23 Months

Classic Goldwings

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wedoo2

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2015
Messages
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Location
Terre Haute, IN
The bike below is my 82 GL1100. I think it is one of the better looking Wineberry Gold Wings on the planet. It has not been easy getting here.

I traded for this motorcycle in September 2014 for a 78 Suzuki GS750. I had thought that the 750 was my dream bike. I had spent the previous winter restoring it from the frame up. But after riding it for a couple of summer months I found that it was too buzzy, poor riding ergonomics for me, just not what I had remembered from days gone by. I got the Wing straight up trade. Not running.

When I did get it running it was the worst sounding motor I have ever heard. So I got another motor from these guys at Green's out in the middle of nowhere Kentucky. It was fine until I got a hydrolock and the rods knocked louder than a Jehovah Witness. Last fall I bought yet another motor from a nice guy in Wisconsin. Third time's a charm.

Would have been except for bad heads, uneven. After I had them milled straight two valves bent. Self inflicted, as have most problems. It was dubbed Gold Witch and shall ever be.

So now, after the third engine, three sets of heads, new stator, clutch, ignition, battery, complete brake system, much procrastination, downright hositility (took three months away from working on it), a Harley Aermacchi restoration, it seems to be running good.

I gave up on the single carb conversion as I absolutely did not want to screw with that, at least right now. $150 and I will sell it for $75 if someone wants it. The OEM carbs I have need some adjustment and synced, but the bike runs good over 2500.

I may sell it and get a newer Gold Wing because the problems I've had may be a sign that the Lord doesn't want me to ride this one. Thanks to all that have given me good advice that I failed to follow properly. 23 freakin months!! Had I known.

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That much time and effort and with such a nice looking ride, don't get in too much of a hurry to get rid of it. Someone ELSE would then benefit from all the aggravation and MONEY. Keep it for a while. It'll grow on you.
 
These bikes are simple yet complex. Many times I've wanted to throw in the towel so I understand where you're coming from.
Good luck on whatever you decide. I just hope the next guy doesn't part it out, that bike is in great shape.
 
A very pretty bike, and quite a project! If it were me, after all the time and effort, I'd adjust and sync the carbs. You might fall back in love with it! If not, it'll be easier to sell when it's running decent. Love the Wineberry!
 
The biggest thing on these are the carbs, they have to be right or the motor sounds like it is knocking and sputtering, many a good motor was labeled junk because a bad set of carburetors...The nice thing is when they are rebuilt right they last a long time and need nothing much other then some Stabil when stored over the winter.
Good luck with whatever you do.
 
Things that don't Kill me Make me Stronger.....(e-z to say,,,,,Harder to Believe).......Good Luck !!!!!!
 
I feel bad for you, I got an 83 std with 117000 miles on it, run horrible, smoked sputtered, coughed, and shook. I thought it was a goner! Synced the carbs and it smoothed right out. After 500 miles with sea foam in the gas it ran pretty good, felt strong, still smoked pretty bad at startup which turned out to be head gasket.
I did new head gaskets (first time!) And the smoke stopped, so all that was left was the KNOCKING sound. Retired that motor when I found a 66k MI parts bike that donated motor, drive shaft and rear wheel. Rebuilt the carbs with a randaks kit, (first time) Bike runs and drives good now, gonna pull a trailer with it.
So...keep the bike, you may return to it and triumph after all, the satisfaction of success is worth all the effort! And money, don't forget all the money invested.
 
I got in 150 wonderful, glorious miles on it today, and I must say that I would be stupid to get rid of it. It rides soooo nice. Power is down to what I expect, but that is the carburetors and I will get that fixed in the next couple of days. The valves are noisy so I will get them looked at the same time. Only got 33 MPG, but hell, I don't care if it gets 3. It's running. It is clunky at lower RPM and I think a sync will cure some of that, let's hope. And the clutch needs adjusted. The motor only has 22k on it. The bike has 64k and everything works, even the self cancelling turn signals.

Thanks for the compliments.
 
To the next 23 months, may there be plenty of great miles spent in the saddle. :salute:
:good: :moped: :moped: :good:
 
Stay the course, remember you bought someone else's problem, :roll: that they could not, or would not fix. :Awe: When you have it all straightened out, you'll be very pleased with it, & yourself. :good:
 
I have the SCC set up on a bench here but I had decided that I wanted to get the bike running before I tackled that, and that meant putting the regular carbs back on first. I had worked on the carbs a while back and they were somewhat ready. I think I'll just stay with that and sell the SCC. Putting it up on the for sale page.
 
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