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So, made some more progress over the weekend, though not that much. Here's how she's sitting right now...



Didn't have a ton of time to spend on the bike, but I decided to see if the timing cover set could be salvaged. Decided to go this rout for several reasons: 1)I'm on an extremely tight budget for this build, and if I can restore it rather than buy it I'd like to. 2) I like restoring stuff. 3) The covers on ebay didn't look that much better than what I've got, except they didn't have the road rash (unless you want to pay for a fully polished set). 4) I don't have to wait for them to get here in order to get the head back on and try to test run it.

So, here's what I started with:



This was ground zero for the crash...the bike landed on this and the valve cover (and the crash bar), but this thing got it pretty bad. Road rash, asphalt embedded in it, on top of the usual failed clear coat and oxidation. Pretty big mess. It also had a slight, almost imperceptible bend to it from the impact.

So, it took a lot of work, but here's how she turned out:





There's a lot of labor tied up in that thing, but it turned out pretty nice. Feathering the damaged spots is time consuming, and something I like to do by hand...the power tools I have would be too aggressive I think, and trying to get it smoothed out without removing too much material ends up being more of an art than a science. It's not perfect...there were a couple of pits that were just too deep to remove, but unless people are sticking their faces in my timing covers, they'll never know lol. I took a big flat file and carefully removed a little material from the underside of the front of it, so it now sits flat. The left cover has been stripped and is ready for polishing...



Clear coat isn't in the budget, so I'm going to give them both a few coats of wax for protection. Maybe at some point down the road I'll clear them, but that should work for now. I can always hit them with a little polish when I wash the bike. I have a set of aluminum wheels on one of my other rigs I have to do this with, and it's not a big deal.

Still working on the valve cover, but it should turn out nice too. It's got one boo-boo in it that will always be a little visible, but it shouldn't be noticeable unless you're looking for it.

wow..what a difference...

Just love your attitude!
You've done a magnificent job on those.

Great work.

5speed wrote:wow..what a difference...

Thanks! I thought they turned out pretty nice considering I was thinking about putting them in the garbage

Old Fogey wrote:Just love your attitude!
You've done a magnificent job on those.

Thanks! I'm just having a ball with all of this stuff

Easter wrote:Great work.

Thank you!

Amazing before and after pics, I like shiney!

Thanks for all the kind words guys! Spent a few hours last night finishing up the timing covers and valve cover... Here's what it looked like when I got the bike:







Here's the set now:



And the finished valve cover...



They're not perfect, but given what I started with they were never going to be . They look great though, and will look nice on the bike. Got the seals cleaned up too...the one for the right timing cover got a little tore up in the wreck, but should be salvageable...I don't think they're available anymore anyway. They're kind of loose and don't stay put very well, so I'll probably glue them back on with a little RTV.

Also, I saw where some people are cutting the middle bolts down and making them non-functional so the timing covers can be removed with the radiator in place...anyone try this? Love the idea of being able to inspect/replace timing belts without pulling the radiator, but I'm not sure if one bolt on each side has enough clamping power. Don't really want those covers coming loose .

Next...maybe put the head back on. I'll probably have some time tonight to play with it, and I would kind of like to get those cylinders covered up. I could probably get the head on, and cam swapped over. Maybe take the fuel pump apart and clean it/re-install it. Got a bunch of other stuff I have to get done tonight too, so I can't spend all night on the bike, but I should be able to get some stuff done. We got an inch and a half of snow at my place night before last, and it mostly melted off yesterday but it's still kind of cold. Really wish spring would just finally get here, it's killing me . I'm working on it in my driveway (garage is too small and full of stuff right now), so the warmer it is, the more pleasant working on it tends to be

I've cut a number of the center bolts down on the belt covers. With the gaskets the sort "lock" in to place. Should not be an issue. I do put dummy bolts in the covers so there isn't an open hole.

You know there is a special wrench that allows you to get to the inter bolts

Yeah, and I have both. It is just so easy to take out one bolt per side and have them off in about a minute.

toolbox wrote:Thanks for all the kind words guys! Spent a few hours last night finishing up the timing covers and valve cover... Here's what it looked like when I got the bike:







Here's the set now:



And the finished valve cover...



They're not perfect, but given what I started with they were never going to be . They look great though, and will look nice on the bike. Got the seals cleaned up too...the one for the right timing cover got a little tore up in the wreck, but should be salvageable...I don't think they're available anymore anyway. They're kind of loose and don't stay put very well, so I'll probably glue them back on with a little RTV.

Also, I saw where some people are cutting the middle bolts down and making them non-functional so the timing covers can be removed with the radiator in place...anyone try this? Love the idea of being able to inspect/replace timing belts without pulling the radiator, but I'm not sure if one bolt on each side has enough clamping power. Don't really want those covers coming loose .

Next...maybe put the head back on. I'll probably have some time tonight to play with it, and I would kind of like to get those cylinders covered up. I could probably get the head on, and cam swapped over. Maybe take the fuel pump apart and clean it/re-install it. Got a bunch of other stuff I have to get done tonight too, so I can't spend all night on the bike, but I should be able to get some stuff done. We got an inch and a half of snow at my place night before last, and it mostly melted off yesterday but it's still kind of cold. Really wish spring would just finally get here, it's killing me . I'm working on it in my driveway (garage is too small and full of stuff right now), so the warmer it is, the more pleasant working on it tends to be

These look awesome, what did you use to polish them out?
Mine need it done badly.

Old Fogey wrote:http://everythingwing.com/gl1000-gl1100 ... asket-set/

Interesting...I don't think you can get them from Honda anymore? Thanks, good to know you can still get them .