GL 1000 sport wing No Time, No Dime
- Thread starter troybilt
- Start date
winslowtaft
New Member
Hi Troy, I ran into you and this bike this past Sunday at Barber. Inspiring work! I'd love to hear and see more of the process of how the bike went from where you last left off to where it is now.
Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this thread. Life just seems to get in the way. Anyhow, the bike progressed last fall where I did a front end swap, finished the cafe seat, paint and a few other mods. I ended up purchasing a ZX7R front end from a forum member living on the Left coast. It's not the easiest swap because allsballs does not make a lower bearing to do the swap. The do make the upper. However the price was right and I was really wanting to further upgrade suspension and braking. The forks are 43mm with 320mm rotors, had SS brake lines, clipons and both trees so I couldn't resist and jumped on it. I can't even begin to tell you how much of a difference these changes made.
I weighed a bunch of options and the best solution for the lower bearing was to use the Gold wing bearing and make a shim for it to fit the ZX7 stem. The shim was made from hardened steel and had to use a press to fit it onto the stem. I ordered the conversion bearing for the upper from allsballs and I was in business. The front end had been sitting for a very long time and everything was pretty nasty. Brake lines we plugged pretty much solid, both calipers were sticking, and lots of corrosion everywhere. So I cleaned brake lines, rebuilt both calipers, replaced the wheel bearings and lots of elbow grease to get her cleaned and shined. Later I will post a photo of my wheel bearing removal tool (concrete anchor)bought from Ace hardware for less than a couple bucks. Absolutely awesome way to remove wheel bearings btw. I painted both the front wheel and the rear wheel, made another fiberglass seat, painted it, the tank, and side cover. Ordered a new tail light, and made a couple modifications to the rear hoop and repainted it. Decided to hide the huge side covers by painting the one black and ditching the one over the gas tank. I cleaned the tank and put on a fresh coat of appliance epoxy since it was going to be the new side cover.
Since I never replaced the rear wheel bearings those were replaced as well. Once I got things buttoned back up it was time to do a few shake down miles, load up and head to Alabama for the DTT get together and Barbers. Rode her for about a month then put her away for winter. This spring I've been working on her a little here and there when I get time. So far I've finished the two up seat, it's now at the upholster getting covered. I've added a steering damper, and mounted the fairing. I've been working on some new(to me) used Fox shocks that I can't wait till done.
I have to say even though this is my all around and touring bike, I couldn't be happier that I've given her a sportier edge. The handling and braking are unreal. For long trips the saddle bags and fairing can be easily added or removed. So once AI get to where I'm going the bike can be lightened and turned back into the naked bike she was always meant to be. It's like having the best of all worlds. On to some photos: (I'll post these in groups so I don't crash my computer and lose the entire post)
I weighed a bunch of options and the best solution for the lower bearing was to use the Gold wing bearing and make a shim for it to fit the ZX7 stem. The shim was made from hardened steel and had to use a press to fit it onto the stem. I ordered the conversion bearing for the upper from allsballs and I was in business. The front end had been sitting for a very long time and everything was pretty nasty. Brake lines we plugged pretty much solid, both calipers were sticking, and lots of corrosion everywhere. So I cleaned brake lines, rebuilt both calipers, replaced the wheel bearings and lots of elbow grease to get her cleaned and shined. Later I will post a photo of my wheel bearing removal tool (concrete anchor)bought from Ace hardware for less than a couple bucks. Absolutely awesome way to remove wheel bearings btw. I painted both the front wheel and the rear wheel, made another fiberglass seat, painted it, the tank, and side cover. Ordered a new tail light, and made a couple modifications to the rear hoop and repainted it. Decided to hide the huge side covers by painting the one black and ditching the one over the gas tank. I cleaned the tank and put on a fresh coat of appliance epoxy since it was going to be the new side cover.
Since I never replaced the rear wheel bearings those were replaced as well. Once I got things buttoned back up it was time to do a few shake down miles, load up and head to Alabama for the DTT get together and Barbers. Rode her for about a month then put her away for winter. This spring I've been working on her a little here and there when I get time. So far I've finished the two up seat, it's now at the upholster getting covered. I've added a steering damper, and mounted the fairing. I've been working on some new(to me) used Fox shocks that I can't wait till done.
I have to say even though this is my all around and touring bike, I couldn't be happier that I've given her a sportier edge. The handling and braking are unreal. For long trips the saddle bags and fairing can be easily added or removed. So once AI get to where I'm going the bike can be lightened and turned back into the naked bike she was always meant to be. It's like having the best of all worlds. On to some photos: (I'll post these in groups so I don't crash my computer and lose the entire post)
Ace Hardware Concrete anchor bearing removal. Makes bearing removal super fast, easy and cheap
Oh it let me do another!
Ground the stamp weld and rewelded:
URL=http://s386.photobucket.com/user/Applewoodfarm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20130912_205516_zps56e2b0e6.jpg.html]
[/URL]
Oh it let me do another!
Ground the stamp weld and rewelded:
URL=http://s386.photobucket.com/user/Applewoodfarm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20130912_205516_zps56e2b0e6.jpg.html]
Do I get my Dcc discount now? Jesus this is frustrating!
And back together:
Going together. If I've not mentioned it before, Big Rich sold me a kick ass fiberglass (I believe made by rockcity) headlamp.
It's way cool. Also should mention that I ordered a Ninja speedo cable and it worked with the honda clocks. I also made a bracket to fit both the speedo and tach but I doubt I have a photo. come to think of it, that bracket is still not painted :/
And back together:
Going together. If I've not mentioned it before, Big Rich sold me a kick ass fiberglass (I believe made by rockcity) headlamp.
It's way cool. Also should mention that I ordered a Ninja speedo cable and it worked with the honda clocks. I also made a bracket to fit both the speedo and tach but I doubt I have a photo. come to think of it, that bracket is still not painted :/
hahah, yeah thanks Sonic. Works extremely well
Anyhow, more:
Cut done the Gold wing fender and wrinkled paint
paint the rear and new tail light
Oh crap it let me do 3!
Body work on the seat, tail light wired and mounted
And four on one post!!
I did do several shake downs with the bike being put back together. Got some pretty stupid looks
five, holy crap!
More body work
Anyhow, more:
Cut done the Gold wing fender and wrinkled paint
paint the rear and new tail light
Oh crap it let me do 3!
Body work on the seat, tail light wired and mounted
And four on one post!!
I did do several shake downs with the bike being put back together. Got some pretty stupid looks
five, holy crap!
More body work
Some of you might have seen this. Just thought I'd repost it. I'm super proud of how she handles and how the suspension works. I can't begin to tell you how bad these roads are. You can almost tell by how hard the suspension is working, but it can be misleading because, for the most part, the camera is still. You wouldn't guess I was working to pick the best lines :0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaoIGSJABIM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaoIGSJABIM
HerrDeacon
Over 1,000 Posts
What a transformation! Real beauty now. Great work as usual.
Thanks Rich. yeah that front end was pretty crusty and the thing with the bearing made it a little tougher than it needed to be. I could have pressed out the stems but got conflicting reports about doing that so anyhow. The light is the bomb btw!Big Rich said:
Thanks man I really appreciate the kind words!HerrDeacon said:
Oh Mike you ride you bikes and honestly that's 90%. Way more respect for that than let's say, something like the one sitting in my living room. To ride em is way cooler! And yes I really hope you can somehow make it south. It's absolutely one event not to be missed!Maritime said:
