X-Wing Build (1980 GL1100)

[x_wing]

I picked up a pair of Wings for $600 and one for sure will be a cleaned up naked bike/cafe racer style wing. That's what I'm working on now (1980), and the other Wing (1982) will probably end up being restored, or fixed up a bit and sold or parted out. Mostly it will depend on how much money I'll have to play with. I'm playing that one by ear.

They both have around 50k miles on them if the odometers can be believed, and the usual rust, corrosion, and rodent feces from being stored and neglected. They both sat for 2 years with the previous owner, and unknown history before that. The electrical connections look bad on both so I may get to some electrical work as well.

This bike I'm working on now had been spray painted with black paint and has a lot of overspray. All over the place, it's awful. I need to track down some lights, and some side covers as well.

I'll definitely be lurking around the forums for tips, tricks, and technical expertise!

More pics to come.

[DUGG]

Welcome to the forum. Lots of great Ideas and help here. And it doesn't hurt that your working on an 1100, the best looking of the naked wings, but I might be biased.

[x_wing]

Welcome to the forum. Lots of great Ideas and help here. And it doesn't hurt that your working on an 1100, the best looking of the naked wings, but I might be biased.

Thanks! I'm inclined to agree. I'm looking forward to getting her road worthy again, but still so much to do.

[x_wing]

Fuel tank is pretty rusty so I pulled it. You definitely need to remove the petcock to make it a little easier to remove the tank. All of the lube in the rear wheel looks pretty good, and no damage that I could see. Brake caliper definitely needs to be cleaned up and maybe rebuilt.

Pulled the carb next. Checked inside the valve covers and everything looks good so far. Spark plugs look like they've just been replaced. Radiator might have a leak in it as well. I'm going to need a lot of bolts, nuts, washers, brackets (electrical) and other misc hardware.

The timing belts look ok, but a little rust was found, likely due to the two missing bolts in the cover. I think I might replace the belts anyway just to be safe.

Battery is old and was only showing 6 volts after being charged. Hooked up the battery charger and tried to see if the motor would at least crank, but nothing going. The instrument panel lit up once then wouldn't light up at all. When I hit start all I got was an electrical buzzing/humming sound. Seemed to be coming from the solenoid by the battery where the main fuse is. Checked that, and it was full of corrosion.

Since I couldn't get anything turning with the starter, I tried to hand crank the motor, and it wouldn't complete 1 rotation of the crankshaft. It feels like it is hitting something (valve?) that's preventing any further rotation or binding. I put more pressure on it, but didn't want to over do it and break something. So at this point I'm thinking I will have to pull the whole motor out.

Oil looked good, but maybe they put new oil in and never ran it.

[x_wing]

Some more pics

[x_wing]

And no I don't have a proper shop or garage to work on my build at the moment. Right now I'm moving all of my vulnerable bits into the shed, and taping up the rest.

I will need to get some covers before the winter weather starts bringing moisture. I think eventually I will move the project(s) to a family member's garage. Especially once it gets colder. It snows from time to time, but the wind is just not nice to work in.

[pidjones]

Before you go any further it would be wise to read up on what to do as a new oldwing owner. Things like checking the belts, because it sounds like yours has them on wrong and this IS an interference engine.

[x_wing]

Before you go any further it would be wise to read up on what to do as a new oldwing owner. Things like checking the belts, because it sounds like yours has them on wrong and this IS an interference engine.

Yeah I think the PO messed up the timing, and there might be a bent valve. At least that's what I've gathered from this forum so far. I will most likely be pulling the motor this weekend anyway so I'll know for sure before too long. At this point with all the parts that need attention I'm probably just going to strip the bike completely down and rebuild it.

I originally wanted to just get it road worthy first then go back and do the modifications and upgrades, but it needs so much work I might as well do everything at once.

Thanks for the help!

[desertrefugee]

Before you pull the motor, check the timing marks. Pull the flywheel inspection plug and align the T1 mark and the corresponding cam pulley marks. A bent valve in and of itself should not prevent the motor from turning. But, if the cams and crank are not aligned correctly, that would sure be a problem. If you're lucky, all you may need is to time it up. If you're not so lucky, at least you have two motors!

Welcome again, to the GL madness.

[x_wing]

Before you pull the motor, check the timing marks. Pull the flywheel inspection plug and align the T1 mark and the corresponding cam pulley marks. A bent valve in and of itself should not prevent the motor from turning. But, if the cams and crank are not aligned correctly, that would sure be a problem. If you're lucky, all you may need is to time it up. If you're not so lucky, at least you have two motors!

Welcome again, to the GL madness.

Hmm well the motor is definitely hitting/snagging on something. I was mostly just hoping it's a timing issue instead of a bent rod or something else. The valve being bent is just my assumption because of how hard my helper tried to hand crank the motor, and it being zero clearance.

I will double check the timing marks and go from there, but I will be pulling the motor for clean up and paint anyway. Thanks for the tip!

[x_wing]

Alright so I found out what was preventing the engine from turning all the way. One broken valve, and one bent valve. The other side has a valve with a lot of gunk behind it.

I may end up swapping the engine off the other bike and onto this one, or just seeing about getting a new head/fixing this one. I'm not sure how much more damage there may be on the inside though. It turns freely and everything now, but with the valves being the way they are there could be more damage lurking within.

So for now the build is on hold until I figure out the next course of action to take. I think a engine rebuild would be a little beyond my skill level.

[ritalz]

Me, I would replace the head. Spin the motor and watch how far each piston comes up to the edge of the cylinder. That should help you determine if a rod is bent. Smooth the piston top without getting real aggressive and put it together with oem head gaskets and plan on many riding miles.

[Track T 2411]

Me, I would replace the head. Spin the motor and watch how far each piston comes up to the edge of the cylinder. That should help you determine if a rod is bent. Smooth the piston top without getting real aggressive and put it together with oem head gaskets and plan on many riding miles.

+1

[OCR]

X2
From the look of the piston domes, damage was limited to the head/valves and you got lucky there.

[sunnbobb]

That is a familiar scene. Ive been lucky twice and been able to get away with replacing the heads, after measuring to make certain the rods weren't bent. Good luck!