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Be patient with the screws that hold the elbows to the heads.

Patience. Perhaps that's the bike's name. Hmm.

I'll be generous with my PBB. I've got the JIS drivers, so I'm set to do my best on screw heads. And I've got decent sockets. Add Patience to the mix, and perhaps a little heat here and there. Hopefully, I don't start snapping things off.

Starter chain. What a load of...

Now that my son is back at college, I rolled his CB550 project over into the corner to get myself some room to work on this GL1000. I set the goal of pulling one head this afternoon. I got both off without that much trouble.

I think the biggest hassle was the camshaft pulleys. After futzing around for about 15 minutes, I decided to try to hunt down a tool I haven't used since about 1998: my old trusty brake drum puller. I'm amazed I could remember which bin I had it stored in. Three minutes after deciding it might be nice if I could find the darned thing, I had it in my hands. Five minutes later, the pulleys were off.

Behind doors #1 and #2, I found a couple issues. I'm not sure either is the cause of my non-spinning motor.

Pistons 2 and 4 definitely made contact with valves at some point in the past, as there are tell-tale marks near the top. The valves themselves show no signs of scoring, deflection, etc. They're seated nicely, it would seem.

The photo isn't that good and doesn't clearly show the minor nicks to the pistons. And more seriously, I think, there's some rust at the bottom of cylinder 3. Initially, I figured this might be the culprit keeping me from spinning the motor. I was able to remove most/all of it pretty easily.

I need a bit of advise at this point.

• I can move the pistons maybe 1/8" or 1/4" using the crankshaft bolt.

• I've worked back/forth to try to get more movement.

• I've sprayed PBB into the cylinders to get some penetration going.

• I've used a block of wood and a rubber mallet to try to "knock" the pistons free a bit. I've used a wood block and a hammer.

Clearly, PO was lying about the starter chain. Is there something about the starter, starter clutch, etc. that might help to explain the kind of seizing here?

Short of time, patience, and PBB, what other moves might I make? I could pull the motor, start pulling things off, and hopefully discover something before getting down to splitting the case.

I'd rather find another motor than get into the bottom end, as I have only a 50-50 record on rebuilding the bottom end of a motor. It's heaps of time, and the sadness that comes if it doesn't pan out lingers. (I close my eyes and can relive the experience of disappointment from nearly 40 years ago.)

Thanks!

If you can, this might be a good time to pull the engine out, and take the rear cover off. You might find something amiss under it, which will allow you to rotate the engine over a tad easier.

wingrider wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 11:19 am If you can, this might be a good time to pull the engine out, and take the rear cover off. You might find something amiss under it, which will allow you to rotate the engine over a tad easier.

When I bought the bike, I thought I'd need to pull the motor, as the story was "broken starter chain." Chain wasn't broken, so I sort of flipped a coin: pull the heads or pull the motor to try to free the engine. Heads are easier, of course. I figured I might need to do both before all is said and done.

I suppose mentally working through a range of progressively bad-case scenarios has me needing to the pull the motor before too long:

• Get motor to spin, but something's amiss in the starter chain/clutch area.

• Don't get motor to spin, and dig a bit deeper to see what might be going on behind the rear cover.

• Don't get it to spin, fail to resolve what's going on, as perhaps there's a serious bottom end issue. Replace with a different motor.

I'll play with a breaker bar on the crankshaft bolt, PBB, and force on the pistons via wood block/hammer for the next week. - hard,but gentle. If I get nowhere,I guess I'll start to pull the motor next weekend.

Go deeper, become more enlightened.

Wingrider: I do struggle with the idea that it's ever a "good time" to pull the engine.

Honestly? Pulling the motor isn't that hard. I used to avoid it whenever possible (and it's still not something I do for fun), but after having the engine out of at least four different bikes (plus a Velosolex, if that counts), it really doesn't scare me anymore. Heck, you're most of the way there as it is. With the removable subframe, if you've got a motorcycle jack with wheels on it, it's just a matter of unbolting everything and pulling it out sideways.

Not to mention getting the block up on a table makes every other job on it SO much easier.

Remove the threaded plug on the back cover that allows you access to the 12mm hex head of the rotor retaining bolt .
Might be something is loose/jammed in the rotor and stator area causing the extremely limited rotation of the crankshaft. ?

gltriker wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:11 pm Remove the threaded plug on the back cover that allows you access to the 12mm hex head of the rotor retaining bolt .
Might be something is loose in the rotor and stator area causing the extremely limited rotation of the crankshaft. ?

Cliff. Yeah, that little cover is sheared off, with the threaded bits stuck in the threads. I can't get a socket on the bolt or get a purchase to drive out the cover.

It's POSSIBLE the PO turned that bolt counterclockwise, loosening it right up. I don't know if that would cause binding, but...

+1 reason to pull the motor!

Lucien. I hear you. Carbs are out, radiator is off, etc. I think maybe an hour or two of focused attention and I can separate the motor from the frame. Then I can get better access to a range of things. (And if the motor is toast, I'll discover I have a nice open spot in the frame for another motor!)

Maybe I'll be repaint the engine before I put her back in. I'll have to meditate a bit on the color possibilities.

You certainly are pretty close to dropping the engine…one way or another, you will be pulling it.

Hardest part will probably be separating the driveshaft. My '76 had it held in place with a circlip- Honda eventually did away with it, but I forget when. It's not exactly horrible to get at, but if you're having a hard time with the angle, try moving the other end of the boot. I had a heck of a time getting mine back on until I remembered...

NotSoLilCrippseys wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:34 pm

gltriker wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:11 pm Remove the threaded plug on the back cover that allows you access to the 12mm hex head of the rotor retaining bolt .
Might be something is loose in the rotor and stator area causing the extremely limited rotation of the crankshaft. ?

Cliff. Yeah, that little cover is sheared off, with the threaded bits stuck in the threads. I can't get a socket on the bolt or get a purchase to drive out the cover.

It's POSSIBLE the PO turned that bolt counterclockwise, loosening it right up. I don't know if that would cause binding, but...

With removing (or loosening) that rotor retaining bolt , that alone would allow the rotor assembly to migrate on its matching splines of the crankshaft, towards the stator assembly that's mounted inside the back cover.

https://www.randakksblog.com/gl1000-sta ... /#more-462 < scroll down to photos of the removed rotor assy., and splines on the exposed end of the crankshaft.

Watch the video (5 and 1/2 minutes) located in this same Starter Clutch Overhaul tech tip from Randakk, too. There's a lot of information about the dynamic workings under that back cover!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JCbOwvNOo4

okay I am Done now

actually, no, I'm not done yet.
I reckon if that rotor retaining bolt has been loosened by using it to rotate the crankshaft for static timing purposes when installing a Dyna S, as it loosens even more by the engine vibrations the hex head will catch the underside of the cap while running and eventually push through to fracture the cap as indicated by the photo on page 2 of this thread. The corrosion on the hex of that bolt head surfaces indicates its been exposed for some time. Permanent magnets in the rotor, and the steel armature of the stator may start destructively contacting each other. ok, now I am Done...

Cliff. Thanks!

Not knowing enough about the inner goings on back there, I had/have been a bit flummoxed. I'll know more after the motor is out!

I can report that there does seem to be some "spring back" when I rotate the crank and hit a limit. I can see the piston sort of go in, and "spring" back a bit - like it's hitting something spongy.

We've been in the path of a couple pretty hairy snowstorms, which has put a damper on my bike time and a strain on the old body.

But I got an hour or so in the shop today.

Alas, I'm stymied at clutch cable removal as a step on pulling the motor. Thoughts?

I've followed my Clymer's on cable removal for the '79. I've backed out the 12mm nuts/bolt that handles cable adjustment. I've removed the cover and disconnected the cable from the back of the motor.

For the life of me, I can't snake that baby out the long tube. I've pulled, wiggled, finagled, genuflected, cursed, used PBB to reduce friction a bit, and tried pushing it up from below. No go!

What might I be missing? It feels like it's hitting the lip and getting stuck perhaps where the housing meets the tube. There's no sign of any sort of gunk/crap on the cable or behind the cover.

Any guidance is appreciated.

I'm thinking I may end up pulling the motor with the cable still attached by snaking it out from the lever end. Not ideal.

I may have read you wrong...
but it seems as if you are trying to get the cable to pass thru the tube.
That is never gonna happen, the tube is a part of the cable assembly.

the tube should pull right out of the clutch housing after disconnecting the ball end of the cable from the
actuator.

Yowsa! Thank you so much.

I've been desperately trying NOT to damage that tube, thinking I might then find myself in a bit of a, umm, pickle.

I'll squirt in some PBB and give 'er a tug or three, as she's definitely not just pulling right out

Might have saved a forum post by looking up a replacement cable to discover the attached tube.

I'll also take the opportunity to thank you for the Arlo reference in your username. I love that song, and the album is a Thanksgiving staple around our home.