'86 SE-i That Followed Me Home

[3KidsinAustin]

For $50 and 20 minutes away, I couldn't resist. Listed on FB Marketplace, the Seller had a great listing - "this is a puzzle," "Buyer must have patience," etc. With the 86 Aspencade all fixed up, I was getting ready to slide the 84 Interstate onto the workbench and begin the teardown. Now, the 84 is going to have to wait a bit longer, although I did roll it onto a nice dolly that will get it mobile around the garage floor.

My father was in town, so we took the opportunity to hop in the truck the next day when the Seller returned from work. He had everything boxed up and ready to go, so we loaded the truck then waited about half an hour for his father-in-law to come over with his tractor. What an easy way to load a vehicle! The wheels had already been removed, so we had to gently tug it forward a bit to clear the tailgate, then strapped it down. The Seller hasn't been able to locate the title yet, although he has been looking for it - price was initially $100, which he split in half since he couldn't find the title. I told him I'd gladly pay the balance as soon as he finds it. Belonged to a friend of his who died, he tore it apart to clean the fuel system awhile ago then lost interest.

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The bike came with a lot of new parts - rebuild kits for all the hydraulics, new spark plugs, fuel filter, fork seals, etc. He has already texted me that he has found the box with the new progressive springs, so this deal keeps getting better and better.

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I'm excited, because this bike appears complete and non-molested. The Blue 86 was such a challenge because I was spending half the time de-buggering someone's work and hunting missing fasteners. Seller did a fairly good job of either bagging hardware or putting it back in its hole when taking it apart. And he took a lot apart! Fuel tank is out (yeah!), along with rear suspension and final drive. Everything but the front fairing was off the bike and all electrical connectors labeled. I'm learning new things about the bikes as well - for example, my last two projects have come with a loose spring and lever that I could never figure out. Thanks to the Seller, I can see they were part of a seat retention setup!

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Hard sleeping last night as I was being kept attempting to devise a strategy to get the bike from the back of the truck, into the garage, and onto my work platform. My engine hoist was going to play a critical role. Everything ended up going incredibly smoothly as I had plenty of lifting room with the boom and the load leveler let us balance the bike really well. After all the concern, went easy-peesy.

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[3KidsinAustin]

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We took a break to help my sister look at some houses and cool down from being in the garage. After getting back, I went through all the bins and boxes to catalog what I have. Only things I might be missing (that I know of) are the nuts for the exhaust headers. Spread out the rebuild parts that came with the bike and happy with what I see.

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In one of the saddle bags was even a full tool roll! I didn't see "Goldwing" stamped on the leather cover, so guessing this was put in by a prior owner?

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I'm still putting together my plan for this bike. My last two have been straight back-to-stock builds. The plastics on this bike are all there, but the saddlebags, seat and trunk really have some serious sun damage, some even getting into the fiberglass. My current plan is to follow the theme of this site and strip the bike down quite a bit. Ditch the front fairing, cruise control, air suspension, etc (especially with new progressive springs!) and give the bike a more Standard look, but with fuel injection. Will need to source a different faux tank as I wouldn't be using the travel computer - maybe a GL1100 tank?

Also, I've been closely following all the work that Ernest has been doing with a modern ECU and want to integrate into this ride, especially since I would be losing the trunk where the factory unit is stored. Thinking I'll start with getting it running then start the modifications. I'm sure open to ideas! First steps will be checking the timing belts (supposed to be new) and giving the fuel tank an electrolysis bath. Seller did an OK job, but there is room for improvement.

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[pidjones]

The SEi is NOT something that you want to customize. Paint, clean. Try to get everything working.

[3KidsinAustin]

The SEi is NOT something that you want to customize. Paint, clean. Try to get everything working.

Thanks for the comment! Getting it running is definitely the first step. As for what happens after that, still up in the air.

[3KidsinAustin]

The SEi is NOT something that you want to customize.

Woke up this morning thinking about this comment. Is there something special about the SE-i that I'm not aware of? My understanding is that the SE-i is the same bike as the 85 Limited, just with a different paint scheme.

A few more pictures detailing the damage to the body panels. The sun did horrendous damage to the soft seating surfaces as well as the hard plastics. If this were a fiberglass boat, I'd say the damage has gotten through the gel coat. I'm nor sure the material of the saddlebags and fender, but similar in appearance to a boat deteriorating.

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[Rednaxs60]

The SEi is NOT something that you want to customize. Paint, clean. Try to get everything working.

Thanks for the comment! Getting it running is definitely the first step. As for what happens after that, still up in the air.

The SE-i is the same as the '85 Limited Edition.

Initial thoughts are that pidjones is correct in that do you want to rewire the bike for a different look - always an option? Know of one conversion of an '85 Limited Edition from FI to carb, new wiring and a lot of work, but nice job in the end. If you want to ditch the front fairing, that is probably what you will have to do. For example, to use the dash RPM indication, you need to keep the wasted spark setup, all about the wiring.

Travel computer not an issue, don't need it to operate the bike; however, the travel computer allows you to switch from MPH to KPH, switch the dash to oil pressure and temp, and a host of other niceties.

The saddlebags are specific to the 1200s. Agree with loosing the rear trunk. You should still be able to put the ECU in the original position, and keep a different look.

I'd clean it up, work to get spark and the fuel system operational, and work up to starting the engine. Had an '85 Limited Edition I was going to use for parts, more complete than yours. Brother and I decided to try an engine start. Cleaned out the fuel system, started after 4 attempts, had been sitting in a fellows back yard for four years. Did somer maintenance, put it back on the road and drove it across Canada from Ontario to BC. These FI models are very forgiving. A carb 1200 would not have been as easy.

The plastics are all ABS, no fibreglass. Did a full paint job on my '85 Limited Edition. The most challenging issue was the pin striping. Honda used decals, I had to replicate and paint the pin striping, decals are not available. A different paint job, a candied look maybe, would change the appearance and allow you to keep the original fairings. A decal detailing that the bike is an '86 1200 SE-i on the saddlebags and front fairing may look nice.

Looking forward to following this thread. Cheers

[3KidsinAustin]

Thanks Ernest! Your insights are always well detailed and greatly appreciated. If I was to lose the front fairing, I'd pair it with a smaller dash assembly and wire it to the bike. In past projects I have previously seriously modified wiring harnesses - probably the biggest was installing a 90s TBI injection system on my 78 Corvette. Lots of custom work there and something I enjoy.

I just went out and tested the original fuel pump - nada. The Airtex 8312 I used on the 85 seems in limited or out-of-supply and the pricing has doubled from last year when it is around. Checking for alternatives that will hook into the fuel line to the filter. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Lots more to follow!

[3KidsinAustin]

I'm finding that taking on a project that someone else started can be a challenge, but also enjoyable if you approach it with the right mindset. It really has been a puzzle of organizing the parts, hardware, and seeing what work has been done and still needs to be addressed. Knowing the importance of the timing belts to these engines, I wanted to verify that the the belts had been replaced AND the timing properly set. After the radiator was pulled (coolant already drained by PO), I pulled the timing belt covers and was pleased to see that the bike has new Gates T7070 belts and that the timing marks were properly aligned. I rotated the engine through a few revolutions by hand to confirm smooth operation.

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There was an another motivator behind getting into the timing belt area. Rednax60 and I are poking around with ignition control options based off the Speeduino work he has been doing on his Limited. The plan is to trial things out on my 84 Interstate, but my unexpected acquisition of this SE-i through in a hiccup. One of the items I wanted to get good measurements on is the crank snout as I want to design a 36-1 trigger to replace the 8-tooth wheel used by Honda. I've previously created a CAD model based on rough assumptions and now have detailed measurements to go by. Here is an early rendition, I will be updating it so the keyway is inverted like the original. A company like SendCutSend can produce these for about $5 apiece if a minimum quantity is ordered.

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Since the front wheel had already been removed, I figured might as well drain the fork oil. It was clear based off the condition of the dust caps and the oil all over the lower fork tubes that the oil seals are completely shot and will need replaced, plus the Seller had purchased a set of Progressive springs, so everything would be getting torn down anyway. I wish I had taken a picture of what drained from the tubes as my words will not do it justice. Not quite as dark as old engine oil, more of a deep brown viscous fluid with a smell that is best described as "gross." I'll pull the tubes as soon as I get a space organized for them.

Also hooked up the new battery this morning and tested the starter. I pulled all the plugs when doing my manual engine rotation, so it spun the engine with ease. Will be doing a compression test later today to see health of the engine, although I've found this is sometimes inconclusive if the engine has been sitting awhile and has stuck rings. Still, easy to do and will point out any catastrophic issues.

Also thinking of tearing apart the factory fuel pump to see how it works and if it can be salvaged at all. I'm assuming (there's that word again!) construction is similar to a starter motor which can often be revived by a good cleaning of the commutator and possibly brushes. The end is crimped by a machine to hold all the bits in place, so I'll need to work it through the press to try and smooth it out. I'm not holding out much hope, but I'll have time before the fuel system is gone through as I want to get the tank cleaning done and work on ignition first.

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[3KidsinAustin]

Snapped a pic of the remnants of the fork oil before I clean out the pan. It's a long ways from Honda-approved ATF!

[Rednaxs60]

Good morning. Lots going on, good progress. Fuel Pump. Attached schematic of internal cutaway.

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While you have the front end open, would recommend installing a timing mark mod something like I did. Timing is not a concern for most 1200 GW owners, but if you do this you can confirm the OEM crank timing marks without using the engine case timing mark port, specifically engine idle of 11 degrees BTDC.

This timing mod should be adaptable to the 1000/1100 GWs as well. Lots of forum traffic regarding engine timing.

The 36-1 crank trigger wheel is a good addition to any non-FI GW because each tooth represents 5 degrees of timing as does the valley between the teeth. One tooth and one valley equals 10 degrees of timing.

Honda never intended for users/owners to be concerned with timing other than installing timing belts correctly.

[3KidsinAustin]

Thanks for the cutaway. Progress so far. I can get the top plate to wiggle a little bit, but no progress on getting it out of the housing. Smells great, too.

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[Rednaxs60]

What if you were to go in through the inlet and give a few love taps with a suitably sized punch?

I've sent the CX500T manual that has this info in it, check email. Lots of good info, not all relevant to the 1200 GW but a lot of detail not found elsewhere.

[3KidsinAustin]

What if you were to go in through the inlet and give a few love taps with a suitably sized punch?

I've sent the CX500T manual that has this info in it, check email. Lots of good info, not all relevant to the 1200 GW but a lot of detail not found elsewhere.

Great minds think alike! After using a mill bit on my dremel to grind away more of the crimps, I turned it upside down and gave it a few "love taps" with a hammer and T30 screwdriver. No luck. I'm leaning towards it being seized inside the housing based on the drawing you posted. Once I totally throw in the towel, might cut it up for fun... I mean "science."

[3KidsinAustin]

Lots of progress overall today on getting the bike back on the road to recovery. Aside from too much time spent playing with the fuel pump, that is! Once I left it behind, lots of things started happening.

First and foremost, I wanted to get the electrolysis bath started. I typically do this over a couple of days, not leaving it to run overnight just to be safe. No big rush as lots of other things to do. The Seller had already cleaned out the tank, and it really wasn't too bad. Lots better than what I started with on the 86 Aspencade.

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I really like the electrolysis process as its chemistry at work, and it does all the heavy lifting. My recipe is 1 cup of washing soda and hot tap water mixed together to fill up the tank. I have to sacrificial bars of re-rod that are connected with some wire. The Positive battery terminal connects to the rods. Then I scrape some paint off the bottom lip of the tank and attach the negative terminal. Previously I used a battery charger to run the reaction in "trickle" mode, but not much was happening so I hooked the battery straight to the tank and rods and then connected the battery charger to battery. That gave me the right amount of bubble-action to let me know the reaction is taking place. Always fun to see how it looks after a few hours.

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With the tank cooking, I turned my attention to the engine and tested compression on all four cylinders. #1 is low at 135 but that could be from sitting and I'm not too worried about it yet. All are good enough to get the bike running well enough to cruise around and loosen up all the moving parts. Of note: I had no idea my workspace was so gross until I laid the piece of paper down...

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Was having fun and still time left in the day so I decided to see if I could get the computer woken up and put it through its paces. First step was to figure out why there was zero power getting to the ECU. Finally tracked it down to the dog-bone that feeds the power from the battery straight into circuits in the fuse box, like the ECU. Sure enough, busted.

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Looks like replacements are still available, which is great. In the meantime, I had a 30A fuse holder that I hooked up so I could get the system jolted awake. Janky, but functional for the time being.

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The LEDs on the ECU lit up right away showing it was awake - YEAH! Then I ran the starter for a bit (still no plugs) and then checked for error codes. First was the air temperature sensor not plugged in - check. Next was disconnected injectors - check. After that, I could spin the starter over for a few seconds, then stop and no codes appeared. Progress! Only left to try then was to see if I was getting spark at the plugs. Grounded each one on the bolts used to balance the throttle blades and the little guys were sparking away! That was almost too easy...

With ignition good, next thing to tackle will be the entire fuel system. When I disconnected the fuel pump this morning, I sure got a good whiff of the old gas odor. Threw me right back to the 85 Limited that started my GW journey - its whole system was filled with stank gas. Fuel pump will be on order today, possibly injectors. Seller said he cleaned them, but that could mean about anything.

[Rednaxs60]

Would recommend sending the OEM original injectors to a service shop, the OEM injectors clean up nicely and are the correct size for the ECU engine tune. Have a set of low impedance from an early model Civic/Prelude I can send. These work but are approximately 240 cc/min at test pressure, would tide you over until you get the original fuel injectors serviced. Collecting dust on the shelf. Let me know. Cheers