Engine Swap out 1983 GL110 to 1981 GL100 Bike Interstate

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rubgaldgold

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2014
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Location
Tucson Arizona
Hello, I have a question in reference to an engine swap out. I currently have a 1981 GL1100 (98,000 miles) Interstate Goldwing with a bad motor. Parked right next to the bike is a 1983 Naked GL1100 (44,000 miles) Goldwing which is not in the greatest condition. It appeared to be left out in the weather for some time, but starts up and runs. I was thinking of doing an engine swap from my 1983 to the 1981. I am not sure if this is possible, if so will I have to retrofit anything.

A different option may be to remove all the accessories from the 1981 interstate to the 1983 naked Goldwing. I am not sure if everything will bolt up to the 1983 or not.

Which bike would be the better bike (81 or 83) to try and fix up from both bikes. Keep the 81 interstate with the 83 motor into it the 1983 bike with 1981 accessories onto it.

I have been reading some information and it appears the 1983 may have an over drive on the transmission compared to the 1981. If so, what items may or may not work if I switch the 1983 motor onto the 1981 Interstate.

I also noticed that the Interstate has some nice features near the throttle and choke compared to the naked bike.

With all of these questions or considerations. First must be determine can the motors be swap out, and or can the interstate accessories be bolted to the naked 1983 unit. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thank you
 
The motors can swap out. The only difference is the wiring from the neutral/overdrive light is different on the 83'.

I have an '83 engine in an '82 frame and the gearing from the 83' is great!!
 
There are some things I like about both years but I think I like the 83 features more over the 81.

1. Choke lever instead of pull knob.
2. Self cancel signals.
3. Trac anti-dive forks.
4. I think passenger has more room.
5. Fork brace standard equipment.
6. Probably some other things like 16" rear tire is a bit easier to get than 17".

All of these can be moved over to the 81 frame but I think it would be less work to move the dress over to the 83 if dressed is what you want.
 
Pretty much all the parts will swap so either bike can be used. Some minor differences but easily compensated for.Maybe use the 83 motor in the 81 and look for another motor for the 83? Pretty much anything you consider trying has been done by one of the members here.
 
Thank you all for the replies. All in all, I want to try and put the best bike with best features on the road. It was mentioned on one of the replies that from his 1982 to 1983 bike the gearing was better off. I am thinking that it has to do with the overdrive.

I am not sure what the Trac anti-device forks are.

What I am gathering is that the dress up kit from the 1981 will bolt up to the 83. One of the replies states that they believe the passenger has a little more room, where does the extra room come from?

Since the 1983 unit is a Standard/Naked bike (hopefully correct terminology learning as I am going) will the wire harness support the dress up kit for lighting and accessories?

It appears that my 81 bike has a locked/ cruise control feature for the throttle and the 83 does not. I do not know if this can switched over.

Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions about the two different tire sizes from the 81 and 83. I will have to see if the front fender from the dress up kit on the 81 could bolt up to the 83 and fit the tire size.

If someone has already performed this project, let me know how things worked out for the dress up from Interstate 81 to Naked 83 bike. Thanks
 
The '83 overdrive means lower engine RPM's at cruising speeds. The '83 final drive gear ratio is also slightly different than the '81. I think the '81 is 3.0:1 vs. 3.1:1 on the '83. Either will work fine.

The TRAC unit is at the bottom of the '83 forks, and restricts front-end dive during braking. It has 4 settings.

The throttle lock cruise control is an accessory that will work on both bikes.

All the plastics will bolt up the same on both bikes.

The wiring harness has very few differences, mainly at the ignition switch for the fairing harness. When you get them apart, you'll see the differences. There are schematics here, in the Gallery section.

The neutral switch is on the lower right front of the '81 engine, and uses a single wire - the switch is grounded. On the '83 engine, the switch is inside the front (transmission) cover, and has 2 wires, one for the OD light, and one for neutral. Ignore the OD wire if you're putting the '83 engine into the '81.

The frames are identical, except for the brake line brackets and the turn signal cancelling sender mount. All in all, it should be a very straight forward swap.
 
Okay let me try to answer some of this. If memory fails me I'm sure someone will correct me.
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=131824#p131824:ys7ifxec said:
rubgaldgold » Sun Sep 21, 2014 4:20 pm[/url]":ys7ifxec]
Thank you all for the replies. All in all, I want to try and put the best bike with best features on the road. It was mentioned on one of the replies that from his 1982 to 1983 bike the gearing was better off. I am thinking that it has to do with the overdrive.

I am not sure what the Trac anti-device forks are.

What I am gathering is that the dress up kit from the 1981 will bolt up to the 83. One of the replies states that they believe the passenger has a little more room, where does the extra room come from?

Since the 1983 unit is a Standard/Naked bike (hopefully correct terminology learning as I am going) will the wire harness support the dress up kit for lighting and accessories?

It appears that my 81 bike has a locked/ cruise control feature for the throttle and the 83 does not. I do not know if this can switched over.

Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions about the two different tire sizes from the 81 and 83. I will have to see if the front fender from the dress up kit on the 81 could bolt up to the 83 and fit the tire size.

If someone has already performed this project, let me know how things worked out for the dress up from Interstate 81 to Naked 83 bike. Thanks
Trac forks have anti dive feature to help in braking control.
Wiring harness is pretty much the same but there may be a few differences.
Throttle lock will interchange.
83 motor has higher gearing in the transmission not really an overdrive just a taller 5th gear.

Dang it! Steve typed faster! :head bang:
 
Is the motor bad in the 81 because it has 198k miles on it? At 98k it should be only just broken it. The carb rack on the Rats Nest came off a donor 80 that has just under 200k miles and was tired. :yes:
I love my lower gearing except when I am doing lots of boring interstate miles. I just have to find the less direct route and enjoy myself more with all life's twists and turns.. :moped:
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=131832#p131832:353r353x said:
slabghost » Mon Sep 22, 2014 7:52 am[/url]":353r353x]
Okay let me try to answer some of this. If memory fails me I'm sure someone will correct me.


Dang it! Steve typed faster! :head bang:

Some how I read "Steve TYPE faster!!" :smilie_happy:
 
I do not know the exact specifics on why the motor is bad, other than when I had taken over the bike from a fellow firefighter he had mentioned that it started knocking and had taken it to a shop. A price was give to him to break into the motor and try and repair the motor. He was on his way out to leave the country for work and we lost contact for some time. This is all I know about the bike.

Reviewing everyone's comments and reading some information between the two different bikes. It sounds like the best decision will be to transfer over the 1981 interstate dress kit to the 1983 naked bike. I know at this point that the bike does run and operating. I will keep everyone posted and send some before and after pics for both bikes. Take care!
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=131857#p131857:2fhl3x4a said:
rubgaldgold » Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:12 am[/url]":2fhl3x4a]
Might someone share with me what is the difference between a 1983 GL 1100 Standard, Interstate and Aspencade bike is. Thanks

This is a picture of a standard ( bare bike often referred to as a " naked")
Here is a photo of an Aspencade
Which is similar looking to an intestate ( Hondaline bags, trunk and fairing) but has digital dash, on board air compressor and other goodies
Google is your friend :yes:
 
A lot of this discussion hinges on the fact that the '83 motor and drivetrain is good. If you aren't already doing this, I would suggest that you get the '83 on the road and put some miles on it. That will give you a more complete pictures of the condition of the '83. See how you like the gearing, anti dive fork etc. :moped:

Brian
 
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