Another Alt Mod Install

[Rednaxs60]

Starting to wind up this project. Have been riding the bike for some 2,000 Kms now and all is well.

Installed new to me Aspy muffler that unfortunately had the extension resonator removed. This resonator is a miniature glass pack muffler that cuts the sound of the GW. I took the ones from the old exhaust system and have them installed in a temperary fashion and will come up with a more permanent solution as I get her completed.

Here are some pics of the new to me exhaust system. The chrome is in excellent shape.

I have the rad extended about 1" at the bottom and 1/2" at the top. To move the top out I took a new hose and made the connection to the rad a 1/2" longer. Works well and looks great. I was able to use a hose from NAPA for the bottom connections.

With the rad extended out I believe I have room to put in a different rad fan. This should also assist in roviding a good cooling system. I have been corresponding with SilverDave (from the GWDoc site) by PM and it appears that the Honda engineers have designed the 1200 system to operate at a temp gauge range of 5 bars when cruising. When the system heats up in traffic and such, the fan when should be sufficient to bring the temp of the cooling system back to 5 bars. I read in the owners manual that the operating range of the 1200 LTD is between 2 and 8 bars. If the temp gauge goes to 9 bars, immediately shut the bike down and investigate.

I have also had the a new rad core installed. Some old pictures. These pictures do not look that bad, but when I held the core up to the light, the restriction in the tubes was very apparent.

This has helped as has the install of a new thermostat from Honda. I probably could have just had the core cleaned, but the price wasn't that much cheaper (remember I'm in Canada) and with the amount of other work I've done, I should now have trouble free motoring from the cooling system. I also installed a rad fan manual switch that I do use to get a jump on cooling in heavy traffic scenarios. The system does cool down from 6 bars to 4 bars after getting back on the highway. There is also an LED fan on indicator light installed (thanks to SilverDave's schematic). Just another way to monitor the operation of the system.

I have removed the aftermarket rad cover. I measured the air restriction from the aftermarket grill and found it to reduce the cooling area by about 18%, a significant amount for a cooling system that is just large enough for the 1200. I have been operating the bike with no rad cover (the OEM is just a mesh that might stop extra big bugs). I think this is helping a lot as well. Here are some pics of the OEM and aftermarket rad grills. The after market rad grill has 17 slats that 1/8" by 10". The rad size is 10" by 11". OEM rad cover first

Aftermarket rad cover looks good, but as has been said, need all the cooling possible.

I was able to use the original lower fairing rad mounting brackets. To keep the lower fairings from spreading and consequently losing the fairing piece between the two lower outer fairings, I installed a 1" aluminum flat bar between the sides as a safety measure.

I modified the lower left fairing with a heat gun. This enabled me to push the fairing out to clear the alternator. I had to shave a bit off the forward louvers to miss the alternator pulley. Other than these small adjustments, this fairing fits well.

The alternator starts charging around 2000 to 2400 RPM. When at idle, around 1000 RPM, pretty much on battery. Bring it up to approximately 1200 RPM and get a full charge going. I have a 4" crank pulley and 2" alt pulley.

There is no alternator whine that I have noticed.

I have earmarked Thursday this week to take off the lower fairings, inspect and make sure all is well.

Overall very pleased with the results.

Cheers

 

[slabghost]

Congratulations! Sounds to me like a nasty job well done.

 

[Ansimp]

Nice looking job :good:

 

[wilcoy02]

Lot of work but well worth it.

Have fun with all the extras you can now install.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Short update - alt mod is working well. As with all mods, monitor it closely but look for consistency. As for the cooling, system seems to be operating as Honda designed it. I do preempt the heat issue when in traffic. Since the system is to operate between 2 and 8 bars, when it hits 6, I switch on the fan and after a fashion temp drops to 5 bars then off fan. I also switch the fan on when doing my weekly practice session. Temp stays at 5 bars for the 15 minutes of slow speed skill patterns. I would like to get a temp switch that would turn the fan on at a lower temperature, but that will be another research project.

Overall very pleased with the bike and everything I've done.

Cheers

 

[joedrum]

good deal ...sounds like you got it down...

 

[vtflatlander]

Red
What size was the 2 bearing spacers (part#)
How long was the new crank bolt and is it 12mm from end to under head or is it partially shouldered.
do you have measurements and pictures of the brackets especially the lower bracket.
My 84 GWI is presently in South Carolina and I am in Vermont. Am trying to make parts ahead of time. I would not have it here in VT until February 2017 I have the Geo alternator and 4" idler pulley 5 rib from a Subaru Impresa can't find the Prelude pulley and it is no longer available from Honda
BTW Great job on your conversion.
Thanks
Fred
[email protected]

 

[dan filipi]

Great job Ernest.

You can order an aftermarket adjustable temp switch. They have a probe that pushes in between the radiator fins. I have one on mine and it works great.

 

[wilcoy02]

vtflatlander

I will be doing the conversion in the next couple of weeks. If you pm me I will give you what measurements I do along the way on mine. The machinists has had my plans for the pulley for 11 days now. Should be coming in pretty soon.
I was not going to post doing the conversion, as I think there is more than enough threads on the site already.

 

[vtflatlander]

Wilcoy02
here is my e-mail
[email protected]
your help is very much appreciated
thanks
Fred

 

[dan filipi]

Always good to get another's prospective and ideas how doing the mod and I'd like to see it too in another thread.

 

[vtflatlander]

I agree Dan
I keep reading all I can on the conversion The more ideas the better. one thing I have done so far is to the fan
I cut the lower leg off to be able to clear the belt. I also cut the other 3 legs off and shortened them about 3/8"-1/2" and welded them back on .This brought the fan real close to the radiator core and also gave me more room for the pulley and belt. This is my plan anyway. The bike is still in SC
Thanks
Fred

 

[Rednaxs60]

Never too much information when it comes to doing modifications. I reviewed everything I could find before I did mine and because of this my mod went fairly well considering I used hacksaw and files. My mod was done on an '85 LTD that has space considerations different from the carb models. I had to take into consideration the throttle position sensor, coolant bypass line, and right engine guard had to be modified a bit (filing required). Lots to consider.

Another thread with pictures will serve us all well.

Good Luck.

Cheers

 

[tvilleron]

wilcoy02 » November 8th, 2016, 11:33 pm[/url]":r378ao1b]
vtflatlander

I will be doing the conversion in the next couple of weeks. If you pm me I will give you what measurements I do along the way on mine. The machinists has had my plans for the pulley for 11 days now. Should be coming in pretty soon.
I was not going to post doing the conversion, as I think there is more than enough threads on the site already.

I printed out your drawings for the pulley (nicely done might I add) and have had it machined already there was a couple things that had to be changed like the holes that go around center area of pulley were off but all was very well done only thing im waiting on now is for the key way to be cut which is a mm key way but i do like the overall appearance as i was going to go the way you did with power steering pulley. thanks for your thread it is very helpful