Topic: 78 GL1000 20 year sleeper! Old Blue.

[Don R]

 While the battery box was loose to make access to the rear brake line I pulled the finiky start relay and freshened it. It's amazing the crud inside the rubber solenoid cover and inside the wire covers on the two bullet connectors. It took several flushes with electrical contact cleaner and rolling them between my fingers. The inside contacts were shiny but pitted. I turned the studs a half turn and polished the bar, which seemed easier than removing it and turning it over. It cranks every time now and doesn't require a Fonzie thump on the side cover. 
  I got the cart ahead of the horse and already ordered a start relay, carb bowl gaskets, grips, an air filter and at least one other thing from Randakk's. 
  Anyway I put the O2 sensor on it and plan to take a test ride tomorrow before pulling the carbs again I can check either muffler. The guys on the naked Goldwing page assure me the lean running and cold start issues are normal for these late 78 and 79's due to the oversize 140 air bleed.

[Don R]

 I logged some data with a wide band O2 sensor today, I'll post the numbers later but now I know why it gets good mileage.  My wife tossed the scrap of paper. (I also wrote a shopping list on it) but at wide open throttle it pulls pretty good numbers 12.5-1 to 12.8-1. at 3,4, and 5 thousand rpm's in third gear at cruising speed it's around 15-1 to 16-1. 15 is considered correct, it's a little leaner on the left side muffler than the right side even with the crossover pipe.  Reading the plugs seems like a good idea. Carb bowl gaskets soon.

[Don R]

  The later 78 and 79 wings have a set of extra lean carbs.  Both of mine (sold the 79) have always been lean at startup, they chug and kick back and until it's thoroughly heated it prefers to run a half inch of choke. The gl guys warn me not to jet up the pilot jet. Randakk had an article about restricting the idle air jet on 77 only. I'm going to try that, you can't get those jets anymore but you can solder them and redrill. An alternative is add a jet upstream in the hose that goes to the plenum. It happens a 750 jet just fits so I'm going to try a set of 105 jets that came out of my 76F. 110 is my preference but 105's are already loose in my parts box.
 I got a set of bowl gaskets, grips, battery strap, air filter and a K0 fuse box from Randakk. (Randall sold the business)  They came in Z1 packaging since Randakk, Z1, Mikes XS and Dime city are all under one roof now. I was wishing they accidentally sent me a new set of tins for a brown and orange Z1.

[Don R]

 Did it and it seems to have worked. At Idle the A/F meter isn't pegged at 18/1 anymore it comes down to 16 or 17/1  depending on the idle speed. It's set a bit low and idles around 800 to 850. Riding at low rpm's it seems less lean, it came out of a warm shop and the outside air was 42* so it's not a real world riding test but I see a promising trend.

[Don R]

 I got in a few mile ride today. It ran well, wanted less choke than before and when I returned it sat an hour while I polished a lot of it. I hit the starter and it was running in an instant. The drain plug on the #4 carb is seeping a little, I snugged the plug but doubt that will fix it. I think I have a set of 750 plugs with aluminum washers in the parts drawer, I'll check that if it still seeps. 
 It did sneeze once on a downshift which is curious. Made me wonder if there is a valve hanging on occasion. Every time the carbs were off I worked on removing the carbon on the intake stems, could be a piece of loose carbon under a valve maybe. It's got a fresh oil change, and the starter did skip once but caught just as it slowed down. That was after I idled it warm and the oil is just below the top line on the checking window. No excessive smoking on startup and it's been on the sidestand so I think I got it right.

[Just John]

We went through a 79 Wing period.  My youngest son wanted a motorcycle but didn't have any money! A friend of mine gave him two 1979 Wings that he had rescued from a closing shop. Both needed attention but were more or less complete. Enlisting the aid of his older brothers, the youngest built one of them and we gave the other to a guy on naked wings doing a resto.  The boys found a single carb manifold on EBay and replaced the pathetic carbs on the 79 with a Solex. This was one of the good manifolds that had a tube for warm water from the radiator.  I will say that old 79 ran great. Good enough to get the kid a cheap and fun ride. 

[Don R]

 I noticed the turn signal beeper, it would always beep beep then go click click, then still blink but more quietly. I thought it was voltage related and a defect that I didn't mind at all.  I mentioned it on the naked Goldwing site and learned it's a 40mph thing, built into the speedometer that changes at 40 mph. I guess it's loud at above 40 so you can hear it, then turns to a click below 40 so it doesn't annoy you.
 Who knew?   I feel so foolish.

[grcamna2]

We went through a 79 Wing period.  My youngest son wanted a motorcycle but didn't have any money! A friend of mine gave him two 1979 Wings that he had rescued from a closing shop. Both needed attention but were more or less complete. Enlisting the aid of his older brothers, the youngest built one of them and we gave the other to a guy on naked wings doing a resto.  The boys found a single carb manifold on EBay and replaced the pathetic carbs on the 79 with a Solex. This was one of the good manifolds that had a tube for warm water from the radiator.  I will say that old 79 ran great. Good enough to get the kid a cheap and fun ride.

Excellent project !

[Don R]

 It is odd how the Goldwings go so cheap. Like the 750's a decade ago I guess. My brother was buying 750's for next to nothing, getting them running or combining bikes to make one rideable and selling. Some were cheap, some were free. I got started with bikes again while cleaning up his back yard stockpile.

[grcamna2]

Don,
When you think of the early GL1000's and then the GL1100's,which ones run the best especially with carburetion and electrical ? Was thinking of getting one sometime and didn't want to go through all the stuff you're doing to sort out the lean condition.

[Don R]

 I like the 83 gl1100 carbs. They have removable (threaded) jets, accelerator pumps and 4 air cutoff's but work great. I borrowed a set for my 78 gl1000 and it went to Sturgis and back without missing a beat. I should have kept them and gave the owner money for his trouble. L0L. Good mileage too. 

[Don R]

 I was checking things bike wise and noticed the dyna on the gl has 5,000 miles on it.  I still have not added the ign relay. It's down on the list of priorities, the bike usually runs great if I keep the voltage up.
   This recent tank of shell premium nitro is the exception, it runs like crap. I thought it might help keep the carb and the intake valves clean, now I can't wait to burn through it or put it in the lawn mower. Considering the price, it may be sitting in their tanks getting old. 
   The grocery store gas with no alky has gummed up my lawn tractor's carb again and a dose of seafoam has cured it again. When we get the dollar off a gallon it's hard not to buy all 20 gallons even if it means some additive once in a while.
  In retrospect I recommend to clean the carbs allow no rust in a gas tank,  replace all of the plenum rubber  and carb rubbers, if it's still lean acting put 105 or 110 750 jets in the pilot air hoses. 1500 coils and new wires I have had little trouble with the dyna when it gets sufficient voltage, The digital voltmeter in the fairing tells the tale, when volts are low it spits and chugs.  An LED or two might help.

[desertrefugee]

Just came across this thread and it peaked my interest as I've had a 78 GL1000 for quite some time now. First year Honda detuned the 1000 for more mid-range torque and touring manners rather than the high strung first three years. I've ridden both and frankly I prefer the 78/79's. 

I am probably biased, but the 7879 goldwings have the best styling, instrument pod down in the shelter, elongated faux tank, streamlined side covers, it just has a smoother look.

I've been running the Dyna green coils and the Dyna ignition for $25,000 trouble-free miles. I know there have been reports of failures, but I guess I've been lucky. For a while, I even carried a spare module but it got diverted to another project. Knock wood, I haven't needed it yet.

[grcamna2]

I like the 83 gl1100 carbs. They have removable (threaded) jets, accelerator pumps and 4 air cutoff's but work great. I borrowed a set for my 78 gl1000 and it went to Sturgis and back without missing a beat. I should have kept them and gave the owner money for his trouble. L0L. Good mileage too.

Do the 83' carbs seem better than pre-83' to you ?

[Don R]

 My Honda mentor is old school and 1100 carbs were a supposed speed secret back in the day. He loaned me that set of 83 carbs for that trip to Sturgis. ( 2400 mile week) The bike ran as good or better than it ever has with the stock carbs. 90 mph on I90 all day long and good enough mileage I got passed by the same three Harleys four times. That's not saying all 83 carbs are better than 78 carbs, just the two sets I compared. He owns a shop and those were his test carbs, he's slapped them on a few bikes to diagnose carb issues.
 My carbs have been off 6 to 8 times, mostly due to a rusty gas tank but are still nothing to brag about. #105  750 main jets in the pilot air hoses were a big help. Randakk said it's a 77 only mod. but it helped my 78 too. It despises premium fuel, I tried it again last week. Seems sluggish and boggy. It got a top off with gasohol regular shell so I need to run it out before winter storage.
 The shift was clicky and neutral hard to find yesterday so I changed the oil. The oil sticker in the shelter was older than I care to mention and said 1/2qt Rislone on it. (to clean the starter clutch) I guess it got missed while I worked on my multiple 750's. I'll tell myself it was just still in there because I wrote "new fuel pump" on the card. The oil was still dark amber in color so not too full of carbon.

[Don R]

 My brother still has the 76 on page one. I've kept it running the past few years, he puts it away until the carbs gum up and then wants me to clean them again. The last go around I put new float valves, plenum seals and o rings in it. I need to go over and drain the fuel and replace it with av gas. An aircraft tech friend said he's started airplanes with 15-20 year old gas and they aren't varnished at all.  Personally, I'd drain and flush just because it's an airplane. 

[Prospect]

My Gl1000 is in storage so I can't figure this out.  Does the GL1000 have a quick connect for a vetter or other fairing, instead of hacking up the existing harness?

[RAFster122s]

The bikes did not come wired to fit a Vetter. Vetter sold a harness adapter that connected to the bike's wiring for the signals and headlamp circuit.

[Don R]

 Usually they used scotchlocks to tie the vetter harness into the host bike's harness. They make a small cut in the insulation and are a source of bad connections where the forks turn and stress them. I would have used crimp connectors myself and plugged them in.

  My brother rode his 750 several miles using the light from my headlight once. We were in a group of probably a couple hundred bikes so keeping his spot on the road wasn't a problem. 

[Don R]

 I rounded up a bosch relay and a holder for it. I'm going to run a fused feed from the battery to the relay and power it through the ign switch to feed the dyna and the coils.

[grcamna2]

Don,what's the condition of your stator on the 78':is it still giving max output ?

[Don R]

Don,what's the condition of your stator on the 78':is it still giving max output ?

 I believe it is, I suspect the key switch and multiple connections causing voltage loss.  The alternator plug is non melted, cleaned and di-electric greased. It will eventually build to 14 volts at 3,000 rpm, I'll also check the battery and clean connections. My voltmeter is in the windjammer so there's that much more wiring and connections involved. I may just hot wire the ignition to check it running. My drag car also has two Oddysey deep cycle batteries that will fit one in the wing box. Another thing to try.
 It seemed to run better on points before the electronic ign. Timing is on the mark and split, I cleaned and lubed the advancer too.

[Don R]

 It reminded me of the 76 750F I had, when I rode around town for too long the turn signal beeper would get weak. I'd throw the maintainer on it and it would be good for a long time depending if it got on the highway or not. 
 I see that I've put shell premium in it two years in a row, I'm a slow learner I guess. 

[Don R]

My Gl1000 is in storage so I can't figure this out.  Does the GL1000 have a quick connect for a vetter or other fairing, instead of hacking up the existing harness?

I found a Vetter harness with a headlamp plug in and bullet connectors on it. I always wondered why they didn't come this way.  It also has a long red wire for 12V accessories.

[Don R]

  I wired in a relay to feed the Dyna ign. a steady voltage rather than the voltage dropped accessory tap where it was fed from. 10.8 volts when the lights are on before starting.  12.4 volts with the key on acc. headlight off. The first relay didn't work, I checked my wiring 5 times and got the meter out. I also made a relay jumper. I bought a new dorman relay at Advance and it took right off. 
    It's really cool out tonight and it still runs like a pig  when cold. I didn't warm it up on purpose. 
  It still makes good volts above idle and charges the battery.
  It has gl1500 coils and no ballast resistor per the dyna instructions so I'm assuming the coils are getting plenty of volts. I have the option to feed them from the center tap on the 5 pin relay.
  It's still got a half tank of Shell premium and half 87 no alky. It really hates the premium.