need advise putting a 1987 engine into a 1984 aspencade

[m37bill]

my 1984 aspencade engine is bad. i bought a nice 1987 wreck and got a very nice
1200 motor. my 1984 has the ignition pickup in the rear of the motor with the pickup
using springs and weights to advance the spark like a distributor in an old car.
now the 1987 motor i wish to install has the ignition pickups in the front by the belts.
there does not seem to be any advancement weights going on there.
do I just switch the wires from the rear to the front or am i going to have
an advancement problem?
i guess my question is, how does the 1987 handle the advancement of spark at high speed?
i have both bikes if i need to switch cdi boxes or something.
i'm new to this forum stuff , here is my try for a GL 1200 expert.

 

[joedrum]

hmmmm ...im rather sure your 84 1200 rear ignition is not spring advanced ignition ... it is possible that someone put in a 1100 rear ignition that is spring advanced but unlikely ... not to many like me out there that have done this .... im not sure if you can just plug in wiring harnest .. but I am sure you have the parts to make this work ... maybe backlander will see this post and add some insight

 

[brianinpa]

I'm no expert either, but those that are will be along soon enough. Welcome to Classics.

 

[dan filipi]

Thread moved to 1200 forum.

 

[82a]

i think 84 has a mech advancer then 85 up is via electronics, or black box

84 had a diff internal gear ratio vs the other 1200s so ran lower rpms

 

[Steve83]

Yup, the 84 used the same ignition pickups as the 1100's, but according to the parts catalog, there is no mechanical or vacuum advance, so it must be electronically controlled. You can modify your wiring harness and replace the ECU computer, or swap the '84 rear case and pickup module to the '87 engine. I'm assuming the rear cover bolt pattern is the same on all 1200's. Whatever you do, it's gonna take a bit of parts swapping.

Keep us posted on your progress. There are many here who know the 1200's forward and backward, so they might have better ideas than mine. My only 1200 experience is putting together an '85 fuel injection system.

 

[slabghost]

Rear case on 84 will swap with 1100s. 85 + rear covers have a different bolt pattern I've read. You should be able to swap in the 87 ignition and ecu with wiring from the donor bike.

 

[desertrefugee]

For sure, don't go backward. You have an '84 with the opportunity to enjoy one of the benefits of evolution. Getting that dagnab ignition up front where you can get at it.

Take the time and pilfer the wreck for the electronics/harness needed to make it work. Hopefully, someone can give you specific information on just what will be needed. Sounds like the ICU and harness between it and the pickups - and whatever else gets triggered by that choice.

 

[82a]

m37bill » Sat Dec 14, 2013 5:06 pm[/url]":2uztrisu]
i guess my question is, how does the 1987 handle the advancement of spark at high speed?
i have both bikes if i need to switch cdi boxes or something.

some folks go custom using early 1000 cams allowing a buncha ignition system options off the back of the left cyl head like the original

 

[slabghost]

82a » Sat Dec 14, 2013 10:09 pm[/url]":ts9hgpor]

m37bill » Sat Dec 14, 2013 5:06 pm[/url]":ts9hgpor]
i guess my question is, how does the 1987 handle the advancement of spark at high speed?
i have both bikes if i need to switch cdi boxes or something.

some folks go custom using early 1000 cams allowing a buncha ignition system options off the back of the left cyl head like the original

That too is an option but requires larger valve relief cuts on the piston tops.

 

[joedrum]

sheesh it easy and not a problem ..to get this going

 

[backlander]

I have to apologize, I'm 260 miles away from my 1200 reference material and have been for the last six weeks so any advice I give on this is by memory. I'll state only what I know for sure at this point. The rear cover will not swap between the 84 and the 85 thru 87 models as V stated earlier.
The pulse generators were on the rear of the 84, then moved to the front of engine behind the timing belt covers for the 85 thru 87 models so the 87 pulse gen wiring will most likely have to be retained with the 87 engine.
The 1200's utilized the gear position switch to tell the ECM when to activate the two separate ignition advance systems. The switch tells the ECM when your in fourth and fifth gear, vacuum off the #4 intake tube is measured thru a pressure sensor switch inside the ECM and the advance is adjusted according to vacuum in fourth and fifth gear. Ignition advance for first thru third gear is adjusted electronically by the ECM.

In short I think it would be best to transfer the ECM, any ignition harness including the pulse gen harness and the gear selector harness with the 87 engine to the 84 and it should work.

There is an electrical troubleshooting manual for the 86 model in the gallery section of the forum which breaks down all the different electrical systems and details the wiring and connectors and locations of each. I would check out the ignition system especially.

Happy wrenching on your swap out.

 

[backyardtrouble]

I put a 85 motor in this 84 standard i done....You can see the pics in my album, Under Mac's new Ride. The rear covers are different, due to the bolt pattern. The pulse gen. wiring coming off the 84 has a different plug than the 85. I traced the wiring up to the ecm with the orginal harness, seems like they were on the left side looking down at it on the bike, The wire code colors were the same as the 85 pulse gen wires from the front. I cut the plug off the end of the 85 and rewired it straight into the ecm wires coming off the 84. You can trace them down and find these pretty easy. The other problem i had was the top bolt on the rear cover being to close to the gas tank, along with the left side mounting bolt at the bottom, due to the starter being different also on the 85. The bull head on the starter of the 85 is bigger than the 84. This also caused me to do a little grinding on the top of the rear mount bolt flange, so the motor would fit down properly and bolt up. It was a little work, but nothing that can't be done.

 

[joedrum]

I knew it was easy just wasn't sure how it went ... great post ... that the big answer we needed

 

[m37bill]

thanks guys, this later post is what i think i needed.
my 84 motor has great carbs and i don't want all this cruise control
stuff on the 87. i'm hoping to put my 84 carbs on the donor 87 engine.
i wont know if that vacuum hose is on the old 84 carbs
till i get it apart. when i'm done i will have a nice 87 rolling chassis
with a clean wisconsin title. i'm hoping to get 500 dollars for the leftovers.
it has all the brakes and some plastic. i bought a failed bobber project from a young lad
who inherited his fathers 87 aspencade. he hated the aspencade, he took off
just about everything not necessary and sold it. then he never bought bobber parts
and sold it to me, as a not running parts bike. i've restored a couple gl1000's
and have an extra engine. i know a gl1200 motor will not fit in the smaller frame.
but would a gl1000 motor fit into an 87 chassis ? my wife thinks i'm nuts to even disscus
such a project. how many goldwings does one 66 year old hippie need?

 

[joedrum]

more ... the 1200 will go in 1000 frane there are several ways ..and even the 84 will go in ... you can switch back covers and even have early kick start set up added to it like 1000 is .. so options a huge here and the 1200 gearing is the best period in its boost to the build along with extra ccs of 1200 and you mod it