'83 GL1100 Aspencade getting back on the road

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Left side valve cover, low. Looks actually like it's just 'weeping' enough to create a drop ever few hours. Didn't do it before I did the last valve adjust, but to be honest I wasn't really paying close attention after until just now. This weekend I'm gonna do another valve adjust, so I'll have em off anyway.
 
Spray the gasket with starter spray and wipe clean and be sure the mating surface is clean b3efore installation. :builder:
 
She back in style now, without any leaks.

I took my sweet time today and did a VERY careful valve adjust following Roady's technique (Here: https://filipi.com/ngw/roady/GL1100_Valve_Adjustment.pdf)

There was only one oddity about this and I have found nothing but conflicting information about this. My Clymer manual says to adjust all eight valves to .004"; but Roady and wiki answers (here: https://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_adjust_valves_on_your_honda_goldwing_gl1100 state to adjust intake at .004" and exhaust at .005". I trust Roady and there isn't a whole lot of harm which can be done by having my exhaust valves loose by .001". Plus my manual is for 75 - 83 Gl1000 and 1100's, so it may be missing something there.

Once everything was back together I torqued my valve covers nice and tight and after sitting for the past 4 1/2 hours there hasn't been any indication of a leak. I'm going to say I've got this one licked for now. Until I take off the valve covers again that is...
 
mcgovern61":2a7edx5a said:
It is .004 and .005 respectively. You do not want to keep that exhaust valve too tight.

Yeah I don't understand what the conflicting information is.
The manuals say 1100 is .004 intake, .005 exhaust and so does Roady's tutorial.
 
BIGmackie":xg1op46r said:
My Clymer manual says to adjust all eight valves to .004"...
mcgovern61":xg1op46r said:
It is .004 and .005 respectively. You do not want to keep that exhaust valve too tight.
dan filipi":xg1op46r said:
Yeah I don't understand what the conflicting information is.
The manuals say 1100 is .004 intake, .005 exhaust and so does Roady's tutorial.
The Clymer manual was written for the 1000, with the 1100 info added at the end. On a 1000 it is .004 on all valves, 1100 is .004 intake and .005 exhaust. The correct info IS in there, but not obvious if you just jump to a chapter and start wrenching.
 
I've proven again that my stupidy knows no bounds!

My confusion came because of the write-up with my clymer manual
This one:

In the tune-up portion step 5 (circled) only says to use a .004" feeler.
Here:

The table which is referenced includes both intake and exhaust valves, adding to my confusion.
Upon further research, I found in the first pages of said manual a table with the same specs that I got from everywhere else.
Here:

So, what this really means is that I am idiot who only stumbled across the right specs by my love of Roady's how-to articles...

On a side note, I was looking the beast over while enjoying a cup 'O joe this morning and there isn't a leak to be found. I'm guessing that my repeated warm-up cycles caused an inproperly torqued valve cover to become loose enough to make my life confusing for a day or so.
It would seem that I am thru chasing mechanical demons for the time being on this 'ol pig and am left doing misc. bodywork for the next month or so and I can start taking her on trips. That's when the real mechanical gremlins should start showing their heads and I'll be pulling my hair out all over again!
 
Great! Glad that's sorted out.

Your not an idiot, I missed the supplements at the end of the book when I first got it and a lot of times I forget to look there for specs :blush:
 
slabghost":1vrjhpya said:
It's much nicer to have the years specific Factory Service Manual. Less confusion.
These are available! To tell the truth, I've never even looked into buying a year specific manual, for the most part I rely on this forum, the NGWclub, and goldwingdocs to backup what the 'ol clymer tells me to do next.
I feel good about the bike, I'm hoping to get a trial ride by middle of next month to see how the engine does after longer than 20 - 30 minutes.
 
It's been a little while since I uprater the 'ol rebuild thread, so I'll go ahead and let everyone in on the happenings:

Not much happening...

I did get it registered so now she's street legal, and with the recent addition of working rear brakes she ready to start road trials. Since it hasn't been driven in 6+ years I'm reluctant to go on any major road trips until she's proven herself on some around town stuff.

I've gotten the majority of the bodywork completed too, I'll post pics tonight when I'm not typing on my cell phone.
 
Pictures my come tomorrow, I already put her to bed tonight.

Road trials went superb! Took about a 20 mile loop where I was able to shift thru all the gears, get the cooling system fully warmed up, and confirm that the charging system works. After a brief cool down I took another 20 mile loop with higher speeds/ less stop and go to see how it responded to a bit higher RPM's for longer duration and everything worked as advertised! I even got up to about 80-85 mph on a back street.

I have to say I couldn't be happier right now. Aside from the headlight switch malfunctioning right off the bat I didn't have a single problem during the ride and nothing has sprung up since. I'm looking forward to getting out and stretching her legs a bit on some longer trips!

Note: headlight switch malfunction took me about 6 hours to finally figure out that the copper connection inside the left grip switch wasn't contacting properly. I got it back together and it works smashingly now (good thing too cuz I was reminded by my friendly neighborhood policeman that headlights are a requirement in these parts)!

Now comes the questions; she seemed a little lacking in power below 3500 rpm, but picked right up in the 4000-6000 rpm range. Is this pretty normal? I know that these motor like to rev, but I've also heard tales of cruising at 2500 rpm; which is doable, but acceleration was definitely lacking at those RPM. Maybe I've got more carb tuning to do?
 
The 1100 will lug below 3000 rpm, they do like to rev.
Carbs out of sync affect mostly low rpm so that could have something to do with it.
Could also just need to put some miles on her.
 
bigmac
I'll bet she'll get better as you ride her...
I know mine was about 5 years out of service when I fixed her back up.. and she took awhile to get back to running right.
took close to 50 miles before mine even quit smoking :yes:
but by the second week it was hauling me and the wife around real well, even below 3000 it still pulls good.. just not as hard.
 
Adding good miles is the trick! When I installed the '83 engine in my bike, it ran well, but not quite what I had expected. Took a rode trip (averaging 75+ MPH) and after about 200 miles at highway speed it became a whole different bike! :yahoo:

Since then I have put about 7000 miles on the engine and as I drive around town I can feel the bike telling me to "GET BACK ON THE HIGHWAY!!!" :mischief: :hihihi:
 

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