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Just bought a neglected 1200- what do?
I brought home an 86 Interstate sunday. It was in a barn covered in dust, and had mouse nests in the pipes. It has 88k miles on it and I have a rough record from the first owner up to 70k but no clue as to what the last owner did for it.

Now a little about me-
This is only my third bike, and my first wing. I bought a new v-star in 02 and an almost-new road star in 04, and both took minimal maintenance. (sold the road* to cover day-care costs) So I really don't know what all I need to do to get a neglected, 25 year old bike into top condition.
The only mechanical issues I've noticed are some squeaking coming from the front end when I'm riding her and her rear is awful squishy.
What I need is a list of things I should check before trying to ride her out of town.
I like to do as much as I can by myself but I've never really been much of an engine guy. I can't even keep my lawnmower running.

Thanks-
BT
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#1 05-04-2011, 07:40 PM,
Well you came to the right place. Search and you'll find a huge list of things to check and inspect.

But the short.

Full tune-up, (Fluids, plugs, wires, etc etc)
Timing Belts
Check shocks and compressor system (does the interstate have the compressor?) or upgrade to Progressive Shocks. Flush Fork oil and refill at very least
Brakes flush and Bleed at very least rebuild masters/calipers most definitely after sitting that long
Clutch flush and bleed.
Check electrical system solder stator and rectifier if not already done
Check all lights etc etc
Replace tires! (grease final while doing this)
Fuel filter and/or flush gas tank if full of rust?
Refresh Starter (Grease is probably gone)

As for front end might want to check the head bearings.

That's a short list and I'm sure others will add to it...I've done all of this and more on my Project Bike but my bike was non-running when I first got it.

Have FUN!
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#2 05-05-2011, 10:18 AM,
Try this link for the manual in pdf format: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://gl1200.free.fr/index3.htm">http://gl1200.free.fr/index3.htm</a><!-- m -->

Try this link for exploded views of assemblies: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://hondaparts-direct.com/">http://hondaparts-direct.com/</a><!-- m -->

Try this link when you have questions: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.gl1200goldwings.com/index.php">index.php</a><!-- l -->

Try this link for used parts: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://motors.shop.ebay.com/?_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_sop=10&_trkparms=72%253A543%257C65%253A12%257C39%253A1&_nkw=gl1200&_sc=1&_dct=1">http://motors.shop.ebay.com/?_trksid=p4 ... c=1&_dct=1</a><!-- m -->

Welcome to the site.
Congratulations on the purchase.
Hope to see you out there real soon.....

-Ride On
enjoying the view from the saddle....... due mainly to the people and information found within this site
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#3 05-05-2011, 11:55 AM,
Welcome to the site from Baltimore Ontario.
Ride safe have fun and enjoy. Lane
1985 Aspencade
2002 Vulcan
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#4 05-05-2011, 12:24 PM,
Welcome to the forum from Southwest Arkansas.
Bryce
85 Interstate Wineberry Red
86 Interstate Denuim Blue Metalic
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#5 05-05-2011, 07:40 PM,
Timing belts are on order. Original owner replaced them at 41k, which was 47k miles ago, so I'm going to try to tackle that next weekend.
Getting ready to order brake pads & plugs & wires. And I'm still trying to decide if I want to spend 300$ on shocks or just deal with what I have. Thanks for the info, I've got a to-do list printed out now.
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#6 05-06-2011, 03:45 PM,
I'm jelious. Sounds like a fun project. Barn bikes, fun!
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#7 05-06-2011, 05:48 PM,
Ok I'm gonna tell you my order and why.

1. get the fuel system cleaned out, make sure the pipes are clear, check the oil. check the cooling system, pull the air filter. In other words, do no harm to the engine.
2. see if it starts. If t does start, change any filters/fluids < seafoam is a good thing here.
3. If you have a running bike, check the brakes. First priority of riding is being able to stop. <- That' a handy bit of knowledge.
4. Check the tires. blowing a tire on a bike is bad. When thinking of bad think of this, "Oh my God, Oh My god, we are all going to die..." Except you often only get to the "Oh..." part...
5. Before you ride any distance,the timing belts are a priority.

If you get that far, then you can look at the post here and start making a list. But without knowig how much money you have to spend and the actual things that are wrong, there is no definite answer.

One thing though. Brakes and tires are never good things to put off. Safety first, second and always...
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#8 05-07-2011, 12:19 AM,
Oil & filter going in today, brake pads on order from sabrecycles. Timing belts on order from Autozone. Going to go back to autozone today for coolant and final drive gear oil.

Go called into work last night and decided to take the bike. WOW she REALLY needs brake pads. Won't ride it again till they're on.
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#9 05-07-2011, 07:14 AM,
Unclebeer Wrote:Oil & filter going in today, brake pads on order from sabrecycles. Timing belts on order from Autozone. Going to go back to autozone today for coolant and final drive gear oil.

Go called into work last night and decided to take the bike. WOW she REALLY needs brake pads. Won't ride it again till they're on.

The good point is break pads are not expensive. Also pick up some DOT4 brake fluid. flush the old fluid out and replace with new. There are post about fluhing the break fluid. The trick is the banjo joints, there are post he that tell you how to crack them open jsut a little to get all the air out of the system...

One more thing, if the brakes are mushy after that, there are links to people that supply stainless steel lines. These help alot. These are big heavy bikes. 27 year old rubber lines are a time bomb. Not saying you have to replace them right away, you may have more important things, but if the brakes continue to be mushy, look into them...
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#10 05-07-2011, 01:17 PM,
staijo Wrote:One more thing, if the brakes are mushy after that, there are links to people that supply stainless steel lines. These help alot. These are big heavy bikes. 27 year old rubber lines are a time bomb. Not saying you have to replace them right away, you may have more important things, but if the brakes continue to be mushy, look into them...

Thanks, I will look into that. I have a decent sized safety budget, so I'll probably end up getting them whenever I figure out what I have to order for fork seals.
Also on the list: A new windshield (mine is a little hazy from age, & oncoming headlights are kind of a bear, and I really like the vented one I saw the other day), battery, and progressive shocks. Luckily, the tires are pretty new and in very good shape. No weather checking, lots of tread.

I'm coming to appreciate how spoiled I was in the past, riding brand new, low maintenance bikes.

BT
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#11 05-07-2011, 06:40 PM,
I got everything needed to rebuild my from forks from cheapcycleparts.com If I remember correctly, which I usually don't, I paid under $200 including springs. If you are going to replace the seals, you may as well replace wthe springs with a set of progressives. Take a look here....

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cheapcycleparts.com/model_years/382-honda-1986-gold-wing-interstate-gl1200i/assemblies/7322">http://cheapcycleparts.com/model_years/ ... blies/7322</a><!-- m -->
Mike                  
'84 Aspencade                                      
*Poorboy Conversion                              
* Bed-liner Black                                    

North Jersey Motorcycle Group
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#12 05-08-2011, 02:55 AM,
fysty-1,

once the index page loads up go over to the right of each chapter,click on the c-clamps,you have to download each section of the manual separately,open the zip files and save to a file where you can finds it later
1987 Aspencade 129K
1986 SEI 93K
2014 Tri-Glide HD 17K

Hancock,MD
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#13 05-08-2011, 12:08 PM,


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