pix of my wing

[ken k]

Hi guys, I have taken the trike kit off of my Goldwing (which my father-in-law gave me for my birthday, when he gave up riding), I sold the kit and used some of the money to get it worked on. It needed a good going over. I got new tires, changed all the fluids and timing belts, spark plugs, fork seals adjusted the carbs and took off some of the gadgets like floor boards and heel-toe shifter and some extra lights,etc. So now it is my own bike and hopefuly will last me for a few years.

While it is not the kind of bike I would have gone out and purchased, I figure when God gives you lemons you make lemonade. And I do enjoy riding it now that I am getting over the fear of it being so big. It gets a little smaller everytime I ride it.









Of course now it is just in time for school to start again with no time for a road trip!


ken "the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys...." k

[tubatom91]

My dad rode goldwings for about 15-20 years until he noticed that he was having odd and extreme hip pains while riding and at age 40 decided he might have to give up riding. On a road trip to Sturgis Bike Week he rode a friends Harley, no pains, he sold his 04 Blue Goldwing with ALL the Gadgets and bought a new 08 Harley-Davidson Ultra-classic "police special" and has had no pains since then...The guy that sold him the Wing was complaining of the same pains and was the reason he sold it. The Wing's seat was too wide or meaty, so if you have odd un-explainable hip problems, this might be the cause...FWIW he did own a similar Goldwing (as pictured, just red) and experienced no problems.


Have fun and drive safe!

[bearphonium]

Sweet bike, Ken. 1500? Enjoy!

[ken k]

I've had those unexplained hip pains too, but in my case I have them regardless of what kind of bike I ride. I've had these since I was in my early teens. I didn't figure it out until I got my current Yamaha. It's apparently not a hip joint problem (that's what it feels like), but rather a muscle spasm of sorts. Massaging the hurty spot while riding does no good. The only way I've found to ease the pain until it wears off is to spread my knees out even further than they already are instead of hugging the tank with 'em.

Ken, that is truly a great looking bike. I'd keep it too. And whoever rides behind you will appreciate the passenger floorboards, my wife made me find some on Ebay for my bike. But I'm like you in that I have no use for driver floorboards, they ain't natural. And too many years of riding dirt bikes has cured me of needing a heel-toe shifter. It was a neat feature when I first learned to ride, but you get better. And I hear you loud and clear on acclimating yourself to such a huge bike. I went through and am still adjusting to the same thing concerning my current Yamaha. Prior to my getting this 1200cc "monster", the biggest thing I had ridden on a regular basis (30 years ago) was a 750cc Yamaha. Years ago, I had heard that one technique our local police department used in training new motersickle cops was to tell them to ride their bikes like they were driving on a wet road. So far, this technique has helped me out a lot.

Happy riding!

Hey Schlepp,

I bought a DVD called "Ride Like a Pro" and it teaches a slow speed technique of riding the friction zone on the clutch while using the foot brake at the same time. It keeps the bike moving but slows it down enough to keep control at slow parking lot type of speeds. sounds strange but it really works. Check it out. Another big tip they preach is look where you want to go and you will go there. Again it sounds funny or simplistic but it really works. the DVD is well worth the $$$.

http://www.ridelikeapro.com/" target="_blank

ken k

[ken k]

Sweet bike, Ken. 1500? Enjoy!

Yeah Bear it is a 1990 GL1500.
k

[ken k]

My dad rode goldwings for about 15-20 years until he noticed that he was having odd and extreme hip pains while riding and at age 40 decided he might have to give up riding. On a road trip to Sturgis Bike Week he rode a friends Harley, no pains, he sold his 04 Blue Goldwing with ALL the Gadgets and bought a new 08 Harley-Davidson Ultra-classic "police special" and has had no pains since then...The guy that sold him the Wing was complaining of the same pains and was the reason he sold it. The Wing's seat was too wide or meaty, so if you have odd un-explainable hip problems, this might be the cause...FWIW he did own a similar Goldwing (as pictured, just red) and experienced no problems.


Have fun and drive safe!

no hip pains yet, although i have not taken it on any very long rides yet. The seat is very comfy so far!

k

[Donn]

you make lemonade.

That's one heck of a lemonade!

I like the setup on my motorcycle for long rides, like 400-500 miles - tall but not too broad seat with some length to move around fore/aft, floorboards, heel-toe shift.

[Bob Kolada]

My dad is like on his FIFTH Goldwing. He loves them and can't stand Harley's or Harley people. I think the previous owner of #3ish kept it in his house!
He's built a trailer, a powered lift, a coupld of windshields, and a whole bunch of other stuff for them.

My brother had an SV650 for about a year. I'll probably take the Illinois motorcycle class next spring and pick up a used enduro, partially for the height! My dad is 6'5" (fits fine on the GW), my brother 7'1" (barely fit on the Suzuki), and I'm 6'10".

[Tom]

A Moto Guzzi California?

If not, what year and model is it?

[Donn]

A Moto Guzzi California?

You are correct, sir! 1985 California II, despite the name the first model that came to the US with the "California" name on it, and the only one that had that "standard" configuration. Which like I say, on that size of the motorcycle makes it pretty tall. Parked in front of a burger joint where they make milkshakes the old way, in the lovely eastern Washington town of Pomeroy.

[tubatooter1940]

I still ride my old 1976 Yamaha RD400 like our revered MaryAnn used to gun around the country.
The seat makes my butt sore after an hour or so riding but I am lucky to have any bike at all at my age and income.

[ken k]

I used to have a '75 RD350. One of the orange ones. Crazy two-stroke had absolutely no power below 5000 RPM but when it hit 5000 you had better be holding on cause you are taking off!!!

My other bike besides my wing is the spiritual successor to the Yamaha RD series. When they stopped selling the 2 strokes in the US they replaced them with the XJ bikes. Mine is a 1981 XJ550 Seca. With its 10000 RPM redline, it reminds me a lot of my old oil burner.



I wish I had a bike somewhere in between the two extremes of the wing and the seca. A 90's vintage Honda Pacific Coast would be nice.

l

[Dan Schultz]

I used to have a '75 RD350. One of the orange ones. Crazy two-stroke had absolutely no power below 5000 RPM but when it hit 5000 you had better be holding on cause you are taking off!!!....

I had a '73 Suzuki 750 'water buffalo' like that. That three-cylinder two-stroker had a crap bottom end but you had better hope someone didn't squirt Armoral on the seat when the rpm's went past 5,000!