Valdez Bikesong

I jokingly told my friends the first day I rode my "new-to-me" GL1100 to work that it had all the handling of an oil barge.

I said I should name it the "Exxon Valdez" after the famous oil tanker that spilled its oil on the Alaskan shore all those years ago.

They all laughed.

I've been riding it for about a week now, and they asked me, "So, how was your ride in today on the Valdez?"

I said, "You know, it doesn't handle so much like an oil barge now that I've gotten used to it."

I'm starting to like it. It took a while to get used to the bigger bike, heavier bike feel.

It took a while to get used to its groans and grunts. To know when it is just singing, and to know when it is complaining. Mostly it sings.

It has an eery, sci-fi song like I've never heard before. It is nothing like my old bike.

My V30 had a fascinating hybrid characteristic: At low RPM it rumbled like a V-Twin Cruiser; at higher RPM it whined like an inline-four Sport Bike. Fascinating to have both characteristics in one motor.

My new bike has a rumbling complaint if you lug it down too low. It sounds downright crabby. It's like, "I'll do what you ask, but you gotta give me something to work with here!"

But give it plenty of throttle and it hums, and the hum climbs up and fades to a shrill whisper. Yes, a whisper. I swear it's quieter at 60 than at 40. Whereas the V30 would whine like a sport bike, this Wing is too refined to whine. It gives a sighing whisper. Sort of like the "Ahhhhhhhh" sound people made in the commercial after they took the Nestea plunge.

It's amazingly solid in corners. It loves the sweepers, but is incredibly nimble, for a 770 lb bike, in the corners.

My Mascot

Seems appropriate that a Gold Wing should have a stuffed teddy bear as a mascot. Stuffed animals and Gold Wings have a long and eclectic history. I do not know why. I suppose it is to emphasize the antithesis of "Bad Biker".

Whatever the reason, even Naked Gold Wings have mascots, courtesy of cafepress.

Stubborn Shifting GL1100

I just bought a 1982 GL1100 and my only complaint is the difficulty in shifting.

The previous owner had the clutch cable all out of whack, so I adjusted that. But I still have a hard time. I now have the honda-recommended free-play in the clutch lever, and yet when down-shifting there is a very solid clunk.

Part of this could be due to my unfamiliarity with the bikes. My previous bike, a Honda Magna, had a hydraulically actuated clutch. It shifted like butter.

But I can't believe that all of this difference is just due to cable-actuation versus hydraulic-actuation.

The clutch plates are new, previous owner replaced < 200 miles ago. The clutch cable is new. Could they just need to "wear in"?

Is the GL1100 just a clunky shifter, and I should just get used to it? Or do I have another problem?

Thanks in advance for your help.

GL1100 Clutch Finesse

Did you know I bought a 1982 Wing without ever having ridden a Wing of any stripe, any year, any model? I'm wishing I had ridden one that I knew to be in good working order, so I could compare mine to it.

I bought it with a disclosure from the previous owner that there were some shifting problems.

I am longing for my hydraulic clutch right now.

If I adjust it with adequate play in the lever, it is hard to shift.

If I adjust it so that it's easy to shift, it slips when I roll on the throttle in 3rd gear.

Assuming I can't get the right feel by adjusting the clutch cable, is my next logical step to service the clutch -- replace the clutch plates etc? According to previous owner this was done by the stealer in 4/2005. I suppose that if the clutch cable was ridden by the previous owner for 1000 miles with that kind of slippage, that the clutch might need replacing again so soon?

Maggot At Heart

Most of the advice I get from the Wing boards is "take it to a dealer".

Which shows me that while I own a Wing, I'm still a Maggot at heart, and I need some do-it-yerself type of advice.

I appreciate your input, this makes sense to me. I will see how it improves as the clutch wears. The behavior may go away as it gets "broken in".

I did take it out at lunch and fiddle with the clutch adjustment while riding around the neighborhood. I think I got it dialed in pretty well to where it's tolerable.

Some of this is just differences in bikes that I'll just have to get used to.

Again, thanks for your help.

Repair Bill

Previous owner left repair bill in trunk of GoldWing. Dated 4/8/05.

Install clutch $325
Clean and synchronize carbs $360
Install clutch and throttle cables $65.00
Install starter $65
Repair stator wires, test charging system, adjust rear brake light, $40.00

Total labor $855.00

starter $210
exhaust gasket $8
Connector $4
clutch $250.00
Disk friction A $98
Disk friction B $14
Clutch Plate A $96
Clutch Place B, $48
Washers $2.00
Springs $12.00
O-ring $5.00
Carb Gaskets $144.00

Total parts $795.00

Deposit $500.00

Balance Paid In Full $1211.61

Total Bill $1711.61


FYI, This wasn't a factory-authorized dealer, it was an independent bike repair shop.



Here are the notes on the back side of the repair bill.

Runs poorly
Clutch doesn't disengage
Starter Motor
Throttle cable improperly routed

To Do List:

Get running
Install clutch, clutch cable, throttle cable, starter
Adjust rear brake light
Clean and sync carbs.


And, yes, I paid more than that for the bike, but not much more. Smack me
if you want.

In fact I've seen actual paid prices for GL1100s for as much as $3500 to
$4000, and as low as $500. It all depends upon their condition. My
condition, and my purchase price, was somewhere in between museum piece and
junk.

My GL1100

Bought the 1982 Gold Wing Interstate on eBay, drove Tahoe and trailer up to Detroit from Indianapolis on Saturday. Seller bought me lunch. Took it for a test drive. Didn't like the shifting but liked everything else. Figgered I'd fiddle with clutch cable adjustment.



Bike wasn't as nice as it looked in the pictures, and there were blemishes that I personally would've mentioned in the listing if it were my listing. Whaddaya expect for a 24 year old bike?



But all told I still tought it was a fair price. Not as sweet a deal as I originally thought. But not bad.



Today I fiddled with the clutch cable adjustment. Too loose and it won't shift into neutral, too tight and it will slip when it's in gear under a heavy load. I'm gonna monkey with it some more. Gee my hydraulic clutch was easier to work with.

Oil on my shifting toe after riding it around all afternoon. Looks like oil's leaking out of the left head. Head gasket, or valve cover gasket? I'll have to look closer...

Neutral Problem

I've got a line on a Wing with a neutral problem.

It will shift into neutral when the bike is not running, but not when the bike is running.

I've never run across this and was wondering if y'all would be willing to speculate on what it might be. Any thoughts?

Much appreciated.

I'm 39 and I'm buying a Gold Wing and I don't care!

Gold Wing?

I don't know how I started thinking along these lines, but I've heard really good things about Gold Wings.

They are supposed to be really good and solid. They'll run forever.

Let's review my wish list for a bike:

Shaft drive
Not a Harley look-a-like
750cc at least
1300cc at most
Easy to maintain
Mechanically reliable
Capable of carrying a passenger
Upright seating position
Made in sufficient quantities to ensure availability of parts.
Available for under $3000

What fits this bill?

Not the latest shadows, they are feet-out-in-front seating position and Harley-look-a-likes.

Not a 90's era Magna. Even though they have a distinctive look and great power, their V4 power-train makes me leery. I remember how hard it was to check the valves and change the carbs on the V30. Heck it was a PITA just to change the plugs. There has to be a more maintainable bike than a V4.

The Suzuki Marauder has a chain, but otherwise has great looks and meets everything else I want. They weren't made prior to the late 90's, so I won't find one in my price range.

The Suzuki Intruder didn't really impress me with its power. I bet a twin is way easier to work on than a V4 though.

The KZ750 with its inline 4 just didn't impress me either. I'm sure four-in-a-row is easier to maintain than V4, but I just don't like the feel of it. I like something a bit more torquey.

What about a Gold Wing? What is it that put this in my head? I must've seen a picture of a Gold Wing standard without fairing or trunks, and decided that it looked pretty cool. It would have plenty of power, meet all the criteria I mentioned. It sure wouldn't look like it thought it was a Harley.

I'll have to check into that more...

Somewhere In Time

I took the entire Saturday and rode around on my wife's bike, visiting various dealers looking for a good used bike.

I was looking for a Suzuki Marauder, Suzuki Intruder, or Honda Shadow.

I also stopped by the Triumph dealer to eye the gorgeous Bonnevilles and Americas.

The Triumph dealer is also a Victory dealer, but the Victories did nothing for me. Nice bikes, but not for me.

If I could afford a new bike it'd be a new Triumph America or a Suzuki M50.

But what am I gonna do since I can't afford a new one?

I don't really like the Harley-clones that Honda and Suzuki and Kawazaki and Yamaha are turning out these days. I don't want a cruiser that looks like it thinks it a Harley.

Somewhere along the road Honda Shadows started being blatant copies of Harley. They used to have their own look, now they copy everything. Same with Kawasaki Vulcans. Cheap imitations with no style of their own.

I'm gonna go a different direction with this, I think.

What does my motorcycle mean to me?

I am having trouble answering that very simple question.

Maybe I'm aiming too high. Maybe I should start by answering a smaller question.

Why do I like motorcycles?

I enjoy being on two wheels. I enjoy the sense of freedom that I have, being out in the open.

Motorcyclists refer to automobiles as "cages". I never thought of it that way until I became a motorcyclist myself. In a car you are cut off, sealed in, isolated.

....

But I feel like I am repeating what others have said. I am quoting others, not really describing how I feel.

In a way, talking about motorcycles is like dancing about architecture. To be understood, it has to be experienced. Words are inadequate to the task of expressing the feeling.

It's fun.

It's exhilarating.

It feels good.

It's a challenge. It's not easy to do. To do it well, and to survive in a sea of idiots who can't look up from their mocah latte and their cell phones to pay attention to traffic, requires real skill.

In a very real way, it is death defying.

I do it because it ruffles some feathers. It's impolite. It is greeted with fear and respect.

I enjoy the fact that it scares the shit out of my boss.

I enjoy the fact that not everyone can do it. That there are more people who wish they could than people who actually can.

I enjoy the fact that children wave. That young girls turn their heads. That young men look admiringly. That old men look wistfully as I zoom past.

I am doing what they wish they could do.


remember the feeling that came over me the first time I straddled a motorcycle and moved it around. It felt good. I liked its heft. It wasn't even running, and I barely knew how to move it around. It was my late father-in-law's Harley Davidson 250cc. We sold it to Larry, and were unloading it out of the trailer. The feel of that bike was eery, like the call of the sea. It stirred something in my heart. I felt it calling to me. I have never experienced anything like it.

Carolyn looked at me with a puzzled expression. She was mystified by the look on my face, and in her heart of hearts, dared to hope that I would embrace motorcycling. She grew up with bikes, and I had had a bad experience in 1989, and was turned off of bikes for 10 whole years after that.

A few years later Carolyn visited a Honda dealer, and tried out a few bikes, and decided that the Honda Rebel would be a good starter bike. She came home and informed me of that. I was shocked. She was a Harley Davidson loyalist, and wanted nothing to do with japanese bikes. But despite her fierce brand-loyalty, the economic reality won: Hondas were cheap, and available in smaller sizes than Harleys. She still wanted a Harley eventually, but needed to learn somewhere, and the best place to learn was on a cheaper "starter bike".

I told her I was interested in that too. She was surprised. We looked at brochures together, did some financial figuring, and decided it was a nice dream that wouldn't happen for years and years.