77 GL Project - Maintenence & Clean Up

[luludog]

The intake runners are the original ones. Took a bit of work to get the chrome off. Bolted them up to the vise, sanded them with 120 grit sand cloth and then polished em up (not perfect, still had some deep spots that didn't come out).

[matalex60]

Wow! Very nice build. I love a clean bike and this one is certainly that. I think I need to check my intake runners for leaks as well. Keep up the good work I am excited to see more.

[luludog]

Thanks

Today the rear fenders & grab bar went on.


Battery tray and rear barkes


As luck would have it; the UPS driver dropped off the Motad exhaust. I was kind of excited, but ran into the fitment issues most encounter.

The main issues for me was having to grind out the rear mounting bracket so the center stand could fit in the recess


Here's a shot of the left side bracket after a couple of tries to get the the muffler back & down (so the kick stand would clear too)


The biggest problem was the center stand hit the left muffler when in the upright position. So I had to get creative (the purist among us might want to skip the next pic)
Welded a 3/8" piece of flat stock on the center stand

Before, it would "just" hit


After




Finally after much work




Should have it ready to fire sometime tomorrow

[Roady]

NICE!

[CYBORG]

almost to nice to ride

[luludog]

Thanks guys. I do plan on driving it

Cleaned up the shelter covers. They're scratched and chipped in places. Decided to just polish them a little since I don't know how deep the clear coat is.

The emblems had seen better days and Honda has new ones. They worked fine, but they're about 5/8" shorter (P/N 87121-371-000). I had to heat the end and bend to match the contour of the tank.


It was time to hook up the Sync and adjust the carbs. Once I had the hoses connected; it took about 20 minutes (they were pretty close to start)




Had a fan in front of the bike while i was adjusting the carbs. Once they were done; shut the fan off and checked to make sure the radiator fan came on. It did. I shut it down and let it cool for a while to check the coolant and oil level. Almost everything is working properly. The neutral light still stays on all the time, and the primary chain still makes a little noise. I'm hoping with some miles they will correct themselves.

Put the new license plate on the bike and went for a ride . It ran great! Shifted through the gears and accelerated well. Once underway; I remembered how tall first gear was and how much you had to turn the throttle to get the carbs to open up. The only thing that needs attention is the exhaust. The #4 pipe leaks where it enters the muffler, and while taking a slightly aggressive left turn: the #4 pipe scraped. I'll be working with the vendor to work out the details.

Here's a couple more pics of the bike

[Pokegama]

That is some awesome work there. It looks like new!

[Dangeruss]

Oh Yeah Baby, she is looking prime.

[polkadot]

As Roady would say "Looks Factory Fresh". Nice Job!

[Major_moto]

I hope that my 77 looks that goos when finished. Really nice work. I've been fretting about an exhaust (I like the stock, but mine is not in good condition), but yours looks really nice.

[luludog]

Thanks guys.

MajorMoto - I'm currently working with the vendor to resolve the two problems I have with the exhaust. #4 pipe leaks, where it mates with the muffler and scrapes on left turns. I'll keep you posted on developments.

Updates... Rode a little over 200 miles on it yesterday. Ran very well. After about 100 miles the engine would sometimes not come back to normal idle speed. Sometimes it would hover around 2000-2500rpm, then after a bit would come down. I checked for vacuum leaks. Didn't find any. I'll do another carb sync and adjust the idle pilot screws. Let me know if anyone has any other suggestions. Averaged 44.7mpg (most of the driving was 55 to 75mph)

[Sagebrush]

Randakk has a tech tip on slow return to idle. It can be due several different causes. Might be worth a read.

[luludog]

Sagebrush, Thanks for the tip.

Update on the idle situation. I had initially set the idle up to 1300-1400rpms to get rid of the primary chain noise (bike sat for 30+yrs). Once the idle rpm was brought down to factory specs (950-1000rpm). the bike idled well and when accelerated; would return to idle - no problems. I suspect the throttle plates being open a bit more reduced the velocity by which the pilot draws fuel for idling, so kept surging and not returning to an idle state as quick as it should have. I also backed out the pilot screws which richened the idle mixture and the rpm's increased (readjusted to specs). Just to make sure; I also rechecked the carb sync. They were right on. Took it for a spin... I love it!!!

[Fred Camper]

Hope this one is the choice to ride to Stockbridge this Sunday, sure came out nice. I love the black and blue.

[luludog]

Apologize for the delayed response.

Sorry I missed you at Stockbridge. I'm sure we'll meet up sometime. I might attend the Novi show in January. Depends on the weather.