Help bring an '85 12 back to life!

Greetings all!

I posted this in the introduction section as well but figured that I would probably get more views on this board than that, so I hope a double post isn't too frowned upon.

I have just been "given" (complicated and yet somewhat uninteresting story behind it.... I'll spare you all the details) a 1985 GL1200 Wing by my parents. I know what you're saying, "There's no such thing as a free bike." The '78 CB750 I own is a great testament to that. I got that bike for free, too, and have roughly between 6 to 7 grand invested. I am no stranger to turning wrenches, but with a mortgage and 4 year old boy, I'm hoping to spend slightly less on this bike. :blush:

The reason I am posting is this: We picked up this bike as cheaply as we did because the bike is not currently running. It had been parked under a porch for the better part of two years (I am ASSUMING covered). When the owner went to start it this year, it won't even turn over. He was going to part it out, but we snagged the whole thing. My question to the brain-trust is this: Other than the obvious, is there anything on these old 1200's that I should look for when trying to bring it back to life? I should point out that I will soon have a service manual on the way and, technically, I haven't even taken possession of the bike yet. I just want to get a head start and know if there are any simple tricks to look for when I start wrenching on it. I have been doing some research and know to check the cylinders to see if they are full of gas/oil and to look for stuck rings. Anything else?

Thanks all!
-Bob
KB02

You might as well do this...Bring it home, dont turn it on and try to start, Pull the front belt covers off, pull the plugs and turn it over by hand using the center front crank bolt to be sure nothing is hitting or stuck, also now that the covers are off you will want to change the belts for new ones that way you wont have to worry about them in the future but if your belts arent broken its ok to turn over and even run awhile just change them out before you button it up.
Could also just need a battery or starter, starter relay or all..May need a carb cleaning or if it starts and runs kinda good you might get away with running it ahwile with some fresh gas and time on the road, check the gas tank too and drain any stale fuel, check your fuel lines or maybe just replace them, fuel filter should be replaced too.
Fresh oil and filter and change the coolant once you get it going.
Good luck, It is a nice ride.

+1 on all the advice you've received so far on both your threads. Can't say much else until you get it home and give us a report on what you find and some pictures, but rest assured, if there's any way to get her going, this bunch of folks will get r done. Their methods have brought back to life some awfully neglected and probably abused bikes.

Don't try to start it or even turn it over until you know the timing belts are on right and will hold. Before you try to turn it over by hand shine a light in the plug holes looking for rust. If no or just slight surface rust is seen pour in a little automatic transmission fluid and let it soak good. Then remove the valve covers and watch the rockers as you turn it by hand watching for stuck valves. No stuck valves and timing is right and it turns over by hand. cover the plug holes with rags to catch the ATF and turn it over with the starter. You can ground the plugs to the motor to check for spark at the same time. That should get you started in the right direction

I can tell I'm going to like this site already.

Thanks for the tips, all. That's exactly what I was hoping for. I'll report back once I've had a chance to crank on it a bit. In the mean time, here are some pics to entice!









I've been looking around at different pic and mods out there and have been thinking some of taking off the trunk and lowering the windshield. Kind of "FB6" it, you know. Gotta run that past my wife, though. It may end up being her bike (Looking for a side car, too, for our son).

nice bike to start with

It's complete at least. Better then some I've worked with.

Well, I've taken the beast into custody and am preparing for the strip search.

I figure I've got two options. After taking some time to look it over myself, I figure I can probably get it running quick and cheap OR I can do it right and do a frame up resto and clean up.

Turns out that the bike had been stored under a deck for two years sitting right next to a dryer vent. All the crap that can seen on the right side cover is simply dried on lint. There's tons of that on the engine, too... along with moss... lots of moss... everywhere... Tires are shot; won't hold air. Brakes are dragging. Seat pleather is shot. Some of the controls are missing buttons. Rust on the "Show" chrome pieces are beyond surface rust and quite well pitted.

I CAN NOT WAIT to get working on it! :yahoo:

Yes, I'm crazy like that.

Turns out the battery is totally shot, too. I was under the impression that it at least had a decent battery, the whole not-turning-over thing may just be a battery issue. I may be in luck.

Most of us here are crazy like that! That's why we're here!

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124149#p124149:wy0oa98w said:

Steve83 » Sun Jul 06, 2014 2:57 am[/url]":wy0oa98w]
Most of us here are crazy like that! That's why we're here!

Click to expand...

Speak for yourself!! :smilie_happy:

OK, OK - I'm crazy like that, too! k:

I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124251#p124251:3ddv0nhu said:

backlander » Sat Jul 05, 2014 9:16 pm[/url]":3ddv0nhu]
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.

Click to expand...

Ha, ha!


I got a little work in this morning and have ben trying to figure out what it was that pissed my dad enough to make him give me this bike. :blush:

Some close up pics:
This should mostly just wash off...



Green is a normal engine color, right?


Couldn't seem to get the battery to charge, huh? I wonder why?


Then I pulled the plugs. Pictures never do plugs justice. This is as they came out of the bike as you sit on it. The top two are the front cylinders. Front left looks half way near decent. Front right has rust connecting the electrode and tip. The rear plugs are both rusty on the inside... as are the cylinders... crap...


So, along with and full strip down and clean up, it looks like I have an engine rebuild in my future, too. Gonna be a long road I guess. The fuel valve was left open and some gas has found its way into the jugs. I'm not really sure which smells worse, the rotten gas smell once I pulled the plug or the rotten dead mouse smell coming from the corner of the garage (I vote for the mouse being worse). In the mean time, It's back to the strip down.

It's quite the project! Once the heads are pulled and the cylinders cleaned up, the engine will, hopefully, be fine. How many miles on the bike? Hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like 39,xxx. Is that original, or is it on its second time around?

Considering the rusted plugs, good idea to pull the heads and have a look/cleaning.
May be fine and run again. I have seen much worse come out alive.

Any water or gas in the oil?

If it will turn over by hand, pull the timing cap and have a look at the flywheel as it comes around.
Rust on it tells a good story the internal condition.

Yeah, 39,000 original miles.

I got the back end of the bike stripped down. I've got to get rear brake off as it's dragging pretty fierce. Slowly I will strip down the front and get the heads off and see what's what.

With only 39,000 miles, the engine bottom end should still be like new, unless it was running contaminated, or low oil. She'll be sweet when you're done!

+1

Draining the oil will be soon. I'm really hoping for no surprises.

The current state of (dis)repair:





I have, of course, found the obligatory mouse's nest in the fairing. Could be another on in the air box.. we'll see. My wife and son are off to a family reunion this weekend but since I have to work tomorrow, I will be staying behind. That's okay. Gives me time to wrench on this beast for a bit.

Objective #1.) Remove the rear brake so it can be moved around by one person if needed.

Objective #2.) Work on removing front lower fairing and radiator in an attempt to get to the timing belts.

Objective #3.) Remove the heads.

It's a busy weekend plan, I know, but wish me luck! I've got to get the lawn mowed, too, but... you know... priorities... :whistling: