Topic: 1975 GL1000 purchased from original owner

[markreimer]

Just had my first ride on the new to me Honda. I’ve missed this forum after selling my cb750 and 350f last year!

The GL got new timing belts, valve adjustment, carb rebuild (and I thought CB carbs were a pain...), rebuilt seized advance unit and points, static timing, fluid flush, and off I went for a test ride. 50km return ride and barely a hiccup. Just smooth power. The shaft effect is fun, brakes and suspension need work, and some minor carb tweaks. I think I’ll really enjoy this bike.





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[seanbarney41]

Really beautiful!

[markreimer]

Thanks! I have the stock mufflers but the baffles rotted out, making a nasty metallic rattle when getting on the gas. I have some long Staintunes on now which sound and look excellent. I'd love to keep it original if possible though, so I'll look at fixing up the pipes in winter if it's possible.

The headers are good, but someone painted them with poor paint at some point. It's just blowing off in the wind lol.

[Bankerdanny]

Beautiful. I am very happy with my 750F, but I do miss my Wing.

I would give those valve covers a polish over the winter too. Not a mirror, just a good shine.

[dhall57]

Super nice first year naked Wing Mark. How many miles. I have a 77 black naked Wing and love it. Need a new water pump for mine so I can get it back on the road. These early wangs are quite, smooth and have plenty of power. I know you will enjoy it

[markreimer]

29,800km! Barely broken in. Or maybe it’s 129,000 haha how would I tell!


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[MauiK3]

Very nice bike!
You can get repop exhaust from David Silver Spares

[BenelliSEI]

Don’t be afraid to wind it up a bit! The early ones do go!

[MauiK3]

They really sing, I actually had mine semi airborne once. I used to commute from Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, Ca. To Sonoma Ca. The normal route was west on Highway 37 across the top of San Pablo Bay to highway 121 and then north to town. I sometimes took a shortcut through Skaggs Island which was a military communications installation. There was a little bridge over a slough that I could speed up some just before and it was a nice gentle rise to wheels almost off the ground and then a gentle landing. Loads of fun.
Great bike, under appreciated because it was so smooth. Iron fist in a velvet glove.

[tdskip]

Fantastic

[Bankerdanny]

Nice. I miss my Wing. I wouldn't want one as an only bike, which is why I sold it. But as one of several I would definitely like another one.

[6adan]

You have a very nice bike there. I have one almost just like it except I have a set of Lester wheels. The only problem I have with mine is the stock seat is like setting in a board after a few miles, the seat looks like almost new but is very hard. Anyway ride it and enjoy it.

[markreimer]

Thanks everyone! Now it’s time for routine repairs and maintenance, like fork seals, seat cover is ripped, cables etc. too bad the snow is a few weeks away


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[Can550]

It’s great looking bike
Seat is 78/79, if you put a stock seat, it will change the looks of bike big time


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[markreimer]

It’s great looking bike
Seat is 78/79, if you put a stock seat, it will change the looks of bike big time


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I thought this might be an incorrect seat! The 75 is more of a flat profile right? I do need to replace as this one is ripped.


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[Can550]

This is correct seat for 75/76


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[Calif Wingnut]

I paid $2,650 otd in 76 for my new 75 candy blue :<)

[Can550]

Good to see you hear
Welcome
But how many guys could pay that much back in the day
Probably less than who can pay 27,000$ for a gold wing today
What say ya


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[Calif Wingnut]

Thanks cam550. I paid $1,500 for my 74 750 with 8,800 miles on it. Buddy paid $1,300 for his new 72. One test ride on a 75 gl and life has never been the same 9 wings later :<)

[Calif Wingnut]

Mark. I have a pair of carb stays for shipping if you need them until you can find a better set.

[markreimer]

Little update on the wing since last year. Much has happened over the winter.

- Built an exhaust system using Harley sportster take-offs and some short elbows a local muffler shop bent up for $10.
- Dyna ignition
- Cleaned and repaired a bunch of wiring, now all the electrical stuff and gauges work
- Fresh tires and tubes
- rebuilt swing arm bearings and lubed drive splines
- Sourced some Hondaline racks and bags
- Synced carbs
- Bought some second hand forks, repaired a few tiny pits in the chrome, polished and rebuilt front end. No leaks!
- Passed safety inspection, got it registered, then acquired my first speeding ticket on a bike. All on the same day!


I have about 1,000km on the bike since registering it. It's pulling good and hard. Very smooth. I have a slight 'clunk' as the clutch stops slipping and grabs when starting from a stop, so I'd like to rebuilt the clutch over winter. I've had other SOHC4's do this with old worn plates.

[MauiK3]

A beauty!!

[low-side]

Are you sure that the clunk is from the clutch?  The reason I ask is that a failure in the clutch is usually a grinding noise with rough engagement ("B" plate coming apart) while a clunk as the clutch engages is ofter an indicator of a worn u joint in the drive shaft (under the rubber boots on right side of engine).

[markreimer]

Are you sure that the clunk is from the clutch?  The reason I ask is that a failure in the clutch is usually a grinding noise with rough engagement ("B" plate coming apart) while a clunk as the clutch engages is ofter an indicator of a worn u joint in the drive shaft (under the rubber boots on right side of engine).

Pretty confident, but not 100% sure. I had the drive shaft removed two weeks ago to inspect the u-joint. Seemed fine to me. A worn u-joint should create a repeatable clunk when rolling on/off the throttle in any gear. I only have a clunk when slipping the clutch in 1st from a stop. I can significantly reduce it with some subtle clutch lever action. And the fact my CB350F and CB400 both did it makes me feel pretty confident it's a clutch issue. But we shall see!!

Had the bike out on a ride last night and discovered my fuel pump is squirting gas out the weep hole periodically. Looks like the diaphragm has rotted and it's time to hunt down a new one.

[markreimer]

Much work since I last posted in July.

I replaced the clutch with a new EBC kit, friction discs only. In the process I measured all the discs and springs. Every single part of the clutch measured in spec, so i was a bit discouraged, thinking I just wasted money on parts I didn't need, and would still have my clutch clunk/lurch.

It's tricky business replacing the clutch with the engine in-frame on these GLs, but it can be done. Long story short, got it swapped out and my clutch is now siiiiilky smooth. There is no clunk or lurch what so ever. It feels like a new bike honestly.

I also replaced the clutch cable with a new Motion Pro unit, taking the opportunity to clean and lube the lever pivot bolt at the same time. I now have a nice clutch pull for city riding.

Next up was checking the carb balance. I had done this last year but on a cold-ish engine. I re-checked after it was at full temp and found my #1 cylinder a bit low on the gauges. I brought it into equilibrium with the left-rear cylinder, which then showed the left pair low compared to the right pair. One more little adjustment to bring both sides into equilibrium and then....ahhhhhhh. The engine smoothed right out! The idle clutch rattle disappeared and the idle came up a hair.

My off-idle throttle response it much better now. Combined with the smooth clutch, parking lots, u-turns etc are no longer difficult to navigate. Couldn't be happier!

Few days later I used some spare time to replace the drive shaft. I had a spare with a perfect u-joint. The old shaft was good, but had just the tiniest play in it. May as well nip that before it becomes a problem. Cleaned and lubed all the splines with moly paste and went for a ride. No noticeable difference, but just happy to know I have a healthy drive-train.

[markreimer]

Another project on the GL

I noticed my fuel pump was spitting gas out the weep hole, just above the right side headers. Not good! Inspection showed the rubber diaphragm was cracked. I sourced a used pump but found the same issue. So time to convert to electric.

I picked up a Facet pump that puts out the same volume and pressure as the mechanical stock pump. I cut up some scrap aluminium plate to make a mounting bracket, and started to wire it up.

The way I’ve wired it uses a series of two relays, so the pump is powered directly off the battery via a dedicated fused line. The trigger relay grounds to the oil pressure switch, so when the engine looses oil pressure it shuts off. This is my version of a safety shutoff in the event of a crash.

One nice thing about an electric pump is being able to prime the carbs after a long period of storage. I have left the aluminum bracket oversized at the moment so I can cut a hole for an interrupting switch in the relay ground path. This will let me trick the system into thinking it has oil pressure when not running, therefor the pump runs, and I hit the starter a few seconds later. I haven’t installed the switch yet, but the system works so well. I have about 1,500km on it so far.







I’ll cut down that massive angled bracket soon and add my primer switch to the top.

Also had to replace my starter switch after it broke and used the opportunity to add relays for the headlight. It’s now directly powered from the battery and much brighter!







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[andy750]

Very nice work Mark!

[markreimer]

Very nice work Mark!

Thanks Andy! Hey, how's your bare steel 750 tank holding up?

[yellowjacket]

Nice bike. I have a 75 gl as well. I ride it all over.  They are great bikes.

[markreimer]

Thanks! The bike has been running very nicely since the last few repairs/mods. Winter will be here pretty soon, so I'm trying to get as much seat-time as possible. Only about another 3-4 weeks max till snow comes.

Over winter I'll look at re-doing the seat, maybe rear shocks, maybe even fit up the Vetter, why not LOL.

[Prospect]

Thanks! The bike has been running very nicely since the last few repairs/mods. Winter will be here pretty soon, so I'm trying to get as much seat-time as possible. Only about another 3-4 weeks max till snow comes.

Over winter I'll look at re-doing the seat, maybe rear shocks, maybe even fit up the Vetter, why not LOL.

I think I'm in the minority but I think the gl1000 looks great with a Vetter fairing. It really helps with the fatigue on the long rides. I have at least two that I plan to out on the gl1000 one day. Looking forward to your progress.

[Mr.D]

Your bike looks great! I recently picked up the same one to be my "other bike". Yours looks better than mine though. It'll be a bit of a project to bring it back to its full glory. The main problem is probably the clutch issue. I'm hoping it's just adjustment, but who knows. It doesn't like to stay in neutral and I've been told by the PO (I haven't been able to ride it much yet) that it slips out of gear when hot... so we'll see what that ends up being..

I'll probably have to do all the same work that you've done, so it's great to have this thread as a reference! I look forward to further updates! 

[Flyin900]

Hi Mark nice to see you have tried a Wing, as they are a pretty special bike for sure. The early ones (75-76-77) had a slightly different cam profile in rise and duration, so a bit more of a hot rod vs the later GL1000's that were tuned for more mid range performance. In fact the only faster stock bike in 1975 was the Kawai Z1, if I have my facts correct.

That clutch rattle you noted is more likely the Hyvo main chain off the crank, as the early wings were usually a little noisier at idle when the carbs were not sync'd correctly. The GL1100 and GL1200's all had improvements in that area as the models evolved.

Looks and sound like you have everything rolling along well.

If your ever stuck on an issue there are a number of early Goldwing sites that are specific to these old gals.