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Brake Information

Carbs and Air Intake

If you have been trying to locate a pilot adjustment wrench (a special tool to adjust the idle jets on the two carburetors on a 1500 GW) The following will be of interest to you:

This tool, the end of which has a kind of "D" shape to it is extremely long to allow access to the adjustments through the front, center radiator area on the bike matches the following Thexton part number: Thexton #380 includes 4 metric size D shape adjusters for use with 1/4" drive extensions. Its inexpensive and should be available through NAPA.

Chrome and Accessories

http://www.chromeworld.com/

Clutch Information

Exhaust System

Lighting

Lubrication and Cooling

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/lubricants-redline.html

http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/synth_oil.txt.

http://www.riem.com/disk$user_disk1/http/Oil_Facts.txt

http://www.riem.com/disk$user_disk1/http/Snake_Oil.txt

http://lonestar.texas.net/~jrh/oil_faq.html or

ftp://ftp.cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Accessories/Oil/Summary

Mobile has thier own FAQ: http://www.oslonett.no/nl/ndiv/Mobil/automotive/oil-faq.html and more info starting at: http://www.mobil.com/lubes/automotive.html

More Oil Company home pages

http://www.valvoline.com/mech_only/

http://www.stp.com

http://www.texaco.com/tlc/havoline.htm

http://www.shell-lubricants.com

http://www.redlineoil.com

http://www.amsoil.com

http://www.pennzoil.com

"Synthetic Oil: Rx for Long Engine Life" by Curt Scott (seems to have a bent towards Amsoil products, but still interesting reading): http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/synth_oil.txt "MODERN SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS FOR ENGINE OIL APPLICATIONS" by Richard G. Golembiewski, P.E.:

http://lonestar.texas.net/~jrh/oil-syn.html

On oil additives:

http://lonestar.texas.net/~jrh/oil-add.html

Radio and Intercom

The standard helmet headset wiring is as follows: NOTE: 5-pin DINS are not number in order, so use the enclosed GIF image to determine what pin is which #.

Pin 1 Mic Shield

Pin 4 Mic hot

Pin 2 Audio Ground

Pin 5 Left Audio

Pin 3 Right Audio

The Left and right may be swapped since motorcycle stereo's do not have balance controls.

Note that Din connectors are not layed out 1,2,3,4,5 Check the molded terminalson the connector or the following GIF image for the correct number.

Radio Repair:

The unit on the 1200 is made by Panasonic, and I don't know if Clarion will repair these or not - check with them first. If so, you ship the unit to them, they respond with a quotation, and it rolls on from there. Address etc....

Clarion Canada Inc.
Attention: Service Department
2239 Winston Park Drive,
Oakville, Ontario,
L6H 5R1
Phone 905 829 4600 Fax 905 829 4608
 

PANASONIC Web Site:  http://www.pasc.panasonic.com/WhereTo/FindServicer.asp?Pass=1

Another excellent electrical technical contact:

Matsushita Electric of Canada
Chris Pink
1 905 238 4011
5770 Ambler Drive
Mississauga, Ont. L4W 2T3 and Honda Canada:

Honda Technical Line:
416 284 8110 Linda Delaney

Linda and Chris were both really helpful in getting me to the next step. The service rep at Clarion was also really nice to talk with. The puzzling thing for me, was the apparent lack of information at the local level.

Seats: Ratings and links

Shocks & Suspension

Fork seals should be replaced at the first sign of oil appearing on the stanchion tubes' legs. At first, there will be a black ring of oily dirt at the top of the fork's travel. If allowed to go on unchecked, the leak will worsen until there is enough oil accumulated on top of the dust seal to run down the back of the fork leg, straight onto the brake calipers. Eventually the fork will run out of oil, seizing the bushing surfaces that allow the fork halves to slide, thereby locking up the front end.

How to fix a leaky seal? Simple: Replace it by following the procedure outlined in your manual!

Begin by letting any air out of the shocks (if so equipped) then loosen the upper triple tree's pair of bolts that clamp down on the fork legs, and then loosen the fork caps atop each leg. Just a half turn or so, don't unscrew them. Next, loosen the brake caliper bolts and the front axle. Then prop the front end off the ground.

Once safely aloft, remove the brake caliper(s), speedometer cable, front fender, and front wheel. Depending on your bike's model, you may also need to loosen or remove brake hose clamps, the handle bars, fairings or air caps. Loosen the triple clamp bolts that secure the fork leg, and pull the fork down and out with a twisting motion. Now take it to the shop and have them replace the seals (G) seriously the following steps are messy, and I always skip them and take the forks in, but in case you are adventurous I'll leave them in here:

Place the upper half of the fork vertically in a soft-jawed vice (one with brass or lead inserts), being careful not to damage the chrome plating. In order to get the fork cap off, there must not be any vice pressure near the top of the fork leg. Back off the spring preload adjuster and remove the cap carefully - expect the spring inside the leg to push the cap off forcefully. Usually, you can hold your hand over the top of the cap while turning it with a box-end wrench, preventing it from flying across the garage. Remove the spring and drain the oil into a container. Stroke the fork a few times to get all the oil out.

Notice that the fork will only extend a certain amount then stop. The two fork halves are held together by the damper rod, and the amount of fork travel is determined by the length of the damper rod. A socket-head cap screw (an Allen bolt) runs through the bottom of the outer leg and into the bottom of the damper rod, holding the two pieces together. The length of the rod passes through the bottom opening of the inner tube, stopping the inner leg's travel with its head, which has a small spring attached to cushion the rod/inner tube when the fork "tops out."

In order to separate the fork halves, the bolt hidden within the bottom of the outer tube must be removed from the damper rod. To prevent the rod from merely spinning with the bolt, a special tool is inserted down the inner tube to fit into the head of the damper rod. The manufacturers sells this tool, but a proper-sized nut welded to the bottom of an old spark-plug socket works just as well.

With the damper rod free, the forks will almost separate, but are stopped by the lower slide bushing (on the inner tube) hitting the upper guide bushing (on the outer tube). Remove the dust seal at the top of the outer leg to reveal the metal spring-clip underneath. Pry it out with a small flat-blade screwdriver. Now the seal is free to come out with a little persuasion. Clamp the outer tube in a vice using the brake caliper mounting tabs, and firmly grasp the inner tube. Now fill the fork assembly full of oil and pressurize it so that the oil drives out the seal. This is messy, and is reason enough to take the tubes to a shop in my opinion!

Now that the legs are apart, it's time to clean and inspect. Clean all the non-rubber parts to remove the contaminated oil. Look carefully at the chrome surface of the inner tube. Pay particular attention to the area swept by the seal. Any pitting, scratches, or rust spots must be removed in order for the new seal to work. Use wet-n-dry emery cloth soaked with oil, or an oiled honing stone to take off the rough edges of small pits. If the pitting is severe, or the chrome has worn through to the underneath layer, the leg needs to be replaced.

Inspect the two bushings. The one on the bottom of the inner tube has a Teflon coating on the outside, and the bushing should stay on the leg. It's not necessary to remove it for inspection, and some manufacturers specifically say not to take it off unless you're replacing it. If the gray surface is showing any signs of the brass underneath it, junk it for a new one. The upper guide bushing that came out with the seal has its coating on the inside. If it looks worn, give it the same treatment. In fact, because of the banging it gets on its way out, most manufacturers recommend replacing it with the seals.

Assuming everything is in order, it's time to re-assemble the fork. There should be an exploded view of all the parts of the fork in the factory service manual that you have open in front of you. Installation is the reverse of the disassembly, with the exception of banging the seals back in. With the damper rod installed and tightened, slide the upper guide bushing over the fork leg and into the recess where it sits in the outer leg. Ideally a seal driver should be used for this part, another expensive factory tool, but you may have something laying around in your garage that will work just the same: If you've ever changed a set of steering head bearings, and thought that the old damaged races that came out were just useless junk, well think again. With a little luck, they just may be the perfect size to use for a make-shift seal driver!

Just make sure that the bearing race doesn't get jammed in the same housing the bushing is going into. If it looks like it's going to work, use a heavy hammer and a flat-blade screwdriver on the bearing race to gently drive the bushing in. Make sure to start the bushing carefully, tapping around the circumference of the driver, so that it goes in square. Grease the lips of the new seal before sliding it over the fork leg, and drive it in the same way. Install the clip, making sure that it seats in the groove all the way around the leg, followed by the dust seal.

Using the factory service manual fill the fork leg with the specified amount of the recommended weight of oil. Now, if your bike had a mushy feeling front end to begin with, under-sprung and under-damped like a pogo-stick, it may be beneficial to go with a thicker weight of oil. If the book says 10 weight, try using 15 or 20 weight.

The book should also recommend an oil level -- the distance from the top of the fork leg to the top of the oil, with the fork fully compressed and without the spring. This is a more accurate measurement of how much oil is in the forks. Make sure to stroke the fork a few times to fill the damper rod and purge any air before measuring the oil level. The last inch of travel will be very slow, but make sure the fork is fully compressed or you'll get an inaccurate reading.

Re-extend the fork and install the spring, any spacers, and the fork cap. Insert the fork leg up through the lower triple clamp, make sure that the cables and hoses are routed around the leg properly -- especially the brake lines -- and tighten the clamp bolts. Now do it all again for the other leg. To make sure the forks are aligned properly when installed, take a pane of glass and put it across the exposed upper fork tubes. If it doesn't sit flat, something's crooked. If you've crashed the bike and made sure the fork tubes are straight, then there's a good chance that the triple clamp was bent. To fix this, remove the top triple clamp -- which only acts as a brace, and is rarely ever bent -- and drop both fork tubes down so they sit flush with the bottom triple tree. Tighten the bolts to firmly hold the forks, and put your pane of glass across the fork tubes. Then you can see which way the triple tree is bent -- luckily, it'll almost always be tweaked in a two-dimensional "front to back" plane, so just grab the bottom of the forks and pull (or push, as needed) really hard. It's not rocket science, but this will bend the triple tree back rather easily.

When the front end is completely re-assembled, set the suspension's sag, or the amount of travel used from full extension -- when the bike is upright without supporting either it's own weight or the rider's -- to the amount it "sags" under it's own weight and the rider's. Unless your bike is some raked-out chopper or a dirt bike, the sag should be 1.25 inches for sporting types, a bit more for street riders. The sag can be set with the spring pre-load adjusters on top of the forks. If there is no provision for adjustment, simply insert spacers on top of the springs.

Fork Air Levels: I know this is old stuff to many of you, but it was a real revelation to me. Knowing exactly how something works often turns a problem into a solution. After completely overhauling the valves, lines, and switches from the compressor to the outlets of the selector valve, I discovered why it is that pumping up the rear suspension can cause the front suspension to also increase pressure.

Between the compressor and the selector valve is an aluminum chamber (referred to as the sensor joint in the service manual) into which is screwed the pressure sensor and a check valve to keep pressure from leaking back to the compressor. There is only one sensor. Pressing either the front or rear selector button causes that part of the suspension to vent into the sensor chamber, and the pressure is reported on the LCD. This is why the indicator for rear pressure starts low and quickly builds as the chamber pressurizes.

This chamber will contain the last pressure introduced into it. This means that any time the compressor has been used or the rear pressure has been checked. The sensor chamber will contain more pressure than the forks. Then when the front selector button is pushed, The air under pressure in this chamber is discharged into the forks and increases the pressure slightly.

To eliminate this problem, simply push and release the decrease button each time before checking the front pressure. This will vent the sensor joint to atmosphere rather than venting it into the front forks.

Front wheel wobbling: ever wonder why?

Most likely it is that the Steering Stem Nut is not properly torqued, but you could have tire cupping or warped calipers as well.

Many Wings have a low speed front wobble that a lot of us have installed the Super Brace to help with. You might also want to have your dealer check the steering head bearing. Mine needed tightening before I had a thousand miles on it and I have heard other say it was loose out of the box.

REAR SHOCK ISSUES

The GL1200 rear shock is an "open" type shock, which is to say that inside housing there is an air bladder, a fluid reservoir and a open hydraulic cylinder which has a series of seals and valves. As we introduce air into this housing (make that "air shock") we also introduce microscopic particles which, over time, deteriorate the seals and valves. Usually this begins to manifest itself at approximately 25,000 miles. The first sign of shock failure is leaking fluid from the bottom of the boot. Usually, however, the shock begins to loose its ability to control dampening and rebound (you mentioned "bottoming") because the seals cannot control the fluid which is the dampening media. While it is possible to rebuild the stock Honda shock, the problem will reoccur at about 25,000 more miles.

The Progressive route is certainly the best. There are two replacement routes available for the GL1100 and GL1200 owners. My preferred upgrade is to rebuild the stock Honda shock body with Progressive coil springs and Progressive replacement dampened units. If you are not mechanical, have your dealer perform this service. The shocks are removed from the bike, torn apart and the replacement Progressive parts (dual coil springs and sealed dampener units) are installed with a very small amount of fluid and new Honda seals (do not let the dealer use the progressive seals!) The advantage with this upgrade is you retain the stock air connections, stock shock length and bushing setup. The disadvantage is the need for a special tool to keep the shock from "exploding" when you remove the internal snap ring. The benefit is vastly improved ride quality, better dampening, less air at any given load and a lifetime warranty from Progressive on the parts. The second route to upgrade is to replace the stock shock assembly with the Progressive "Magnumatic" shock kit. About the same cost, a little less labor, modified air line connection, slightly higher ride height, and a lot of washers and bushings to make the replacement shock fit the frame and swing arm like stock.

Stator and Charging information

A "permanent" fix for the GL-1200 Stator was developed some time ago. It is expensive as it involves replacing the system with that from the LTD. Besides having to purchase the obvious 500 watt Stator, you also have to purchase the rear housing of the Engine that covers the Stator and Clutch. The housing needed to be larger due to the fact that the Stator is physically larger also. You will also need to purchase a Regulator/Rectifier for the Limited Edition (1985).

You have to be careful with the Regulator/Rectifier purchase, as some Honda parts persons will tell you that ALL GL-1200 Regulator/Rectifiers are the same. Not so! The Aspencade / Interstate version does not have the same voltage limits, and headset interference will occur, as well as overcharging of the Battery. To make things simple for you and your Honda dealer it is Honda part # 31600-ML8-305

Description: Rectifier, Regulator Unit Price: $154.97....That will be $139.47 with your GWRRA 10% discount off parts.

NOTE:  Marty Ludwick (Email: martyludwig@netzero.net) has come across a fix similar to the old "Campbell Harness" for the 1200 electrical problems. He had not tried it yet but says it can be obtained from Ray's Engines,3922N,5000W. Kankakee,IL,60901. The harness is $80.00 Phone #(815)-939-7894

MAINTENANCE TIPS:

Voltage Regulator failures

Check the 3 yellow leads coming from the alternator to the plug on the left side. That plug is a hot spot for trouble, another one is the plug assy. on top of the starter relay. Honda uses it as a jumper point. I have found several that were in pretty bad shape it is on the left below the battery. The r/w lead from the regulator attaches to a station on that point, pull back the boot and take a look. The voltage at the top of the main fuse should be 13.8 to 14.2v @1500rpm and up. The regulator should get warm about 100deg. but no hotter.

There are 3 very important connections involving the Stator that need regular attention. There is one connector just forward of the Battery, one connector just to the rear of the Battery, at the starter solenoid/main fuse connector, and the third is under the storage compartment above your air filter and to the left of the compartment. This one is for your Regulator/rectifier, it is a little more difficult to get at, and you might have to remove the compartment shell to service and inspect it. ALL of these connections should have a regular inspection for excessive heat and corrosion and then be cleaned and coated with a liberal amount of Dielectric compound. These areas mentioned may not ever be a problem on your Wing but they should be looked at regularly, like every couple of months, depending of course on how often you ride the Wing.

Take a look at the battery levels. Also, pull apart the stator plug - often a wire will heat up enough to cause it to brown a bit just before the electrical spade in the plug holder. Hit them good with contact cleaner and pack them with dielectric (non-conducting) grease to prevent the plastic connector from 'bleeding' voltage.

On the other side of the battery look at the 30A fuse. This is the location of the starter solenoid/30A fuse ass'y. The plug they connects to it was cooked! Melted together, I had to press on all 4 sides to crack it loose. The black plastic was reduced in places to carbon. For all those about to venture on the road soon who own the 84-87 GL's, check those above mentioned connectors and save yourself some heartache in the middle of nowhere.

After this modification is accomplished you will need to make some wiring changes. First you will need to add a 2nd delivery wire to the battery from the rectifier. In the wiring harness leaving the rectifier plug there are two Red/White wires, cut one of these wires (it doesn't matter which one, they are both joined together further into the harness ) and splice in a 14ga red wire with a 30amp fuse in-line, and connect it directly to the positive terminal of the battery. This reduces the heat build-up from the rectifier to the starter solenoid. Additionally you might remove the harness from the Stator plug ( just ahead of the battery ) to the Regulator/Rectifier plug, and built a new one using 3 yellow 12ga wires. A terminal kit is available from Honda to duplicate the original connectors. At the rectifier Plug I removed the yellow wires from the plastic connector to get them farther apart to further reduce heat build-up. Be sure to insulate them adequately.

Starter and Ignition Information

GL-1200

Try this first before removing the starter. With only 20,000 miles its unlikely that the starter is worn out.

Put the bike in second or third gear with the key OFF.

Then pull the bike backwards and roll the engine over a couple of times. This will engage the sprage clutch that the starter uses to turn over the engine. sounds like you lost the connection between the brushes and the communitor.

Then take your jumper cables ( a quality pair), and ground the - to the frame and then hit the + directly to the starter + connection.

If this doesn't work then pull the starter.

And yes you can get the starter back in by leaning the bike on it's side to line up the sprocket in the starter hole.

Check out Dave Haggards Spark plug info for the Wings at:

http://www.newcovenant.com/motors/wingplugs.html

Transmission

Goldwing Timing

The timing belts on a GL1200 (Honda Part # 14400-MG9-004 @ $60.76 EACH) are replaceable by: NAPA # (older) 25 90330 (newer) 25 0070 Costs are reported to be about $25.00 for the pair. According to sources on WOTI you can also use the Gates or Cloyes belts ($12.00) on the 1200 - the Gates number is T070. The Cloyes number is B070 and is simply a repackaged Gates belt in their box.

For those of you who need belts for the GL1000 or GL1100 call American Indian M/C Co.209-286-1232 Fax 209-286-1368, they've got them in stock for $22.00 each plus shipping. I believe the GL1200 belt is a different length and number of teeth. The belt is labeled "K L 1440 679 317MC, there is also another paper tag attached to the belts that say's 15-1449 Timing belt: Hon GL1000/1100. You may also visit their web site at www.indianmotocycle.com

Wheels: lubrication and Tire Information

Windshields: Ratings and links

http://www.plastic-man.com/motor.html

http://www.tulsa.com/

IMPORTANT NUMBERS TO KNOW:

American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

1919 Torrance Blvd.

Torrance, CA 90501-2745

(310) 783-2000

The number for American Honda Motorcycle customer service is (310)532-9811..Thay are open from 9am to 5pm PST Mon-Fri....

REPLACEMENT / Crossover PARTS:

The timing belts on a GL1200 (Honda Part # 14400-MG9-004 @ $60.76 EACH) are replaceable by: NAPA # (older) 25 90330 (newer) 25 0070 Costs are reported to be about $25.00 for the pair.

For those of you who need belts for the GL1000 or GL1100 call American Indian M/C Co.209-286-1232 Fax 209-286-1368, they've got them in stock for $22.00 each plus shipping. I believe the GL1200 belt is a different length and number of teeth. The belt is labeled "K L 1440 679 317MC, there is also another paper tag attached to the belts that say's 15-1449 Timing belt: Hon GL1000/1100. You may also visit their web site at www.indianmotocycle.com

A late-model Honda Accord, oil filter can be substituted for a '93 GL1500's (Fram # PH3593A) See this for more: The Fram PH6017 is a direct replacement for the Honda filter but costs nearly the same

The ubiquitous PH3593A is often touted as being a viable substitute, but not a direct replacement, for the Fram PH6017. For more on the PH3593A search the GWRRA Archives for PH3593A & "Bob White"

Using that number as a starting point reading the labels on the boxes I found a number of possible filter to use on the 1500 - if it fits.

FRAM PH3593A, PH6811, CDG395A ($10 with teflon included)

STP SO2808, SO2869, SO2903, SO2867

AC PF1236, PF1127, PF2057 & possibly the PF57

LEE LF2808HP

PUROLATOR LI4459, PER4620

MOTORCRAFT FL810, FL818, FL815

DEUTSCH D335, D362, D373

POWERFLOW SL14459

NAPA 1365

Measurements in inches with a 6" steel rule: The Honda filter measured 2.9 long, 2.7 flange diameter, seal outside diameter 2.4, and seal inside diameter 2.35

The PH6017A is 2.85 long, 2.7 flange, seal OD 2.38, seal ID 2.15

Fram PH3593A 3.5 long, 2.95 flange, seal OD 2.4, seal ID 2.1

STP S02867 3.5 long, 2.65 flange, seal OD 2.4, seal ID 2.1

AC PF57 3.5 long, 3.0 flange, seal OD 2.8, seal ID 2.4 There is the possibility of a different bypass opening and closing pressures in the filters and that number was not available. However another source I found listed bypass pressures for a number of filters that seemed to be in three groups 8-11, 11-14, and 14-17 psi.

O-Ring for Thermostat seal Honda part # 91307-MB0-003 a 54x2 mm O-Ring $1.99 USED PARTS DEALERS: