1981 GL1100 Standard-detailed refresh and mechanical update.

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flyin900
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1981 GL1100 Standard-detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#1

Post by flyin900 »

I picked up this bike last month as a low mileage non running unit that had been in storage for 5 years in a dry garage. It looked good cosmetically and is a low kilometer original bike. With the exception of the two front turn signals being replaced by non OEM the bike appeared to be mostly untouched and stock. Here is the bike as it sat in the PO's garage with lots of dust and with the typical cosmetic wear of a 38 year old bike.
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Last edited by flyin900 on Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
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flyin900
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1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#2

Post by flyin900 »

My plan is to tear the bike down to the bare frame and repaint areas that are tired on the frame and a complete motor repaint to address cosmetic issues. I am planning on replacing the valve stem seals in situ with the heads in place and rebuilding the front cover area that holds the water pump. I discovered lots of red RTV when doing a water pump bearing check, although the water pump has been updated with a new metal impeller style. A new thermostat is already installed and the belts are part of the front cover update while I am in there.
The motor has suffered leaking carbs at some point and lots of paint discolouration on the top surface of the engine, so I will repaint with the Duplicolor Engine Enamel (CDE 1615 Aluminum)
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Attachments
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Last edited by flyin900 on Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
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flyin900
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Location: Canada

Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#3

Post by flyin900 »

I did a full rebuild on the carbs to get the bike running initially and found every accelerator pump cross feed tube was covered in red RTV to seal the area where they entered each carb body. It turned out the O rings for those feed tubes had shrunk and no longer fitting snugly to seal from leaks. The carbs were fairly clean overall and a minor adjustment of one float level and some new O rings and gaskets got them operating well again.
Here is how they looked when opened and how they now look as a finished set.
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Last edited by flyin900 on Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
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flyin900
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Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 3:50 pm
Location: Canada

Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#4

Post by flyin900 »

Here are a few more pictures of the teardown and the cosmetic issues that I would like to address as I restore the paint finishes on the bike. I am down to the bare frame at this point and plan to start painting and rebuilding parts and cleaning everything as a fall/winter project.
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Last edited by flyin900 on Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
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rcmatt007
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Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#5

Post by rcmatt007 »

nice find. I recently started my 78 and used Eastwoods aluminum for the engine. I hoping for more durability in a catalyst paint than rattle can. Down side is it is more "dull aluminum" than the slightly sparkle of OEM
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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flyin900
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Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#6

Post by flyin900 »

Thanks Roger for another paint option. I am hoping to get a couple of days next week to get the bulk of the painting done, as it has been quite cool and rainy here recently. Hazards of a northern climate and mother nature. The Duplicolor is a very close match to the OEM colour and being an engine paint and with heat cure it seems to withstand chemicals quite well.


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Last edited by flyin900 on Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
User avatar
flyin900
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Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 3:50 pm
Location: Canada

Bead blast day today

#7

Post by flyin900 »

I was able to get the remaining items stripped of paint or oxidation today using glass bead and my new compressor. It still took awhile, since the compressor is too small for this job and needed time to catch up to the demands. The gas tank and front belt covers and other small items are ready for primer and paint hopefully early next week. The weather is supposed to warm up to the mid 20's C or mid 70's F with possibly some humidity, so we will see what the weatherman brings.

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Cleaned up the shocks and restored the rubber trim. A little tip here is when the red line on the AIR SUSPENSION label fades on the exposed side you can turn them around and mount on opposite sides of the bike to expose the still clear red line that was on the backside of the shock originally. You do need to move the metal bush on the bottom of the one shock over though and since I am rebushing these with new OEM parts that isn't an issue.

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Last edited by flyin900 on Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
User avatar
flyin900
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Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 3:50 pm
Location: Canada

Some new parts for the valve stems and front cover

#8

Post by flyin900 »

I am starting to receive some of the new parts to refresh various areas of the bike and do plan to replace the valve stem seals and cam seals while the motor is out and can be tilted to expose the exhaust valve springs easier than in the frame. I also have the front cover refresh gasket set and want to see what is going on in there as a PO was red RTV happy it seems on various areas including the front cover.

A big shout out to Paul (05C50) on here who was kind enough to sell me a pretty close to NOS headlight bucket to replace the unit which came with the bike and had lots of damaged chrome from lack of care over the years. I find that once I do a complete refresh any old parts which don't get replaced really stick out in the whole big picture.
Since this bike is pretty clean overall 95% will mostly clean up to a high standard without too much money needed to get the look I want in the end.
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Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
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chewy999
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Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#9

Post by chewy999 »

Great work (so far) and good write up with pics. Looking forward to seeing the end result.

action1 anim-cheers1 anim-cheers1
Previous Rides,
1980 CB250N Good to learn on
1981 CX500 good mid range tourer, went to Austria on it!
1983 GL1100C Pride and joy, sold when I bought my 1st house, big mistake
1985 GL650 Silverwing another mistake, horrible bike
1986 CBX550 Good commuter
1989 Suzuki GS750 (1976) cheap and cheerful until a dog ran out in front of me on Xmas Eve, 1991
Current bikes
2010 CB1300 back on a bike after 19 years, two divorces, children grown up etc
1980 GL1100 NOW ON THE ROAD, still use CB1300.
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Graham Cracker
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Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#10

Post by Graham Cracker »

Nice work! Amazing motorcycles these ol' gals are... action1 action1
Mark

1975 GL 1000 Candy Antares Red
1976 GL 1000 Sulfur Yellow
1977 GL 1000 Pearl White
1978 GL 1000 Candy Limited Maroon
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desertrefugee
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Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#11

Post by desertrefugee »

Wow! Very nice specimen to start with. I am also fully subscribed to your refurb. I had to chuckle, though. You said Winter project but at the rate you're going, you'll be finished by Halloween. You have covered some serious ground in a short time already!
- Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to ride in the rain.
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rcmatt007
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Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#12

Post by rcmatt007 »

Yeah I have now topvoated with duplivolot
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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flyin900
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Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#13

Post by flyin900 »

desertrefugee wrote:Wow! Very nice specimen to start with. I am also fully subscribed to your refurb. I had to chuckle, though. You said Winter project but at the rate you're going, you'll be finished by Halloween. You have covered some serious ground in a short time already!
I'm on a mission lolol since the window is closing for painting all the parts I wish to have done for the reassembly this winter. I paint outside and the garage isn't heated, so I would like to have all the painting done by mid next week. We are projected to get 3 days of warm weather Monday to Wednesday then back to fall conditions for the latter part of this month.
I switch to the basement to assemble the bike where it is warm and comfortable when the snow flies. My plan is the get the frame assembled down there into a roller with most of the key parts reattached less the motor and carbs and bodywork during the winter. I have a stairwell from the furnace room into the back of my garage, so pushing and pulling the roller frame back up into the garage in the spring is the plan.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
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flyin900
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Location: Canada

Prepping for paint tomorrow hopefully

#14

Post by flyin900 »

I am close to finishing all the clean up of the small parts and the motor later today for a paint session tomorrow and Wednesday if Mother Nature co-operates with some warmth.
Here are the Dupli-Color paints that I will be using which vary from a low gloss black to a high gloss black engine enamel which is chemical resistant when cooked on my BBQ at 200F for an hour. Plus the VHT caliper paint which is a semi gloss finish and goes through the same BBQ treatment.
I will post some after pics once the painting is done to show the finish.
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Attachments
P1050784.JPG
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Last edited by flyin900 on Mon Oct 08, 2018 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
User avatar
flyin900
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Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 3:50 pm
Location: Canada

Re: 1981 GL1100 detailed refresh and mechanical update.

#15

Post by flyin900 »

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Current Bikes:

1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
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