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.