Just Picked Up

[patate657]

Just acquired this bike yesterday. The owner built this bike a few years ago and took it to the Tail-Of-The Dragon and ran the curves. May make a few changes, but runs well and really needs nothing.

 

[CaptainKyle]

Nice Congrats !

 

[Zeus36]

That strap across the seat, though ?? Seems overkill

 

[desert_max]

Welcome to the world of four cylinder Goldwings. Decent looking 1100.

Also, transporting with the kickstand down is not a good idea either.

 

[Fire-medic]

That strap across the seat, though ?? Seems overkill

A friend's unfortunate circumstance (picture) shows why sometimes 'excess' beats (thought to be) 'adequate.'



As you may see, this is a very-valuable bike! Was this sold as "The One?" Or, is it a re-creation? Inquiring minds want to know. Who recognizes it?

 

[Zeus36]

I think he has enough attachments without needing to go over the seat, a soft point. The kickstand should not be down.

 

[patate657]

That strap across the seat, though ?? Seems overkill

Better Over-Kill than Under-Kill. The little trailer bounces up and down a lot and tends to slack off the straps. I tow at 75 miles an hour too. As for over kill, I usually put more but it was raining...

 

[Fire-medic]

I'd suggest some aluminum diamond plate material under the bike wheels, to spread the bike load, through the tires. Even something as-small as 12" X 12" centered under the two tires would probably be sufficient. You probably could just through-bolt the four corners, and that would be sufficient.

I can imagine hitting a piece of road debris at your 75 mph towing speed, and as the weight transfers from the sudden rise due to hitting the object, and then the inevitable 'fall-to-earth' of the motorcycle's weight, if the plywood was rotten, the tires could break right through it, and slacken the tie-downs, and there goes the bike.

I had a 4' X 16' open trailer of steel for ATC's, I bought it with a 3/4" plywood deck. The first change I made, before using it, was to install two end-to-end 4' X 8' sheets of aluminum diamond plate. There were steel crossbars every 2' of length, so there was good support for nearly anything I could safely load. I used it to tow the shell of a disassembled classic car from Florida to Montreal, and it performed flawlessly.

 

[patate657]

I'd suggest some aluminum diamond plate material under the bike wheels, to spread the bike load, through the tires. Even something as-small as 12" X 12" centered under the two tires would probably be sufficient. You probably could just through-bolt the four corners, and that would be sufficient.

I can imagine hitting a piece of road debris at your 75 mph towing speed, and as the weight transfers from the sudden rise due to hitting the object, and then the inevitable 'fall-to-earth' of the motorcycle's weight, if the plywood was rotten, the tires could break right through it, and slacken the tie-downs, and there goes the bike.

I had a 4' X 16' open trailer of steel for ATC's, I bought it with a 3/4" plywood deck. The first change I made, before using it, was to install two end-to-end 4' X 8' sheets of aluminum diamond plate. There were steel crossbars every 2' of length, so there was good support for nearly anything I could safely load. I used it to tow the shell of a disassembled classic car from Florida to Montreal, and it performed flawlessly.

Four 2" angle iron cross members topped by steel grating under the 3/4" plywood. 3" angle iron runs across end to end back and front. 3" channel tubing running across side to side over the axle. There is also a 3/4" rod on each side running forward and aft over the axle. Trailer is rated for up to 1,200 LBs.

 

[Zeus36]

This brings up another issue and I've seen arguments to both sides:
Should the straps compress the motorcycle's suspension or should the hardpoint attachment be to areas that are not subject to the movement of the suspension (rims/wheels, lower fork legs, axles, brake discs, swingarm) and allow the motorcycle to ride on the trailer allowing movement of its forks and shocks? Any attachment to the frame will compress the suspension somewhat. I use choker straps on each lower fork leg and go the corners of the trailer. Two rear chokers go to the lower part of the shocks and then the rear corners of the trailer. That's how I brought home my Gen1. My Softail has hidden shocks, so I attach the choker straps to the rear section of the swingarm near the axle. Maybe a combination of non-suspended components for tie downs and a bit of compression to keep the bike from bouncing around?

 

[patate657]

I 'Always' start by having it sit on the side stand. I then put the 1st 2 main straps to the frame on that side and pull down against the stand. Only then do I put straps to the right side. I start with 4 main tie-downs. This time I didn't use the rear tie-downs off the frame but off the tops of the rear shock mounts. From there I use 3 more tie-downs to hold the bike's forward and back motions. If I had rails for the tires and maybe a forward wheel lock-down, then it'd be a different story. But this all works very well for me. But that's me....

 

[Fire-medic]

Yeah, that sounds sturdy. I have a HFT front wheel chock the front wheel goes into on either the p-u truck bed or the open trailer. I use 4 tie-downs: to the handlebars (2) and the rear frame (2).

Back in the early 1970's when I was riding my Yamaha 360 dirtbike in MI, I had a friend with a Maico 250 motocross bike, he towed behind a Camaro on one of those very-simple trailers, which had only a U-channel the wheels went into and a turned-up end piece to act as a front wheel stop. He would use a turnbuckle with one end fastened to the trailer, and the other end he had a hook on. That got hooked over the bracket for the footpeg mount, ea. side. As the bike was probably 225 lbs fueled, it seemed to work pretty-well.

 

[DreamV4]

Nice bike!!!! 75-77? engine guard would be a good idea. With engine guard GoldWings stop in about 45 degrees position if fall.
Did you check timing belt?

 

[patate657]

Nice bike!!!! 75-77? engine guard would be a good idea. With engine guard GoldWings stop in about 45 degrees position if fall.
Did you check timing belt?

Will be doing that in the future. Runs so-so for now. Cold natured as hell. It's an 80' with an 81' engine. For now I noticed a bunch of oil under one of the forks. As soon as it warms up outside, I'll be checking it out to see if I should out swap out the forks with my 83' parts bike I picked up 2 weekends ago. I was gonna start stripping it down today anyway.

 

[DreamV4]

It looks like my first GoldWing 83, paid $375 15 years ago. There is something fancy on fork, I don't remember what it is. "Trac"?

 

[patate657]

It looks like my first GoldWing 83, paid $375 15 years ago. There is something fancy on fork, I don't remember what it is. "Trac"?

I dropped off the forks for a rebuild. Just for sh---ts and giggles I tried the 83' v65 magna forks I have left from the 83' parts bike. They seem to fit, but are about 4" longer.....

 

[DreamV4]

I dropped off the forks for a rebuild. Just for sh---ts and giggles I tried the 83' v65 magna forks I have left from the 83' parts bike. They seem to fit, but are about 4" longer.....

Make sure rats are not living in front fairing. You'll need longer br. hoses and speed. cable for longer forks. good luck with your project.

 

[Fire-medic]

Back in the day, after Easy Rider was released, and the popularity of choppers and chopper-styled bikes skyrocketed, it was common to install something to provide the proper stance and profile. Longer forks were desired, but it was expensive to achieve, on hydraulic forks. Longer downtubes like you've tried was one way while another was to go to a springer front end. No real effective damping on nearly-all those designs! (springers) One of the popular fabricators of these was a fellow named Sugar Bear. His work is highly sought-after these days and they regularly go for some $$$ when they come up for sale. He's still fabricating them (since 1971) and his distinctive rockers (brackets connecting the parallel rods and the axle) have been copied by many. Note the construction uses solid rods and not tubing. The Shovelhead below is a good example of his work.



Benny Hardy and Sugar Bear worked together, Benny is gone now, but if you watched Easy Rider, you've seen his choppers. Yes, probably the most famous motorcycles in the world.




A Detailed Look At The Sugar Bear Front End (hotcars.com)

Another way to get 'the look' but without the expense of a custom springer front end, was to use 'slugs,' which threaded into your top downtubes, to extend them. They came in different lengths, and here in Florida, they were prohibited after accidents where the screw-in joint failed due to one too-many hard landings from a wheelie.

I once had a college roommate who had an early Kawasaki Mach III 500cc two-stroke triple cyl (when they were current production), and he had a set of 'slugs' on his bike. The Mach III needed no-help wheelieing, and it looked to me to be an unsafe ride.

Just replacing your downtubes with new tubes of whatever additional length you desired was probably the safest way to get the 'look,' even if it ruined your handling compared to a stock bike.

 

[gentsvmax]

A friend's unfortunate circumstance (picture) shows why sometimes 'excess' beats (thought to be) 'adequate.'

View attachment 82835

As you may see, this is a very-valuable bike! Was this sold as "The One?" Or, is it a re-creation? Inquiring minds want to know. Who recognizes it?

Is the guy still under the bike, wuts the cat lookin at?

 

[gentsvmax]

I think he has enough attachments without needing to go over the seat, a soft point. The kickstand should not be down.

View attachment 82836

Whoe buddy you bouts t have some fun!