Picked up subject book at the Dreamcycle Museum just outside Salmon Arm. Museum was great, but always on the lookout for books, etc on the GW. This one is produced by Brookland Books.
It has a wealth of information on the 1000/1100/1200/1500. I've been through it once and find I have to read it again to absorb all the information.
The first few pages detail the engineering design of the 1000, and what Honda did to mitigate various concerns. Honda knew about the torque reaction of the engine and decided to use a counter rotating mass to compensate for this. Cylinder placement and disposition of the crankshaft have nothing to do with the the cause of the torque reaction. Apparently, in all cases the reaction will be opposite the direction of engine travel. For the GW engine this means that the torque reaction will try to compress the rear shocks as the reaction tries to rotate the motorcycle around the crankshaft centre. To mitigate this the Honda engineers decided to have the alternator shaft rotation opposite the crank. To add to this there is an extra flywheel attached to the rear of the alternator and the shaft is driven at slightly higher speed than the crankshaft.
Another interesting tidbit is that Honda press fit the piston wristpins instead of using a wristpin retainer.
It has been queried in some forum threads as to why there are different bearings used piston rod bearings. The article mentions that there is sufficient lubrication for the right bank, but the left bank requires extra squirts through holes in the piston rod. The same rods are used on both sides, and a plain bearing with without a feed hole blocks the oil squirt on the right side, but the left side bearings have holes for the extra oil required.
Reading on the 1200 LTD FI model is just as illuminating. One aspect of this model is that with the installation of cruise on this motorcycle, there were 13 fail safe cut-off mechanisms which interrupt the cruise control system in a variety of circumstances. These included (only 8 were listed) front or rear brake engagement, use of the clutch lever, shifting gears (only works in 4th and OD), engine speed exceeding 6000 RPM, closing of the throttle manually, cruise control computer failure, and failure of vacuum control valves. Knew about the brakes clutch and throttle closure, but not the rest. Don't know if cars today have this cruise control system complexity. Lots of other innovations as well.
As I get through the book I will continue to add to this regarding the innovations.
Cheers
It has a wealth of information on the 1000/1100/1200/1500. I've been through it once and find I have to read it again to absorb all the information.
The first few pages detail the engineering design of the 1000, and what Honda did to mitigate various concerns. Honda knew about the torque reaction of the engine and decided to use a counter rotating mass to compensate for this. Cylinder placement and disposition of the crankshaft have nothing to do with the the cause of the torque reaction. Apparently, in all cases the reaction will be opposite the direction of engine travel. For the GW engine this means that the torque reaction will try to compress the rear shocks as the reaction tries to rotate the motorcycle around the crankshaft centre. To mitigate this the Honda engineers decided to have the alternator shaft rotation opposite the crank. To add to this there is an extra flywheel attached to the rear of the alternator and the shaft is driven at slightly higher speed than the crankshaft.
Another interesting tidbit is that Honda press fit the piston wristpins instead of using a wristpin retainer.
It has been queried in some forum threads as to why there are different bearings used piston rod bearings. The article mentions that there is sufficient lubrication for the right bank, but the left bank requires extra squirts through holes in the piston rod. The same rods are used on both sides, and a plain bearing with without a feed hole blocks the oil squirt on the right side, but the left side bearings have holes for the extra oil required.
Reading on the 1200 LTD FI model is just as illuminating. One aspect of this model is that with the installation of cruise on this motorcycle, there were 13 fail safe cut-off mechanisms which interrupt the cruise control system in a variety of circumstances. These included (only 8 were listed) front or rear brake engagement, use of the clutch lever, shifting gears (only works in 4th and OD), engine speed exceeding 6000 RPM, closing of the throttle manually, cruise control computer failure, and failure of vacuum control valves. Knew about the brakes clutch and throttle closure, but not the rest. Don't know if cars today have this cruise control system complexity. Lots of other innovations as well.
As I get through the book I will continue to add to this regarding the innovations.
Cheers
opcorn:
