Dirt Road Cowboy
Active member
Okay, where to begin . . . ?
I was born a poor black child . . ., wait! That wasn't me, it was Navin Johnson. :doh:
I was born in a crossfire hurricane. I was schooled with a strap right across my back. But it's all right now . . . :music:
Much better! :whistling:
Now, on to single carbs!
First off, I have 2 GL100's, a 78 that I bought running (poorly), and a 75 that is a project in pieces. The 78 is the one that I've been trying to get going for a few years now.
When I got it, I knew nothing about GoldWings. It was cheap enough that I could justify getting a bike that needed a little work. When I first rode it, I could tell that it needed some carb work, but once it kicked in, I felt the power and liked the potential there.
Besides, I've done a lot of carb work, how hard could it be? :smilie_happy:
(I hear you all laughing! :cheeky: )
After finding out how much hassle the stock carbs are, I found out about the single carb conversions. I bought a manifold on ebay from Juan Hernandez that was supposed to work on the GL1000. It is kind of "H" shaped and uses the 34 Pict 3 VW carb.
Then, things got put on hold because the bike kept going through stators! :rant: After it ate the first 2, I almost put a GM alternator on it. I contacted Dan about a Poor Boy, and found out that there wasn't a kit for the 1000. :cheeky:
A few years later, I found a brand new Rick's Stator for $29, and couldn't pass it up! :Egyptian:
I also bought a new Empi carb to go on the manifold, and followed the setup procedures correctly, buy I could never get the idle to stay consistently below 2500-3000. It ran fairly well, but putting it in gear at that rpm made a loud clank that I knew couldn't be good for the trans. I messed around with it for a few months, but it is just too much carb for the 1000. I probably could have tried the 30 Pict 3. I have heard it works better with the smaller 4 cylinder.
I came across Westgl's build on the SS forum, and decided to give it a try since Tom's carb is supposed to work better on the 1000's. I bought one from Tom, as well as an adapter to go from the 2 barrel carb to the 1 barrel intake. It worked better, but not great.
The main problem is the hesitation when I open the throttle for the second barrel. Tom warned me that this would happen if I didn't heat the intake. The fuel condenses when it hits the cold intake instead of vaporizing, so the engine sucks in liquid fuel, not vapor.
The 2-into-1 adapter was ice cold, even in the Texas summer heat (105º+). CM85 (I know, a bad word around here oh2: ) was very helpful on the SS forum, and made several suggestions that made small improvements, so I know it does improve when the manifold is heated. (YMMV)
So, I bought a Type 4 plenum off the Samba site, but haven't had a chance (or the $$$) to have a plenum heater welded on. :roll:
I really want to like these OldWings, but it gets so frustrating trying to get everything to work, and no reward of riding! :crying:
There have been so many times that I was just tempted to quit, part them out, and start all over with something easier to work on! :rant:
But, I'm still here (for now), and haven't given up yet! :wave:
I was born a poor black child . . ., wait! That wasn't me, it was Navin Johnson. :doh:
I was born in a crossfire hurricane. I was schooled with a strap right across my back. But it's all right now . . . :music:
Much better! :whistling:
Now, on to single carbs!
First off, I have 2 GL100's, a 78 that I bought running (poorly), and a 75 that is a project in pieces. The 78 is the one that I've been trying to get going for a few years now.
When I got it, I knew nothing about GoldWings. It was cheap enough that I could justify getting a bike that needed a little work. When I first rode it, I could tell that it needed some carb work, but once it kicked in, I felt the power and liked the potential there.
Besides, I've done a lot of carb work, how hard could it be? :smilie_happy:
(I hear you all laughing! :cheeky: )
After finding out how much hassle the stock carbs are, I found out about the single carb conversions. I bought a manifold on ebay from Juan Hernandez that was supposed to work on the GL1000. It is kind of "H" shaped and uses the 34 Pict 3 VW carb.
Then, things got put on hold because the bike kept going through stators! :rant: After it ate the first 2, I almost put a GM alternator on it. I contacted Dan about a Poor Boy, and found out that there wasn't a kit for the 1000. :cheeky:
A few years later, I found a brand new Rick's Stator for $29, and couldn't pass it up! :Egyptian:
I also bought a new Empi carb to go on the manifold, and followed the setup procedures correctly, buy I could never get the idle to stay consistently below 2500-3000. It ran fairly well, but putting it in gear at that rpm made a loud clank that I knew couldn't be good for the trans. I messed around with it for a few months, but it is just too much carb for the 1000. I probably could have tried the 30 Pict 3. I have heard it works better with the smaller 4 cylinder.
I came across Westgl's build on the SS forum, and decided to give it a try since Tom's carb is supposed to work better on the 1000's. I bought one from Tom, as well as an adapter to go from the 2 barrel carb to the 1 barrel intake. It worked better, but not great.
The main problem is the hesitation when I open the throttle for the second barrel. Tom warned me that this would happen if I didn't heat the intake. The fuel condenses when it hits the cold intake instead of vaporizing, so the engine sucks in liquid fuel, not vapor.
The 2-into-1 adapter was ice cold, even in the Texas summer heat (105º+). CM85 (I know, a bad word around here oh2: ) was very helpful on the SS forum, and made several suggestions that made small improvements, so I know it does improve when the manifold is heated. (YMMV)
So, I bought a Type 4 plenum off the Samba site, but haven't had a chance (or the $$$) to have a plenum heater welded on. :roll:
I really want to like these OldWings, but it gets so frustrating trying to get everything to work, and no reward of riding! :crying:
There have been so many times that I was just tempted to quit, part them out, and start all over with something easier to work on! :rant:
But, I'm still here (for now), and haven't given up yet! :wave: