hello from denver

[manco]

Hello everybody. Long time dirt biker / dual sporter here. Been thinking about picking up a road bike the past few years. Tried a few cruisers, crotch rockets and sport touring bikes. Nothing really jumped out at me mostly because what's the point of an uncomfortable sport bike considering speed limits and reckless driving is a no no. Always thought 1980s goldwings and venture royals looked good but wasn't sure if the style and weight fit what I was looking for. Finally decided on shopping for venture royals and stumbled upon a 1982 GL1100 Aspencade with California sidecar in my price range. I had been planning to mount a dog kennel on whatever bike I got so when the the GL sidecar rig popped up I figured may as well have more room for the dog and less weight on the bike. And so I became a Goldwing owner and here I am saying hello.

I got the rig in mid June, rode it a few times and decided to tear it down due to a lot of differed maintenance needed to be done. Timing belts were already done this spring by previous owner that only had the bike a few months before abandoning the project for a Ural. The Gl has 70,000 on the clock. Most of the work I am doing myself on the project. PistolPete has the carbs for rebuild. With the exception of nakifying the bike I will be keeping it mostly stock.

I am a long time dirt bike mechanic though was still hesitant to tear into a bike as big as a Goldwing. Once the project was underway and the fairing, racks and baggage were off I realized what I should have expected: Bikes are bikes, some are big and some are small. In the end its all just dirty mechanics as usual in a refurbish project. Overall the project has gone well. I am still a few weeks out from finishing it. Since PistolPete just got my carbs this week I will need to wait for them to be shipped back to really see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully the carb rebuild goes quick. I will be getting the carb inspection report soon and will know more then.

I was wondering if there are any vintage goldwing club in the USA. Particularly if any in the Colorado area. If anyone has info let me know.

Looking forward to perusing the site and learning more about my new to me GL. Will be reading the sticky threads. When I get bumped up to a full member I will put together a build thread on my project. Thanks for letting into the forum. Looking forward to conversing.

[Track T 2411]

Welcome from Wisconsin! Sounds like you're well on your way. You're right in that bikes is bikes, although the Wings do have a few quirks, like a water pump and radiator, lol! I personally recommend a water pump check, especially if you don't know the history of the bike. It's pretty easy, and the cost of an o-ring. There's a link in my signature to the 'new 2 u' thread. Check it out!

Enjoy the ride!

[manco]

Thanks for the tip on the water pump. I actually started a thread earlier today about rebuild vs replacing water pumps. I was hemmin n hawing about the pump and just decided since the bike is already torn down I will dig into the pump now too. Its already starting to weep anyway. I do have a new radiator cap already. I figure I will get the radiator flushed and replace the thermostat too while I am at it.

I will check that link out for tips. Its true the goldwings have their quirks I am finding out. Thing of it is the goldwing community is so huge online I have yet to get stumped. Whatever info or symptom of issue I run into seems to have dozens of threads online covering it. Type in gl1100 plus search terms into goolgle and boom dozens of links show up to forum threads all over the place. Its really nice having a bike so thoroughly written up about online.