KB02
Member
Greetings all!
My name is Bob and I am from Northern Vermont. I have just been "given" (complicated and yet somewhat uninteresting story behind it.... I'll spare you all the details) a 1985 GL1200 Wing by my parents. I have been looking around for a, cheap, older GL for a while. While I personally was more interested in one of the naked GL's, I will certainly not turn this one down. The bike was owned by one of my Father's co-workers, Dad picked it up and in turn will be giving it to me. After 15 years of riding on a Yamaha Venture Royale, Dad bought one of the GL1800 Airbag models, so he's no stranger to tourers... but I digress...
I know what you're saying, "There's no such thing as a free bike." The '78 CB750 I own is a great testament to that. I got that bike for free too and have roughly between 6 to 7 grand invested. I am no stranger to turning wrenches, but with a mortgage and 4 year old boy, I'm hoping to spend slightly less on this bike. :blush:
The reason I am posting is this: The reason we picked up as cheaply as we did is that the bike is not running. It had been parked under a porch for the better part of two years. When the owner went to start it, it won't even turn over. He was going to part it out, but we snagged the whole thing. So my question to the brain-trust is this: Other than the obvious things to look for, is there anything on these old 1200's that I should look for when trying to bring it back to life? I should point out that I will soon have a service manual on the way and, technically, I haven't even taken possession of the bike yet. I just want to get a head start and know if there are any simple tricks to look for when I start wrenching on it.
Thanks all!
-Bob
KB02
My name is Bob and I am from Northern Vermont. I have just been "given" (complicated and yet somewhat uninteresting story behind it.... I'll spare you all the details) a 1985 GL1200 Wing by my parents. I have been looking around for a, cheap, older GL for a while. While I personally was more interested in one of the naked GL's, I will certainly not turn this one down. The bike was owned by one of my Father's co-workers, Dad picked it up and in turn will be giving it to me. After 15 years of riding on a Yamaha Venture Royale, Dad bought one of the GL1800 Airbag models, so he's no stranger to tourers... but I digress...
I know what you're saying, "There's no such thing as a free bike." The '78 CB750 I own is a great testament to that. I got that bike for free too and have roughly between 6 to 7 grand invested. I am no stranger to turning wrenches, but with a mortgage and 4 year old boy, I'm hoping to spend slightly less on this bike. :blush:
The reason I am posting is this: The reason we picked up as cheaply as we did is that the bike is not running. It had been parked under a porch for the better part of two years. When the owner went to start it, it won't even turn over. He was going to part it out, but we snagged the whole thing. So my question to the brain-trust is this: Other than the obvious things to look for, is there anything on these old 1200's that I should look for when trying to bring it back to life? I should point out that I will soon have a service manual on the way and, technically, I haven't even taken possession of the bike yet. I just want to get a head start and know if there are any simple tricks to look for when I start wrenching on it.
Thanks all!
-Bob
KB02
