The Mayflower: AKA - I bought a non-running '82 GL1100

[saganaga]

Knock on wood, but I'm declaring the repair a success. A shop towel showed no leaks. And the forks seem less likely to dive at stops with 10W hydraulic oil (fork oil is too fancy for me).

I suspect I always had a minor leak there that was never leaked enough while parked to drip. I may now drop the fork pressure down. Maybe around 17 psi.

 

[pidjones]

100% of the 1000s I've had showed oily crud built-up deeply under the motor. 100% of those had fork leaks.

 

[saganaga]

Interesting. I do have motor crud, very slight.

I should wash it again and see what happens.

 

[saganaga]

Hondaline rack install.

Removed the old rack first. (No pictures, sorry).

First thing I did with the new rack was to use my poor-man's JIS screwdriver (a bit with the tip filed down) and made sure I could remove the screws for the rack locks. They were pretty tight after all this time.

Then I disassembled the rack into its components. I loosely hung each side of the rack on the bike, then put the top piece, bumper, and cross bar into place and looked for fitment issues.

I found a problem.

There is about 18mm worth of gap there. Not sure if I'm missing some mounting hardware or what. I'm 95% sure that this rack is for a GL1100, since I'm finding it sold for them, and I've found pictures of what looks like this rack being mounted on Goldwings.

I used my caliper-shaped object to measure the depth - seemed around 100 to 110mm.

(These can be found for a few bucks, and are actually pretty nice when you need a rough measurement and don't want to damage nice calipers. Considering I had to lift up the rear fender and the rack to measure the depth, I didn't want to risk bending my slightly nicer calipers.)

So off to the hardware store. The closest thing I could find in metric was a 100mm length of M8-1.25 threaded rod. Close enough for now, but I'm thinking a pair of M8-1.25 110mm bolts is probably something I'll have to eventually hunt down. I also picked up some cap nuts and some spacers that looked like it would do the trick.

Did another test fit - the spacers gave a bit too much space. Well, that's what the grinder is for. Took off a few MM from each spacer and had everything line up:

(The bright colored wires near the top are my taillight flasher unit.)

I added some antiseize to all of the fasteners and tightened everything up. Seemed firm.

Then I tested out the luggage.

I do think all the chrome on the rack helps to balance out all the chrome on the front of the bike. I'm not very fond of the look with the top box installed, but with only the side bags, I think it looks great.

 

[saganaga]

One question I do have - what were these fasteners held on with wingnuts used for? There's one on each side:

 

[mcgovern61]

Never really knew what those wingnuts were supposed to hold. I also did not like the bag as a trunk and ended up getting an Interstate trunk and adapting the setup. Still made all the keys alike. My thread on the trunk swap: Swapping Trunks!

 

[GTC@MSAC]

It's interesting that the '82 removable bags are square & black. My '81 removable bags are rounded and bike-color. Both were Hondaline accessories back then. The 1st owner of mine bought a GL1100 STD and had the Hondaline fairing and bags installed at the dealer when he made the original purchase. I even still have the original sales invoice. My guess is the Interstates were sold out when he bought this one. The '82 GL1100 I just got on 9/11/21 from another member here, also got the original sales invoice and it is the Interstate with the non-removable bags & removable trunk. I'm kind of now wanting to keep the '81, and restore and sell the '82 instead, lol!

 

[saganaga]

It's interesting that the '82 removable bags are square & black. My '81 removable bags are rounded and bike-color. Both were Hondaline accessories back then. The 1st owner of mine bought a GL1100 STD and had the Hondaline fairing and bags installed at the dealer when he made the original purchase. I even still have the original sales invoice. My guess is the Interstates were sold out when he bought this one. The '82 GL1100 I just got on 9/11/21 from another member here, also got the original sales invoice and it is the Interstate with the non-removable bags & removable trunk. I'm kind of now wanting to keep the '81, and restore and sell the '82 instead, lol!

The person I bought these off of had an '82 with an Aspencade/Interstate front and these bags on back. I think he was selling this set because he found another set that matched his bike's color.

I'm a little confused to the combination of what appears to be a stock Honda front fairing and Hondaline bags/rack. It also had the standard's taillight/turn signal combo, instead of the Aspencade/Interstate's taillight on rear fender/turn signals on bags.

Was this an option, or did the bike get damaged at some time and they replaced the stock bags? I could see a dealer doing the latter, especially if they were damaged in shipping the bike and the dealer just wanted one to sell. Or perhaps someone down the line wanted a front fairing and took one off another Honda.

 

[GTC@MSAC]

If someone bought the STD, the dealer could install a factory Interstate fairing & lowers & whatever Hondaline stuff was available that year. I suppose they could even order replace Interstate Bags and brackets and re-fit them on a STD so they could be factory color-matched. This photo is how the original buyer bought and equipped my '81 GL1100 STD, at the dealer. All the extras you see were on his original purchase invoice, which I have. The only thing he bought that I do not have on the bike is a sliding passenger backrest, which I don't use because it makes the pass seat too crowded. The one thing in this photo that I added were the yellow square marker lights on the rear bags so I could wire them as turn signals, and the yellow square front reflectors I changed to parking lights for extra night visibility. The key for the bags and trunk have a factory Honda head, but it is very short, only has a 3 digit code, and it is not double-sided like the main bike key. The main key is factory matched to the ignition, gas cap door, helmet lock, radio face & RH fairing box lid. I was able to get extra Main Keys punched by the Honda code, but cannot find a blank or pre-punched key for the bags. I'm pretty sure Samsonite made these bags and yours exclusively for Honda. The inside of all 3 of mine have the 2 cloth cross-straps with threaded buckles. Each of them will also hold a single full-face helmet, as well.

 

[saganaga]

Didn't realize people could order the front fairing separately.

Those bags are a lot more rounded for sure. Can you fit a full face in there? That's one disappointment I noticed with the Hondaline bags that I have.

As a solution, I may end up relocating the helmet lock onto the rear rack. I really dislike having the helmet lock on the '82 leave the helmet leaning against the hot engine.

 

[GTC@MSAC]

Yes, I can fit a full-face helmet in each of the 3 bags, as they are identical in shape & size. I can also carry nine 5-quart jugs of Mobil-1, 3 in each bag, lol!
Factory helmet locks are outdated & useless to me; my favorite helmets have ratchet latches on the chin-straps, not d-rings.

 

[Two85s]

Maybe the wingnuts were for a moveable back rest? Remove the caps on the end and slide it in!

 

[saganaga]

The backrest idea makes sense. I wonder if I could find one...

More stuff done to the Goldwing today - replaced the rear pads. I now have a rear master cylinder rebuild kit, as well as a brake hose. Think I'll just do the trifecta and buy a brake caliper rebuild kit as well.

Then took it for a three hour five-hour (dang it road construction!) test ride in the country. Ended up throwing my heavier gloves on and putting all the layers in my motorcycle jacket. Temperature dropped from the mid-60s to the mid-50s, and it started getting a little chilly, especially without the liner in my pants.

 

[saganaga]

I bought a brake caliper kit, but now I'm wondering what people use for the hose between the rear brake reservoir and the caliper.

Since I'm already replacing the rubber in the rest of the system, I should do that as well.

 

[GTC@MSAC]

I bought a brake caliper kit, but now I'm wondering what people use for the hose between the rear brake reservoir and the caliper.

Since I'm already replacing the rubber in the rest of the system, I should do that as well.

Did you mean from the rear reservoir to the rear master cylinder? I use whatever grade hose that will stand up to brake fluid, usually fuel injection hose, or clear plastic tubing.

 

[saganaga]

Started the rear brake overhaul today.

Rear brake pistons came out pretty easily using shims and the brake pedal to push them out. They came out far enough that I could pull them out by hand.

I removed the rear caliper, then put one finger over one side of the banjo bolt, and used a master cylinder bleeding syringe to remove almost all of the brake fluid from the system.

I unbent the three brake line clips on the left side, and hung the free end of the hose in a container to catch any drips.

Master cylinder removal was pretty easy as well. Unbend the two clips holding the wire going to the rear pressure sensor, just to give myself room around the master cylinder bolts. I loosened all the bolts and the hose clamps. Disconnect the brake pedal. (Alas, clevis pin, you did well for 40 years!) I removed the rear reservoir. The bolt for the hose didn't have room to be removed until I loosened the master cylinder and allowed it to drop down. Then removed the master cylinder straight down, and looked at the hose.

Found another clip where the hose passes beneath the gas tank.

Removed that by pushing up with a stick of wood from the bottom. Then I removed the hose.

Master cylinder reservoir is a little dirty.

Some crud in the calipers as well.

I did slip the rubber isolation thingies from the old hose and put it on the new. New one is braided, which has a smaller diameter - just solved the fit issue by wrapping a cut piece of old inner tube around the hose. While it may not look like it, those are the same length. I'd rather the new line not rub against anything it shouldn't.

While I forgot to take pictures, I had a heck of a time disassembling the master cylinder. The c-clip was corroded in place, had to pry it free and clean out the holes before I could use the c-clip tool to remove it. Then the master cylinder would not come apart - I tried as much force as I dared.

Ended up heating the body with a propane torch, then managed to get it free.

The bore looks good in the master cylinder, but every part of it not covered in brake fluid has a serious amount of rust. I cleaned the corrosion up with some sandpaper. From what I can tell, moisture got under the boot of the master cylinder, and since there's no brake fluid there, everything became more than a tad corroded. I plan to smear that area with Sil-Glyde at reassembly.

I'm a tad annoyed that the rebuild kit I bought (K&L) has no spare o-ring for where the fitting for the brake reservoir hose attaches to the body of the master cylinder. Do other rebuild kits have this part?

Anyways, it's about 50 degrees outside, my garage isn't heated, and even if it was, I don't like spraying brake cleaner in there. So that's where I'm at tonight.

I will reassemble the master cylinder tomorrow, and start the brake caliper.

 

[saganaga]

Oh, and if anyone is curious, the inlet seems to require an 11mm ID hose. Going over to a hydraulic place tomorrow to see if I can get an unpressurized brake reservoir hose.

Also, as a side note, normally I'm fine with Harbor Freight tools for their purpose (i.e. infrequent use at home or on the farm). But I'm pretty sure I bought my c-clip pliers their, and I hate the design. Admittedly, the corrosion on the master cylinder was severe, but they weren't helping.

 

[saganaga]

Reinstalled the rear braking system. Got some hose that fits from the hydraulic place. I also found an eBay seller that sells 10mm ID brake hose for classic vehicles - that could be an option, since I suspect it could fit.

Here's what I found through trial and error, hope it helps someone else.

The braided stainless steel cable is stiff and a lot less flexible than rubber hose. The main problem is getting the banjo fittings lined up correctly.

Removing the battery does make things easier for the brake line clip in the center of the bike. Removing the screws on the battery cage gives a bit more room as well - I didn't have to remove the cage, I just moved it slightly out of place.

I ended up putting the cable through the bike and attaching it to the master cylinder first. Make sure that the caliper end banjo fitting is bent up, not down.

Then route it (same as original) to the caliper. Don't attach it to any clips yet. With the caliper removed, attach the cable to the caliper, then rest the caliper on the rear disk. Now put the brake cable in all the clips - a slip jaw pliers helps bend them back into place. Slimmer is better for the jaws - it's a tight fit in spots. Then fasten the bolts for the caliper.

Finally attach the reservoir and hose. I had cut the reservoir hose based on the length of the old one, but if I had to do it again, I'd measure it on the bike - it seemed slightly longer than it should be.

Oh, and attach the rear brake lever and adjust it to fit. Make sure the spring for the brake light switch didn't get disconnected. Doublecheck that the rear brake activates the brake lights. If the rear brake switch needs to be adjusted, one doesn't have to remove the connector - but if you do, it looks like a molded plug but is two individual spade connectors inside.

Then bleed. I had to wrap some teflon tape around the threads of the bleeder screw to get proper suction for vacuum bleeding.

I've observed that there does seem to be some gas tank damage from brake fluid. So I'm now folding a paper towel into a narrow strip, and putting it behind the rear brake reservoir before I put the cap back on. I suspect the accordion rubber piece sometimes pushes extra fluid above the top of the reservoir. At least with the paper towel, I can soak it up before it damages the paint further.

I took it for a test ride, and I think the brake pedal position is about a 1/2" too low. It also feels not as stiff as I'd like - I suspect there's air around the caliper banjo bolt. I did tilt the caliper when I bled it to get the bleeder screw at the top, so that should be fine.

 

[Two85s]

The backrest idea makes sense. I wonder if I could find one...

One was just posted here StraightWings