the GL is next on the list though, and I'd really like to get the ol' gal on at least on the road before the snow flies, even if I miss this riding season. I've been on my Shadow as much as I can be, so that might have to do for this summer. Here's a couple of highlights since I posted last...

Winter was bad. Like really bad . I burned through a *lot* of wood this winter, and half the house was still never all that warm lol. Here's my driveway in the middle of it...



There's a car under that somewhere... All I drove all winter was my 4x4 truck, since you kind of had to have one just to get in the driveway .

Got a (free!) trip to Mexico with my GF in February...pretty amazing adventure . The highlight for me was definitely getting to see Chichen Itza in person...really blew my mind. Just incredible.



We had such a great time down there...would love to do it again.

This spring I finally got to go up Roaring Lion and check out the area that burned...remember that fire that I got evacuated because of? What a mess...



They logged out the stuff that was commercially viable and close enough to the road. Huge swath of forest looks like ground zero for a test blast. Even the trees clinging to the side of the canyon were killed, not by burning, but just from the heat. Because it's only a couple of miles from my house, I used to take the boys up there quite a bit to hike...t's completely unrecognizable now. Oh well...it'll grow back eventually. Probably won't look the same in my lifetime though.

Also had another stray follow me home...I sold my '55 CJ5, which was just going to be too big of a project for the amount of time I have available. I traded a bunch of guy stuff for this '62 though...



It's a project, but not a big one. I can post more details later if anyone is interested... It's an older resto-mod, with a TON of backyard engineering in it. They did a decent job on most of it, some of it is kind of sketchy. Overall a good ten footer though. Buick 3.8L, rest of the drivetrain is from a '71 Commando. Going to be a fun little run around in the summer.

Also saw this kind of cool hack at a local gas station...



The guy that owned it had a leather vest that said "Grumpy Effen Mofo" on the back...but he was actually pretty nice when I asked him about the bike . I looked at it and said "82?" Yep . It was a twin sister to what mine must have looked like when it left the factory...well, aside from the Vetter stuck on the side of it obviously . You hardly ever see anything with a sidecar around here, so to see an '82 GL with one was kind of a funny coincidence.

Anyway, I'm back working on the bike...technical details to come. I'm sorting out wiring for the side lights/switches/relay right now. I'm mostly going with the original idea I had in my head from the start, though "reality" has forced a few changes (as it always seems to do ). More to come...

[desertrefugee]

I climbed that pyramid a few years back. Some narrow steps, huh? Let's get on with the GL show now, huh?

Welcome back!

[Easter]

I know I am leading you off subject (last year we talked trucks and firewood and chain saws) but the CJ5 brings back memories too. I once restored a badly rusted (Michigan) CJ5 of about the same vintage. Can't remember exactly the year but had a stock V8 in it (and a gas tank with more rust inside than the typical GL1000). Put larger tires/wheels on it and had a blast in the Lake Michigan sand dunes.

Anyway back to the GL. Good to hear from you again.

[toolbox]

I climbed that pyramid a few years back. Some narrow steps, huh? Let's get on with the GL show now, huh?

Welcome back!

Thanks! You got lucky on that one...I guess a couple of years ago they closed the pyramid off to the public. There was some vandalization in the room at the top, and they were concerned about the amount of traffic they have damaging the steps over time (they get like 15,000 people a day there, which kind of blew my mind). Kind of a bummer, but I can see where they're coming from. Still amazing, and I guess on the bright side I was able to get pics of it without it covered in people . GL stuff coming shortly .

[5speed]

nice looking jeep. this is the only cj5 I have experience with..
loved beating around the woods in it cause when we broke it..the army fixed it.