The Future of the GL

I won't do it to this bike because I like the bagged Interstate touring capabilities of the bike. If I could find a good priced second GL/CX this is what I'd like to do....

This isn't a CX It's origanally a CB750. I'm not a big fan of upright fours. I had an old CB550 I found it noisy. There was both engine and chain noise. I like the bullet nose cone on this bike but I don't think I care for the lowers. I think I'd like something like this and the next photo....

 

 The above bike is  great looking bike in its finish. I think the white pin stripes are the thing that ad the most to the bike. I like that the CX/GL bikes are two cylinders and water cooled with shaft drive, I think it makes them very low and easy maintenance. You only need to work on two sets of valves, there is no chain, and only two carbs to deal with.

There are others...

This is a great looking bike. Where do they keep the battery?

I've been contemplating the re-painting of my GL. Although, there are many paint schemes I like, I think I'll probably go with a silver. There was a silver Interstate model. I don't think the OEM Honda paint did it justice, I think I'd do more flake.

This one is pretty radical. It's an 82 like my bike, it has a mono shock. Again where's the battery?

This is a Nice Rendering...

This is what my bike should, could look like....





The one thing I'd like to find is a drivers back rest.

The "New" Harley pipes are on!

I worked most of the day to get the pipes on. I lost my resolve and energy at about 4pm. After dinner I decided that I'd just clamp them on. Then I thought better of it, I thought possibly the pressure might shoot them off. So I set out to get at least one hanger attached on each side which i did accomplish at about 10:30pm. They're on there, it's ugly but they were on and stable.

I backed the bike out of the garage and started the Wing up. There was an immediate difference in sound. The old straight through pipes were more a blat. The harley pipes created a low rumble, no where near the rumble of the sabre or certainly not a harley. The first thing I noticed, since I was in shorts, was that I had leaks at joints on either side. I expected this, when I removed the old pipes there was a ring of doping/sealant around each of the pipes. The problem is that the rings didn't fit with the harley pipes. 

It's of little consequence, I need to remove the the new pipes and assembly. I sanded down the original rusted hangars and I want to paint my homemade straps and the old hangars. 

There are a couple of things to note with these pipes. The markings on the pipes say they are legal for an XLS, 883 and another bike, they remind me of my old 1980 BMW R100 pipes, they have a fairly straight shape. They do seem to block the rear axle, so they would have to come off to remove the rear tire. They have rectangular blocks welded on, and there is a 5/16 threaded hole for attachment. This means I'll have to carry a 5/16 wrench in my kit in case I have to remove them for tire repair. They did have crossover ports. I can't weld so I did the next best thing. I got a 1/2 galvanized pipe plug and put it into the port. It was a little small but since I used JB Weld epoxy putty the whole thing fit snugly. 

On the first ride, about an hour the bike seemed to be running cooler than on my other rides. This is just an impression. I heard more engine valve noise than exhaust noise.

The Pipes are coming off

I worked for about an hour to get the right pipe off. I did manage to twist off one of the retaining nuts that connect the rear of the pipe to the riders right foot peg. Hopefully the Harley pipes will work and this won't be a problem

As I suspected the pipe goes straight through. From what I know this can't be good for the bike. I believe that when pipes are changed on any bike the carbs need to be re-jetted. I believe I've read that if you don't do this you can score the valves...I could be wrong.

The Right pipe off (sorry about the poor quality they're from a phone)

 

The problem I have now is that the new Harley pipe doesn't fit in. There are "keys" cut out to compress the tube. I wasn't able to budge the tube with offset pliers so now I need to try a vice. If they then slip on, or in actually, I'll take the pipe up to the hardware store to look for a plug.

I did a search online and found that some people welded (which I can't do), others suggested the JB weld. 

After compressing the Harley tube I found out that the inner ring at the bike flange wasn't a ring at all, it was a composite material I imagine to help seal the connection.

*****NOTE: The flange I spoke of is the end that the muffler itself goes into. This flange is part of the "H Block" I think people are calling it. It seems people doing Cafe' or Rat bike mods are removing this part all together. It looks to serve as a crossover under the bike. It could also be an emission part.

New Mufflers

In the forums some people talk about poor gas mileage and the relationship to blown out mufflers. I was talk by the PO that the bike would be lucky to get 40 mpg. That really is substandard for a 500cc bike, unless it's being ridden like a race bike. I was out to get new mufflers.

I was scouring craigs almost daily for a set of mufflers. In the forums it's said that almost any Harley muffler will work. I was looking for a set without crossover ports. I believe this is a two into two configuration, it's the same thing I have on my Sabre. I was up in New Jersey for an unrelated reason and I thought I'd look around on the South Jersey Craigslist. I found a pair of pipes in Middletown DE, it was on my way home. 

It's kind of funny. Every Harley is stripped down at the showroom of it's pipes, seat, and maybe much more. The owner spends extra hundreds if not thousands to customize his or her bike before it leaves the dealer. This means that there are often 20 to 30 listings for any particular city of excess pipes and other parts. In spite of the glut, I saw pipes ranging from $500 to $50, my pipes were listed for $50. Since most if not all Harley owners want new pipes, who wants the old ones?

When I got to the location I found that the pipes being offered had crossover ports. I told the owner they wouldn't work. She had a set off her husbands bike, but they too had ports. I asked if she would drop the price. We agreed on $40.

I haven't yet searched for the best way to close off the ports. I'm guessing that Marinetex or JB weld. I also thought about looking for a "black pipe" cap that might fit in the port and use the epoxy to finish the closure

Tweeking.... Tuning some things on the bike

Fortunatley, the Wing doesn't need much work, I hope. There are a few items of concern. The rear drum brake squeek in the morning, it's something I'll have to look into. Of more concern is the clutch or actually the clutch linkage. When I got the bike the clutch lever had no play or resistance until about the last inch and a half of pull. My thought is that either the wrong, or too long, cable is on the bike. 

I removed the assembly at the handlebar and tried to think of away to lengthen the adjustment screw. I actually didn't have anything on hand so I put it back together. I only put the adjustment screw in about 1 turn. The result was that the clutch lever had "pull" throughout it's distance. There seemed to be a little more distance between the engagement point and full pull, maybe two inches. All in all it seems a bit better. The real fear is that the clutch isn't fully engaging or disengaging. I think I want to invest in another clutch cable but for now the clutch is a little better.

The other issue I tried to tweak was the left fairing mirror. It must have broken somewhere, somehow in it's past life. The mirror was "fixed" with some epoxy and a screw. The problem is that the fix didn't hold the mirror in position and it didn't allow full movement of the mirror. I took the mirror off and looked at the base. I found some hardened glue, which I picked out. I used a new screw through the interior spring. I thought I'd fixed the system. I mounted it back on the bike, as soon as I started riding the mirror soon slid down. I was able to get a rear view in the mirror, not perfect but better.

The Second Ride.... Two Up

My wife and I seem to take our first rides out to the Farmer's Market on Riva Road on Saturday mornings, where here father sells boutique jellies and jams, the first ride for the wing was no different. On my first ride I'd mounted the rack and box, for the mornings ride I put the panniers back on. They went on smoothly, much smoother than the first removal (which I intend to do a video on). 

Given the smaller engine size I thought the bike might really drag, it didn't. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I think I probably had to downshift on some low speed hills that I wouldn't need to do if I were alone.

I did run into one problem, the bike doesn't want to go into neutral when it gets warmer. I'd noticed this when I was alone it seemed worse with the addition of another body. I thought it might be due to the short stroke on the clutch. I think the clutch cable has stretched to the maximum. This leads me to believe that when the bike warms up the clutch may not be fully disengaging. 

The bike still handled nimbly although with added weight. The other thing I noticed was a little more front end diving during shifts. When I asked the PO if there were any issues or what it needed next, he mentioned that the front forks only held air for about a week. I don't know when he pumped them up last but I've had the bike for two weeks, but with very little riding.

The First Ride

Other than the quick two mile ride I took before buying the bike, I really hadn't really had a chance to ride the bike. I brought it home by truck, and then I headed south for a week in Florida.

My wife was visiting a friend after work on Tuesday June 18, I thought I'd take the bike out for a little ride. We live in the Eastport section of Annapolis, I often ride down Bay Ridge Ave to the bay. It's a straight shot until the bay then it's just 25 mph through the neighborhood and back.  I'd noticed on my test ride that the pipes seemed blown out, this seemed the case as I headed towards the bay. 

The first thing I noticed was the bike is geared very low. It seemed to me that's it's a quick run to 5th gear. Since it was hard to hit even 50 mph on these roads I couldn't really get a feel for the bike. The one thing I did notice was that I loved how it cornered. The Sabre seems to force it's way around a curve. The wing hits the curve and you can lean forever or not what ever you like. Granted the wing is only the fourth "running" bike that I've owned and I've never owned a sport styled bike, but this bike feels nimble.

The other thing I liked is the full fairing. I've always ridden with a full fairing. My old 78 Honda CB550 was a naked bike. I first put a large windshield on it. I really disliked the shield, it seemed to act like a sail at high speeds. I ended up putting a Vetter fairing on it. My BMW had a full fairing with lowers. The Sabre has a mid size windshield. I can never seem to fit in the bubble. Some people like fairings, others hate them, I'm with the former I love fairings. The fairing on the Wing has a good size bubble that seems to surround me.

I was able to find a review on a "Classic Bike" ( http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/classic-japanese-motorcycles/honda-cx500.aspx#axzz2WxuN2ojs) site that echoed my sentiments.  Although, when the CX500 was first introduced in 78 the reviewers panned the design of the bike.

The First Cleaning

As I mentioned I don't think the PO (previous owner) did the bike any favors cosmetically. I wanted to get the bike fairly clean to see what I was dealing with.

Here's a walk around of the bike: Sorry, the video was too large. I haven't had time to slim it down.

When I first went to look at the bike I noticed rusting on most of the chrome, some of it heavy. The question remained, "how deep was the rust?

My first job was to remove the seat. Both the front and rear seat had some damage. The rear was the worst, I didn't want water getting into the foam. The front seat was no problem, a (***place bolt size here) bolt on either side with a tongue in the front. The rear was a little more complicated. 

As can be seen in the pictures this is the Interstate model with panniers and rear box. The rear box is attached to the "luggage rack" with two bolts (***place bolt size here) on the bottom of the box. Once the box is removed the last 4 inches of the rear fender area can be accessed. It had been accessed, by mice! There was a sizable nest in there, including some of the rear seat foam. It was very dirty and didn't look like it had been cleaned recently, if ever. 

Place picture here ###

Once the box is off the rear "luggage rack" the rack needs to be removed. I didn't know or see this at first. The rack is screwed into the rear seat by two allen cap screws on either side of the seat. Looking at the underside of the seat, there were two finger hooks into the bike or seat frame. Since this is an old bike and this area hadn't been cleaned or lubricated nothing moved. As well the seat area where the rack attached it looked like the rack had torn the seat cover, so I didn't want to force anything. After a little oil on the springs and things I got the fingers moving. I then realized that the rear helmet locks (which also function to unlock the panniers) when pulled up and forward serve to force the seat fingers disengage the seat frame. It sounds confusing and was to me. With the seat bolts removed, the rack removed and the seat fingers disengaged the seat can be lifted off and slid rearward to disengage the forward tongue.

@@@Place video here

The rest of the cleaning went about as expected. There was caked on road grease and dirt. I didn't attempt to remove any other parts other than the panniers rear rack and box.

The rear rack deserved some attention since I had it off. I took to it with #600 emory cloth. The got most of the rust off except in the weld and corner areas. This gave it a burnished look. I need to try and bring the shine back. I bought some #000 steel wool. The fellow at Home Despot recommended using higher grades of the emory paper, which they didn't have. 

I put the bike back together so my wife and I could take it to the Farmer's Market today.

The 1982 Honda GL500 Silverwing Interstate... Raison d'être

I brought my 2000 VT1100 Shadow Sabre home from Florida on the Auto train in April 2013. Which was great, having the bike at home to use. However, it's been a cool spring in the mid-Atlantic and the bike didn't get much use.

The real problem came when we went back down to Florida in May and I didn't have the bike to use. I've become accustomed to having a vehicle to use whether bike or car. When I got home I decided it was time to search for another bike.

Not only did I want a bike available in both Florida and Maryland, my wife had expressed a desire to learn how to ride, I've felt that the 1100 was too big for her to learn on. While I had fun looking at all the bikes on the east coast, I started to develop a hit list for the purchase. This was new for me. My first bike a 70's something Honda CB550 was purchased in lieu of a BMW that I couldn't afford. The BMW R100RT was purchased in 1980, I didn't know much about bikes (and still don't) I just knew that beemers went forever and were fairly low maintenance. The Sabre was purchased out of desperation in February of 2011 because it had shaft drive, water cooling and was garage kept at a reasonable price, and, very little else was available. Now, just a couple of years later I'm more knowledgeable (perhaps not smarter).

I looked at all bikes, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, BMW, Ducati, I even looked at a harley or two (because I didn't know what a "Screamin Eagle" was). I looked at sport bikes, cruisers, standards, adventure, and dual sports. The first thing that hit me during my search is that while there were alot of bikes on the market, they seemed very high priced. Furthermore, it seemed that the owners thought very highly of their bikes no matter what shape they were in. I looked mainly in Craigslist, I would read things like "1978 CBxyz great condition, runs well, Only $2500 Firm". Looking at the post you'd see a bike that looked like it just escaped the bulldozer at the dump with the description reading something like, "Ran well until I took it apart to clean the mouse nest out of the carburetor. Needs carb. Went down on left side mirror missing fork bent". This may be an slight exaggeration, but only slight.

I know what I paid for my 2000 garage kept VT1100 with 39000 miles. I really don't think that a 1983 Honda shadow 500 with 20K miles is worth $1850, $2000, much less $2500. In my mind there's a saying that you don't throw good money after bad, and, you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Meaning, no matter how much money you put into a 70's or 80's bike it's not worth too much more than the new parts put into it, at least in my mind.

I'll list my criteria:

• Less than $2000
• Around 500cc's no more than 750cc's
• Shaft or belt drive
• Windshield or fairing
• Water cooled
• Highway pegs
• Garage kept or nearly so

The first thing I found was that for $2000 it's very hard to find bikes in the 2000+ years, nearly impossible. I did find the Ninja 250r's, the Honda Rebel/Nighthawk, and the Suzuki S40/Savage.  I also found many older bikes in seemingly good condition. But, why would I want an 80's bike for $2K when I'd paid only a few hundred dollars more for my 1100?

The Rebel/Nighthawk just didn't seem to have enough "Ass". It's a beginners bike with little or now zing in any of it's parts, looks, engine, power, add ons, nothing. It has other 250cc competitors the Yamaha and Suzuki are both better looking (IMHO). They are all chain drive. If I waited until the end of summer I'm sure more would show up on the radar but, like most people, I lack patience.

The Suzuki S40 is somewhat intriguing. It has cruiser styling which my wife likes. It has the single cylinder 650cc engine which has a strong heritage.  But, it's very slim on amenities. It doesn't even have a trip meter. I wonder how you know when to put gas in it?

The Ninja 250 was very appealing. Although, a chain drive the bike has been in production unchanged, until 2007, since the 80's. Parts and add ons are readily available. There are lots out there and they can be had at a good price. With the 6 speed transmission it's said to be a capable highway bike. But, many are first bikes for people, they go down alot. It seemed that very few were available in pristine shape, in spite of how the ads were headlined.

So for Under $2000 I was going to have to go older. If I wanted it all Windshield, bags, highway bars, cruising pegs, I would have to move away from the 2000 year bikes. Even though I feel I got a fair deal on the 1100, I had to add floor boards, highway bars, and cruising pegs, all for the long distance comfort of my long legs.

I wanted a smaller bike for Kari to learn on. I also wanted a smaller bike for better gas mileage. I enjoy my Sabre, but it's a little tough to throw around on a parking lot. That's one thing the 250cc bikes had going for them most got most got 50-70 miles per gallon. I felt that a 500cc bike with Kari riding it could keep up at highway speeds without wearing her down too much. The slightly larger 750's are more popular and there are typically more around.

I wanted a bike with shaft drive. My first bike the Honda CB550 had a chain. It's not hard to grease a chain. But chains chatter, they throw the grease everywhere, I just don't like dealing with them.  It's tough to find smaller bikes with shaft drives in newer bikes.  And it seems the MFG's have gotten away from making them. As always the American lust for power has gotten the better of them. It's said that the shaft robs power from the drive system, and it may, but it's a low maintenance system.

Water cooling is something else I like, but some people don't. Water cooling adds weight to a bike. It also adds a water pump. It's a more complex system. But, the thing that seems to hold true is that it cools the engine more completely and better. After all there are very few air cooled cars on the market today.

The other items, windshield, highway pegs, crash bars and saddle bags can be added to most bikes. But at what cost? And, in older bikes they may not be available.

If I wasn't so tired I could probably detail the various decisions for turning down a particular bike style or family. I looked at a Ninja, a beater in parts for $350. I looked at a VF700S, it hadn't been taken care of, and smoked, another beater.

I found the 1982 GL500 Silverwing Interstate. It was listed at $1100 and I got it for a few hundred dollars less. The guy who sold it to me said he did all the required maintenance including the rebuild of the carbs. He didn't do the bike any favors on the cosmetic side. He was using it as a commuter.

The only things not working on the bike are the tachometer and the left fairing mirror has an epoxy repair that didn't quite work, the mirror flops. It must have been good enough for the inspectors because the PO had it inspected. There does seem to be a little gas smell when riding. I'll need to investigate this. I haven't seen anything that looks like it's leaking, so it may be that the carbs are out of sinc. The only other issue is that the mufflers seem to be blown out or drilled out. They seem loud and the owner said the fuel consumption is under 40mpg. From the forums this means the mufflers are gone or the PO just rides fast.


Here are some Pictures that were in the ad from Craigslist