Lake Havasu

[MarkB]

This was the first longish ride I've done on my Wing and it almost didn't happen. A mysterious oil leak out of nowhere and my riding partner thinking she was mad at me earlier in the week caused the ride to almost not happen. In fact, I wasn't even sure it was going to happen until Friday evening, which prompted me to change my oil for the first time, which was an adventure in and of itself. I got it done and man was I glad I did! The old oil was burned so bad, it reeked. I think I may change oil again really soon just to play it safe. I am also thinking about the spin on oil filter conversion as the stock setup is really a pain in the butt.

We left the house a couple hours after I really wanted to, heading towards Lake Havasu, AZ. I had never been there, but my daughter and riding partner had. We set off with no map and no real plans. I had an extra quart of oil and a partial quart of ATF for gas fills and that was about it. We took a change of clothes and toiletries, of course, but otherwise threw caution to the wind. We didn't even make motel reservations, which almost proved disastrous. More on that later.

The trip over was really uneventful. Not so much as a hickup from the Wing and we had a blast. We stopped in Blythe, Ca for a fillup, a snack and a butt rest. We crossed into AZ, then made our way north toward our destination. Along the way, we must have met a million bikes, so much so that I got really tired of giving "the wave". After Parker, AZ, we rolled through some canyons that reminded me of the video that Dan put up of a meet and greet from years ago. We rolled into Havasu and did all the touristy things, like look at the London Bridge and check out the river scene.

We lucked out and found a brew pub that was situated right along the river, so we got some great grub and I got a fantastic IPA with a view of the London Bridge and all that goes along with.

Finding overnight accommodations was a bit of a trick as we didn't know where to look and we paid a bit more than we probably had to. Still, we got to enjoy a full night of Spring break revelry, all while trying unsuccessfully to sleep. Who knew Spring break was in the spring?

The next morning, we got up, ate the complimentary breakfast and complained about the all night revelry with some snow birds that were staying there. That was fun. Then, we loaded up for some more exploring, where we discovered some accommodations that might have been cheaper, or sold out, and may or may not have been quieter. Who knows?? Who cares? We found us a church service to attend, then some grub, then headed out to play in the wind.

The ride home was windy. Did I mention we played in the wind? Oh my goodness, was I glad to have extra weight on the bike. We did pretty good on gas going over, but coming home, we went through almost double. Still, the bike ran good and we had fun. That's all that counts. I have pics to share, but they will come later with probably more sordid details. Right now, I'm going to sleep and there will be no screaming or any other spring break hijinks. I hope.

Mark

 

[dan filipi]

opcorn:

 

[danf]

I like pictures :clapping:

 

[MarkB]

My daughter tried to capture the essence of the ride. Lots of pictures of the back of my brain bucket.

 

[MarkB]

Here are a few more

 

[mcgovern61]

Hey Mark....my daughter saw your picture and said this is a picture of you in Guatamala (or at least your brother!):

(Maybe all good Wingers look alike? and wear the same color outfits) :smilie_happy:

This is from our Missions Trip back in '07

 

[danf]

My 14 year old daughter is now taking this sudden interest in motorcycles, her girl friend likes them so now she likes them, her girl friend came over and really enjoyed looking at the 81 in the garage, loved the stereo, she also enjoyed all the photo's of your trip, thanks for your post and the photo's.

 

[MarkB]

Little Beaver- My pleasure!

Some things I know and some things I think I know.

I learned a lot about my bike on this trip. I did my first oil change, seriously tested out the intercom and radio system and I took my first long ride. I may sound a lot like I’m whining during this write-up, but trust me, I fully understand I have a 29 year old bike and she’s not going to be perfect.

As many of you know, I found my Wing at a local dealer, sitting on the showroom floor looking all spiffy. I was assured that it had been gone over with a safety check and fully serviced. I now have my doubts. The preflight oil change was a task. The drain plug did NOT want to come loose; I was darned near dragging the bike before it let go. The same was true with the oil filter. When the oil came out, it smelled like Satan’s toilet; seriously burned. I’m thinking I will do another oil change very soon, just to make sure I got all that crap flushed out. I’m also thinking about doing the spin-on filter adapter. What was Honda thinking with that retarded set up?

The radio/intercom system leaves a lot to be desired. I’m almost sorry I spent the money on the headsets. For whatever reason, the left channel cuts out and comes back intermittently. No rhyme or reason to it. You can turn it off and back on and most of the time, the left channel resets and will stay on for awhile. The intercom is OK around town, but when you get out on the road, you can’t really understand what each other are saying unless you speak very slowly and enunciate very clearly. There is a lot of feedback from the engine going through the system that adds to the muddiness of the transmissions.

In all fairness, I took a hard look at both plugs and I don’t wonder why. The passenger plug has clearly had at least one run end with the tailpipe. When I peeled back the electrical tape covering it, there were exposed wires. I recovered them and it does work, just not well. I traced it back to where it hooks up into the system and the intercom wires are all one solid unit and plugs up somewhere inside the fairing. I found another wire exposure in the rider’s plug and taped that off.

Then again, it’s a thirty year old system. The sound clarity isn’t there with or without the headsets. I mean, it’s OK and certainly better than nothing, but just not great. It’s got me thinking about upgrading at some point.

Now for the good. This old bird just runs! We had nary a problem on the trip. It ran flawlessly and got compliments from everybody that bothered to look at it. My daughter said she saw a lot of people pointing and staring at us. Even the Harley crowd gave us props. I have to admit to having my doubts, though, when we headed out across the barren California desert on the return trip. You ride for miles and miles with no signs of life or humanity, other than this narrow strip of asphalt penetrating the landscape. Sure, you see an occasional car along the way, but really and truly, you’re on your own out there. So much so, that when you finally come to something that resembles civilization, you realize you’ve been kind of holding your breath for mile after mile!

One thing about the longish ride is, I got real comfortable with all the amenities my bike has to offer. I got to liking the highway pegs; just the change of position made a big difference at times in helping my butt last longer in the saddle. The back rest was equally appreciated. I’m not sure how you could do a ride like this without the combination of the back rest and highway pegs. I got to liking the throttle block. That was cool to just lock that down on long flat stages and just let your hand and wrist relax a minute. I also have the throttle roller on the bike and that helps, too. Still, it was really cool to lock that down and relax a minute. Got me to thinking about maybe adding cruise control at some point in time.

I gained a real appreciation for the term “iron butt”. I also realized how much physical effort it takes to control a bike on the road for longer periods of time. I was pretty wiped going out to AZ and even more so during the return trip when we fought wind all the way. It really zapped me. A lot of people think riding these Goldwings is a lot like driving a cars and I guess in comparison to some other bikes, they are. Still, I learned it takes a physical toll on you to ride that far and it certainly is worth it to stop and get off, if for even just a minute, along the way.

I learned, or at least confirmed that I really love this old bike. It’s been like a breath of fresh air, to me and opened up some new worlds and possibilities to me. I love even just riding it to work in the morning! I’m anxious to do some more extended rides. I love touring and would love nothing more than to take off on a low-buck weeklong camping and riding tour. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, I plan to do just that this summer.

As much as I love this bike, I have a serious debate going on in my head. I want to upgrade a few things on the bike. The sound/intercom system, which I already mentioned, comes immediately to mind. Modern electronics weigh less and use less juice, not to mention sound a heck of a lot better. I wouldn’t mind adding cruise control. I’d like to have more driving lights, which take more juice, so an alternator. I’d also like to refurbish my Tupperware a little bit. Then I remind myself that the bike is 30 years old with 128K on the clock…. Parts are getting harder to find….. Is it really worth it to do all this stuff, or would it be money better spent on a newer bike that already has all this stuff and fewer miles on the clock? I love the looks of my Oldwing compared to the newer bikes, but it’s hard to argue with newer technology, availability of parts and upgraded amenities pretty much standard on them. It’s also fair to assume they do better on fuel, but I guess I don’t know that for sure.

That’s pretty much where I’m at. I don’t see me getting rid of this bike, at all. Even if I did upgrade to a newer bike, I’d keep this one around until she won’t go any more.

Mark

 

[dan filipi]

All good experiences and questions, I've had many of them myself.

Not trying to talk you into anything either way, just offering my views.

First about the age.
Parts are out there still and I believe they will be for at least another 10 years. Even at that there are thousands of gl enthusiasts all over the world finding crossover parts so we should be able to keep them going much longer.
These engines are also damn near bullet proof and with proper care will exceed 200k miles.

I have no experience with the Aspy intercom so I can't comment but I do with the Chatterbox.
I find they are tinny sounding even with decent quality headsets.
There are better systems available but I find since I mostly prefer to ride alone and not in groups an intercom/CB is not on my list as an upgrade. When I rode with my son we liked the intercom for awhile but started using simple hand signals even when we had it on. I guess we're both loners in a way and like the quiet.

Long trips are great! I love them.
My first ride over 500 miles was to Phoenix and back.
Same with any bike, you have to stay on top of what's going on constantly unlike a car where you can lay into the seat and hardly touch the steering wheel.
That alone wears on ya.

Electronic cruise is the only way to go for long trips.
A throttle lock is ok on the flats to give your right hand a break but worthless in rolling hills. It's 80 mph down hill 40mph up.
It's a fairly easy install. We have a writeup here.

The new bikes are really nice and I think if I had the money I'd buy one but I can't justify going almost 30k in debt to buy one.
Personally given the choice I'd be looking at the BMW's and the Victory.

Not much is gained in the GL1200 IMO though they are smoother with a bit more power.
If I were to get another GL it would be a 1500.

 

[dan filipi]

One other thing and this is a bit of a rant,

I do not trust dealers, especially after buying mine!

The private party seller showed me receipts for work done on it prior to sale which included going through the carbs.
Not knowing a lot about this bike I didn't question anything.

Well it turned out to have a blown head gasket and one of the cylinders were chipped at the aluminum around the cylinder sleeve where the gasket sits.
No way to make this seal so the block was trashed.

It had a persistant pop in the exhaust that irritated me because it just wasn't "right" so I pulled the carbs.
Turned out I could see light through 3 of the air cutoff diagphrams and one was missing!

My point is DO NOT trust what a PO or dealer "says" they did or even billed for!!
You just found that out with the rank oil.

 

[MarkB]

Thanks for your reply, Dan.

Like to reaffirm that my wing is not going anywhere. My concern is that the upgrades I’d foresee doing would be money that would at least be a start to a newer bike with fewer miles and already has those upgrades, like a 1500. They can be had all day in the 5-6K range and if you look around, or buy at the right time, can probably find an even sweeter deal. In my mind, the only reason to upgrade some of this stuff on my bike would be to have the fun in doing it and to be honest, I’m way to busy riding it to take it down for an extensive modification.

I foresee riding with GWRRA a fair amount, so the CB is definitely an issue for me. Frankly, I can live with or without a radio, but I would like to be able to listen to my iPod. I like the intercom, but would like it to be more useful on the open road. Too much motor noise and with the left channel cutting in and out, was really hard to use. I would hope that a properly set up and operational unit would work better than what I have. I’m going to have some conversation with the folks at Sierra and see what I can figure out. I want a minimalist system I would still be able to use, even if I decided to run my Wing nekkid with a smaller fairing and or windscreen. With that in mind, this (upgraded sound) is an upgrade I will probably pursue sooner as opposed to later. This is a gather all the parts ahead of time rainy weekend project that would be super beneficial and money well spent.

I’ll take a look at the cruise control thing. That might be worth doing, too.

I guess as my faith in this bike continues to grow, I’m less likely to fret about doing upgrades. The biggest thing right now is the downtime. I need to be riding it!!!

Good point on the dealer and sales records. I fully plan to replace the timing belts, the crank seal and adjust my valves very soon, before it gets too hot to work in the garage.

Mark

 

[dan filipi]

Well one way to look at it is if you do the built in upgrades and repairs it makes the bike that much easier to sell so it's not money wasted.
That and if you were to loan the bike out to someone for a trip together you'd both have radio communication.
Just thinking out loud because another equipped bike would have been nice for my brother on a ride we did to AZ where we had to rent an 1800.

And speaking first hand an electronic cruise control is NEVER a waste of money.
I've learned some tricks installing both the vacuum operated and the non vacuum so when your ready ask away.

 

[mcgovern61]

And speaking first hand an electronic cruise control is NEVER a waste of money.......the non vacuum so when your ready ask away.

Don't recall seeing that one?? Details in a new thread?

 

[dan filipi]

And speaking first hand an electronic cruise control is NEVER a waste of money.......the non vacuum so when your ready ask away.

Don't recall seeing that one?? Details in a new thread?

I believe there is another thread also, maybe not:

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=16&hilit=rostra

I see the link to the pdf is no good but I should have that somewhere so I'll update it.

Found the other thread: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=17&hilit=rostra

 

[dan filipi]

:laptop: 2 Electronic cruise control installations are on their way into the gallery

 

[dan filipi]

gallery/album.php?album_id=881

These will be available as a pdf download real soon.

Uh....done