More to be done !

Paint, what a novel idea! I can sympathize, with anyone who has painted a motorcycle frame and found it a challenge. It is bad enough when it is in black. Try it in yellow. Thought I was going blind! So anyway, I did the filler with weld and grinding and a small amount of plastic filler to make smooth. All the prep time pays off when you want it to look nice.

At first I painted the frame black, then decided to make it yellow. Why? because stock is black, and this bike is not stock, so yellow it is. I also put ghost flames on the faux tank, just 'cause. They are very subtle, and just what I wanted. Not real hard to do either.

As luck would have it, I have a hard time with this software, is difficult to layout the way I want it. Must be a generational thing. Although the pictures are in reverse order, they get the point across. First the frame was black, now it is yellow.

Phase 2

The tank lid originally had a fuel gauge in the

recess.

I slit the metal with a cut off wheel at the base of the ridge, then removed some material to lower the height.

Then radial slits at the front to help shrink it.

I welded a piece of metal into the whole and welded up the rest of it. Plastic filler was applied to clean it up. Not being a master welder I resorted to the "bondo" in as little as needed.

The tank sides got the treatment too. For these I made a template that was appealing to me and then used a cutoff wheel to make the cut. Then I took the cutout from the left side and held it in place in the right side with a couple of fender washers and small nut and bolts as needed. Then using fiberglass "hair" bonded it together.

Here it is with filler, ready for sanding.

Bondo on the mid joint of frame.

More filler at horns on rear.

And the head with filler.

The plan of attack

This is a 1976 GL1000, as I found it, not running and the object of neglect for many years. Everything is mucked up at this point. This one was free for the taking. It will be the object of my next project.

This one is the '77 Gl1000 that I am currently working on, like the '76, it too was the victim of too much love, it too had a plethora of bags, fairing, lights, and other do-dads stuck to it. So first thing was to break it down to its components and sandblast away 34 years of paint,rust, grime and other crud. This to facilitate close inspection of the frame and all components, as to servicability. That accomplished I began changing things.

Since one of my objectives was to mount the rear fender on the swing arm, I devised a front mount for the rear fender

Next I bobbed the "horns" on the rear section of the frame, since the fender was no longer going to be mounted here, it was no longer needed

Another objective was to smooth out the frame in a couple of areas. The main frame tubes come together in the mid section of the bike, and there is a gap that is rather ugly, so I welded up the gaps, almost 3/8" wide, and ground it smooth.

Another area that I felt was unduly ugly was at the head. This shot is of the left side pointing up ward. I added sheet metal to this area to clean up the utilitarian look of this joint. There are a number of other smoothing treatments on the front frame drops, where the factory has a tube in tube joint with a couple of welds, it was crude but effective. So I welded that up and smoothed it out as well.

Here we have an 81 CB650, after I tore it down and repainted. This bike had 1768 original miles on it when I got it, from the 2nd owner. It was all there, but it was froze up and the fuel system was "toast". So I stripped it down, cleaned it up, poured ATF into the top end. let it sit for a bit. Then started to work on the motor. The brake system was all fouled as well. The nice thing was that it was essentially in perfect condition other than having been in the weather, albeit under a tarp.

This picture shows how it looked when I got it. It had been run into a tree or something similar and had the down tubes bent, so off with them and a good set from Bent Bike. This was my first bike in over 30 years and was a good size project to start on. Most of the work was done in my studio during the winter,the rest on the back porch or at the auto restoration shop where I work part time.

Thanks to Al Murray for his assistance in this and my other projects. The first good drive I took on this bike was around the Olympic Pennensula in 12 hours, one sunny summer day. That's about 390 miles of butt numbing on this bike, but a lot of good riding none the less. I wound up putting a cafe fairing on it for the ride and that helped break up some of the buffeting.

Latest Naked Wing

Above is the GL1100I after some mods and paint, my daily rider for the past year. 10,000 troublefree miles, so far.

To the right is my '81 GL1100I, after losing the bags et al, and before new paint and seat, and wheels etc.

My latest project involves a 1977 GL1000, I picked up for less than $500, and have since spent many hours and $ building a custom bike. The idea was to create a naked wing, with the rear fender mounted on the swingarm, some custom bodywork and a nice paint job. Something that would be differentfrom other 'wings and still be a good ride on summer day.

This is a sneak preview of the "Yellow Jacket". Currently I am working on the engine and fuel injection system. More on this later. As can be seen, there are a number of mods on this bike, that I have not seen on a GoldWing. My objective is to have it up and running by this June.

Intro to Dean's Naked Wings

For those of you who know what the GL series motorcycles from Honda are, there is little need for discussion. Those who are not familiar, I encourage you to investigate the internet fully, as there are a number of web sites dedicated to these fine 2 wheelers. NGWclub.com is but one source of information and expertise pertaining to these bikes.

My purpose for this blog is my personal involvement with these machines. About 3 years ago I bought an '81 CB650 from a friend, only to refurish and ride it for the next year. Soon thereafter I bought an 81 GL1100, cleaned it up. It is my daily rider, and soon got a '77 GL1000. My current project.

I hope to show by photos and text some of my handywork. I hope it will inspire others to find an old GL and do I as so many before me have done. Have a little fun and enjoy these great machines.

Introduction to Dean's Naked Wings

About 3 years ago, I bought a Honda CB650 1981, from a friend. The initial goal was to refurbish the bike so I could do a little riding. So I did, since then I have aquired 2 Goldwings and am almost done refurbishing the 2nd Goldwing. I have also managed to put 4,000 miles on that 650 and sold it, put almost 10,000 on the 1981 GL1100, and am nearly done with a custom job on the '77 GL1000.

My goal is to have some fun with what I consider to be one of the most overlooked candidates for customization, since the 1960's and the VW Beetle. Like the Bug, there are a large number of good condition, low mileage 'Wings, available, for making an afordable "Naked" Wing.

I hope to show some of what I am up to, concerning GoldWings of the 1975 through 1987 era. Not that all should be chopped, stripped or otherwise changed from original configuration.

There should always be some nice, stockers out there, but the ones that have all the junk chrome and other abberrations of the era, need to be set free. Not unlike "Willy", the burden of tooo much "love" needs to be flensed from what is one of the most revolutionary of motorcycles.

As many before me have discovered, these bikes are a lot of fun to ride in an aggressive way, once certain mods have been done. And they are still one of the best tourers out there. Just saying.

Many thanks to the may folks in the GoldWing Community, for inspiration, information, and assistance in my quest for a different kind of GoldWing.

In the future I will have photos of past and present projects.