March 2008 Archives

As I began to pick through layers of neglect and grime a tragic story of abuse unfolded before me. There where leaves packed in around the carbs and air cleaner, which leads me to believe it spent a very long time outdoors. The seat foam was soaked with water, and it was covered with vinyl so it must have taken quite a number of rain storms to have saturated the foam like this. This neglect coupled with really bad maintenance left this bike in rough shape. Despite all this it really ran pretty well, and only had 34,000 miles on her. Dozer also told me that the speakers where replaced. The audio sounded really bad with buzzing and resonances everywhere. When I took the rear speakers apart there where cheap flea market drivers in there which did not fit the housings, subsequently they only had one loose screw holding the driver in place, in short a real hack job. When I removed the front speakers they appeared to be stock but the surrounds had long since rotted away and the cones where torn. I ordered a set of J&B audio premium drivers and they made a world of difference, they totally rock! I was also told that the brakes had just been replaced, yet after only 1000 miles on the bike the brakes where metal on metal, so if they where new brakes, I think they might have been made of sidewalk chalk :-O. Here is a list of what I found on the first pass:

1. Rusted throttle control cables.

2. Speakers where shot.

3. Seat was soaked through.

4. Air cleaner element was clogged and black.

5. Cooling fans sounded like a chainsaw when they kicked in.

6. Brakes where shot.

7. Windshield was cut down and scratched up.

8. Gauge panel bezel was cracked and glued back together (PO says he got mad working on something else and threw a pair of pliers at it).

9. Radio mute kept coming on by itself.

10. When in a turn or over a bump the bike would shut down. (Bank Angle Sensor failure)

 

Now after replacing the throttle cables, speakers, seat, air cleaner element, fan assembly, brakes, windshield, gauge panel (only $60 right from Honda). I still had an issue with the radio and the far more pressing issue of the bike shutting down at very inopportune moments. The radio issue seemed to go away after the connectors where cleaned and reseated. I was at a GWRRA (Goldwing Road Riders Assoc.) meeting and mentioned the problem of the random shut down to my friend Buddy. He proceeded to tell me that there was a recall about 15 years ago from American Honda on the Bank Angle sensors and recommend I checked that out. The very next day, Monday, I called Honda and they where FANTASTIC! They ran my VIN and told me that in fact my bike had NEVER had this recall work done. The purpose of the Bank Angle sensor is to detect when the bike has been laid over and it shuts the engine down immediately. The sensor is very similar to a pinball machine tilt sensor except that there is a very viscous silicone fluid inside to dampen the movement. The problem is that the early units leaked and without the fluid it was like riding a pinball machine in traffic. I tried my area dealers, Riders World, North American Warhorse and they both jerked me around, telling me that they would need the bike for 2 to 4 weeks to complete the work. I found the service bulletin online and the service time was .3 hours, remove old sensor, put in new one, seemed pretty simple to me, why 2-4 weeks? My friend Buddy had recommended J&B Honda in Berwick so I gave them a call. They where FANTASTIC to deal with! They told me they had a new Bank Angle Sensor in stock and all I had to do was ride down and they would put it right in. I rode there, left them the bike, walked around the corner and got a coffee, by the time I got back my bike was ready AND ROAD TESTED! I cannot say enough about their service. Wilkes Barre/Scranton area dealers could learn a thing or two from them.

 

Not wanting to waste such a beautiful afternoon I ventured out to the garage to install the heated grips I bought for the Oldwing almost a year ago. They have been sitting on the shelf mocking me all this time. When it was nice out I never gave them a second thought, but after a few chilly rides this winter I figured I might as well get them installed. The grips I got where by Show Chrome and they literally fell into place. Wire lengths where right on and they put out a fair amount of heat. I'll be riding down to Maryland this weekend to see my hot little biker chick and the forecast is a high of 40F, so if I leave at 8:00am its gonna be a bit nippy. Should be a good test for them, under real conditions.

The cooling fans had been giving me fits since September when I had a fan motor come loose and break a fan blade. I fixed the broken motor and replaced the blown fuse but the fans still refused to kick in. This had not been a problem riding in the cold because as long as the bike was rolling the airflow was enough, but now that it was becoming warmer it needed to be fixed. First I had dislodged one of the connectors while I was servicing the fans but failed to notice it. Next, the fuse I had put in (same color as the one I took out) was the wrong value. It was supposed to be a 10 amp and was actually a 5. So when I finally fixed the connector, the fuse blew, again... Now with everything plugged in and the proper fuse in place she regulates herself pretty well. the cooling fans are whisper quite now, as they should be.

Looking forward to the ride this weekend, I love it when Karen joins me on the bike, it's like she was born to sit back there. I just have to watch the speed, she tends to freak out a bit at high velocities....:-)
Here she is dancing while walking a dog...don't ask...

Having owned my trusty 1984 BMW R100LT for a year I realized it was too small for two up riding with the likes of me at the helm, I needed something bigger. I had always had a thing for Goldwings but had never ridden one. I put aside some cash and watched Ebay for a likely candidate. Many of the bikes I looked at quickly sailed out of my price range. I put a bid on a 1989 burgundy Aspencade that had low miles and hoped for the best. I sent some questions to the listing member and learned that he was listing it for a friend and would get back to me. I asked questions like "was the bike stored outside" they said no. I asked if the display bezel was broken, they said yes but it was "repaired". The auction came to a close with me on top so off to Baltimore MD (175 mi away), I went with my fist full of dollars. Dozer was the name of the owner and he exhibited a rather strong affinity for Brand "H-D" motorcycles and claimed to have bought this Goldwing to help out an old friend. The clear coat on every horizontal surface was shot, the color coat was bleached almost gold in places (this was described as "some finish wear" in the listing. The bezel on the instrument cluster was glued together and reminded me of the Frankenstein monster. Fortunately for Dozer, I approached this like many men do, seeing what it could become, rather than what it actually was. I made an offer less than the winning bid price because I felt the finish was in worse condition than advertised and I suspected this bird had spent way too much time outside, away from a suitable nest. He did let me test ride it, which does not happen often during MC sales transaction. I went around the block and cracked the throttle on the return leg, HOLY CRAP! I had never been on a bike with torque like that. My 1000cc BMW felt like a moped compared to the power this thing spilled forth. Giddy, after a visit from the "Blessed Mother of Acceleration" we settled up and my son and I headed north. After a few miles I noticed that the throttle had almost a quarter turn of freeplay, I decided to keep an eye on it and forge ahead. While crossing one of the bridges on the highway leading out of Baltimore I hit an expansion joint that jarred my teeth and the big bike shut right down. So there I was traveling at about 70 MPH in the midst of 4 lanes of city traffic on a bike with no engine. I reached up and flipped the ignition key off then on again and two giant giant clouds of soot shot out of the tailpipes and the beast roared back to life. Mind you at this point I really could have used a change of underwear, but possessing the fortitude required of someone who rides old motorcycles, I forged ahead undaunted. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, aside from a few more " panic shut down" procedures (hell, it was old hat now ). I parked the giant bike next to my BMW in the garage and went in the house for a stiff drink.
The next day I decided to investigate the play in the throttle cable. I started applying the the procedure in my service manual and the play worsened, the throttle return cable was rusted in two, I had just ridden 175 miles with only a single little spring ensuring that the throttle returned to idle, could have ended badly but we made it home. I ordered new cables and replaced them. While doing this I dug in and inspected the bike very closely. Look for the results in Part 2. Thanks for reading!