1978 Goldwing Cafe Racer project

downtown809

downtown809

Trying to keep out of trouble
So this will be the third 1978 Honda project I have going at this time. I will do Cafe again but no clubmans on this one, will be two up as the wife will not ride her own.
goldwing_zps32ee9ea1.jpg
 
It'll be quite a challenge making a purse out of this sow's ear. So much ugly crap is hidden by the fairings on these bikes.
 
Well it rolled onto the trailer so I brought it home too. Now i need to get some new handlebars so it will fit into the shed.
2013-03-30_09-32-24_92_zps0557a979.jpg
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
It'll be quite a challenge making a purse out of this sow's ear. So much ugly crap is hidden by the fairings on these bikes.
Click to expand...

I think the fairing was added as it has a headlight hanger and it is quite straightforward.
 
WHOO-HOO! Another 'OldWing!

AlphaDogChoppers said:
It'll be quite a challenge making a purse out of this sow's ear. So much ugly crap is hidden by the fairings on these bikes.
Click to expand...

Not too often I disagree with you bud, so we'll call this a bit of tivia...
Early Goldwing GL1000's were all standards, just the top of the line Honda had to offer.

1975.JPG


They were actually a muscle bike with the first '75-'76 models having the hottest cams, larger jetted carbs, and designed to handle with a lower center of gravity with the opposed 4 and fuel tank placed under the seat. Having all that power they were destined for the Cruiser market.
They didn't come equipted as Dressers until the 2nd generation 1100's in 1980. So many of the original models owners optioned them out with Vetter and Hondaline fairings and Bags, Honda decided to get a piece of the action. Even then it was still an option package called the "Interstate" on the Standard GL line. Later in 83 they stepped up and offered the Luxury style / Techy digital dashed "Aspencade".
They still offered Standards in the 3rd generation 1200's along with the Interstate and Aspencades...but only for a short time, when the last Standard model naked GoldWing was offered in '84. The rest is Barco-Lounger history. :(

1984-honda-gl1200-goldwing-standard_5220782.jpg
 
Nothing new to report here. This is the bike I want to be tearing into but it has to wait for now for the other three that are in line in front of it..
 
Is it necessary to have the balance pipe between the mufflers to get these things to tune?
Thanks, Peter
 
The crossover pipes are not "balance pipes." Crossover pipes improve scavenging, using the sonic waves traveling down the pipes to make each cylinder contribute to the scavenging effect of other cylinders. If you remove the crossovers, you will lose performance, and the powerband will suffer.
 
I believe a crossover pipe improves lower end performance while 2 into 1's and headers scavenge buy using the flow of one cylinder's exhaust to help suck the flow of the next cylinder to exhaust's flow and so on and can be designed for what ever powerband you desire.

I like the old naked Wings. They are heavy but were the fastest and quickest that Honda made back in the day. I bet you could drop a lot of useless weight off of one of these girls and she would be pretty and be a goer, like this waitress I used to know, but that's another story.
 
Wake up Goldwing, please. Working on this one while I wait for the CB550 parts to get painted. It had wires short out so I got another wiring harness. The PO had spliced the stator wires so the question is does it matter how the 3 wires hook up? Going to get it running before tear down.
 
Nope, 3 phase doesn't care how it's wired as long as all three are connected.

How do these bikes handle "stock" compared to like a CX or CB of similar size? They must feel pretty heavy?
 
McBrenner is right, the 3 yellow wires can go in any order, don't be too hard on the PO, it's a common mod to eliminte the connector for the alternator and solder the wires direct. The spade terminals often corroded and because of the high resistance melted the plastic connector. So splicing the wires together corrected that issue.
With the tank under the seat and the opposed 4 the center of gravity is really low on these wings, they handle like a dream.
 
McBrenner said:
Nope, 3 phase doesn't care how it's wired as long as all three are connected.

How do these bikes handle "stock" compared to like a CX or CB of similar size? They must feel pretty heavy?
Click to expand...

Just pushing this around I can tell a world of difference but I haven't been on the road with any of them as of yet, time will tell. Thanks for the intel, Peter
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
It'll be quite a challenge making a purse out of this sow's ear. So much ugly crap is hidden by the fairings on these bikes.
Click to expand...

78's never came from factory with any fairings or bags, that shit started in the 80's, so you can put her right back tothe ways she came and it will look alright. I love my nak'd 79
 
McBrenner said:
Nope, 3 phase doesn't care how it's wired as long as all three are connected.

How do these bikes handle "stock" compared to like a CX or CB of similar size? They must feel pretty heavy?
Click to expand...

They feel light as a feather after 1 mph. The weight is only noticed when you push it around the garage LOL. My 79 feels lighter than my top heavy 450 twin once moving, You sit on the gas tank and the motor is flat, with a good set of lower bars you can flick these girls pretty hard in the corners and once I get a fork brace and better rear shocks I will be happy to keep my 79 for life. I did remove about 15 lbs from mine, all from the top of the bike so even better. They are fast and the motors are only tuned at about 70% so you can squezze more out and still have a reliable machine, I also can ride mine for 800 miles in a day without any trouble. I rode a CBX and it feels a lot heavy in turns because of the weight distrubution. Mind you the flippin motor sounds way better than the quite turbine on the GL.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light

    • Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom