Keep two, or thin the herd?

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kerryb

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Location
Buffalo, NY
So I have two '83's...an aspencade with 53k miles on it in beautiful condition, and an a mongrel made from a std (poorly dressed) and the driveline and bags from an interstate. The mongrel has a Vetter fairing on it that just grew on me. I figured the mongrel would make good camping bike, cause it just wanted to run fast and gobble up turns. If it should fall over in the muddy campsite, no worries cause I didn't try to make it pretty, just sturdy! In preparation for a longish trip (for me anyway) I went through the whole bike, starting with the driveline from an '83 interstate with only 66k miles on it. New tires, ( metzler), brakes (with fancy u.s. made pads) clutch, valve job and head gaskets, water pump, belts, trailer hitch and controller, bearings and a bunch of stuff I don't recall right now. The end result is the bike I took to tennessee and the carlyle campout with my teardrop trailer in tow. 2551 miles, not a hiccup, and I only drpped it once!
Now we get to the delemma...I've been battling a neck problem caused by aerodynamics and vertebre trouble. I solved the problem by cutting down the windshield and adding a spoiler to my helmet! No...it doesn't look silly, and I don't care if you think so 'cause I can ride all day in relative comfort. When I got home from my trip I started riding my Aspencade (the pretty one) and discovered that windshield needed to come down too. So after three cuts I found the right height for a Honda factory fairing and the resulting ride is way better than the Vetter. So much better I think I'll put the trailer hitch on the aspencade for next year's tour.
But what to do with the mongrel...I will never recoup my input by selling it, but maybe someone here would appreciate a mechanically perfect bike that isn't so pretty. I did polish and paint a few things while the engine was out. Maybe I should go to the trouble of painting it over the winter and put it up for sale in the spring. I'm a little nervous about taking a digital-dash bike on a trip, but I gues I could learn to fix that over the winter...
So help me out here, comments and opinions welcome. I'm running out of room to store all my bikes and projects (6-8) what's your opinion?

all part of the adventure....
 
There nothing like having a complete parts store for the main bike...I used to have that ...now that the shedevil sold all my stuff ...I’m stuck with no parts and a bike that needs some ...so if me I’d keep it
 
Sounds like my kind of perfect bike for riding. Unfortunately I am too far away with a fleet that is already too large. :(
Hopefully someone else will be able to give it a good home. :yes:
 
Agreed. They are both bought and paid for. And I agree about the spare. Old motorcycles can be needy, and when that needyness results in occasional extended downtime, a spare is a wonderful thing to have.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=196850#p196850:1l749y8y said:
brianinpa » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:43 am[/url]":1l749y8y]
Once upon a time, I had four complete bikes and parts from several more in my garage... do you really want my opinion? :shock:

:smilie_happy:
Well yeah, you've been where I am. I want to know how you solved this problem. You said once upon a time, so how'd you do it?...you did solve it right?...oh no...you mean its gets worse? One of my five is already mad cause I only rode it 100 miles this year. So, yeah, I'll value your opinion.
 
Of course, you keep it. Dependable Oldwings are hard to find. I'm studying the 48 state ride route for next summer and you may want to go also. Roughly 4500 miles, 30 days, a piece of cake.
:smilie_happy: :music: :whistling:

While I understand your dilemma, you won't get much sympathy here. :cheeky: Should I sell the 78, the 84 trike, the 85 Interstate, the 86 Aspencade, or the 84 Interstate I just bought for parts? Naw, I think I'll keep them all and let the kids figure it out when I die. :Egyptian:

The real problem is finding the time to maintain and ride them.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=196859#p196859:20cs6tx1 said:
kerryb » Mon Oct 16, 2017 9:30 am[/url]":20cs6tx1]
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=196850#p196850:20cs6tx1 said:
brianinpa » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:43 am[/url]":20cs6tx1]
Once upon a time, I had four complete bikes and parts from several more in my garage... do you really want my opinion? :shock:

:smilie_happy:
Well yeah, you've been where I am. I want to know how you solved this problem. You said once upon a time, so how'd you do it?...you did solve it right?...oh no...you mean its gets worse? One of my five is already mad cause I only rode it 100 miles this year. So, yeah, I'll value your opinion.

Well, one of those four was Slab's bike, so when I took it to him, that made three: an 1100 framed 1200 and two 1200's (84 & 87). After riding the 87 for a long distance trip, when I got home, I jumped on the 1100 framed bike and quickly found that I missed the extra few inches the 1200 frame provided, so my decision was made for me by my comfort. Once my decision was made, the rest was easy. I just tore the 81 1200 apart and started selling off the parts, and I did it quick enough to make sure that I didn't change my mind and the motor is now in my 84 Standard.

To make matters even worse, I think I am soon going to be getting a 96 Helix. It is my Dad's but he is in his mid 70's now and I am starting to see signs where I think if he doesn't soon start to talk about getting off of the bike, I'm going to start the conversation for him.
 
Oh great...! I was afraid of this. My only complaint about my 1100's is that on my trip I began to feel somewhat "folded-up" after a few hours riding. Not at all like my harley with forward controls and mini apes. But the wing was for hauling the trailer and hiding from the wind. Now I learn that yet another model of wing will be more comfortable. Thanks Brian, that was very helpful...letting me know there is a better fit on another bike! Let the quest begin for another bike and start figuring out where to put another storage shed. Now I don't have brain-room to worry about the size of the herd, better get the bender out...time to make another trailer hitch. Maybe I'll start interviewing the cb750's...find out who wants to be adopted.

Has anyone ever made forward controls for a wing?
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=196890#p196890:ur6up3ze said:
brianinpa » Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:42 pm[/url]":ur6up3ze]
I think I remember seeing where captain midnight made a set... :shock:
And of course no one has ever seen them. He's still at his crap on facebook goldwing group.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=196908#p196908:255tqmq3 said:
PurpleGL1200I » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:50 pm[/url]":255tqmq3]
I keep seeing a lot of Gl1200s available in your area of the country. They are more roomy than the 1100s.

I am 6'3" tall. On the 1100 with my feet on highway pegs, my knees were always slightly bent. On the 1200's, when my feet are on the highway pegs, my legs are more straight. For me, that is a more comfortable position.
 
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