GL1200 Engine Rebuild - Part 5 - Post Getting To The Road

[dan filipi]

My 1100 always burned the oil level down to 1/2 the site glass. At that level side stand smoke was pretty much gone so I only ever filled to 1/2.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Had this thought as well. Will check to determine if this is happening, if so will adjust at next oil change.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Took the 1200 for a 200 or so Km ride today to Chemainus for coffee and a scone - best scones on the island.

Have adjusted the preload on the Hagon shocks to suit the ride I like, not for the bike sag. Will be doing the sag soon. Adjusted the rebound damping to three clicks, came from the factory at the mid range of 4 clicks. Reducing the rebound damping to three clicks gave the bike a more softer/supple feel. This was good on the main roads, but when I took some of the secondary roads that were in less than stellar condition, the feel of the ride changed - felt more of the road bumps, and when the bike hit those disgusting pot holes, the same. Will ride with the rear shock settings for a few more Kms, then change the rebound setting to 5 clicks increasing the rebound damping. Thinking that I will have to make a choice between the 3 or 4 click adjustment.

Next on the suspension list is to set the sag of the bike. The rear should not be an issue, but the front has no preload adjustment. Will take measurements and decide what I am going to do.

I have posted before that the front forks have RaceTech (RT) emulators and 1.0 kg/mm fork springs installed. The preload is set by having a preload spacer that extends 1" above the top of the upper fork tube.

The RT emulators are a compression damping unit that dampens the impact of hitting bumps or the dive experienced on braking. Rebound damping is accomplished by having the correct oil viscosity (thickness). The thicker the oil viscosity, the slower the oil will flow through the damper rod holes - rebound of the front forks is slow, and conversely, the thinner the oil viscosity the faster the oil will flow through the damper rod holes - rebound of the front forks is faster. The number and size of the oil holes in the damper rod affects this action as well.

Having mentioned the above, to set the front sag, or change the compression/rebound damping, the forks have to be taken apart to some extent to adjust each parameter. More to think about.

Dan mentioned that oil level could be a factor in why the 1200 smokes on start. Had a few Kms to ponder this concept and it does make a lot of sense. An oil change on the 1200 does not get all the oil out of the engine. I would guesstimate that there may be up to 0.3 ml of oil in the engine once the oil is drained and old filter removed. The oil quantity in the owner's manual and OEM service manual is for an engine that has no residual oil in it. Next time I do an oil/filter change will reduce the amount of oil by 0.2/0.3 ml.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Putting together a project binder for the past year that will have the 1500 painting thread(s), 1200 painting thread(s), and 1200 engine rebuild thread(s). Lots of good info and work.

The 1200 engine is not assimilating like I want it to. Fighting me all the way. Now I'm hearing what I think is an internal chain noise, but only at idle and first starting off. Reminds me of an engine my father put together for a stock car back in the late '60s. He spent the winter putting this all singing/dancing engine together so that we were more competitive at the track. Had the engine bored at the local machine shop, put it in a '56 Ford I think, sounded real good when first started. First track day, catastrophic failure. Investigation revealed that the machine shop had not allowed for the proper piston clearance, adn the pistons melted. My 1200 engine isn't quite at that stage, but it sure doesn't want to cooperate.

Have been talking to my brother about the '85 Limited Edition carcass, and I will have a spare engine. May just rebuild it and swap.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Had the 1200 out for a road trip for coffee with a riding friend. Still not happy with the engine, but it does go pretty good, found a straight stretch and had it up to 90 MPH.

Going to look at the hydraulic lifters again - soon, and adjust if needed. Mentioned a while back that I had installed new hydraulic lifters. Have enough Kms on these to warrant another look at the shim selection.

The shim selection is quite close:

If the shim requirement is on the edge between shim requirements, because I had the heads refurbished and the valves and valve seats were cleaned up, intend to use the lesser number of shims. If I can here noise from the rocker arm, means there is too much slack in the system.

When I checked last time, the exhaust valve lifters were easy to do and the shim tool worked well.

Checking the intake valves was a different story. These have a cap on them, paid a bit more attention to the OEM service manual write up, small detail I missed last go round. Couldn't figure out what was the issue, now I know.

Brother picked up the '85 Limited Edition carcass this past week. Lots of good parts, but missing a few I was really hoping were there. I'll get over it.

Have to order the new piston rings from Rock Auto and will get another set of timing belts - only $12.00 CDN each.

Will fit this in between kitchen reno completion, and a small gel coat repair on one of our kayaks.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Looking into the front fork suspension of the 1200. Traxxion has a cartridge kit for the 1200, but found a 1500 cartridge Kit made by Andreani. My 1200 weighs in just north of 800 pounds, the 1988 1500 weighs in just a tad more. My research indicates that the front forks are the same. The Andreani fork cartridges are less expensive than Traxxion at approximately $825.00 CDN. Not bad for a cartridge set complete with fork caps that allow for external preload/rebound/compression settings. The Race Tech springs installed in the 1200 are 6 years old, and are OEM equivalent - bit soft. Would expect the springs on the 1500 cartridge set to be a bit heavier than needed for the 1200, and this is a good thing. Thinking the Andreani cartridges would be a good match for the new Hagon shocks I have installed on the rear. Be able to set the bike sag and rebound better, and adjust the front fork spring compression.

Should be able to take out the OEM internals, and do a plug and ply with the Andreani cartridges. Mention this because the TRAC system was disabled when the Race Tech front fork springs and emulator/gold valves were installed.

Interesting development.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Sent an email to the company regarding the Andreani fork cartridges for the 1500. I asked about spring rate and mentioned that I was looking at a 1.1/1.2 kg/mm spring rate. The company did reply. From Genial Motor in Italy:

"Hello, the product comes with instructions but, it must be assembled by qualified and specialized personnel, by a suspension technician. the specification for use is mainly for sports motorcycles. All it takes is your weight."

Thinking an email to Andreani would be beneficial.

 

[Rednaxs60]

The heat gun I use for electrical work died yesterday! Loved that heat gun :lust: - we had a lot of history - not that I used it a lot :hihihi: . Going to pick up a new one today at our HF equivalent.

 

[dan filipi]

Know what you mean. Tools are the extension of my hands. If lost or replaced takes some time to get that closeness back. The last one was a drywall hammer I found. Had it for years. The one just ain’t the same.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Short update. Have ordered the piston ring set from Rock Auto - $50.00 CDN delivered. This is the piston ring set I mentioned in post #37 - ordered the set that is 1.0 mm oversize. Have one Honda head gasket on order - had one on hand already. Transmission cover gasket on order as well. Looked at parts availability. Will be taking another stab at the hydraulic lifter shim adjustment now that I know what to look for. Found two hydraulic lifter end caps in Slave Lake Alberta, last two in Canada. These are only used on the intake lifters, and need to come out to check the shim adjustment. Went to the local fastener place and got some thinner washers that I will use as hydraulic liter shims. The OEM shim stock is one size - 1.0 mm. The washers I purchased are 0.71 mm, just enough to get rid of any ticking, and should work well when the shim reading is on the line between one, two or no shims.

The rear engine case gasket may be in Manitoba, but can make one if needed. Want to do the hydraulic lifter adjustment before end next week. Get it sorted out then move on to the piston rings.

 

[joedrum]

Project time ...

 

[Rednaxs60]

Received the piston rings for the 1200. Took these to the machine shop and was informed that these are Hastings piston rings. Whomever the manufacturer is these are better than what is in at this time. Like that these are labelled as 1st, 2nd, and oil rings:

 

[Rednaxs60]

Time to get at the ring replacement. Will probably do a couple of other little items, good time to do the hydraulic lifter shim check. Have the time and not going anywhere, yet. Want to install a better spacer for the external alt engine pulley.

Picking up a couple of gaskets tomorrow. Have everything else on hand.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

All gaskets needed for piston ring replacement project on hand. Starting project tomorrow. Not a need to do quick job, have my Spyder to ride in the interim. Browsed Canuckxxxx thread on "84 1200 engine for a "82 GW" and found a pic of the rings I am going to use showing initial overlap:

Canuckxxxx used a flat bar covered with sandpaper to shave down the ends to get the proper ring gap. Max ring gap for the top and middle ring is 0.6 mm, the oil scraper ring gap is a max of 1.1 mm.

Going to do the hydraulic valve shim check and going to discuss having an aluminum spacer made that I will use to set the crank pulley for the external alt mod. Would love to have a lathe, but that is not in the cards.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Been progressing engine removal. Have the front fairing off, have to get at some connectors in the front and so much easier with the front fairing removed. Been emptying the fluids, oil/coolant/rear FD. Taking my time in between other home work, and getting out. Engine should be on work bench Friday.

First order of business will be hydraulic lifter shim adjustment.

Ordered what I thought was a single piston ring compressor, had one on hand. Ring compressor came in today, but there were two in the package - now have three, could be worse. Have the support block coming as well. Getting too old and weary to be doing the DIY issue with items like this. Sometimes better to bight the bullet and cave, buy the OEM item. Best case, only need for this time, worst case, be using again.

Checked the cylinder compression before I started removing items for engine removal. Started and let get up to operating temp. 1/2 cylinders - 155 PSI. 3/4 cylinders - 165 PSI. Interesting matching.

Will be making a crank pulley spacer for the external alt mod crank pulley. Need it to be 1" long. Will probably get an aluminum round bar, use a chop saw and cut to length. Drill 12 mm hole with small bench drill press.

Coming together.

 

[julimike54]

opcorn:

 

[Rednaxs60]

4 Day get engine out of frame complete. Engine is on work bench:

Red floor jack to get engine out of frame and over to work bench. Transfer engine to Big Blue Lift and raise to workbench level, then slide onto work bench. Nice to have a choice. Now for a nice relaxing week of work. Should have it ready next Friday, or the following Monday if all goes well. Have to do the work in between some kitchen reno work, kayaking, riding the Spyder, and probably other unforeseen items.

 

[dan filipi]

Nice project to follow :salute:

 

[Rednaxs60]

First on the agenda, hydraulic lifter shim check.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Good morning all round. Ready for the fellow to get the remnants of our kitchen reno. He's picking up the main counter and one other kitchen lower cabinet just after 12:00 PM. Have a light and old chair we hope he takes.

Did the shim check, had to use a screwdriver with a magnetic head to get the cap(s) out of the intake lifter holes.

Shim requirements for intake/exhaust - read in three columns:

Intake - mm/Exhaust - mm/Shims

11.5-10.5/13.5-12.5/2
10.5-9.5/12.5-11.5/1
9.5-8.5/11.5-10.5/0

The readings are:

#1 intake - 10.5 mm OEM had 2 shims - borderline between 2 and 1 shim requirement - change to 1 shim
#1 exhaust - 11.9 mm OEM 1 shim - no change
#2 intake - 9.17 mm OEM 1 shim - change to 0 shim
#2 exhaust - 12.2 mm OEM 1 shim - no change
#3 intake - 10.7 mm OEM 2 shim - no change
#3 exhaust - 11.9 mm OEM 1 shim - no change
#4 intake - 10.2 mm OEM 1 shim - no change
#4 exhaust - 12.09 mm OEM 1 shim no change

Interesting correlation with cylinder compression. Numbers 1 and 2 cylinder compression same at 155 PSI. Had to adjust intake valve hydraulic lifter shims. Numbers 3 and 4 cylinder compression same at 165 PSI and no change to shim selection.

Will know better after engine work done.