Pros and Cons of Buying a '80s Goldwing

[JoeBarTeam]

Yes, oldwings are becoming rare and rare bikes get all the attention at bikes parking lots. I see it every time i ride my oldwing 1200 from 86. in the last 4 years i've seen no more than 20 1000, 1100 and 1200 on road. But tons of 1500 and 1800 newwings. They are sure ok but i prefer to ride my rare one. Another point i see is new touring bikes are getting heavier like cars do. A Pan ist heavier than my 1200, the newwing is awesome heavy, even a fjr from yamaha goes over 310 kilos without a topcase. In the 80s oldwing were to heavy for most bikers, now they buy them.


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[steve84]

my best friend has a 86 sei it is super slick people are amazed at how nice his bike is.

 

[thisfella420]

Welcome to the site from New Jersey! :clapping:

I have ridden 3 different Classic Goldwings in various configurations and for the most comfy ride, it was hands down the '85 Limited 1200. I have ridden my modified '82 Standard over 30k miles on road trips lasting as much as 2800 miles and I can ride that bike forever! I wish I had a chance to take a 1200 for a road trip, but it has not been in the cards for me. I currently have an '81 Standard we just recently fully restored to road condition and it sure is spry, but is much taller than my '82 1100 or the '85 1200. The only complaint I had with the 1200 was the amount of heat from the engine at my feet when riding in the summer. I felt I was getting cooked. The 1100's are more open and I do not have that issue with them. Here is a sampling:

'81 1100 Standard (which is for sale):

This is what we started with on our '82 Standard to give you a flavor of what can be done:

'82 1100 Standard when it had a Vetter faring with bags and trunk:

'82 1100 Standard with the faring pulled and just windshield and bags:

'82 1100 Standard with an OEM trunk added:

'82 1100 Standard with my trailer set up (best setup yet!):

'85 1200 Limited (with that real comfy seat and cruise control!):

I have that same gold color goldwing. I'm polishing the shit out of the chrome and it will blind you.... I'm not going to keep my bike do you know where to get best price for it.

 

[Motörhead]

Came upon this GL1200 British TV review from the 90's, very entertaining and sank the hook for me.

 

[jcn59]

I'm Knatamechanic. Bought a 86 Aspencade a few years ago for dirt cheap. 100,000 miles. Had to jump start it when I got it. Started right up & my meter showed it was charging. So I think the stator is okay??? I put a new batt in when I got home. & haven't charged it. That's the extent of the work I've done to it. Good tires and brakes. Still has air-leaky front forks & cruise control lives in the saddlle bag. Won't idle much below 900 rpm. Overall it starts and runs well. I have not gone on a long trip and never will....me too old. Plus I don't have any friends in North WI who ride. Biggest problem for me is it's too heavy. Okay when riding but when I stop it really wants to fall. It's a very nice ride, especially compared to my Sportster. When I stop it provides a very controllable roll-over. Doesn't seem to hurt anything but my pride. Hard to pick up. I'll try it one more summer. (jn)

 

[mistermo]

Put a side hack on it. You’ll never have to put your feet down again.

 

[OldWing SEI]

Why should it idle below 900? The idle is 1000 +/- 100 rpm. If that is too fast, turn of the ignition.

 

[thisfella420]

I'm Knatamechanic. Bought a 86 Aspencade a few years ago for dirt cheap. 100,000 miles. Had to jump start it when I got it. Started right up & my meter showed it was charging. So I think the stator is okay??? I put a new batt in when I got home. & haven't charged it. That's the extent of the work I've done to it. Good tires and brakes. Still has air-leaky front forks & cruise control lives in the saddlle bag. Won't idle much below 900 rpm. Overall it starts and runs well. I have not gone on a long trip and never will....me too old. Plus I don't have any friends in North WI who ride. Biggest problem for me is it's too heavy. Okay when riding but when I stop it really wants to fall. It's a very nice ride, especially compared to my Sportster. When I stop it provides a very controllable roll-over. Doesn't seem to hurt anything but my pride. Hard to pick up. I'll try it one more summer. (jn)

You could buy my 1985 goldwing limited edition 1200 with stabilizer kit with fiberglass fenders painted to match. [email protected]