ohiofarmer 3,157 #1 Posted October 10, 2017 Before they became land yachts, the honda goldwing was a game changer. In 1975, when they first came out, performance was the goal, and this big, heavy bike was only slightly behind one other bike in the quarter mile. One found me yesterday for 300.00 and it has a title and always garage kept. The 'Tins' on these bikes are hard to come by and the side covers and faux tank panels are highly desirable in decent original paint. Muffler groups are the same. i could make money on the deal just selling the tins and running the bike. My go to bike has been a CB750, but the 'wing actually comes off the stand more easily and is very easy to balance because of the very low center of gravity. I am sure that there will be challenges in carb rebuilding and then on to getting fire in the hole. Parts are readily available for the mechanicals and I already have nice potential for a decent looking old school bike. Wings of this era weigh about 650 pounds quite a bit different than the monsters of today.The "fuel tank" is not really a tank. Honda put the actual tank under the side covers to lower the center of gravity even more. I have taken a seat on some newer models and they make my hip joints hurt, but the slimmer profile of the 1976 sits as nice as my 750. here is a pic of an example bike 9 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,462 #2 Posted October 10, 2017 Nice score , it's odd how so many of those vintage bikes are coming out lately - the demand for them is going through the roof . Years ago so many were just beaten to death and left for dead since they were reasonably cheap and plentiful , odd how the market works sometimes . I always liked that early model better - there was just too much stuff on the later ones and took away from the experience in my opinion . Gotta love the torque level of that engine , too... Sarge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ohiofarmer 3,157 #3 Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, Sarge said: Nice score , it's odd how so many of those vintage bikes are coming out lately - the demand for them is going through the roof . Years ago so many were just beaten to death and left for dead since they were reasonably cheap and plentiful , odd how the market works sometimes . I always liked that early model better - there was just too much stuff on the later ones and took away from the experience in my opinion . Gotta love the torque level of that engine , too... Sarge Yes, and a lot of them are going out of the country. There are people running around buying them and putting them in shipping containers. You have to be patient in working on them. for example, I worked a couple of hours just getting the floats to move on the float pins. Hard to tell how long it will take to get the pins out of the mounting posts/towers without snapping the towers. I am thinking of just using a pressure cooker and fastening a tube as a little steam gun to melt away the tar/ sludge. Sludge and black tar from old gas I can handle. Ethanol residue is much more harmful, The newspapers that were wrapped around the pretty stuff were from 1986, so this one is a time capsule. we will see what secrets it holds. The first wings came equipped with a kick starter in the tool kit and the engine is not stuck, a very good thing. the carb group has the correct markings for the model year, another good thing, as some people thought that carbs from an 1100 cc had more performance. Maybe off the line, but certainly not at the higher RPM's Oh, and it has a fairing, without a doubt a Vetter. I have never seen a Vetter painted to match before this bike fell into my lap. My buddy and wife's nephew is into British buying another bike [BSA} and gave me a call and asked me should he buy this bike. He used his own cash to make the deal before the bike went on Craigslist. A true gentleman, but i did the same for him once The patient work you have to do yourself. With mechanics charging 50-80 bucks, a bike that needs extensive rework is a bridge too far unless you help the project along. Really, it is a lot like a Wheel Horse only much more complicated Edited October 10, 2017 by ohiofarmer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunahead72 2,343 #4 Posted October 10, 2017 Well, you certainly faked me out with that photo. I thought that was the bike you got for $300, which would have been the steal of the century. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on this one, which of course means you need to start posting photos, right? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ohiofarmer 3,157 #5 Posted October 10, 2017 46 minutes ago, tunahead72 said: Well, you certainly faked me out with that photo. I thought that was the bike you got for $300, which would have been the steal of the century. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on this one, which of course means you need to start posting photos, right? Well, actually, my bike will look close to that with two exceptions. The rear fender is knackered--cracked in many places and someone tried to weld it with a stick welder. the bike also has a king-queen seat with a bad cover and the rear hoop is missing. Those hoops are pretty spendy. I will take a few before pictures, I guess, but that blue paint that is on the bike compares well to the file photo and the chrome will polish up nicely. I just got it yesterday, so be patient 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 38,965 #6 Posted October 10, 2017 I had an 84 Goldwing. Friend had an 82 and a 76. He rode the 76 on a long ride once and his butt was so sore he had to poop standing up! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunahead72 2,343 #7 Posted October 10, 2017 I forgot to mention earlier... Just by coincidence, I got an email this afternoon from Honda Powersports. They've just posted a new video on their website on the history of the Gold Wing. It's part of their "Beyond" video series and definitely looks interesting, but I haven't been able to load and watch it for some reason (slow internet probably), so I won't post a link here. Their website is powersports.honda.com. And Mike, thanks so much for that "poop standing up" image, I hope I can get that out of my brain before I have dinner tonight! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC9KAS 4,741 #8 Posted October 10, 2017 @ohiofarmer Good story. How far are you from where the Gold Wings were made? I wanted a GL1000 in 1975 when the came out...I wanted one soooo bad! I read every article I could about them. A fellow that was a father of a class mate had one and that sucker would run! I finally bought a 1978 in 1979 and rode that until about 2010 when I bought a 1996 GL1500. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ohiofarmer 3,157 #9 Posted October 11, 2017 (edited) I live about 75 miles from Marysville.Ohio, where they made them for thirty years. It looks like i will get wrenching time in today. I finally got the pins pulled for the carb floats, but have not had the diaphrams off the top. I need to build a carb stand because of the way they are mounted on a common air intake plenum, much like an auto intake manifold. When you do carb work it is important to keep all the tiny bits with the same carbs as Gold wing carbs are not identical even on the same bike., or so i have been informed.I was worried that the carbs might be from an 1100 engine, but after a time, I finally found them to be original to the bike Since the bike has no keys there is a locksmith who can make them with a key code and i have to remove a lock cylinder to get at the code. More time and patience So, it is off to the engine as I need to get some penetrating oil into the pistons and check the all important timing belts. All kinds of damage can happen if the belts break. This bike has 98000 miles, so it is important to see what is left of the engine before putting too much time into the cosmetics. As for the cosmetics, the more i look at it, the more i can see how well it will clean up. At this point, i have more Hondas than Wheel Horses. the Yin and Yang is out of balance Well, it is 6 days later, and some progress has been made. i looked up the stock numbers to see if a key from one of my other bikes would fit, and it turns out that a swapped key will operate the system. Still no luck with even getting power to the ignition key at all.This is when you have to be careful, because a shorted wire can smoke big gobs of other wires in the wiring loom if you burn off the insulation. [i use this procedure on Wheel Horses as well].. So on the + side of the battery, I put an inline fuse holder for an ATC fuse and get out my Harbor Freight fuse assortment and start with 5 amps as they will not allow wiring to burn up in the event of a short. The OEM fuse is a Dogbone style [impossible to find on your trip through the mountains] and should be replaced anyway.Even with test leads nothing was happening. Then I fed the circuts backwards through the ignition circuit and the dash lights responded. Finally, the problem surfaced at a bad main connector close to the battery Now we have power controlled by a key switch and any other gremlins should be easy to fix..One of the reasons the bike was so cheap was that the previous owner believed the charging system stator was not working. I believe that the bad connector was the culprit all along as the charging wire was in the bad connector. It turns out that The nice paint on the tins is a re-paint and has some dirt and defects in the finish.No way would I try for better on an OEM paint that was that nice and original to the bike,but I have been experimenting with clear coat on the C-141 and it should come in handy to improve their overall appearance The carburetor group continues to progress and I bought a steam cleaner from harbor Freight to clean them up. Steam is a big help in that it is easy to see if there is blockage that has not been cleared up. When you blow steam in one jet or hole, it needs to exit somewhere else. Steam also is great for heating parts to make the carb cleaner work better.For example, the carb bowl drain screws were pretty much welded to the bowls. Steaming the involved area resolved that in short order The Chrome continues to clean up very well. Now that some of the wiring issues are resolved, I need to get the gauges cleaned and polished and mounted back on the bike before the project spins out of control. Pictures will come when that happens if you guys are still interested Edited October 17, 2017 by ohiofarmer additional info 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ohiofarmer 3,157 #10 Posted October 26, 2017 Now for the setback. After getting the basic wiring sorted and getting the bike to crank using the starter button, i was going to work on cleaning the points to see if she would fire. I did a basic seat of the pants pressure test by putting my thumb over each spark plug hole, and three of the cylinders have low pressure . 1000 cc engines really do not have rebuild stuff available simply because there are many engines available on the used market, according to most of the forum posts that I examined. I got pretty bummed thinking about it and the possibility of having to part it out or find an engine. I started checking out what could cause low compression, and valves is one cause and piston blow by is another. Simple test to perform is to add air under pressure at Top Dead Center to the spark plug hole using an adapter that threads into the hole . If the air exits from the engine case, it is the piston. From the intake or carbs, it is the intake valve, And if it is exhaust valve trouble, the air exits from the exhaust. I hope it is the valves, if anything. Meanwhile, i plan to add some MMO through the spark plug holes and crank the bike for a bit each day before going to work. You need patience with the old ones. [[ So this will be two posts combined]] Now it is eight days later, and what a difference!!!!.. When I went to do the leakdown test, there was no noticeable air leakage. I did a cyl. pressure test instead and she checked out from 130 to 150 PSI cold. I wanted to hear this bike at least fire, but now the electrics were acting up and no amount of fiddling with connections was doing the job. Then i noticed the rear wheel rotating when i hot wired the starter. Put the bike back in neutral and she cranked. Put a bit of carb cleaner at the air intakes and ALL FOUR of the cylinders fired. Thank you Marvel Mystery Oil Time for some pictures--this $300 bike is a keeper The tins have high potential. They have been repainted, and there are defects including orange peel and fish eye. Careful sanding of the clear coat and adding more clear and sand, repeat and sand, and it flattens out enough to complete sanding As a point of reference, the third picture shows the finished part, a part that has too much orange peel and will not buff out correctly, and both parts posing on a original paint C-141 with clear coat built up and buffed. When all of the tins are complete, the bike should be a 'two footer' or better The chrome is pretty nice after cleaning up a bit. Pictures of chrome look nasty compared to real life. I don't know what they were thinking trying to weld the cracked fender with a stick welder. I may try to save it by repairing it and gluing some rubber trim over the repair in a tasteful way until a better replacement shows up Since the bike has not been on the road since 1995, i think it is in pretty nice shape 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,462 #11 Posted October 27, 2017 Good thing they at least built up the paint heavy enough to repair the finish - those parts are coming out nice . I've had really good luck using wool buffs and Mother's on old chrome - doesn't seem to damage the surface at all either . The good old Turtle Wax chrome polish doesn't seem to do as well as it used to - or I'm just getting to old to rub that hard , lol . I do like the sound of those old engines - pure music when tuned right . Sarge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elcamino/wheelhorse 9,062 #12 Posted October 28, 2017 @ohiofarmer How did you clean the chrome ? It looks great . Chrome on my El camino could use some help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ohiofarmer 3,157 #13 Posted October 28, 2017 8 hours ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said: @ohiofarmer How did you clean the chrome ? It looks great . Chrome on my El camino could use some help. 8 hours ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said: @ohiofarmer How did you clean the chrome ? It looks great . Chrome on my El camino could use some help. You could try this stuff first. https://www.google.com/search?q=jay+leno+chrome+cleaner&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 All i did was use some penetrating oil like wd-4o and some OO steel wool. Do not use synthetic steel wool like Scotch-Brite as it will dull the chrome. On the real bad bumpy areas that have raised rust like under the seat on the rear fender, i used 2000 wet or dry sandpaper. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elcamino/wheelhorse 9,062 #14 Posted October 28, 2017 Thanks for the info Share this post Link to post Share on other sites