The Honda Canada Riders Association Club's restoration of a Honda Gold Wing has been both challenging and rewarding. In the first article the team had begun the task of carefully disassembling the entire machine to check out what was good and what needed work or replacement.  An early challenge involved the rolling frame, or rather lack thereof, if the engine was not in--this caused some delay to the overall project.

In fact to date, the biggest challenge was learning the Gold Wing's idiosyncrasies of assembly and disassembly.

Since article two, the team has completed the engine rebuild and fitted it back into the frame. Although the engine was generally in good shape, the team rebuilding the engine included the following:

New pistons and rings—1st. oversize

New crankshaft main bearings (although the factory sizing selection process was very accurate the team decided to Plastigauge® the clearances to be sure)

New valves, guides and seals fitted

New gaskets and seals throughout

New timing belts

Various hardware items (this was done primarily for cosmetic reasons)

Note: A second GL engine assembly was sourced from a wrecker's yard to use for replacement of some hard to find parts. The team used the engine oil filter housing (the original one was cracked) and an oil baffle which was damaged inside the original during the disassembly process.

With the engine located, the fitting of items such as the carbs and exhaust could be done along with making the bike a rolling frame again.

Engine Cases

The engine cases - of the same color - were all bead blasted, painted and baked in an oven to give a hard durable finish. The timing belt covers needed a lot of work and these were entrusted to Jordan Mulcock. (Further reading: Classic Japanese Motorcycle Casing Finishes.)

The exhaust system needed some basic repairs (welding) before being sent out to be powder coated with a high-temp satin black finish.

After filling new bushes and seals and replacing the original legs, which were badly pitted, with good used items, the front forks were replaced. The steering head bearings and swing-arm bearings were also replaced at this point.

Spoke Polishing

The original wheels were corroded so a second set of used wheels was sourced only for the team to discover that the 'DID' sticker was not on the replacement items. To keep the bike as original as possible, the team decided to polish the original wheels (avoiding the DID stickers).  According to team member Pete Van Blarcom, "A couple of us spent a week polishing and cleaning the originals. Every spoke was cleaned by hand with Scotch-Brite™."

The original front brake calipers were in good shape but the team decided to fully disassemble them before giving them a thorough clean, then having them powder coated with a satin black finish.

The team could not find any original type tires (tube type) so they decided to fit new Continental's along with new tubes and rim tape.

The radiator was cleaned inside and out and the cooling vanes straightened (opening the gaps to the original position) before being painted. The fan motor was tested before being cleaned and repainted.

The team is now working on the final touches before the bike is fired up again after 20 years of storage. This includes sorting some electrical issues caused by the fitting of "that awful fairing" and fitting an original 1975 Ontario license plate which they believe they can use (they are checking with the local DMV).