1977 GL1000 Restoration that started in 2009! "C O M P L E T E D"
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:38 pm
Hi all, I’m guess I’m a little late starting my restoration postings but I wasn’t sure where this would all end up, life happens and sometimes gets in the way of our plans. This might be one of the longest restorations reported here, not sure. I didn’t want to start this and never finish it so decided not to post at the time. I think I was also very intimidated with the amount of knowledge on this site and what some of you guys have done to these bikes. This bike was also one of the best training aides I have could have asked for giving me much knowledge into the GL line of bikes for a 1982 GL1100 and a GL1500 I have also owned.
This all started back in February 2009 when I heard a guy was selling a Honda motorcycle he couldn’t get running. I needed some therapy and thought, “It’s a Honda, if he can’t get it running I’ll try it.” At the time I hadn’t been riding motorcycles for 30 years or so and wasn’t even sure what model a Goldwing was and new very little about them!
The bike had 20,400 miles on the odometer and was in an old garage with a snow bank in front of the doors but it looked like a good project. I listened to the previous owners story how he used to ride HDs and didn’t know much about Hondas but he said he couldn’t get it started and was kind of vague on what he knew about the bike. Later as I worked on the bike I realized the PO probably wasn't a real mechanical guy.
The brakes were all seized up so it was difficult to move and roll around. The inspection sticker on the fork indicated it had last been inspected in New Hampshire in 2002. I bought the bike and brought it home imagining what it would look like after working on it for awhile. When I got it home I let it sit for awhile, joined the NGW site and another GL forum trying to read everything I could about the bikes, what to do for repairs, etc. I couldn’t believe how much knowledge there was on this site from all of the people here and how invaluable it would be over the next 9 years. I was a bit naïve about the amount of time and money I would have to spend on it to get it back on the road in the condition I wanted.
This all started back in February 2009 when I heard a guy was selling a Honda motorcycle he couldn’t get running. I needed some therapy and thought, “It’s a Honda, if he can’t get it running I’ll try it.” At the time I hadn’t been riding motorcycles for 30 years or so and wasn’t even sure what model a Goldwing was and new very little about them!
The bike had 20,400 miles on the odometer and was in an old garage with a snow bank in front of the doors but it looked like a good project. I listened to the previous owners story how he used to ride HDs and didn’t know much about Hondas but he said he couldn’t get it started and was kind of vague on what he knew about the bike. Later as I worked on the bike I realized the PO probably wasn't a real mechanical guy.
The brakes were all seized up so it was difficult to move and roll around. The inspection sticker on the fork indicated it had last been inspected in New Hampshire in 2002. I bought the bike and brought it home imagining what it would look like after working on it for awhile. When I got it home I let it sit for awhile, joined the NGW site and another GL forum trying to read everything I could about the bikes, what to do for repairs, etc. I couldn’t believe how much knowledge there was on this site from all of the people here and how invaluable it would be over the next 9 years. I was a bit naïve about the amount of time and money I would have to spend on it to get it back on the road in the condition I wanted.