NGW Project in Maine - 1983 Interstate

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

I guess it was 2 years ago Laim came over and we refreshed the 1200 he bought unseen. We had serious issues with the brakes. Ended up buying a small hand operated vacuum bleeder at the auto parts store. Was about 30 dollars as I recall. He left it here when he left. I thought I would never use it and it would just end up taking space but wow was I wrong. I have since used it on 4 different vehicles (3 bikes 1 truck). It makes bleeding brakes so easy. I am a firm believer in flushing brake systems every couple years and this tool makes it simple to do by yourself.

Right. We picked up the Mightyvac hand pump to help bleed the hydraulic clutch on my son's '83 CB last year. Those clutches are a PITA to fill and bleed after a rebuild. I remember hours of trying, to no avail, before I headed to the parts store to get a pump. I wouldn't describe the pump as something that solved everything, but it was far, far easier and faster than what might have been.

I have to say that bleeding the linked brakes on the project - front, then rear - was a pretty not-so-fun experience. The rear master rebuild worked fine, as it took a second to prime the cylinder before hooking up the brake line. Getting the air out proved a serious challenge - and investment of time at the hand pump. But we got through it.

I can't imagine how much time it would have taken if we had to manually pump the brake pedal (5000 times?) to move the fluid and bleed out the air bubbles.

I'm not confident that it's air-free, but the brakes work well. I'm thinking the "spongy" feeling I sense may be soft, old lines more than anything. If we get this bike on the road, I'll drop $ and put on braided lines. No doubt the lines are old.

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

I like the seat and thinking about something similar for mine. Did you just cut down the original foam or totally replace it?

Right. It was actually really easy. (I'd do it again.) I document it in some of the early posts on this build. I think it's maybe Episode 5, give or take.

The seat cover was ripped, so I knew it would need to be replaced. I rushed to buy a really nice recovered (likely Aspencade) saddle on eBay back around November, so I had a back up. In effect, that meant that our seat was something of a spare.

I watched a few videos on recovering motorcycle seats to get a sense that perhaps I could manage a recover. Then I got out the knife and some sandpaper. I took it slow, shaving a bit, giving a look on the bike, sitting on the foam, shaving some more.

I think the hardest parts involved stapling the cover on and minimizing wrinkles around the pan. It was not a quick process, but it wasn't all that hard either.

Nobody would mistake it for a professional job - at least not anyone who's seen a pro job - but it's pretty darned nice for a first-timer.

I will admit that my son and I may have somewhat different "visions" for the project. We're mostly building his vision right now.

I've got a bagger thought kicking around in my head, and that Aspencade saddle will be just fine for that look. It's an easy pivot from what we have now to a bagger. We have the rear Interstate bags just hanging out.

We also have a solo seat that came off the donor bike. To work that up for the build, I'd need to lay down a fiberglass mat to create a pan to mount the seat onto. I'd also need to recover the seat (or get it recovered). A bagger with the solo seat and a custom glass pan that flows roughly into the rear fender could be a nice look. Or no bags and solo seat would also be pretty nice. Of course, that's some work I've read about others on this forum doing - which is how I can even imagine doing it.

One bike, three looks. Hmm. Once this child leaves for college, it'll be me, my wife, the dog and two cats. I'll probably find myself in the shed - and the doghouse - a good bit next winter. I can see myself tinkering with the bike in these ways. I cannot see myself putting the fairing back on this bike.

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

Episode XI - The Beast Gets Out of the Shed

She's NOT DONE, but she rides.

As we're still working on paint and wanted to get the Wing out, we took the plastics from our donor GL1100, cleaned them up, sanded down a good bit of the flaking clearcoat, and waxed them all to get this girl out.

We handled the ramp out of the shed without difficulty, and my son did the honors by hotwalking the Wing across the yard and to the driveway.

PXL_20210327_152421994.jpg

I took her out for her first run in perhaps three years, two miles down our road and two miles back, just to get a sense of the issues we might not have been able to sort out by diagnosing a stationary bike. The bike is insured, but I didn't get her registered yet, so I kept it super local. My road does open up to a 40mph wooded zone that one can take at 55, and it includes a few bends one can lean into a bit. I ran it up to about 55 and back down before making the u-turn, pulling over to see if the brakes were seated ok, and running home. I didn't push it at all.

PXL_20210327_155224373.jpg

Right off, I noticed that it's too easy to lug the engine a bit from the standing start. Of course, I have all of two standing starts with the bike, including one 90-degree right. I'll dial the throttle/clutch better after 10-20 starts.

I noticed one glitch on an upshift between second and third, where it settled between the gears and wasn't right. Not sure what it was, but clutch + upshift took care of it. I didn't notice it again on the test ride. If we're having issues after 500 miles of riding, maybe I'll worry. Lots of important moving parts have not been moving for years. And from all I've read on this forum, these bikes sort of work out their issues as you ride them.

I'm still not liking the rear/linked brake pedal action. It works, but there's just too much pedal action. We'll keep tinkering.

Back at home for some driveway poses.

PXL_20210327_155938057.jpg

The CB750 bars are about as right as can be - or so I think. I have a solid, upright position. I'm not leaning over the tank putting weight on my hands/arms, possibly pinching my hips/thighs as I try to cram my long legs in the pretty limited space available behind the heads. And I'm not sitting back in a cruising reclined position, which I can't see being comfortable given the placement of the pegs and foot controls. My arms are relaxed, with elbows slightly bent. Classic.

PXL_20210327_155958462.jpg

My son is a few inches shorter than me, but he has pretty long legs as well. He has yet to take the bike for a test ride (his girlfriend and he have been hanging out all day - it's his birthday), but he sat on it in the shed as we tried to dial in the bar position. He also likes a little more of a reach than me. We can always make more adjustments.

PXL_20210327_161504974.jpg

We're going blue with the bike, but it does look really nice in the original brown. It's a nearly 40 year old bike that we basically saved from the scrap heap.

She's NOT DONE. But she's come a long way. Damn.

[Whiskerfish]

She looks mighty fine dressed up in that Brown. Always like that paint scheme on those 1100's. Where in Maine are you? I was there in Brunswick for 3 years in the 80's. Was awful hard to leave.

[Liam]

Thats a really nice looking bike. Fantastic progress, and really interesting to follow along.
I really like how the seat turned out, it suits the lines of the bike better than the original in my opinion.

[Lucien Harpress]

I loved my 1200 Standard to death, but the lines of the '83 1100 are certainly growing on me. Congrats!

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

She looks mighty fine dressed up in that Brown. Always like that paint scheme on those 1100's. Where in Maine are you? I was there in Brunswick for 3 years in the 80's. Was awful hard to leave.

Kennebunk, a bit south of Brunswick. We looked at a bike up around Brunswick way back around September, when we first got on the hunt for a winter project. If I remember that trip, it was a '79 Anniversary Edition CB750. We were close to pulling the trigger on it, but the owner wanted a bit more $ than we were prepared to pay - given condition and what it seemed to need.

I'm glad we went with the '83 GL1100. It forced us to really step out of our comfort zone in terms of a bike to work on, and it helped lead us to NGWClub.

[Whiskerfish]

Never made it that far south on the roads. Did have a memorable Search And Rescue Mission down there once. About the only time I went south on the roads was to do my annual Christmas Eve shopping at Beans in Freeport. Most of my time was spent going North from Brunswick. Spent a lot of time in Cutler (VLF Station) and Rangley (SERE School) for work. Absolutely loved my time up there.

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

Never made it that far south on the roads. Did have a memorable Search And Rescue Mission down there once. About the only time I went south on the roads was to do my annual Christmas Eve shopping at Beans in Freeport. Most of my time was spent going North from Brunswick. Spent a lot of time in Cutler (VLF Station) and Rangley (SERE School) for work. Absolutely loved my time up there.

Funny. I don't actually get much further north than Freeport, and that's not often. My son is probably going to UMO for engineering (he's mostly decided by hasn't committed), so I imagine I'll be getting up to Orono on occasion come August+. Maybe I'll make the trip on the Wing sometimes.

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

Episode XII - Week 1 Road Report
I rode the Wing to the office and back over the last four days, putting about 150 miles on her.

Nothing broke, which impressed my wife. She thought things were hopeless when she came home and found that black/yellow heap in the driveway.

It's a fun ride. I was expecting less maneuverability, frankly, but she responds quite well to steering input, leans comfortably into turns, and has more power on tap than I need - or want my son to try to use.

Tuesday after work, I went over to get her inspected and, I hoped, stickered. I knew the bike ran and stopped, that the lights, horn, etc. worked, and that there are no leaks (save the small seepage under the valve covers that we'll watch and I hoped the inspector wouldn't notice). But did she merit the sticker and Maine seal of approval for road use? I expected to be told that X or Y was not right in some way. A couple people at the shop came over to eyeball the odd flat-4 without a fairing and bags or a German emblem. Much to my pleasure, the inspector was quite satisfied with what he found. I rode out with a gorgeous green 2022 inspection sticker on the plate. 38 years old and legal to ride.

There are issues.

The bike makes a nasty rattle on launch if I'm not super careful and easy. First, I thought I was lugging the engine, but it's worse with more throttle. Tuesday night, the internet led me to GoldWing Docs, where I learned that the chain rattle sound is a symptom of a carb sync issue. OK. We didn't pull the carbs, rebuild, etc. We tried the "in situ" approach, with fuel, Seafoam, and time. Once we managed to get the bike running, things smoothed out reasonably quickly. I knew there were issues because things could cough and sputter soon after a cold start, especially if we relaxed the choke too soon after a start. But it cleared right up once the temps rose a bit. There's little to no hesitation when rolling on throttle, even quickly from idle.

OK. So I ordered a sync tool on Tuesday night, and we'll tackle a carb sync. I'm sure we can handle it, and it'll be good for us. Besides, we can use it on our other bikes, both of which, thankfully, seem to be running just fine right now. Good tool investment.

There's a pretty serious leak in the air suspension up front. I noticed heaps of sag on a hard brake Thursday afternoon and re-inflated the forks that night. I haven't put a gauge on the forks today, but I think things felt a bit too saggy on the ride home. We didn't want to spend more $ than we have to on the bike, so didn't really anything into suspension. But now we have rider - and a fun one at that. Why suffer with a crappy front end?

I ordered Progressive springs for the front, which this forum and others tell me will dramatically improve front suspension and perhaps eliminate the need for air. We'll also look to see if perhaps the hoses aren't tightened down, which would surely cause a problem with an air leak. 38 year old rubber may ultimately be the culprit.

When my son and I were talking about it last night at dinner, he said, "Dad, it's almost 40 years old. It's going to have some leaks."

I responded: "Right. I'm old and sometimes I leak air." The wife was not impressed.

Rear/linked brakes aren't doing it for me. There's just too much play. They definitely work, as I've stopped the bike from 20 mph reasonably quickly with just the pedal, and it's sort of nice that they're not ready to lock up with a flick of the ankle. But we're going to put time in to see if we can bring up the pedal a bit more.

I haven't ridden at night, so I can't be sure we've got the headlight dialed in. We've got an LED in there, and I find they often shine too high and require a downward adjustment of the bucket.

And the rear wheel isn't quite balanced right. I can feel it in my seat, and it's not my imagination. Not sure what the opinions here are on the whole "dyna bead" thing, but we're taking a chance on that some-call-it-snake-oil dynamic balancing product. Some GoldWing riders swear by them. I'm new to the whole thing, and perhaps I'm the sucker born in the last minute.

If Dyna Beads don't work, we're out about $20 and will pull the rear wheel and get a regular weight balance. I can see by running it in the driveway on the stand that is not really side-to-side play, and I think the beads are better for a somewhat "out of round" balance - or whatever that's called.

I tried removing my hands from the bars (carefully!) while decelerating from 45 through to about 30. There's no wobble, vibration in the bars, nothing.

If we can address the carbs, the front suspension, brake pedal, and the rear wheel balance, we'll have a really nice riding bike here. Six months ago, it was practically heading to the dump.

Now, my son has yet to get much time on the bike. Lacrosse season started this week, and he's a four-year varsity starter. He's a bit busy with that, and his travel team is still playing. There's also school, and the girlfriend. Next time we ride together, he takes the Wing. I think it's going to grow on him the way it's growing on me. (I may need to get another one, which will cause problems on the homefront!)

[Track T 2411]

I use dyna- beads in all my bikes; never had an issue, except for getting a bread or two stuck in the valve when checking the air pressure (it sucks pushing a Wing with a flat tire up even a small grade, lol!).
I have Progressive springs in one 1100 (full dress), stock springs in the other. IMhO, the stock springs (with air) are 'smoother' for one- up riding. I also fully rebuilt them, seals and bushings. My 2 cents...

[ritalz]

A alternative to the dyna beads is air soft beads. They are a larger diameter so they must be added by popping the bead from the rim in a small area. Air soft beads are available at one of the sporting goods stores for about $3. Plenty of beads in the bottle for doing 2 bikes. Recently added them to my 1800 and still assessing the results. Also added them to my Impala ant there was a noticeable improvement but not perfect. I will also be adding them to our second car when I change the tires (soon). I also did not remove any wheel weights in case I needed to go back.

[Rednaxs60]

Dyna beads and CounterAct beads are not snake-oil balancing products. The trucking industry has been using these for years to balance the large dual tires. I was skeptical at first as well. Told my local shop to use them, but if I had a shimmy at around 60 MPH (this is where you will probably have an issue), I would bring the bike back and he had to use standard lead weights. Worked up to over 80 MPH and no issue, have used these in all my bike tires, including the dreaded car tire, since then - first time in 2014. Mentioned this to a local truck/off-road shop and the owner mentioned that using bead technology was standard amongst his friends - lead weights don't last long off road.

For your bike tires front/rear - 2 ounces in each, even 2 1/4 ounce is good.

[Whiskerfish]

I have the centramatc (fancy self contained bead system) on my big bike and I love it. Balancing is automatic and she is super smooth.

[bagger13]

I find with dyna beads a quick shot of air in the valve stem before checking pressure will clear any beads from the valve stem so you don't lose air when checking