North we go

A few pics from our yearly migration from AZ. to MT. Had an uneventful drive. Fuel prices ranged from $4.00 / gal. to $3.86 / gal. Had to fuel 3 times averaging about $250.00 per fill up. Running at around 8.2 mpg average.

Great Basin in southern. NV.

 

(Click on pics to enlarge)

 

Old "Canned Ham" in Ash Springs NV.

 

Didn't have any photos of our rig / trailer...now I do.

 

BIG tree in Ash Springs

 

Mtns. near Ely

Snake River Canyon Bridge

 

Here we are.

 

Mtns. South of Dillon

 

S. of Dillon

 

Parked in truck lots on the way north. Last night in an abandoned truck stop south of Dillon.

 

Livingston, Mt.

 

Crazy Mtns.

 

Back to work tomorrw

Adios "Old Blue"

...Adios "Old Blue"....

This old GL1100 belongs to an aquaintance of mine. One of his $250.00 finds. I told him I would bleed his brakes. Well, that led to complete over hauls of both master cylinders and all three calipers, which were completly "stuck" and full of dirt...Then he asked me to get it running for him.

Tried to start it and found the fuel filter clogged with rust...pulled the tank float assembly and saw nothing but rust in the tank.
Pulled the carbs off and lo and behold: No way this thing will run ....

Since this was a low budget project, no carb rebuild kits. I pulled each carb apart and cleaned up every thing as best I could. One slide was "gummed" up tight but actually the carbs weren't too bad considering.

I reassembled with no new parts and rigged up a remote fuel supply. The bike fired right up but still has idle issues. Probably more "crap" in an idle circut somewhere.

Pulled the fuel tank, which is not a real "friendly' job on a Gold Wing. Flushed the tank with a LOT of water. Dumped a handful of big angular rocks in the tank and shook til I was blue in the face....more flushing...more shaking. Then filled it to the brim with vinegar. vinegar works pretty good eating away at the rust. Flushed and refilled a few times. Ended up with a fairly clean looking tank, although the "reserve" line is still plugged with debris.

Reassembled to the state you see in the first photo. Rode the old girl up and down the street a few times.
Moral of the story:
Beware of volunteering to adjust someones brakes.

"POP" goes the Gold Wing!

Last summer the Gold Wing developed an exhaust backfire while traveling through Yellowstone Park. The "pop" typically occurs under de-celleration, but occasionally it will "pop" while idling and under a light throttle application. I've been struggling to pin point the problem all winter.  

 

 

 

I posted the issue on a Gold Wing forum to the "experts" and have had a multitude of suggestions and remarks. Still haven't been able to figure out the problem. I've been riding the bike regardless of the issue as the bike starts, idles and runs fine.

 

Early on I ran some "Sea Foam" through the fuel and also some "Marvel" oil. This was grasping at straws and didn't seem to make any difference.

A defective "Air Cut Off Valve" was pointed out as a culprit so I removed / checked it. Couldn't physically see anything wrong there. I went ahead and ordered a new rebuild kit last night even though I don't think it needs it.

 

I also replaced the right side copper exhaust seals. The "pop" comes from the right exhaust so at recommendations I replaced them. The old ones seemed OK, although one of them seats a little crooked due to the after market header configuration. But it does seal thoroughly, it appears.

 

I also went in and checked / adjusted the exhaust valve clearances on the right side. They were dead on for adjustment.

I removed the spark plugs and they looked good...went ahead and replaced them with a new set anyway, but no difference noted.

Played with the idle mixture screws for best idle. Didn't change a thing there.

Bought a decent compression testing set and performed a compression test on each cylinder, the PSI readings were in the 140 - 145 psi range.

So I am still at a loss to what is causing this problem. Something is definately out of whack but I'll be damned if I can figure it out.

I'll replace the Air Cut Off Assembly when I receive it, but I'm doubtful that it will fix the issue.

I've received about a couple dozen different opinions from different Gold Wing owners but none of them have helped diagnose the problem.

Onward through the fog.....