From there to here - buying the bike, repairing & replacing and the reasons why

The mid-weight cruiser has been making a big come back in recent years. Partly due to the greedy oil companies raising their prices of gas to a level where only the rich can afford it. And partly due to the fact that the mid-weight cruiser is a damn great bike!
What I ride is a (soon to be) classic – the 1981 Honda Silverwing GL500. This was the first year that the Silverwing was introduced. The idea was to offer a more feasible and ride-able companion to the Goldwing. Unfortunately the introduction of this great bike came at a time when there was a big glut in the motorcycle market. Simply put there were too many bikes and not enough buyers.
Around the time of the mid eighties the excess of new bikes and the recession that was taking place made it possible to walk to a dealer and buy a brand new bike that was 2 – 3 years old, never ridden, at half of the original sticker price. These factors led to the demise of the Silverwing. A bike that’s run lasted a mere four years.
And now we are in a time where these bikes are what the consumers are asking for. Performance, rideability at a sticker price and fuel consumption that makes it feasible to ride any time. Thus the birth or rebirth of a much sought after classic. The Silverwing!

I bought my Silverwing this summer 2006 from a young guy that has neglected and abused it for 7 years. Being that the bike just had it 25th birthday (it was #523 off the assembly line) I would have planned to tear it down and rebuild it anyway. But due to the previous owners negligence it is mandatory. There are so many little things that are wrong with this bike which are mainly due to the previous owner dropping about half a dozen time on each side. Amazingly there is only one small dent in the tank. But all the other impact points have to be replaced – signals, side cover, clips etc. I figure that once I complete the rebuild this winter I will probably pull off at least 2 full rolls of electrical and duct tape. The engine still runs great which would be amazing with all the abuse except for one simple fact…It’s a HONDA!!!! Proof that these are practically indestructible bikes. This is one of the main reasons that I sought out a Honda. Another reason is the reliability and lack of maintenance from having a shaft drive versus a chain.

Now that you have read through my long testimony and history of my bike, (or did you just skip to the end?); the point of this blog – I will try to chronicle the rebuild of this bike and provide pictures. Hopefully I will gain feedback and information from those that view this blog and be able to answer a few questions myself.

So here is a list of the parts that I have had to replace:
· Mirrors
· Side cover
· Chrome gauge and headlight housing
· Front wheel rim
· Locking gas cap
· Ignition (not the coil)
· Clips and fuse box cover

Here are the parts that I plan to replace for a variety of reasons:
Fuel tank…possibly. Due to the fact that it is too boxy looking for my taste. I am considering a Honda CX tank.
Handlebars. I am waiting to get the originals back from the owner although I still may replace them with ones that are more comfortable for a person my size (6ft 1)
Grips. Those original rubber ones are to small for my large hands plus I want a bit of chrome
Fuel gauge. The Silverwing did not have one so I will replace it with a Goldwing that had temp & fuel gauges.
Steering head bearings. An obvious change. Going to the tapered which will remove that notchiness feel of the originals
Pipes. I hate the way the originals look. Kinda like those silly trumpets that they use in medieval royal courts. I am going to put on straight pipes with a slash open if I can find them at a reasonable price
Horn. The originals sound about as intimidating as the bark from a lap dog. Plus I think they look like a couple bug eyes coming off the forks. I found a company online that sells an air horn that is easily concealed. (link to the site in the future)
I’ll be buying saddle bags as well. I found that Canadian Tire sells some nylon ones for under $100 that’ll do the job
Foot pegs. Again, due to my size I plan to change them and lower them a bit so that I can stretch out my legs a bit more
Clutch and brake levers. As you can imagine they are in a broken state since the bike has been dropped so many times.
I wanna change the majority of the screws and bolts to stainless steel hex bolts. A superficial change but I like ‘em.

If I actually have the disposable income during the winter I will do the following:
Chrome – the radiator cover. Original is aluminium
Shaft covers
Front end
Pretty much anything else that I have the money for
I will for sure be painting the bike. The frame I am going to keep black. That’ll be a powder coat. The tank and side covers I am currently planning to paint a dark/black cherry colour.


So here we go!.......

I have been buying parts through eBay. Trying to do it through a dealership would cost way too much. Going that route it would be cheaper to just buy a new bike.
The previous owners mechanical aptitude was less than adequate to put it nicely. His fix all method for any problem was electrical or duct tape, or to fix a part by taking a steel auger and drill it out! Feel free to shudder and cringe at this point. I do on a regular basis.
What I have replaced so far is the left side cover, the ignition, all four turn signals and the front rim. The rim was bent because the previous owner ran into a curb while drinking and driving! The ignition was drilled out. (I won’t tell you all the dumb stories of why he did these things unless you ask me) Mirrors – there wasn’t any when I bought it.
In case you are wondering why I bought this bike, it is because of the engine. It still runs great and I got the bike at a great price - $550 Canadian dollars. Plus I enjoy working on the bike. Any way…enough writing for now. Heres some pictures: