My Goldwing misbehaved occasionally ever since spring of 2007. One early ride last year the bike felt as though it ran out of fuel. While it was still coasting I downshifted and popped the clutch and it started up and ran fine after that. That was it until my brother and I were leaving the Minneapolis area and intending on an extended road trip. The morning was a bit cool, hinting at fall’s nearness. We were on the western edge of the cities and it seemed to run out of gas again but didn’t completely stop so I explained what happened and we decided to continue on our way. What the heck, probably wouldn’t be able to diagnose the problem until the bike quit and refused to start anyway.
During the balance of that trip the bike misbehaved perhaps six to eight more times but always kept running and seemed to get it’s wind back. The fuel filter got replaced at one Honda dealership in Oklahoma. The owner claimed to know next to nothing about Goldwings because this was such a poor area and nobody could afford them around there. Turns out he sold lots of ATV’s but few motorcycles. Hmmmm, seems to me those ATV’s cost money too. Well the fuel filter didn’t fix it and we stopped at another dealership. The service manager took the bike out on the toll way and found nothing wrong with it up to 115 MPH. He suggested it could be the battery wasn’t able to keep up because of the extra load from the trailer lights (all LED lights on the trailer ) which sounded a little far fetched. But we hit a “Wallow World” and I replaced the battery. There was one more episode shortly after replacing the battery and all was good the rest of the trip, a thousand miles or more. I was thinking maybe the battery was the culprit.
The bike had been running like a champ this year and we took off with trailer in tow to attend the wedding of my nephew. Likewise it ran like a champ with mileage up to almost 42 MPG for part of the trip. Then came Saturday, on our way to the wedding and wouldn’t you know. I limped the bike into the country club parking lot and scurried in so as to not delay things any longer. Later it fired up and ran normal. The next day we returned home and there wasn’t a hiccup.
Now this is one of those things that really makes me go HMMMMM?
I spent some quality time searching my favorite online Goldwing resource and found a link to this well written “How To” detailing a reasonably inexpensive fix for what is regarded as one of the common causes of this problem. I found there could have been about a $10 saving on the pump ordering it on line but opted for having the pump right away and bought it and the filter screen locally along with a one foot piece of submersible 5/16” fuel line. My grand total came to just over $80 and I scurried home anxious to get the project underway.
The how to instructions were quite explicit and indeed as the article said the job could have been done in about 30 minutes. That is except I decided not to trust crimped on terminals and soldered them for the sake of having no unwanted surprises on the road. One other consideration is the submersible fuel line which some posted they were having trouble locating. If that proves to be a problem for you I recommend getting a 5/16” double barbed brass connector between two and three inches long, then cutting the original fuel line on the original fuel pump and simply adding in the brass to provide enough length so you can use the original fuel line. Along with the two extra clamps the problem should be very nicely solved.
Did this replacement fix my problem? I don’t know and for that matter hope I never know. A couple things I have noticed since completing the replacement:
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On cold start up I can bring the choke to full off position much sooner than before. A possible indication there was fuel starvation which doesn’t seem to exist now.
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Start up after the bike has been ridden and shut down for even 2 to 3 hours is quicker and no longer requires using the choke. Once again possible indication of a fuel starvation condition which no long exists.
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At highway cruising speeds the bike seems to run quieter. This could be my imagination but I don’t think so.
Like I say, I hope to never know if this fixed the problem simply because the problem will not have recurred. I can sure live with that.
Posted in Repairs & Replacements
Who would ever imagine a simple thing like raising the rack platform and changing the angle would turn into a large project? Yeah, I know, don’t answer that. Like I’ve said, I always seem to go for overkill. Now you gotta understand overkill isn’t limited to doing the project, it encompasses every bit of thinking about it right up to walking into the hardware store to buy materials, wandering around the store and every step along the way. Part of that is because we have Mac’s here. Mac’s is the ultimate hardware store for DIY types such as myself. There is aisle after aisle of nuts, bolts etc. you throw into bags and pay for by the pound. Need Stainless? Yep, by the pound. Need brass? You guessed it. Need metric? Uh huh, same story. And more than that.
After ruminating over how to accomplish what I had in mind there I was in Mac’s throwing 1/4” stainless bolts, nuts and lock washers into a bag. Then over to the rack with numerous bits and pieces of “iron” of different sizes and thicknesses. I was looking for a 2 1/2” X 8” X 1/8” piece. Well darn, all I found was 2 1/2” X 8” X 1/4” pieces and at $.39/lb. I kinda figured I could afford the extra metal. I bought two 8” pieces of the stuff, 8 stainless bolts, lock washers and nuts and walked out of there spending less than $4.00 total. Overkill is easy at those prices especially considering I used only one of the steel plates and four of the bolts. Spare pieces are good.
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Posted in Receiver Hitch Rack
Wow, has this summer gotten away from us. The first weekend of August is a long way into summer to be our first long ride weekend. It did prove to be a thoroughly enjoyable ride getting there. I personally can’t think of a better way to go to a wedding than on two wheels. Janice says the second best was would be in a convertible with the top down (I gotta agree). Other than a bit of erratic behavior on the part of my bike when trying to get to the ceremony the ride there and back home was a good riding adventure.
Sunday morning we put forth added effort to get under way early just in case the bike wanted to act up again. It was amazingly well behaved and didn’t act up all the way home. We did encounter rain for about twenty miles though. Oh but that it had only been rain, no it was a downpour with lightning strikes so close the thunder claps were less than one second behind. We were rain gear clad and moving as it began. Some quick CB discussion lead us to keep going rather than being non-moving targets sitting along side the roadway. Amazingly little traffic actually went around us even though the left lane was clear.
This put the microphone amplifiers to good test and provided information for improvements that should be made. Seems the power switch tends to get wet and cause some problem until dried out again. Not what I would expect if I were buying the equipment. I also believe potting the tiny wires that connect into the DIN connector will be a good plan. The microphone amplifier circuit likewise will benefit from sealing in epoxy to assure water proof operation. Waterproof switches will certainly be in the works as well.
Once the rain stopped it took perhaps 15 to 20 minutes before things dried out and all worked well again.
Posted in Headset, Microphone & Microphone Preamp
I helped my brother with painting his house Sunday afternoon. It seemed a good excuse to get the bike out for a ride and give the receiver hitch rack a fair shake down cruise as well. After a few intense hours he finished re-priming what his son and another teen had half heartedly done while I got color on about one third of the east side. Then it was time for a ride.
We went north along the main street then made a left and followed State Hwy 11 to the west. As I made that left I heard something scrape which I translated as an indication the rack needs some fine tuning to raise it a couple inches and level it front to back. The hitch rack remains a work in progress.
More to come.
Posted in Receiver Hitch Rack
Finished Project For The Moment
Once a project gets to a certain point (usually slightly beyond what I think is the halfway mark) my focus becomes entirely on finishing. So it has been with the receiver hitch rack. I’m playing some catch up here in order to present a reasonably accurate chronicle of the endeavor.
The basic rack was a hop, skip and jump (so to speak). A bit of ‘quality time’ with the band saw produced near perfect pieces of aluminum angle. The floor of the rack is a piece of 3/16” clear polycarbonate I bought for another purpose but hey sacrifices must be made. The trick with polycarbonate that thick is cutting it to size. Scoring and breaking doesn’t work well because it is so thick. My band saw has 4 inch depth of cut which is a problem when you need to cut 18 by 26 inches. I took a chance and tried a carbide tipped rotary blade in the SkillSaw. Surprise of surprises it made amazingly clean cuts. It’s a tip worth remembering but I recommend using a saw guide to keep the cut straight and accurate. The picture below is the individual pieces for the basic rack assembly. Look closely at the Rubbermaid container and you will get a hint that a polycarbonate sheet is leaned against the front of it.
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Posted in Receiver Hitch Rack
