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Carburetor Removal, GL1100

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:08 am
by Roady
This thread started life as "Po'Boy's Cheap Carb Rehab" but I've learned a lot since then and now have a new direction. It's now obvious to me that the best and cheapest way to do this is to prepare properly, acquire the kit first and do it right. That means, use Randakk's kit (no, he ain't payin' me nuthin').[/color]

Update, 25 May 2008 - The unexpected happened. Or, perhaps those of you who've been here will say, "That was expected." While trying to clear the idle jets I removed the cutoff valves and found broken, icky and gooey diaphragms. Those, by themselves can get fairly expensive, like, $35 each locally or $20 on the web. They are included in Randakk's kit. I found, to put together his kit, it would cost me $300 to $400. And that would not include Howard's book and many other parts he includes, like plenum gasket, cotter keys, etc. To see what I ran into, read this thread. It certainly stopped my show.

How not to get thru the season cheap while saving up for Randakk's GL1100 combo kit

'81 Goldwing Standard. Same on all 1100 models, similar on 1000's.

The wife has her horse and we own a 75-year-old house. So, not only am I house-poor, I'm also horse-poor. And three years after my 3rd house "flip", I'm still paying off the credit cards. The original intention when I got this '81 Standard was to clean it up and sell at a profit. I even put together an elaborate thread called Flip This Bike! (Craigslist 2 eBay). But, somewhere along the way I fell in love. You invest that much time and effort into something and you will instill some of your own being into it.

That leads me to where I sit today. There was no package from Randakk last winter that would have kept me happily busy as I prepared the bike for this most beautiful day. It's a day to ride. Not to go anywhere, just to go. I digress.

This thread is about getting my gorgeous bike running smoothly. She goes strong above 2,000 RPM but will not idle, just chokes and pukes. I've done everything I can to clear this up: Octane's Carb cleaning, lazy but fast and furious.-); Randakk's Carb Cleaning (in situ lazy method); MMO, Marvel Mystery Oil; Seafoam; and I've even prayed and talked to her at some length. Alas, she sat for over ten years and needs more attention than that. So, off we go with pictures and pointers and a paragraph tellin' what each one is (thank you Arlo).

Reminder: Left/Right as if you're sitting on the bike!

Out Damn Carbs, Out!
1st: Get the Seat Off


1. Remove the 6mm Allen bolt on the right and the 8mm Allen on the left. There's a spring and adjuster handle on the left. Take out the bolt and spring and let the adjuster fall out the bottom. Put these parts in your bin #1.
1seatoff.jpg
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2. Grab the front of the seat and slide it to the rear. Then lift the front, push it forward and lift it off. Stow it someplace safe.
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Remove the Shelter

3. Remove the tool/junk tray.

4. Take out the 2 - 10mm hex bolts holding the front of the shelter, one on the left and one on the right. Into bin #1 or back into the holes they came out of. I took off the crappy Windjammer and will be having a bonfire in my back yard.
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5. Remove the two 12mm hex bolts from the outside of the rear shelter bracket. Into bin #1 or back in the holes.

6. Carefully lift the shelter, jiggle it left, jiggle right, rear up, rear down (in no particular order) until you can pull it clear of the bike. Store it someplace safe.

Remove the Air Filter and Intake Box

7. Spin off the wingnut, remove the top and lift out the filter. Fully loosen, but don't remove, the two 10mm bolts holding in the element retainer.
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8. Lift up the airbox a bit so you can get to, and remove the two breather connections at the left and right rear.
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9. Pull the whole thing out, bringing with it the airbox and rubber filter gasket.
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10. Grab the seal that's still on the top of the carb set. Stack all that stuff up in the correct order, spin the wingnut a few turns and stow it on a shelf.

Disconnect Plug Wires

11. Yank off (synonyms for 'remove' please) the plug wires and tie them up and out of the way. That's bailing twine but you could use a piece of wire off your old wiring harness, some string or an old shoelace.
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12. Remove the 8 - 8mm bolts holding the plug wire shields to the tops of the carbs, 4 per side. I started a new bin here for things in this new phase. So these go into bin #2.

Unhook Hoses and Cables

13. Remove the Phillips head screw and bracket that hold the choke cable. This is at the rear of #3 carb (that means; the rear of the right rear carb). Both pieces into bin #2.
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14. Pull the cable toward you to line up with the slot and slide the little puck out. Shove the cable out of the way. (This same type of connection is used on both throttle cables.)

15. Disconnect the fuel and vacuum lines from the rear of #3 carb. Push them back out of the way.
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16. Remove the 8 - 10mm cap head bolts that hold the intake manifolds to the heads. There are two on each manifold. Bolts go in bin #2.
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17. Pull up a little on an intake manifold and tap it lightly with a rubber hammer. The pair should pop off easily, don't pry with anything. Do the same on the other pair of manifolds.

18. Loosen the Phillips head screws on the clamps that hold the rubber boots to carbs #1 and #3. Work the #1 and #3 manifolds, with their rubber boots, off of these two carbs.
12Manifoff.jpg
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19. Remove the two Phillips head screws on #1 vacuum chamber cover (top of the carb) and lift off the cover. Remove the spring and vacuum slide. Repeat for carb #3's cover. Keep these screws, slides and covers separate, number them, put them in special bins ... whatever ... they must go back into the same carb they came out of.
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20. Locate the inline adjuster that's on one of the two throttle cables. It's in the hole where your airbox used to be, on the left side. Hold the long hex fitting steady and loosen the locknut. Turn it back as far as you can. Still holding steady ... use your thumb & forefinger to turn the cable into the fitting as far as it will go.
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21. Slide the carb set as far as you can to the right side, the throttle assembly will contact the gas tank so it's not very far.

22. Make sure your throttle handgrip (the right one ... on the handlebar) is fully closed. Then, carefully slip the tip of a long, thin screwdriver under the bottom cable (1 in pic). Pull it toward you gently until (2) the cable lines up with the slot. Push on the right side of the puck (3) with long-nosed pliers then use them to grab the other side of the puck and pull it out.
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23. Repeat that step for the top cable.

24. Slide the carb set as far as you can to the left, the throttle cables will stop you.

25. Using 2 - 10mm open end wrenches, hold the top of the throttle cable adjuster steady. Loosen the locknut at the bottom and turn it all the way off until it slides down the cable. It'll stop at the puck.
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26. Work the adjuster out of the bracket and pull the cable free.
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27. Now slide the carb set back to center

27. This other cable adjuster requires that you are a tiny Japanese person or a contortionist. I am neither, so I did a lot of cussing. Finagle your way down through the top and remove the second adjuster and locknut. Free the cable.

29. The carbs are now free to leave the building.

30. Carefully and patiently, jiggle and wiggle the carbs out the left side. In no particular order, lift and lower the front, left, right, rear and get them out without scratching the parts that you've already (so lovingly) polished, painted and primped. Stick clean-ish rags into the intake holes in the heads.

31. Get to the bench and replace the slides, springs and caps on carbs #1 and #3. Turn in the screws but not too tight.

32. Drain the float bowls into a suitable container.
18drain.jpg
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33. Go treat yourself to some ice cream.

Now, go on to the next phase in this project by Clicking Here. You'll jump to the thread: Carburetor Overhaul, GL1100

The Rehab


10 Rules for Rehabbing Anything
  • 1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    2. RTFM (read the f***ing manual), all of them.
    3. Clean and organize the workspace and parts.
    4. Clean up the mess you made cleaning it up.
    5. Righty tighty, lefty loosey
    6. Loosen and tighten gradually and in sequence.
    7. There is such a thing as too tight.
    8. Use the correct tools that fit right.
    9. Put things back where you got them.
    10. See rule #1, it should be If it ain't broke, don't fix it!.
I dove into this project with my usual, optimistic attitude. "I'll open up these carbs, clean out some jets, get the varnish out of there and she'll be idling properly in a couple of days." When I narrowed down where the idle jets were and got on the right track to clean them out (thanks to the guys in this thread), I found the real problem. Shot air cutoff valves and plugged idle jets. That meant that I had to do the full overhaul.

Some very nice things have come out of this. My lovely bride now knows that I will not be selling this bike. She is happy for me. And I got to order one of these:

[attachment=0]combobg4.jpg[/attachment]
Howard Halsaz' GL1100 Carburetor Repair Guide + Randakk's Honda GL1100 Carb Overhaul Master Kit

Intellectual Property Notice:
Feel free to LINK to this material. However, the content published here is the property of Steve "Roady" Mate, and is protected under United States and international copyright laws. The photographs, text and other content may not be copied, reproduced, republished, distributed, stored, or manipulated in any manner without the express written permission of Steve Mate.

What about cleaning?

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:28 am
by Roady
What's All This About Clean?

I've got way more time than money. And according to the lovely lady that I married, more money than brains. Clean is the most important part of any rehab project and you have to make a BIG mess on your way to clean and organized.

Get some containers. These are invaluable for sorting and keeping things in order. I snagged mine in the kitchen. Four small tubs and four big ones works best for me. And one more big one for the plenum and linkage.

Image

As a result I have now been promoted from Dish Washing Helper to the lofty title of Dish Washing In Charge. But, I don't have a helper. On top of that, Mamma gets a bunch of new Tupperware (or, more accurately, the ones at Walmart.

While you're out get an assortment of cleaning supplies, gloves and rags. Get a lot, there's never enough.

Image

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 4:44 pm
by octane
Steve
you're the man.

This thread has now been turned into a "STICKY" thread.



Please keep it up !!!

Re: What about cleaning?

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 1:15 am
by heraldhamster
Roady wrote: Image
hey, if you clean those tubs with that PB Blaster, you can use 'em for food again.







just kidding! please don't try that. it'd be bad for your health.

probably.

yes, keep going with this, good info!

more, more

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 6:06 pm
by 64ed
great info, we want more info and ice cream!!!!!

Vacuum line

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 10:05 pm
by DRMD421
Hey Roady,
I am a newbie have a really dumb question.I just bought a 75 GL1000 and it will not idle...I noticed in your pic #4 that there is a vacuum line attached to #3 carb.Mine has a plug cap on it.Im not sure if they are even the original carbs but they look just like yours.I think the gentleman who had the bike before me did a little bit of parts interchange judging from the massive parts inventory he gave me with the bike...ANYHOW...Thanks for all the carb info! :roll:

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 10:06 pm
by DRMD421
sorry ,that was pic #15!

Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 1:31 am
by Roady
DrMD421, I am no GL1000 carb expert. I'd suggest that you RTFM, do some research and such. I'm sure that you need vacuum no matter what carbs you're running on what bike. But I don't know how it's setup on the earlier ones. I'm just learning this one and it's an 1100.

Good luck, maybe one of the real experts will be along soon.

Re: Vacuum line

Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 7:06 am
by roncar
DRMD421 wrote:..... 75 GL1000 and it will not idle...I noticed in your pic #4 that there is a vacuum line attached to #3 carb.Mine has a plug cap on it.Im not sure if they are even the original carbs but they look just like yours.
Not a substitution or 1100 expert, but it sounds like you have 1100 carbs on your 75 1000. The vacuum line on carb #3 is for the vacuum timing advance on the 1100. The 1000 uses a mechanical timing advance, therefore this vacuum line is not needed and must be capped.

Hi

Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 2:53 pm
by kgross1
New member

Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 8:04 am
by Roady
Image

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." - Robert Burns

Well, my idea to do this quick fix-em-up for my NO-idle problem has gone bust. I created this thread and thought I'd be on the road in under a week with little investment. "I'm old enough to know better" - Wade Hayes.

As I took apart these '81 carbs it was apparent that I was the first, since the factory, to see the insides. The vacuum chambers were clean and so were the float bowls. All probably due to Octane's Carb cleaning, lazy but fast and furious.-); 2 repeats of Randakk's Carb Cleaning (in situ lazy method); the MMO, Marvel Mystery Oil; and Seafoam treatments.

But nothing prepared me for the smashed and cracking float bowl gaskets. Then the problem here with the idle jets. I went on and decided to pull off #1's air cutoff diaphram. It had one small gummy part on the edge. I backflushed to the idle jet and it cleared. Yippee! So I pulled #4 air cutoff cover and found a gooey, gummy, torn-up mess. Likewise with #2 and #3.

The Usual Suspects

Image

And in case you don't get it, here's a close shot of #4 where it fell from the carb. Like I said, the condition of #1 was passable but the other three look just like this.

Image

I already ran down to the Honda stealer yesterday and picked up 4 (aftermarket K&L) bowl gaskets. Those set me back $34.22. Just one rebuild kit (K&L) for an air cutoff is $35? Their price for one K&L rebuild kit is $40. Doesn't include cotter keys, plenum gasket, etc. that Randall has so carefully selected. I got that $34.22 back in my pocket. So to put a "kit" together from the Honda dealer would run over $350. And no instructions.

Sorry Mother, I'm calling Randakk.

Now, just where to get that $225 (less the $34.22 in my pocket, of course)?

And, I best rename this thread to something like, "Removing GL1100 Carbs". :oops:

The best lessons come from catastrophes!

Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 1:50 pm
by DRMD421
Roady, you sound so much like me its scary.Thanks for the info AND the follow-up on it.Thanks to all of you others suggestions also.I just read another article here somewhere from someone who replaced his headlight with a much brighter one and the light itself made the bike run rough at idle due to the light's power drain.My bike has been sitting since 91 but I charged the battery and it has enough juice to start it but it wont idle.Runs like a scalded hog after 3000 rpm or so.You guys think I may be using all my juice to try and charge the battery at idle and stealing from my ignition?I just bought a new battery and its on the charger so Im gonna give that a shot and re-adjust the carbs.Ill let you guys know how it goes.

Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 4:22 pm
by mooseheadm5
I suspect your problem is that you need to clean your carbs. Mine wouldn't idle either because the little passages were all clogged up with varnish from sitting (roughly as long as yours.) You should also confirm whether you have 1100 or 1000 carbs on the bike before you go trying to clean them. 1000 carbs have little plastic buttons on top while the 1100 carbs are smooth on top.

Carbs

Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 4:33 pm
by DRMD421
Actually I found the main jets on 2 of them to be completely stopped up.Cleaned them and the bowls and float valves and such,but guess what.Totally missed the idle jets and diaphragms.Guess I will be removing them again,but I can get them out in like 10 minutes now,including the crash bar!BTW these are off an 81 model.Its nice to be able to email questions back to the PO.
Thanks for the advice Moosehead!

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 2:35 pm
by Roady
Updated the subject and first post.

Waiting on the ca$h to order Randakk's 1100 Combo.