Category: New Owners

Kick Starting a ’75-’77 Honda GL1000

Starters are very reliable on GL1000s, but it’s nice to have a back-up. The back-up kick start lever is found only on ’75-’77 models. Honda deemed this extravagant redundancy was unnecessary and dropped the feature on later models.  I’ve actually needed the kick starter on several occasions to make it home when some aspect of the very reliable electric starting system failed. I also use my kick starter for another reason: it’s a good test of your bike’s overall state of tune. If it will start with the kick start lever, then you have a well tuned bike! There are many maintenance operations (like setting timing) where the kick starter provides some nice convenience.

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Kick Start Lever Storage Location Continue reading “Kick Starting a ’75-’77 Honda GL1000” →

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Starting a Honda GL1000 after a Long Lay-up

I’m often asked how to return an engine to service after a long lay-up. The starting point would be an engine which hasn’t been started in several years. Hopefully, the crankshaft will turn freely without heroic measures. You should always check this before buying an old bike that’s been sitting. I “pass” on most opportunities to buy bikes with frozen engines. Bikes with frozen engines usually have a myriad of other problems that make them poor candidates for serious restoration efforts.

Barn Fresh GL1000

Here’s the method I use to resurrect GL1000 engines safely. This procedure is very effective in safely cleaning engine internals and removing varnish from the starter clutch rollers. The process works well for most internal combustion engines.

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Not so “Green,” No-Drop Idle Mixture Adjustment Method

I find the factory recommended idle mixture screw setting specs to be very close to ideal. They are listed here for the Honda GL1000.

Idle FUEL Mixture Screw on Honda GL1000

I do usually richen them up an extra 1/8 to 1/4 turn (out) to compensate for the leaner modern “gasoline” which is diluted with ethanol in most US markets.

But sometimes, you just need an excuse to do some high performance tuning on your bike! 🙂 

Continue reading “Not so “Green,” No-Drop Idle Mixture Adjustment Method” →

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One in a Million! Allan Zahrt’s Million Mile GL1000

How many million mile motorcycles are there?  Answer below. Read on!

July 2017

Allan Zahrt with his Million Mile GL1000!

In the early seventies Honda launched without fanfare an ambitious project. Internally, Honda had a bold plan: to build the world’s best motorcycle. Not just the best Japanese motorcycle  – the best motorcycle available anywhere in the world. Period! The eventual result of this project was revealed to the world at the Cologne, Germany International Motorcycle Show (INTERMOT) in October, 1974 as the GL1000.

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Reasonable Part Substitutions for Honda GL1000s

You can never go wrong with OEM Honda parts. Fit, function, and reliability are never an issue. If you have a show bike, authenticity requirements dictate that you stick with Honda parts wherever possible. Of course, if show judges are looking at things like your timing belts, then you have bigger problems!

The following chart lists reasonable substitutes that have performed well for me and many others. This information is available elsewhere, but I decided to post it here for convenience since I’m often asked. Prices are considerably less than the equivalent Honda parts.

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