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Classic Goldwings

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Rednaxs60

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Had to happen eventually, Honda appears to be drawing a line in the sand regarding warranty of its Goldwings. This is not about insurance, but about warranty. The latest Wing World has an article from a fellow who bought a 2018 Goldwing that had been converted to a trike with the California Sidecar kit. Honda doesn't make a Goldwing trike.

The Goldwing suffered a catastrophic engine failure and the cost to bring the Goldwing back to life was significant. The company that did the trike conversion helped, but Honda was not in the picture.

In our environment of risk adversity, this is not to be unexpected. The only factory made trikes are from HD and Bombardier. Don't know if the HD is certified by DOT/MOT with a trailer towing package like the Spyder.

A riding friend had an issue with his 2010 Triumph Rocket III a couple of years back. A known fault was that one of the transmission bolts for the shifter would back out and leave you stranded. This did not do any engine damage, but the engine had to be taken apart to fix. It was known to Triumph and my friend discussed this issue with Triumph Canada. He was asked if he had a car tire installed, and if he towed a trailer. He mentioned that the bike had a car tire, but he did not tow a trailer. The rep from Triumph mentioned that if my friend was towing a trailer, Triumph would not assist in the cost in any way. The car tire was not an issue, this time.

Have heard of this regarding cars/tucks as well. Modifications, not abiding by the OEM recommendations while the vehicle is under warranty can be a tricky road to navigate.

Three wheeling has been around for a long time. There were companies in the late '60s and early '70s that produced a three wheel kit for the snowmobile enthusiast so that people could ride there snowmobiles year round. from a web search, noticed that there are late model snowmobiles sporting wheels. Here's a couple of web sites for your reading/viewing enjoyment:

https://line.17qq.com/articles/ojiojefdz.html
https://www.teshio.com/wheelkits.htm
 
The warranty issue has been out there a long time. Product liability these days is a big issue for vehicle manufacturers. Any custom work done that is not OEM can cause a warranty issue. Hard to blame the manufacturers. People sued for so many things for so long that the OEM's needed to reduce their risk and liability and limit it to their engineered designs only. That was part of the reason I liked the older classic wings. Long past warranty and Honda won't work on a bike that is more than 10 years old. Open season for custom work!
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=222142#p222142:3wor122p said:
mcgovern61 » 50 minutes ago[/url]":3wor122p]
The warranty issue has been out there a long time. Product liability these days is a big issue for vehicle manufacturers. Any custom work done that is not OEM can cause a warranty issue. Hard to blame the manufacturers. People sued for so many things for so long that the OEM's needed to reduce their risk and liability and limit it to their engineered designs only. That was part of the reason I liked the older classic wings. Long past warranty and Honda won't work on a bike that is more than 10 years old. Open season for custom work!
Exactly.
One must expect a product used or modified outside its intended purpose or design, don’t expect the manufacturer to happily repair it for you. This is completely reasonable and fair.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=222143#p222143:8da1k90x said:
dan filipi » 22 minutes ago[/url]":8da1k90x]
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=222142#p222142:8da1k90x said:
mcgovern61 » 50 minutes ago[/url]":8da1k90x]
The warranty issue has been out there a long time. Product liability these days is a big issue for vehicle manufacturers. Any custom work done that is not OEM can cause a warranty issue. Hard to blame the manufacturers. People sued for so many things for so long that the OEM's needed to reduce their risk and liability and limit it to their engineered designs only. That was part of the reason I liked the older classic wings. Long past warranty and Honda won't work on a bike that is more than 10 years old. Open season for custom work!
Exactly.
One must expect a product used or modified outside its intended purpose or design, don’t expect the manufacturer to happily repair it for you. This is completely reasonable and fair.

No warranty on my '85 Limited Edition after all the work, mods I've done? Not Fair! I know, a fair is where you go to ride ponies. :smilie_happy: This is one of the key reasons I have the Spyder - purpose built for towing, brakes are certified for the use, has a better GVW than a GW.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=222149#p222149:gc7b9oxl said:
pidjones » May 10th, 2021, 11:34 am[/url]":gc7b9oxl]
Honda also has a long memory of a previous three wheeler they sold. Didn't end well. And, rightfully so as it was very unstable.

I have pretty fond memories of the Big Reds.

From what I'm told, the quads that replaced them proved no less dangerous.

Three wheels were not the problem. The problem was that loose nuts could frequently be found between the handlebar and the seat.
 
I loved my ATC. Had a snappy 250 2 stroke I got as a basket case. Lots of missing bolts, shims and such. It was loud and obnoxious with the straight through spark arrestor I put on but loads of fun in the dunes.

After I replaced the nearly non existent swingarm bearings it was pretty stable. Still easy to flip but control was there.
 
A lot has to do with the nut behind the handlebars. Used within the design intent and not as something it wasn't intended for is the key to keeping the rubber side down, but as we know, sometimes @#$! happens. Have flipped a four wheel ATV because of the terrain I was on, going across too steep a terrain and gravity is a bitch. Almost had the same issue while snowmobiling with my brother. Going up a steep bank/small hill that was like an exponential curve, brother on the back. The closer we got to the crest of the slope, the steeper it got. Had it pinned and was hanging out over the windshield, brother mentioned he had a death grip on the passenger grips so he didn't move. Made it but just - had visions of us going over backwards and watching the snowmobile do 360s in the air, never went up that hill again.

I had always wondered about warranty and conversions, knew the answer, but have now seen it in print. Unfortunate yes, but to be expected.
 
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