1977 GL1000 Restoration by Novice

[AdamGMaier]

Here are some current pictures part 1

[AdamGMaier]

pictures part 2

[rcmatt007]

I am reminded of a Jimmy Hendricks song

[AdamGMaier]

Yea my phone Camera has been doing this. As a the bike is in an ugly condition anyways I guess I didn't care. These are just to serve as before pictures. The effect is interesting though.

[AdamGMaier]

Oh one thing though if I could direct someone's attention to the speedometer picture. Do I have 50k miles or 5k miles? Not sure if the last digit is tenths. I also would be interested in anyone noticing anything not stock. I'm pretty sure the guy I bought this from said he installed electric ignition. I read on another post that the reason his bike didn't work was because this was wired wrong. Perhaps that's what is wrong with mine. Btw what is electric ignition and how is that different from the stock configuration? Did the original setup require kick start or something?

[Goboy]

This a great thread we even have entertainment, Thanks Jimmy. Odometer reads 5040.9 miles but probably 105040.9 miles as if it had been ridden in the first 20 years. There are so many reasons why a bike won't run and wiring issues can be very frustrating to pinpoint, even the battery must be fully charged to delivery good starting and performance. Your bike would have had a typical points and condenser ignition originally. If you want to do a back to original restoration then the electronic ignition will have to be removed.

[AdamGMaier]

Well the guy I got it from said he had it in storage for 20 years. It was a restoration project when he got it because it sat in storage for many years. The title is not in the guys name I got it from so I know he never got it on the road. There is a real possibility this bike only has 5k miles if the speedometer looks to be stock (I'm not sure).

[rcmatt007]

yeah.... 5k or 105.. or 205.... I always tell folks my 78 has only 40k, except I have a log book of every fill up I ever did (okay, I am OCD and I know about the hyphen in anal and retentive).... but at 105k, it is barely broke in

[AdamGMaier]

I decided to take a few pictures with a better camera.

[AdamGMaier]

A few more

[rcmatt007]

all the ngw folks know I am into music (and an off-beat sense of homour).... but the flight of the valkaries comes to mind....

what I really want to say is, "we re glad to be a part of your rebuild!"

[AdamGMaier]

I got to the point I am now when I had finished the gas tank and then changed my timing belt. I prepared for a valve adjustment drained all fluids. While Putting the tank back in I noticed that there were unexplained holes in the crank case near the alternator.
http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58708

[Goboy]

Adam that's puzzling. The PO (previous owner) must have been into the engine and removed the oil try and not reinstalled it, forgot maybe. Check the brake pads and rotors for wear, if the bike only has 5k they should have very little wear. Also the new photos show valve covers for an 1100, the 77 is a 1000 cc.

[doubleminded]

+1 on the Time Serts. They are expensive, but a million times better than helicoils.

Think that's an exaggeration, just fitted three 6mm helicoils, two at each end of the handlebars, and one on the fork brace. The bolts did up nice and secure. What more do you want!

The Time Serts in question are 4 x 0.7 mm threads into extremely soft material that is in the GL1000 carburettor bodies. Helicoils that small into such soft material would be quite fiddly, and you only get one go at each.
I am sorry you feel that I am exaggerating in saying that time Serts are many times better than Helicoils but I am basing this on my experience on doing this same job using both. I never got a satisfactory result trying Helicoils but have done several successfully using time Serts.
You are of course entitled to your opinion, as am I to mine.

Yeah Liam,but a million times better? Maybe 100,000 times better,but not a million.

[doubleminded]

there is a lot of anal stuff going on in this discussion.