What do y'all think?? '76 Wing.

[CajunRider]

Worth a look see???? 

I'd love to have a Flat 4 sitting next to my Flat 6... What kind of money am I looking at to fix it up??? 

Note... mostly custom fix-up... not worried about stock. 

Just curious what the wisdom of the group can tell me. 

http://lafayette.craigslist.org/mcy/2231868086.html

[alph]

wow!!  looks pretty clean for one grand!! 

[RoadKill]

Blood ,Sweat, and Tears. It's gotta be worth it to you...I'd RIDE THAT !   

[¿spoom]

Make !@#$% sure the charging system works! They are a great bike but notorious for stator failures. Ya gotta pull the engine to work on that (not like our external alternators) so it's very costly if you do need to have someone else do it. Used to be the favorite trick was to put a new battery in a bike that wasn't charging and keep it topped off for test rides. New buyer would be stuck with the repair and the seller would shrug and say, "I thought the battery had gone bad so I put a new one in it and I thought it was fine.".
If it charges ok and runs you can't go wrong-plenty of parts still out there and the performance on those things was surprisingly like the numbers on the Valks.

[CajunRider]

Tell me about this charging system thing...

If it's a normal problem, I'd imagine that even if it works now, it may not in 3 or 4 thousand miles.  What's the fix???  I can pull the engine (as long as the Valk runs so I have something to ride)... but what's the ticket after that?  Rebuild?  Replace?  Does the fix last, or is it considered a "wear" item?  I'd hate to have to fix the stator 4 times!!!

I've heard of external stators also... Is that much harder than fixing the internal? 

[Jess Tolbirt]

the stators on the 1000's are OK,, it was the 1200's that had the problems,,,i had to change out a bunch of them...

[Walküre]

My "carbs need work" cost me $1200 before I was through, on one of my 1000's. The biggest thing on the 1000's, (I've own 7 of them) is that everything has dried up, and you end up "just ONE more thing" before you are through, so often.

If it has been ridden fairly continuously through the years, MUCH better.Just remember, it's 35 years old, and has to have maintenance, befitting a 35 year old bike. But, once done, very pleasurable.

+1 on the stator problem being on the 1200's. Changed a few, too. But one thing to watch for is make sure all you connections are secure, and I would always take them apart when I got the bike, and use a good dielectric on them, making sure there was no corrosion.

[Jess Tolbirt]

O yea thanks to the last post,,, the main connection beside the battery always need attention and the connector from the stator we always hard soldered,,,dam that was a while back...

[BigMac NJ]

If you can do the wrenching your self then it's worth while..unless you have deep pockets . Go here for all information relating to these classic wings.

http://randakks.com/me.htm

On his site you will be able to purchase complete rebuild kits for the carbs.. I also recommend the CD for the carb rebuild.

Ditto on soldering the main connectors from the stator.
If it's been sitting then the brake calipers will probably need rebuilding. new suspension  most likely..

I've got 2 of them now.. My "79" and the red "75" I inherited from my brother..
79 has Progressives front and rear and the 75 has Progressive fork springs and Works Shocks



Oh and yes the 75 Wing is fast(faster than the 79 for sure). It will give the Valk a run for it's money up to about 75-80 MPH.

[Dubsvalk]

I had an '83 Wing.  I installed a Chevy Geo alternator and had plenty of electricity for anything I wanted to hook to it.  I also pulled the 4 carbs off and installed a single barrel Volkswagon carb.  couldn't tell the difference in performance, reliability and MPG and so much cheaper to maintain.  They are great bikes and handle like a sports bike.  I sold mine for $1,500.00.  Wish I still had it!
Dubs

[CajunRider]

My "carbs need work" cost me $1200 before I was through, on one of my 1000's. The biggest thing on the 1000's, (I've own 7 of them) is that everything has dried up, and you end up "just ONE more thing" before you are through, so often.

If it has been ridden fairly continuously through the years, MUCH better.Just remember, it's 35 years old, and has to have maintenance, befitting a 35 year old bike. But, once done, very pleasurable.

+1 on the stator problem being on the 1200's. Changed a few, too. But one thing to watch for is make sure all you connections are secure, and I would always take them apart when I got the bike, and use a good dielectric on them, making sure there was no corrosion.

OUCH!!!!!  Was that doing the work yourself??  That's steep!  Of course, the Honda shop quoted me $1500 for a tune up on the Valkyrie.....  um... NO!

How much am I looking at to tune up using aftermarket parts (for better prices) whenever possible?  If this had come across 2 years ago, I'd already own it.  But, after losing my job (twice) due to the "recession", money is a touch tight!  I don't want to end up spending $5000 on a 35 year old bike!!

[tybme]

Personally I love the naked wings. Parts are still available and they can take some elbow grease but from the limited pictures of that bike I think it's well worth it.

See this site for allot of helpful information.  http://www.ngwclub.com

[Rowdy]

  I had a 77 just a couple years ago, inheritted, I put $1800 in it to get her back in order, $500 of it was for a paint job.    - I sold it for what I had in it and it is still runing good.


I had an 84 & 86 - 1200 and yes stator issues, expensive fix 

[Big IV]

I do like those old pre-Valk strippers.

[JimC]

I have a 77 now, it is my third 1000, they are great bikes but they are prone to carb problems as stated. The carbs are not like the Valk, when they are gummed up, they have to be taken down and rebuilt. he best place for information on that is the Randak site like mentioned above.

Check out the NGW site mentioned above, that site is much like the VRCC site, great people that are always willing to help. Parts are not a problem, there were so many more made, and lots of them are getting parted out.

The stators are not normally a problem, that started with the 1200 wings.

I have been toying with the idea of using 4 Valk carbs on my 1000 just to see if I can get it to work. They would be the same size (or close, 4 for 1000 vs. 6 for 1500) but much better carbs, but if it works I won't tell the wing guys because that will get them all buying up our Valkyrie carb sets..

It is a fun bike and once running right they are a lot of fun.

Jim   

[Sodbuster]

I had an '83 Std. prior to moving up to my Valk. One other thing to look at other than what has already been mentioned is the original exhaust on those 1000's are prone to rotting and the frame area around the swingarm as well. They are good solid bikes and fun to ride.  The Naked Goldwing site is very much like this one. There are very knowledgeable people over there that really know these bikes. For $1000 I'd go for it .... If done up right they are worth some $$$

My old girl (now sold)

[CajunRider]

Thanks all for the input. 

If I can get a chance, I'm gonna go check it out tomorrow and see what kind of shape it's in.  I'll keep an eye out for all things mentioned here. 

[¿spoom]

And my thanks for the correction on it only being the 1200 charging systems, not all the 4s. Sorry if I misled ya, Cajun!
As mentioned by others, there will always be issues with dried out rubber items from seals to hoses, and brittle wire insulation, etc, but that applies to any older bike.

[Sodbuster]

CajunRider -
If you do pick it up the FIRST thing I would do is change out the timing belts !!!!