SO...What did YOU do during COVID?

 OK, so I don't have to tell you that life's been... A bit out of whack the past 9 months or so. Those months reshaped what my free time looked like, and that took a toll on what this blog was supposed to be... But I'm back now.

SO, to sum up the last 9 months... I got the bike running, rode it for the first time on March 15th... And never looked back. The bike project ended up being a saving grace during COVID, even if this blog wasn't. I originally wanted to post here each time I fixed something, upgraded something... Added something... Or learned something. I guess I can still do that, it just won't be fresh. So where were we?

Mid January. Ah, yes. The passing of Neil Peart. It took a while after that before I really wanted to write, but it definitely didn't slow down my progress on the bike. The last thing i'd done was to pull off the front of the bike and replace the timing belts, refinish the covers, and flush the radiator... That was done by mid September 2019.1 After that (and finding out the previous owner had left the petcock open, causing a hydrolock), I felt a little more confident in trying to run the bike. It ran for the first time on September 18th, even though it ran rough as hell and spewed gas from the right side carb overflow. The previous owner had mentioned the gas leak and I figured it was dirty carbs...

So, it was on to the next task: pulling and rebuilding the carbs. I'd been reading up on this in several online forums such as Steve Saunders, and I knew that an outfit n town, Randakk's Cycle Shack, had about the best carb rebuild kits out there. Now, I'm handy, but i've never been the in-depth gearhead that rebuilding a quad-carb setup would entail... This was going to be another learning process. I ordered the full kit, along with their step-by-step manual.

Removing the carb rack was a learning experience, but THIS is specifically why I had planned to buy the bike and restore it myself over the course of a year---I could become intimately familial with almost every nut and bolt, in case I needed to fix something or assist down the road in the middle of the trip. Thank God for the internet, there's a lot of people keeping old GL1200 Goldwings alive out there.

Here's a couple of 'Before' pics as the carbs came out:

Once the carb rack was out, it landed on the workbench and I started pulling one carb at a time, according to the manual.

For cleaning, I ended up getting an ultrasonic cleaner off of Amazon, basically the 6 liter version of this one: https://www.amazon.com/Mophorn-Commercial-Ultrasonic-Eyeglasses-Cleaner%EF%BC%8815L/dp/B078KZT2W8/ref=sr_1_8?crid=2EAFZWU78AYEJ&dchild=1&keywords=mophorn+ultrasonic+cleaner&qid=1607978394&sprefix=mophorn+ultra%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-8

That, and Simple Green Aircraft cleaner worked like a charm.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VXU7OE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's what was waiting for me. I've definitely seen worse, but... They're definitely in need of some TLC. I'd bought a couple of assortments of stainless metric allen-head screws, and even though Randakk's kit had all the o-rings I needed in Viton, I bought a couple of assortments of Viton O-rings too. Rusty, nasty, corroded or banged up screws were all replaced with stainless wherever possible, and I meticulously cleaned, polished, and/or painted every single part. I ended up replacing the Slow jets, which were so corroded it just made sense. Found OEM units at a great place called Jets-r-us, I highly recommend them: https://www.jetsrus.com/

In the end, I did all 4 carbs and only managed to break a couple of parts, which I replaced with pieces off of ebay. The hardest part was figuring out what the part name was by going over old parts diagrams, so I could find the right replacement.

 Some progress, eh?

Anyway, long story short---It took a couple of weeks of puttering and being VERY methodical, but the carbs were done in due course. 

 

While I was at it, I cleaned up the engine block and re-sprayed it as best I could. ANYTHING would be an improvement, at this point....

Braided stainless fuel line, new washable sintered fuel filter, and all new fittings were installed, since access was difficult otherwise, and it had to be done, anyway. In due course, I read up on how to set the float levels, and re-installed the carbs back into the bike. Finally back together and time to see how she'd run!

Through research I knew the carbs had to have their mix set and be synchronized, so I bought a 4-carb set of gauges for like $60 thru Amazon, after a bit of research: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MSJ7E6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They worked well enough. During the re-install, I also replaced both throttle cables and choke cable with brand-new cables from Motion Pro. This also involved buying cable lube and a lubing tool:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00230EAOW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012TYX9W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Back together again by Christmas, almost time to ride!!! But I'd need to do a FEW more things, first... Which I'll explore in the next post.

As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky...

I can't write this blog without acknowledging the huge influence Neil Peart, the main lyricist and drummer for the band Rush as well as a long-distance rider and travel writer, has had on both my life and this particular endeavor.

I've been what you call a nerd my entire life. From a very young age, when I took apart the family swingset at the tender age of three, my parents knew something was up. Once I got into 3rd grade, they had me tested for entrance to a somewhat experimental school program for 'smart kids'. I changed schools, which caused me to be bussed clear across town... But was now in a school that played to my strengths.

As such, I didn't get bullied as much as I would have if I'd been in a traditional school, but being a shy, sensitive, smart kid with a huge imagination made me a huge target, and I experienced my share regardless. Around this time, I discovered the band Rush from my older sister. I was the kid out on the playground with the portable tape player blasting out 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Cygnus X-1'. The music spoke to me. It was filled with quirky, yet amazing lyrics and epic stories. Lyrics written by someone, as I would come to know through his writing, was an awful lot like me, in many respects. A shy, terribly intelligent and imaginative man who shied away from fame, preferring to spend his time in the company of a few close friends or family, when he could.

I mentioned his book, 'Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road' in the first post on this blog, as one of the main reasons I ended up deciding my goal would be riding long distances. He authored several books on the subject, and they're in my reading list now even more than they were before. When I first got bit by the motorcycle bug, I could only envision riding within a hundred miles from my house... But Neil showed how it could be done, long-term and long-distance, without living like you're homeless... And even being able to enjoy it. It dovetailed perfectly with the other things I enjoy---like exceedingly long drives to empty southwestern deserts. It all made sense.

Neil died earlier this week, having been retired since 2015 and apparently diagnosed with Glioblastoma mid 2016. Some people have their Elvis, their JFK... Heroes and idols who helped shape them into the person they are. I had Neil Peart, and he was one of the big shapers of both my formative years AND the last few. He will be dearly missed, but never forgotten... But at least I have his legacy of music and travel stories. He'll be in my thoughts that spring morning as I head out on the 'Great Adventure'. Maybe he'll even ride alongside me for a while, who knows. The universe is a mysterious place.

Godspeed, Bubba.

In the beginning, there was... Rust. And Spiders.

So, as mentioned in my introductory post, I'm a new rider AND a 'new' '86 GL1200A owner. The bike was a 2-owner, fairly unmolested bike with 80k that I bought from a retired Firefighter and Pastor, and the plan is to rehab the old girl, then get my riding skills up to snuff with the plan to do an epic cross-country ride in spring 2021 for a 'big round number' birthday.

And here's where we begin: a 1986 GL1200 Aspencade. Owner was a regular rider with his wife, until one day in spring 2018. They were ending a ride back at his house, pulled in and... Clutch wouldn't disengage. He dropped the bike with wifey on the back. Neither was injured, but in time it became apparent he was too damn old to be riding it anymore, and the wife didn't trust it. I bought it in August 2019. He replaced the battery and got it running, but noted a 'fuel leak'... He shut it off, and couldn't get it started a few days later... But I had proof it was running. Fuel smell in the oil told the story, it was hydrolocked.... He'd left the petcock open while he was working on it, and the stuck carb floats did the rest.

Anyway, I was satisfied with what I saw, we did the deal, and he was nice enough to trailer the bike the almost 2-hour-drive to my house. I paid for a nice dinner for he and his wife, and we all had a nice talk. I was traveling for work, so it was a few weeks before I could do anything with her... Started by pulling the lower fairings, top box, and plugs. One cylinder produced a couple of tablespoons' worth of gas, but afterwards the bike spun over like a top with plugs out. I then pulled the front of the engine apart to replace the timing belts, Gates T070's. Rusted bolts and screws I remove are getting replaced with stainless if they aren't rated hardware, and anything dirty or corroded is getting cleaned up to the best of my ability before reassembly. Already replaced the air filter with a HiFlo #HFA1906. Plugs that went in were NGK Iridiums, #2202, DPR8EIX-9's. At the time, the hope was to reassemble the engine parts and fire the thing on Sunday, September 15th.

The timing covers were so corroded, I ended up sanding them and painting them wrinkle-kote black. It took  quite a while to close up, definitely longer than I'd thought... But that's another story.

What is the LGA? Well, I'll tell you....

The LGA is just an idea... Call it an old man's 'damn fool idealistic crusade'. Most of you wouldn't consider me an old man if you'd met me, heck... I'm not even 50.

But I will be, in just a little over a year. And it's weighing heavily on me--- Sure, most folks see that particular number as a sort of rubicon to be crossed, but in my case it's even more so. You see, none of the male members of my family live to see 60. The bad diet and smoking coupled with high stress is certainly a factor, but undeniably so is genetics. I don't smoke, and I don't have what I'd consider a really stressful career... But I've been diagnosed with Metabolic syndrome for over ten years now. In a nutshell, that means I'm a diabetic with heart disease.  I manage it OK, not as well as I'd like... But between my condition and the fate of my ancestors, there's been an ever-present ticking clock in my mind... How long before I can't see? Before I'm on dialysis? Missing bits of me?

So, let's back up. I've had a friend since 1982. He's a really good friend, and even though he's been in a pretty bad accident, he still rides motorcycles--- and has for decades. His true passion for it took a while, but eventually infected me---When I laid eyes on the new Honda Goldwing F6B bike a few years ago. I've been actively studying up on all things motorcycles, culminating in (finally!) passing my MSF course earlier this year and getting my motorcycle endorsement. Around the same time, I picked up a copy of Neil Peart's 'Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road'... Which details his 55,000-mile ride in the wake of the loss of his wife and daughter within mere months of each other.

A little background. I'm an adventurous guy---I love expeditions to remote places, and I love driving. Now, there are many people who say they enjoy driving, but you have to understand this---I've driven from central Florida to Utah and back within a week's time... TWICE. I regularly drive to the desert of southwest Texas to 'relax'. It's a part of me. And it's these parts of me that suddenly clicked into place like a puzzle piece: I would do an epic ride, a great adventure in the wake of my 50th birthday.

For someone new to motorcycling, this is no small feat---Riding those kinds of miles on a motorcycle is MUCH harder than doing it in a car. But I fell in love with the idea. I needed a bike that would be up to such a task---Big enough to carry what I needed, all day long, day-after-day... In relative comfort, that I could fix if need be... AND I needed to like it. And so, I arrived at the Goldwing GL1200. To me, it's the perfect mix---Simple enough to fix with fairly simple tools, advanced enough to not need a metric ton of constant tuning and tweaking, parts everywhere, and there are a ton of them out there. I even loved the way the lines of it flowed--- Once you took some of the extraneous stuff off. It has what I need and can be adapted to be what I want. And I can do it for a fraction of the price of one of those new bikes.

So that's what's happened. I bought a 1986 Goldwing GL1200 Aspencade off of Facebook marketplace at the end of August 2019. It kinda ran, but wouldn't start. It was being sold by a retired firefighter and pastor. I'd looked at a few of them over the years, and they were always MUCH worse---Even though this one was pretty straight and unmolested, it had been stored for a while and had clutch issues... And leaked gas when it ran. I inspected it enough to have faith in it for what I paid, and did the deal. The gentleman and his wife was nice enough to trailer it the 2 hours to my house for the cost of a nice dinner, and we had a great time getting to know them. It's an honest bike.

I knew that before I was to cross the country with the thing, I'd be basically replacing and restoring almost every system on the bike---Partly to make sure it was up to the task, and partly to become *intimately* familiar with every system. I was hoping to be able to do a quick carburetor rebuild and fix the clutch, then start riding a bit as I went over the bike over the course of the next year.

Reality, of course, has raised its ugly head. During the initial work, I've discovered how rusty and crusty this thing truly is. Things I thought were in better shape have disappointed me on closer inspection---like BOTH saddlebags are pretty broken. The more I fix, though, the better it looks and the better it works. I still truly believe it has good bones. I'll be riding in no time.

The purpose of this blog is to document and share the whole process--from my first steps learning what everything does, to piloting my dream machine 8,000 miles across America in spring 2021. I'll share more about my trip when it becomes more of a reality---possibly my 'Last.Great.Adventure.' But for now, I'll just try to share how a guy who knows almost nothing about motorcycles restores a 35-year-old project bike in desperate need.  

This is the road to my L.G.A....