Last "Schlup"date: 6/27/2009
(4/29/07) Back in 2004 I found myself in a
predicament. The stock carbs on my GL 1100 had been built and rebuilt so
many times that they were simply worn out. I checked around and the
cheapest set of rebuilt carbs I could find were $200.00 plus shipping! My
income leaves a bunch to be desired, and I set off to find a cheaper
alternative. My solution was to re-fashion the stock air box which the
carbs bolted to into an intake and mount a cheap one or two barrel
automotive carb on top of it. The yah yah you'll find throughout these
pages chronicles my attempt to find a cheap alternative to an otherwise
expensive problem.
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4/21/2004- Well, I guess yer here because you're
wonderin' jus' what the hell does this dumbass mean by a
plastic intake manifold for Goldwings... Either that, or
you're WWWAAAYYYY too bored and
should get out more often... Either way, and since you
ARE here right now, this is my page dedicated to my
on-going attempt to make a plastic (or at least partially plastic) intake manifold for my raggedy
1980 RATwing... I have always experimented with "alternative" (ie: CHEAPER) ways of handling problems related to keeping my Goldwing(s) on the road (My stator-to-alternator plans page being one example).....And necessity being the mother of invention (or so I hear) I am in the process of building a four carburetor to one carburetor conversion for my ol' wing... Now, let me tell ya'... **There are single carburetor conversions already being made for Goldwings out there, so my idea is NOT unique. However, all that I have seen are cast aluminum and ALL are way too expensive for my public school teacher's wallet. The cheapest intake, minus the carb, that I have found has been $150.00! It sure is pretty, though, all shiny and smooth..........BUT who cares if it's shiny and smooth??!! The doggone things sits under the faux gas tank! ** I use to have a link to an outfit called "Cycle Innovations". They use to sell an aluminum intake and carb assembly for about $500.00 but the link went bad and from what I hear, they have gone out of business. As far as I know, there AREN'T any (factory, at least) intakes being made. I have since become a member of a MSN Group called Backyard Built Goldwings. I recommend paying those guys a visit as there are some pretty neat home made set ups listed there as well. MY idea is to take a stock Goldwing airbox (the doo hickie that the air filter bolts to), seal it up air tight, fit FOUR inch and a quarter pieces of intake (PVC) pipe in between it and the heads and slap a single barrel (150 cfm or so) carburetor to the top of the box in place of the air filter. Shaking yer head, aren't ya? Well, I never claimed to be rocket scientist but if you look at the dimensions of those so-called "professional" manifolds, the air chamber which the carb sits on is VERY similar in size to a stock goldwing airbox. 
Instead of casting the intake runners into the air chamber, though, I propose using 1/2 inch thick flat nylon to block off the stock carburetor mounts in the air box and then cutting inch and a quarter holes in place of each "stock" hole, to which I am going to insert about a four inch section of "Schedule 40" PVC pipe. I'll seal everything up with silicone and the PVC pipe should slip into the existing aluminium intake pieces at the heads and snug up with the existing clamps. Heat should not be a concern as the intake actually sits above the engine and keeping the PVC lengths short will aid in their ability to support the air box. This is all in the "what if" stage right now, but to date I have a total of $2.35 invested in this process (for a 6' length of PVC). I'll update this page as I go along... Wish me well because if this works, I am CERTAIN there are other tight wads out there like me with too little money and too much time willing to convert to a single barrel carburetor instead of paying $$$ for somebody to try and clean and synchronize their old drippers, or pay beaucoup denaro for some fancy schmancy "professional" job. =) Got questions or jus' wanna' email and tell me what a YUTZ I am? G'head... I'm a glutton for punishment! =)
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