A few concerns before I take a trip

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interstate80

interstate80

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Jan 5, 2010
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Location
Castlegar British Columbia Canada
I have a 80 interstate that I purchased last year, I've had it on the road since march of this year and love it, Ive put about 3000 km on this year but most of that has been local everyday riding. I am planning a 6 day tour from the Rockies to the coast in a month and have some questions, my passenger and me are about 300 lbs, and we will be camping all the way,how much gear can these old bikes handle without being to hard on them. I have an original Honda tool kit with the bike and a handfull of extra tools from my shop box, can anybody sugest any tools or parts we should carry, and anything I might want to check before we go. thank you from British Columbia, Canada
 
check your valve stems for cracking.. I and another Winger found ours had cracked and they were replaced a month apart in two different parts of the country.. change your oil, filters and plugs. I also would verify my pressures tires and shocks/forks. Get a pressure guage if you do not have one. by a cheap multitester for electrics, this will allow testing of minor issues and eleminate a lot of guessing, and electrical tape, if you don't like the colored tapes they now have clear .. tighten all fasteners.. and check your fluids radiator at the radiator and the overflow tank.., and brake fluids. get a wrench for the axles nuts... my 81 kit does not have one.. buy spare 30 amp main fuses or bypass the dogbone with a blade fuse connector. extra glass fuses and spare 1157 bulbs (headlights, brakes and front turn) and 1156 (rear turn) lube all cables and if your cables are not new I would by a clutch, pull throttle and speedo cables.. the clutch and pull will leave you stranded by the wayside .. the speedo will give you back your speed unless you are sure of your rpm/speedo ratio in all gears.. The bike ratings are listed on or near the swing arm.. and I believe the Honda ratings are 350 lbs passengers and load.. that being said.. boxes are rated for max 30 lbs.. pack so you have equal weight on left and right sides.. Camping or hotelling??? camping means sleeping bags and tents, cooking utensils and stoves or charcol grills.. all become bulky.. sorry this is long but just recently finished a short 5 day trip and these were on my mind while travelling..
 
300 lbs plus camping gear and tools should be fine but your going to need working rear air shocks that don't leak.
With that weight you'll need them at max air pressure, 57 psi I think.

I would load it down before hand and go take a ride with your passenger to get a feel, you'll know if it's overloaded.

I grease the rear splines with Moly 60 about once a year or before a long trip.
The Rockies will be putting a lot of strain in the driveline so I would make this a priority.
 
Otay, so I'm gonna throw this out there, 'cause I'm tarded....
Does greasing the splines on the final drive involve removing the rear wheel assy?
Is that an all-day sucker on a dresser?
I'm sure I prolly need to do this on mine, but, since I'm lazy, I just don't wanna mess with anything that requires more than an hour or so of labor on my part..... :builder: :crying: :mrgreen:
 
Yes, to grease the final drive splines the wheel has to come off.
A good time is when replacing the tire but if it hasn't been done that you know of then it should be done, much like timing belts.
If the splines are dry they wear fast, and when they wear to the point they're stripped out your dead in the water and have to replace them.
 
300 lbs isnt scwat. :lol:

I weigh 275,my wife is 150,my son is 90,then add the sidecar,trailor,cooler,luggage,tools.....
And thats on an 83 witch may have better highway gearing,but the 80 has lower more responsive gearing.

Just make sure youre rear tire is up to the proper load carring specs.Some folks cheap out on cheaper tires witch is probably fine single,but two up can cause a problem.

I have changed all my cables and keep the spares in my trailor,I also keep a full set of metric wrenchs,small socket set,vise grips,sidecutters,electrical connectors,spare wire,tie raps,air gauge....and a plug kit and 12 volt compresor with me.

When I am not traveling far I just relie on the honda tool kit and GWRRA rescue plus membership :grin:

None of witch I have ever needed. :good: After all,it is a goldwing,not a HD :smilie_happy:
 
thanks for the info and great point about the splines, I will be replacing the tires next week anyway but it will be going to the shop for that. I will be sure to tell them to grease the splines. We will be roughing it all the way (no hotels) so I will need to get as much gear on the old girl as is safe.Thanks again
 
interstate80":xdxxbxhs said:
thanks for the info and great point about the splines, I will be replacing the tires next week anyway but it will be going to the shop for that. I will be sure to tell them to grease the splines. We will be roughing it all the way (no hotels) so I will need to get as much gear on the old girl as is safe.Thanks again
Click to expand...

Make sure they use the proper "MOLY 60" grease on the splines,you need to wacth this even with the honda dealers.
 

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