Beautiful 77 GL 1000

[Frank Tabor]

I bought a beautiful 77 from a friend, sight unseen, who passed away a few days later. It had not been run for 22 years.
A new battery and some gas and it started right up. I am rebuilding all the brakes, new front stainless steel lines, new tires and I can't wait to ride it.

 

[GTC@MSAC]

Consider new front fork springs and seals while you are at it; you won't regret it!

 

[Frank Tabor]

I replaced the seals and dust covers and fluid. The springs were 20.5 inches long and in spec. Also replaced the fuel valve and hoses, rear drive fluid and engine oil and filter and air filter.
Did I mention that it has 15K miles?
Thank you for the heads up.

 

[GTC@MSAC]

Sorry about your friend passing away. Great thing that he kept the mileage low, and in pristine appearance, as well! There is also a Naked Goldwing site around somewhere, I was a member while I still had my '75 GL1000. I like my '80's Interstate models better, now that I'm older and not into "sport" riding anymore, lol! Visit Randaak's Cycle Shack for great carb overhaul kits while they are still available, too!

 

[Frank Tabor]

I heard about Randaak's site and will visit. 4 carb kits came with the bike, but it runs pretty good as is.
Thanks for the suggestion. Randaak came up a lot with my GW friends.

 

[Denver]

Talk about pristine, that is a beautiful bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
84 Standard's are my personal choice, have one of each color.
They always seem to have the improvements.
Or the refinements. In the final year of anything.

 

[Workinman]

Nice bike! Not that I’m an expert on these old Wings or anything, but I have two comments. One, you didn’t mention timing belts in your list of items that have been done. If you don’t KNOW how old they are, change them. If they break, you’re DONE.
and two, I highly recommend carb kits from Randakks. If the carb kits you have are some generic brand, you could make more work for yourself trying to fix carb problems. Full disclosure, I’ve never actually USED Randakks kits, but I would if I needed one. I fixed a LOT of carburetor problems by reading his instructions. It’s the ONLY way I could get my 77 running correctly. And that’s AFTER sending my Carbs to an expert. That’s another discussion for another time…

 

[Frank Tabor]

Thanks.I have K&L kits from Japan. Also have 2 new cam belts. My dilemma is that I know the OEM Honda belts are probably as old as the ones in the bike! Hmmm, what to do?

 

[GTC@MSAC]

NAPA sells LTW Gates timing belts that match and are probably more recently manufactured. I use them in all my customer's cars and my own Goldwings. The K&L carb kits are also old and the float needles do not work properly & cause flooding in most cases. Randaak's kits are custom made with new materials not adversely affected by ethanol, and are more complete than any other, as well as a petcock kit available with the new material. I have had more than 1 old Goldwing that would suck air at the petcock mounting point on the tank when the fuel level drops below it, which is pretty soon since most of the tank volume is below the petcock. I have used several of his kits on Goldwings & Silverwings, and they have given me flawless results! You definitely don't want Goldwing carbs to flood, as they can & will flood the LH cylinders on the side stand, if they do. Be sure to ALWAYS shut off the petcock when the motor isn't running. The last thing you want is gas in the cylinders and the crankcase! The GL1000 carbs do have bowl overflow drains, but the GL1100 carbs do not, and ANY overflow tubes can get clogged with dirt and/or wasp/dirt-dauber debris.

 

[Frank Tabor]

Good info. I will probably buy the new Gates belts.
The carbs don't leak. The previous owner did a magnificent job of preparing the bike for long term storage.

 

[GTC@MSAC]

The last set of Gates Timing Belts I bought were #250274 for my 81 GL1100. I'm pretty sure I used the same on my 75 GL1000.

 

[Frank Tabor]

I'll verify before buying. I live in Omaha, NE and am sure I can get them locally.

 

[julimike54]

Welcome to The Forum and enjoy!