I'm planning to buy an 87 1200

[Omega Man]

Ayup, I want a bigger wing and I'm going with the 1987(86 too, but would have to be a deal). The 1500's are still way out of my price range, so if I found one I could afford I probably wouldn't trust it. Anyway, I plan to do this in a couple months so I'm starting this thread for all my questions. After all this is the only place I trust for this kind of research, I got a tough CFO and usually only get one chance for this kind of purchase.

Questions and concerns:

Service: Will dealers work on an 87(emergency situations only of course)?

Timing belts: Any harder to change than the 1100?

EFI: I want it. It doesn't seem that popular around here but is that because most here do not have any experience with these rarer models? There always seems to be so much interest in the single carb mods because our 4 cabs set-ups are so hard to get just right.

Stator: I've also read the 1200's have crappy stators. Is this true? Are they any easier to replace than the 1100's? This isn't a deal breaker for me, I really want one of these big 87's.

Air ride: What can you tell be about this? Is the system a good one? Is the ride smoother than an average 1100? Is the ride height adjustable

Front-end
Fork seals: Are they all created equal? Will I see better seal life, worse?

Bearings: The 87 looks heavier up front than the 1100's

Brakes(F/R): Again these bikes look heavier so I'm wondering about brake caliper/pad life. Anything to worry about here?

Dash/electrics: I'm looking for one with all the buttons, will probably never use'em but I want'em ALL. Any known issues here?

Cruise control: does the 87 have it?

Fluid changes: Does on have to tear down the bike to add coolant, oil changes comparable to the 1100?

Exhaust: Looks like the 1100, any problems here?

Trunk/Bags: Every 1200 I've seen has all the correct pieces, this tells me they must be durable. Is this true?

Swing arm: I know I've read Joe talking about the swing arm on the 1200's. Is it really that bad a problem? This kind of conversion is difficult for an apartment dweller.

Tires: any surprises here?

Fit/Finnish: Is the paint on the late 1200's any better than my mid 80's 1100?

That's it for now, but there will be more questions down the road. Any info on any part or all of this would be very helpful.

~O~

edit - posted in this forum be cause the 1200 forum is kinda slow.

 

[joedrum]

ok ~O~ithink the twelve is a good bike all in all but it has some drawbacks.....ill just list stuff i know and keep opinions short

the 84 1200 is the best touring model with the tallest gear..in short opinion if i wanted a stock 1200 dresser this would be the only one id be looking for ....simply has the gearing for the job....one gear taller than later yrs.....

all later yrs of 1200s turn higher rpm than 83 1100

back wheel setup is not as good as 1100s and carry more weight .....tire selection not that great either on the rear wit its 15" rim

idont know much about suspension and brakes but they are HD version of the 83 1100 stuff

bags and stuff idont know......

ok ~O~ like i said at the begining 84 is all id be looking at

fuel injection is a cant get no parts todo anything to fix it ......if parts were availible this would be great thanks honda....

i would like a big roader but you might want to consider early yr 1500 with carbs they are realy set up touring bikes .....

 

[Tory]

Joes correct but if cruise is what you want then you want a later year.Im not sure what year it was offered exactly but I have a friend with an 85 aspy with out,and a friend with an 87 with cruise.

I think the gearing thing is a preferance.I have to watch my speed with my 83,it likes 70 best at 4000 rpms.I have to back down a bit on the two lanes.

As for the stator,yes the 1200s had a bigger issue,but once its changed it should be good.You shouldnt have trouble finding a bike (especially 1200) that it has been replaced already.

I believe the brakes are an improvement over the 1100s

Sounds like you want all the "bells and whistles" so look for an aspencade.They have it all and digital dash,but I prefer the solid color of the interstates over the two tone aspys,but if you want to tour avoid the fuel injected models,they are getting collectable but as joe says,parts are hard to get and when they act up you need to improvise(like 02 sensor adapted from a car)

The 1200s are still very popular around here,and you shouldnt have much trouble finding parts for them.(But I still get more attention from the old timers with my 1100 :grin


As for the paint,Ive seen some nice and bad.A bike that old will show its quality,if it still looks good with original paint,its good.....

Good luck with youre search and I hope this doesnt mean youre going to ditch us for the 1200 forums :rtfm:

 

[dan filipi]

The 1200 is indeed a fine bike.
I know a few 1500 and 1800 owners that had a 1200 and wish they never sold it.

I've heard mixed reports about the stator. There are many owners out there have replaced it about every 50k miles and there are others like Susie have never had a problem in 88k miles. Her's is an '84 Standard, maybe they were easier on it?

Personally I'd stay away from the fuel injection. Concerns me parts are expensive and getting hard to come by. I understand the appeal though.
The carbed 1200 is a fine running machine, more advanced than the earlier carbs.

I don't know much about the fancy doodads but the rest of the bike is pretty much identical to an 1100, oh and they have a dipstick!

 

[mcgovern61]

Good luck with youre search and I hope this doesnt mean youre going to ditch us for the 1200 forums :rtfm:

Ahhh, but we do have a 1200 section here!

As far as answers, my son in laws father has an '87 GL1200 Limited Edition with all of the bells, whistle, and buttons you could think of! I rode it out in Ohio and it was reeeeaal sweeeeeet! (I almost got kicked off the old forum for riding it back then! I think that is what caused the crash!) :smilie_happy:

Right now, it is out of service because the EFI needs work again. Seems to be an ongoing problem. I do not know exactly what the problems is, but he doesn't really ride it much.

 

[dan filipi]

Right now, it is out of service because the EFI needs work again. Seems to be an ongoing problem. I do not know exactly what the problems is, but he doesn't really ride it much.

Well there ya go. Enough of a reason for me to stay away from it.
I think EFI was just too new back then. Honda went back to carbs for a reason, maybe not because they were a problem but....

 

[jdegase]

wonder how hard it would be to convert the bike back to carbs????
seems like they came both ways...
must be parts around to get the job done.

 

[joedrum]

hard ...its not easy only cause all the ignition stuff has to be changed ....it was totaly different than the carb models and the 84 is different than the other carb models....

i will know a lot more when i get my 1200 going on how the motor acts....

 

[Andyb]

Hey,O man, check out the Saunders Forum. I know you said that you only trust this place for research, but you could just lurk and look for 1200 based threads. There seem to be a few 1200 devotees over there, including one guy who has 250K miles on his. I even saw a thread recently where he bought it new with a lifetime warranty and he made Honda honor it.

 

[Omega Man]

Ooooh thanks! Nice lookin out there.

~O~

 

[Tory]

Good luck with youre search and I hope this doesnt mean youre going to ditch us for the 1200 forums :rtfm:

Ahhh, but we do have a 1200 section here!.

:shock: Thats right we do.I forgot :shock:
If I remember right,I was against it,but if it keeps some of the fine members here sticking around after the up'd in year,than maybe Ill retrack my protest.

 

[detdrbuzzard]

according to honda 1200 wings turn less rpm @ 60 mph than an 1100 or 1000 wing regardless of the year, around 28- 2900. check the bottom of the trunk for cracking around the mount points. do the alternator conversion if the stator goes out. all 1200 wings have linked brakes but i cannot compare them with an 1100. my 1200 is an aspy and the only 1100 i've rode is nakkid. bags and trunk are bigger on the 1200 timingbelt change is the same. most dealers won't work on a bike over 10 yrs old, i can't get them to work on my 1500 wing. you can use a 1500 wing rear wheel to get a 16" rim but it will add height ( not much ) to the bike. so which wing do i like best of the two i have? the 1500 not that the 1200 ( or 1100 ) is lacking anything but my 1500 wing fits me better despite the extra weight and its twist and go no downshifting required. if you have the book ( "20th anneversery , goldwing" ) it tells of the later wings turning less rpm @ 60 but i bleave all 1200's have the same gearing just as all 1500's do. https://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html? ... ative=9325