Category: Carb/Fuel

Honda GL1000 Carb Removal

Please consult a manual before you begin for additional information on carb removal. Do not attempt removing your carbs if you lack mechanical aptitude, proper tools or general intelligence. While I’m on the topic of manuals, I rely on three: the Official Honda GL1000 Workshop Manual, plus the ones from Clymer’s and Haynes. Generally, the Honda manual is sufficient, but sometimes the others provide helpful cross-reference.

I strongly recommend that you obtain at least one good manual before you delve into any repairs or maintenance. A good source for the Honda manual is: https://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp

My lawyer asks me to remind you that you are advised to heed all recommended safety practices detailed in the manuals listed above and that you assume ALL risks.

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Problem with Aftermarket Jet Needles

You might consider this item: Randakk’s GL1000 Carb Rebuild Video

Recently, I’ve discovered some improperly sized jet needles that were provided with aftermarket carb rebuild kits. The needles looked identical to the original but did in fact have a significantly narrower cross section at the mid-point of the tapered section.

Effectively, this made the needles much richer. The brand in question is NAPCO and the kits were for a ’76 which happens to be one of my bikes. The result of these improper needles was the bike in question ran fine near sea level (although a plug check showed it was running slightly rich in the mid-range and the fuel mileage was terrible).

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Throttle Return Spring Details

You might consider this item: Randakk’s GL1000 Carb Rebuild Video

Recently, a GL1000 owner was in my shop with an odd complaint. He reported that very heavy pressure was required at the throttle twistgrip to increase or maintain engine speed. Suspecting that the throttle cables were worn or damaged, the owner had just replaced both throttle cables, but this offered no improvement.

My test ride verified that indeed there was something amiss. This bike ran great, but after just a few miles the effort required at the throttle made my right forearm ache!

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Fuel Sender Issues

This Tech Tip is provided courtesy of Howard Halasz – noted early ‘Wing Guru. Howard is a frequent contributor of technical columns and other information to GWRRA’s Wing World Magazine. This Tech Tip applies to any 4 cylinder GoldWing (GL1000, GL1100 or GL1200). 

“OK! Now that you’ve overhauled your carburetors using your Randakk’s® Master Carb Overhaul Kit and installed them on your Gold Wing, you find out that your Wing now performs better than it ever did since you owned it. You check the lights, turn signals, horn, tachometer, temperature gauge, brakes, and turn signals. Everything looks and sounds great!! Then you notice that your fuel gauge shows EMPTY, although you have a full tank.

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Old School Carb Cleaning Methods

If you’ve watched my GL1000 Carb Rebuild Video, you know that I’m strongly opposed to total immersion chemical carb cleaning methods. The very harsh ingredients in these “buckets of doom” are bad for your carbs, your health and the environment. The lubricating/sealing felts used on the throttle and choke butterfly shafts on GL1000 carbs are particularly vulnerable to such abuse.

Heaven forbid you were to carelessly dunk your GL1100 carbs in one of these buckets. Your air-cutoff valves as well as the accelerator pump would quickly be history if they were left in place. Sadly, GL1100 air cut-off valves and accelerator pumps are frequently ruined by indiscriminate use of carb cleaners (even with no dunking) due to their vulnerable locations.

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Fuel Tank Service – Don’t Get “Kreemed!”

When you go to the time, effort and expense to rebuild your carbs, they will have absolutely pristine innards. It would be a crime to connect them to a contaminated fuel tank. Now’s the time to evaluate the condition of your fuel tank. At a minimum, drain or siphon all the old fuel out. The drain plug is located near the rear master cylinder. Obviously, do this outdoors to avoid fire hazard.

Once the fuel is out, you can see the inside through the filler next with a strong flashlight (somewhat easier in a dark garage, so you may want to push the bike back indoors for this step). I usually remove the fuel sending unit for a better view inside the tank…but, this means you will need a new gasket for the sending unit. Note: the only sealant I’ve found that will prevent the threads of the drain plug from leaking (even with the OEM crush washer) is Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket No. 3 Sealant.

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Hard Starting

March 21, 2007 Update: A weak starter can cause hard starting in a perfectly tuned bike if does not spin fast enough. Details here

Is your GL1000 hard to start after sitting idle for only a week or so? This is a very common complaint … even for specimens that are perfect in every mechanical, ignition and carburetion respect. My own bike does this too. Here’s why.

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Air Jet Mix-Up Problem

You might consider this item: Randakk’s GL1000 Carb Rebuild Video

Note dated 11/17/2008: The folks at Clymer’s are apparently not listening. Roger Gerson and Jim Morrison recently reported that their copies of Clymer’s GL1000 Manual (Fifth edition, 23rd printing – July, 2004) still perpetuate this mistake. It’s safe to assume that all versions up to this point have this error!

I mainly use the official Honda Workshop manual as my technical reference “Bible.” I occasionally look at Clymer’s or Haynes for cross-reference. Recently, I was reminded of a serious, long-standing problem with most (all?) Clymer GL1000 workshop manuals. This “typo” can cause serious distress if you rely on the misinformation when rebuilding your carbs.

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