Hey guys! I'm beginning to toss around the idea of putting a rig together in the next year or so if finances permit. I'm wondering what the general consensus would be (if there ever is such a thing) deciding between an early-mid 80's Goldwing and a late 80's - early 90's Sportster (883 or 1200 cc ). My goals are to have a rig that will be easy and relatively cheap to maintain and have enough oomph to cruise at 65 mph if need be.
I know the GW has 4 carbs which could be daunting to adjust. Valve adjustments look like they'd be easy to do since they're exposed. 4 cylinders could be handy lugging around a tub. Shaft drive is ideal. Low initial cost is a plus (usually well under $2000 in my area).
The HD on the other hand doesn't need any valve adjustments and has famous torque. Considerably better mpg stock (dunno how much a sidecar would affect this). Single carb would be easy to deal with. Belt drive would probably need to be switched to a chain. Plenty of parts available, but I suspect they're costlier due to the name on the tank. Higher initial cost as well ($2500 - $3500 for the 883cc).
So, any thoughts on which of these two bikes would have the advantage?
Thanks!
~SM
I'd consider the intended usage for the rig. If it's touring and possible heavy loading, GL. For day tripping and shorter hops, the Harley is Sportier. Better wet weather protection from the GL also.
A well maintained GL should only need a belt change at around 50K miles and has a lot of amenities not standard with the Sportster.
A change from belt to chain shouldn't be needed for the Sportys unless a lot of city driving is expected. City speed limits will have you shifting up and down a lot with stock gearing.
Lonnie
If you can tolerate the vibration, go with the sportster,
Hmm, interesting. What makes the Sportster "sportier"? Are we talking strictly looks, or is there a handling difference? I probably should have mentioned: if I get a Goldwing, I plan to strip it naked and sell off the extra bits. I don't care for the full touring look, and GWs look really nice naked (I'll bet there's a joke to be found in there somewhere!).
As much fun a touring sounds, I'm sure the bike would be getting much more use as a commuter / day-tripper. I actually had a 2010 Ural T earlier this year, but after a few years of putting around on it, I decided it wasn't entirely my cup of tea... it had style in spades, but too much maintenance (easy, but often), low mpg, and was mostly gutless. It gets annoying having to pull over to let people around you. 🙁 Any time I approached 60 mph, I had to wonder if it was about to fly apart!
~SM
It was.
The sportster will be easier to find attachment points for the hack.
It will be better of the commuting around town trips you describe.
It will be better handling everywhere except maybe the interstate at high speed.
It will be better on jeep trails and rough ground.
It will be easier to preform regular maintenance on. It will vibrate more. That is its' nature.
A naked wing with a sidecar would be very cool , my plan is to mate an old wing with a terraplane sc ,you might want to check that out. Honda over Harley any day of the week. Imho.
Ha, well, I'm not a bike snob of any sort. The way I see it, they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Harley has a certain stigma associated with it for sure... bandannas and leather vests aren't for everyone. From a purely objective point of view, it's a good contender for a hack. Harleys, and Sportsters in particular, can be done tastefully without all the Maltese crosses and flames and skulls. I'm thinking more of a cafe / scrambler look for whatever bike I choose.
Water cooled engine (almost no overheating). Shaft drive(almost no maintenance). More power. Lot of parts for lot less $$$. All plus for Goldwing. Beware of charging system on it (most of 1200). 3 yellow wire need to be checked.
Swordsman - 10/1/2014 11:11 AM
Hmm, interesting. What makes the Sportster "sportier"? Are we talking strictly looks, or is there a handling difference? I probably should have mentioned: if I get a Goldwing, I plan to strip it naked and sell off the extra bits. I don't care for the full touring look, and GWs look really nice naked (I'll bet there's a joke to be found in there somewhere!).
~SM
Do not loose lot of full touring look. It will give you lot more comfort.
I'll admit that water cooling is an advantage but I prefer simplicity. As for shaft drive it means you cannot change final drive ratios without great expense and little choice.
A sidecar rig is easier to live with when it has a lower low gear.
Hi Swordsman. I have an '06 sportster 883 with a freedom cruiser which is a fairly heavy hack and I don't have any trouble cruising at 70 or 75 and I get around 48 MPG. I've been very happy with the rig.
Phelonius - 10/1/2014 3:32 PM
I'll admit that water cooling is an advantage but I prefer simplicity. As for shaft drive it means you cannot change final drive ratios without great expense and little choice.
A sidecar rig is easier to live with when it has a lower low gear.
Simplicity is good until you have to stop and cool down. He ask about Sportstear vs old Goldwing. It is very good idea to put 1 cylinder after another on air cooled engine... But i don't want to go there. Harley as Ural is best motorcycles... I do have GS850/ Velorex and so far never overheat it. Did almost overheat GL1500 in the parade at 97F. About shaft. Non of my rigs need lower gearing even i do ride them often with 4 people on board( me and other 3 is not smallest people). Possible to install smaller tire to get lower gearing. Did have GS550/ Velorex and had a lot of headache with chain adjustment. I like shaft.
My wife and I put 150K on a GL1100 with a sidecar, when we started our sidecar business the first bike we purchased for a demo was a new 1998 Sportster. Sold it a year latter with only 500 miles on it, my wife put 3 of those miles on it and refused to ride it again. When we purchased the Harley I asked the dealer how we were suppose to be able to go any where with a 2.3 gallon fuel tank, the dealer informed me that that was the "big" tank, after owning it, I understand, 2.3 gallons is plenty as we never wanted to go far enough with it that range was ever an issue. The Goldwing on the other hand did every thing we ever asked of it including gravel road riding. We use to host a sidecar event, one year we went to the event with the GL1100, a California sidecar on it towing one of the heaviest tent trailers ever made for motorcycle use a "Martin" with a Kenna sidecar we had for sale on top of the Martin and every thing to host the event and cook for every one. We took it over a truck scale, the bike weighed in at 2700 lbs. We cleared the top of Snoqualme pass at 65mph in 3rd gear at 6500 rpm's
I know of a few GL1100's with over 300,000 miles on the original engine still going strong, I have heard of very few Sportsters with over 100K on them.
If you do go with the Goldwing make sure that the sidecar you use is strong enough for such a heavy bike and is mounted with bike specific NOT universal mounting hardware.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
jaydmc - 10/2/2014 10:55 AM
My wife and I put 150K on a GL1100 with a sidecar, when we started our sidecar business the first bike we purchased for a demo was a new 1998 Sportster. Sold it a year latter with only 500 miles on it, my wife put 3 of those miles on it and refused to ride it again. When we purchased the Harley I asked the dealer how we were suppose to be able to go any where with a 2.3 gallon fuel tank, the dealer informed me that that was the "big" tank, after owning it, I understand, 2.3 gallons is plenty as we never wanted to go far enough with it that range was ever an issue. The Goldwing on the other hand did every thing we ever asked of it including gravel road riding. We use to host a sidecar event, one year we went to the event with the GL1100, a California sidecar on it towing one of the heaviest tent trailers ever made for motorcycle use a "Martin" with a Kenna sidecar we had for sale on top of the Martin and every thing to host the event and cook for every one. We took it over a truck scale, the bike weighed in at 2700 lbs. We cleared the top of Snoqualme pass at 65mph in 3rd gear at 6500 rpm's
I know of a few GL1100's with over 300,000 miles on the original engine still going strong, I have heard of very few Sportsters with over 100K on them.
If you do go with the Goldwing make sure that the sidecar you use is strong enough for such a heavy bike and is mounted with bike specific NOT universal mounting hardware.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
What was so unpleasant about the Sportster?
Thanks for the heads-up on the mounting hardware. I know Goldwings are pretty common tugs, so I suspect it wouldn't be hard to find. I'm guessing the left hand turns put a lot of strain on the hardware with a heavy bike...?
~SM
The sportster vibrated bad, its ergonomics were just plain wrong, the air filter stuck out far enough on the right that your leg had to go around it to get to the pegs, The seat sucked, it had a bad lean surge that the dealer refused to fix telling me that the only fix on this brand new bike was to buy "Screaming Eagle" parts that were not street legal which struck me as just plain wrong, a new bike should run properly from the factory, they should not be selling you parts that are not street legal to make the bike run right. A company as large as Harley should be able to make emissions legal bikes that run correctly with out selling you parts after the fact to fix the bike to run proper. It lacked power! my wife at the same time had an 850cc Moto Guzzi Eldorado with the same sidecar on it, the Guzzi is also an air cooled V twin and hers was completely stock. We went to an event once me on the new 883cc and her on the Eldorado which was also towing a tent trailer. The Harley had a hard time keeping up with the Guzzi. In general, the bike was crude when compared to any other bike I had owned up to that point with the arguably exception of a 1972 Norton. If you do go the Sportster route, the 2004 and up rubber mounted engine bikes while still crude are a much better bike.
On the Goldwing, if you have proper mounts, left hand turns are not going to be a stress issue. If you try and do this with "universal" clamps on all four mounts or worse, the kind of "clamps" that a company in the L.A. Area (not champion) has used then you may have a frame failure, I know of one GL1200 that the frame broke in half due to the "clamps" this company use's. Their clamps are a flat piece of steel with holes on each end wrapped around the frame and then a bolt goes into the holes and also the strut. The kind of "universal" clamp we make, and Champion sidecars makes, California sidecars use to make work great on these bike for the upper mounts but NOT the lower mounts. The Goldwing has a very stout frame. I have even mounted Watsonian Oxford 4 seat sidecars to them. Of course we make proper bike specific mounts for all years of Goldwing's
One issue with most mounts I have seen (not ours) for these bikes is that due to the frame lay out the lower rear mount almost always ends up quite a bit higher the lower front mount. The problem with this is that when you adjust lean out to fine tune a pull out, your toe in setting moves the wrong way. The more you lean it to the left to fix a pull to the right, the more it toes out and as such the more it pulls to the right.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
