Mad Trapper
Member
Hello, my name is Mike Caldwell. I live just north of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
I lived in Leadville and Copper Mountain, Colorado during the late 90's and rode a 1980 Goldwing Interstate. If you are ever in that area, you've got to do the ride over Independance Pass to Aspen. The road was freshly paved back then and the cruise around Turquoise Lake in Leadville was amazing.
In 1999 I returned to Canada where I was hired to start up a new air ambulance service in Ottawa. I also bought an abandoned 6,000 square foot sawmill that I proceeded to renovate and turn into my home.
Needless to say, I was quite busy in the early part of this century and any time I needed transportation, I needed to stop by Home Depot and return with a load of lumber or drywall. So I didn't ride for a number of years.
Last year, I decided it was time to get the bike out again. Unfortunately, when I put the bike away 8 years I did absolutely nothing to winterize it. So the half tank of gas had turned to varnish, the carbs were royally :sensored: , many of the seals were shot, and on and on.
But "luckily" I happened to find Michael Birt who was sellign a 1981 Goldwing that looked exactly like my '80 last December. I thought it would be nice to purchase a bike that I had a garage full of spare parts for. Sadly, it looks like I'm going to need them! :help:
When I bought the bike it wasn't licensed or insured so I was only able to take it around the block and bring it up to second gear. But Mike said the bike was recently on the road and that it road great. No problems at all and it had new tires, brakes, stator, starter, battery... Since my '80 had been so reliable, I figured this would be the same deal.
But this spring when I went to put it on the road, I had a terrible time getting it off the center stand. Once it was off the stand, it was also leaking a ton of oil/gas. This winter I changed out the '81's rusted exhausted pipes with my clean '80 pipes, so I don't mind some light mechanical work, but this oil leak seemed out of my league.
I took it to a mechanic to learn that this bike didn't have a Goldwing center stand on it. This one is much shorter and so it extends too far forward. This is why it's so hard to lift off the stand. I also learned that a float in one of the carbs must be gummed up and left open because it's allowing gas to leak down through the engine and mix with the oil.
So the carbs need to be pulled and cleaned out and the center stand needs to be replaced. Hopefully, those are the only problems we'll find. The previous owner isn't returning my calls though, so I'm a little concerned that he may be hiding something else.
I always thought my fellow Goldwing riders were people I could trust!
I'm hoping this forum will help me find solutions to the problems that might arise with this bike.
I certainly am looking forward to riding again. I have trips planned to New Hampshire at the end of May and to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at the end of June.
I lived in Leadville and Copper Mountain, Colorado during the late 90's and rode a 1980 Goldwing Interstate. If you are ever in that area, you've got to do the ride over Independance Pass to Aspen. The road was freshly paved back then and the cruise around Turquoise Lake in Leadville was amazing.
In 1999 I returned to Canada where I was hired to start up a new air ambulance service in Ottawa. I also bought an abandoned 6,000 square foot sawmill that I proceeded to renovate and turn into my home.
Needless to say, I was quite busy in the early part of this century and any time I needed transportation, I needed to stop by Home Depot and return with a load of lumber or drywall. So I didn't ride for a number of years.
Last year, I decided it was time to get the bike out again. Unfortunately, when I put the bike away 8 years I did absolutely nothing to winterize it. So the half tank of gas had turned to varnish, the carbs were royally :sensored: , many of the seals were shot, and on and on.
But "luckily" I happened to find Michael Birt who was sellign a 1981 Goldwing that looked exactly like my '80 last December. I thought it would be nice to purchase a bike that I had a garage full of spare parts for. Sadly, it looks like I'm going to need them! :help:
When I bought the bike it wasn't licensed or insured so I was only able to take it around the block and bring it up to second gear. But Mike said the bike was recently on the road and that it road great. No problems at all and it had new tires, brakes, stator, starter, battery... Since my '80 had been so reliable, I figured this would be the same deal.
But this spring when I went to put it on the road, I had a terrible time getting it off the center stand. Once it was off the stand, it was also leaking a ton of oil/gas. This winter I changed out the '81's rusted exhausted pipes with my clean '80 pipes, so I don't mind some light mechanical work, but this oil leak seemed out of my league.
I took it to a mechanic to learn that this bike didn't have a Goldwing center stand on it. This one is much shorter and so it extends too far forward. This is why it's so hard to lift off the stand. I also learned that a float in one of the carbs must be gummed up and left open because it's allowing gas to leak down through the engine and mix with the oil.
So the carbs need to be pulled and cleaned out and the center stand needs to be replaced. Hopefully, those are the only problems we'll find. The previous owner isn't returning my calls though, so I'm a little concerned that he may be hiding something else.
I always thought my fellow Goldwing riders were people I could trust!
I'm hoping this forum will help me find solutions to the problems that might arise with this bike.
I certainly am looking forward to riding again. I have trips planned to New Hampshire at the end of May and to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at the end of June.
