On the weekend, Facebook reminded me that it is now two years since I bought this original 1975 model Gold Wing with a view to restoring it. I am ashamed top say that precisely no progress on the restoration has been made with the exception of actually washing and cleaning it when I brought it home.
However, now that we have the place to ourselves again and I have finally cleaned out my back shed so I can actually USE it, I have finally got around to making a start, whoohoo!
So, how DO you start? Well, with the Shadowfax it was actually easier. The bike was just a rolling chassis together with boxes of bits and an engine that was in pieces. With the ‘Wing, it’s a little different. The bike is intact except for the mufflers and items like the airbox, the radiator shroud and other parts are in a box. It seemed silly, then, to start tearing it apart, especially as my intention is not to do a nuts and bolts restoration but rather to get the bike going again, replace/repair the safety-related bits and get it rideable.
But to whom do I entrust the significant parts of the job? I have previously confessed to being great at pulling things apart and not-so-great at putting them back together. Consequently, it was always my intention to entrust the major part of the work to a good mechanic and to do the simpler tasks myself (yes, another “chequebook” restoration as some clown called the Shadowfax job.) But who? Again, the Shadowfax was Dave Quinn’s baby because he was and is the Kawasaki guru. I couldn’t have chosen any better. Now, how to find a Honda man.
Some time ago, I opened the chapter of “Where are they now?” and asked if anybody knew where Grubastini was. I’ll let you revise that for yourself.
After re-establishing contact with Greg I discovered that he was now retired and restoring bikes, specifically Hondas, in his garage. A quick call revealed that he had already restored two Gold Wings so it was a no-brainer. On his way home from visiting relatives in Queensland, Greg called in on Tuesday, had a look at the bike and declared it an interesting project. So, in the next week or so, it will be on the trailer to Canberra for Grub to wave the magic finger at it. While he was here we did a bit of trouble-shooting and hit an immediate wall as we were unable to turn the engine over to at least make sure it wasn’t seized up from sitting for so long. No battery, so how do we do it?
Some of you will already know how. When Honda released the bike in 1975 it encompassed many “firsts” for the company. First water-cooled engine, first flat four design, first shaft drive, first cam drive by a toothed belt and so on. Of course the bike owed far more to Honda’s automotive division than it did to their motorcycle one so this is not surprising. Another first was that this was the first Honda to rely solely on electric start. Even though the 500’s and 750’s and all of their output HAD electric start, it was always backed-up with the fitment of a kick start lever attached to the engine.
The Gold Wing didn’t but Honda must have thought that this move might still be a bit radical for its new constituency, so it devised a “braces and belt” solution. A kick start lever WAS provided but it was not permanently attached. Instead it resided in the dummy tank compartment that was another innovative feature of the bike.
So, Greg and I opened up the “tank” retrieved the kickstart lever and put it in place. It inserts into a socket behind the engine and is operated at a 90 degree angle to the bike, as shown below.
So, so far so good (that’s 3 “so’s” in one sentence!) But, try as we might, the motor refused to turn and the lever remained firmly in place. Damn, that meant that the engine was probably seized up. Greg had to head home but he said to whip out the plugs, give the engine a gutful of WD40 and let it sit for a bit. This I did, adding some oil as well for good measure. But, despite the soaking, it still hasn’t turned over.
That is until this morning. Not knowing how much pressure to apply to the lever, I have been steadily increasing the pressure but carefully at the risk of damaging something, and, this morning, the lever suddenly freed up and ran to the bottom of its stroke. A gout of fresh oil was shot out of the spark plug holes and the motor turned freely. However, when the lever returned to the top position it was again impossible to move. Reasoning that, if it had moved once so it should again, I applied even MORE pressure and again it worked. This time I didn’t allow it to fully return and was rewarded by the motor turning smoothly and beautifully every time I depressed the lever. But it still jammed at the top of the stroke so I got under, applied copious quantities to the mechanism and tried again. Booyah!!! It worked right through the stroke. I was very happy.
Now the next step is to get the bike to Greg’s place and the work can begin. Greg noticed that it has an original chromed steel rear rim but an alloy front one, non-original. While I’d like to go alloy rims for obvious reasons, I think a steel front would be easier to find than an alloy rear so that’s another avenue that will have to be explored. Anyway, for the time being, at least, we have made a start and the enthusiasm level is high. Watch this space.
jeffb says
2 years?Who’d have thought that.Where has the time gone? Anyway,so glad to read that the engine is not seized.I will be watching this space for progress and hope that I will see you riding it soon. You will look grand ! Jeff
Phil Hall says
As you will read, it gets better!