I do love the bike! It is 99% perfect, I just need to find a way to get rid of the flames haha!
I like flames as long as they are on someone else's bike.
The ad says the Yellow is a wrap so a little heat gun/elbow grease action should get rid of the yellow along with the flames.
Here's a 2 minute video on it.
It's silver underneath which is a darn nice color.
I am a yellow and orange bike guy that's owned four silver bikes.
I actually LOVE the yellow wrap, but I don't understand the flames. I suppose it must be a generational thing, given the original owner was in his 80s, and many of those fellas were into flames back in the 60s and 70s. I am 39, so many folks of my age prefer no flames and blacked-out vehicles.
However, silver is an amazing color too, so I would have no issue removing the yellow wrap if it comes to that. Ideally, I'd find some way to just get rid of the flames and keep the majority of the car wrapped in yellow. I am just not sure how I could do that.
Chris, yes...the exact same oil you use in your AT, will work just fine in that Goldwing. I use Mobil 1, regular automotive oil, full synthetic, but nothing wrong with the Honda HP4S oil.
The spark plugs....buy the NGK Iridium spark plugs, they are already pre gapped, then leave the new spark plugs in there until the odometer hits 100,000 miles on the bike. That will be approximately 75,000 miles on the new NGK Iridium plugs.
The air filter is a big job to replace, if you haven't done it 3 times before. If you decide to do it yourself....take your time....write things down, and do it ALL in one operation, not split in two days.
Yes, final drive gear oil is the same as rear differential fluid....ya wanker.
On the TPMS light......first things first.
Check the tire pressures on the bike's tires. Set the front tire at a true 40 psi.....and the rear tire at a true 40 psi.
Drive the sidecar rig for 5+ miles, then see if the TPMS light is still on, or has gone out.
Before you fly up to pick up this sidecar rig, map out where a very large parking lot is located, or....ask the seller. Drive the sidecar rig to the large parking lot, away from other parked cars, and test driving it around.....test, test, test.
Before you leave the sellers house, check all three tires, look closely and carefully. Make sure all 3 tires will get you to your house.
If possible....set both bike tires to 40 psi, and the sidecar tire to 32 psi. Those numbers are for this trip home....not necessarily for future tires.
If anyone else on planet Earth tells you to run 38 psi in the front tire, spit in their eye, then leave quickly.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
And Chris...I have the exact same bike as the one you plan on buying, same color, same level of OEM accessories, but mine is a 2015, not a '16.
This is the one I bought this last Summer from Hannigan's, with a brand new Hannigan GTL sidecar, and now that I have done all the prep work, it will be shipped to Heidelberg, Germany early next year.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
Chris, this is an important note....IMPORTANT....
Whilst it is only 525(ish) miles from the sellers house to your house, doing 525(ish) miles on a sidecar rig is vastly different than doing 525 miles on a 2 wheeled motorcycle. Everyone here will tell you, it takes Pi x normal strength to operate a sidecar rig, specifically in upper body strength, than it does to operate a 2 wheeled motorcycle. I have a history of 1,500 to 2,000 mile days on 2 wheeled motorcycle, yet pushing 750+ in a day on a sidecar rig wears me out. Maybe it is because I am twice your age, but trust me when I say...doing that 525 (ish) miles from the sellers house to your house in one trip, on a sidecar rig that you have never driven before, and you are 100% new to sidecars...is going to wear your out.
Be smart..........seriously..........be smart.
Also, if you are towing that color matched trailer behind you...and thankfully it is centered between the bike and the sidecar, carry very little weight in that trailer. NOT completely empty...put some weight in it, like ONE 50 lb bag iof cement, or a 24 can pack of beer, or soda, but not completely empty. Carry any additional weight inside the sidecar, just in front of the passenger seat, ON the passenger seat, and in the trunk of the sidecar. For your first experience of driving this sidecar rig, you WANT some weight IN the sidecar.
Now, that Champion Daytona 2+2 sidecar is great in that it is wide, and very difficult to Fly the Chair, so having that sidecar helps in NOT Flying the Chair. But still, put any and all weight that you can INSIDE the sidecar for this trip home.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
AND....Chris....one of the reasons that a past owner of this sidecar rig you are contemplating buying had the yellow wrap installed is probably because the paint that Champion Sidecars used on that Daytona 2+2 sidecar, is a thin coat of paint. It chips relatively easy, and once it does, it leaves white chip marks all over the nose of the sidecar body.
I had Champion build me a brand new Daytona 2+2 sidecar, in 2019, color matched to my 2006 Wing, in Titanium grey, and on the drive home 1200 miles, I saw that the thickness of the paint on the sidecar was THIN. It matched the bike color very well, but was a thin layer of paint, so....I had a Carbon Fiber looking wrap applied to the nose of the sidecar, and to the front of the fairing, to protect both so that rock chips didn't show.
Point is (yes, there is a point) that it might be smart to leave that yellow wrap on the sidecar, to protect the paint.
BTW, check (just check...darn it) to see if the orange flames are actually printed onto the yellow wrap, as part of the yellow wrap, or...are the orange flames an additional layer of wrap, laid on top of the yellow wrap?
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
AND...Chris, you should give serious consideration to attending the 2024 Ark-La-Okie-Tex Sidecar Muster October 11-13.
That is just outside Ore City, Texas, and is only a scant 300 miles South by Southwest from your house.
It would give you the perfect opportunity to have 30+ other sidecarists look over your new-to-you rig, get to meet others that are as twisted as you "will be", and have fun...all at the same time.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
Chris, this is an important note....IMPORTANT....
Whilst it is only 525(ish) miles from the sellers house to your house, doing 525(ish) miles on a sidecar rig is vastly different than doing 525 miles on a 2 wheeled motorcycle. Everyone here will tell you, it takes Pi x normal strength to operate a sidecar rig, specifically in upper body strength, than it does to operate a 2 wheeled motorcycle. I have a history of 1,500 to 2,000 mile days on 2 wheeled motorcycle, yet pushing 750+ in a day on a sidecar rig wears me out. Maybe it is because I am twice your age, but trust me when I say...doing that 525 (ish) miles from the sellers house to your house in one trip, on a sidecar rig that you have never driven before, and you are 100% new to sidecars...is going to wear your out.
Be smart..........seriously..........be smart.
Also, if you are towing that color matched trailer behind you...and thankfully it is centered between the bike and the sidecar, carry very little weight in that trailer. NOT completely empty...put some weight in it, like ONE 50 lb bag iof cement, or a 24 can pack of beer, or soda, but not completely empty. Carry any additional weight inside the sidecar, just in front of the passenger seat, ON the passenger seat, and in the trunk of the sidecar. For your first experience of driving this sidecar rig, you WANT some weight IN the sidecar.
Now, that Champion Daytona 2+2 sidecar is great in that it is wide, and very difficult to Fly the Chair, so having that sidecar helps in NOT Flying the Chair. But still, put any and all weight that you can INSIDE the sidecar for this trip home.
This is all great advice; I appreciate the wisdom brought upon me. I have been watching youtube videos about sidecars, and yep, everyone does say they are a bit more of a challenge than a 2 wheel, I suppose because you are constantly fighting the sidecar? I do believe it is going to wear me out, no doubt!
I am certainly a cautious rider, especially on something brand new. Not so cautious that I'm a nuisance or danger to other vehicles, but It will take me some time to get used to a vehicle before I start to get "gutsy". However, in general, I am not a crazy rider...there is a reason I am getting a Goldwing, and it is because I simply want to chill and relax on my motorcycle rides, and the Goldwing is the best at doing that...I may be 39, but I ride motorcycles to keep relaxed and relieve stress, not to speed and do wheelies, etc...I simply want to just be in my quiet zone and stay mellow.
As for weights in the car/trailer---The seller is definitely a good fella, I asked him if he could buy some sand bags (I would pay him back once I arrive) and put 100 lbs in the sidecar and 100 lbs in the trailer, he said that is no problem. So, I did plan to have four 50lb sand bags with me.
If the rig is set up correctly, the "fighting the sidecar" part is minimal. It's when someone just slaps a car onto a bike without considering all the factors that affect handling that things get dicey.
I can say that having gone from a well set up Royal Star+Hannigan Astro to the twin to yours, fatigue went down by at least 2/3. Not that the Royal Star was unpleasant, but the GW is just SOOOOOOO nice a ride and there are so few factors that cause fatigue like wind buffetting, excess noise, control placement - they all make for a day that is safer to do 500 or so miles.
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
Chris, since you are new here, there is one important lesson to learn on these forums. We are a hungry bunch, and we thrive on eating all the LIKES given to us simple hominids, so......when you rear a post that you LIKE, click on the small blue hand with the thumb up in the lower left corner of that post, to show the person that posted that message that you LIKE their post. If you do not like a post, simply ignore the small blue hand with the thumbs up.
Now, do you duty, and go back and re-read all the posts that were posted onto your thread (the thread you are reading now) and give a thumbs up LIKE to any posts that you like.
Yes, we are a vain entity 
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
However, in general, I am not a crazy rider...there is a reason I am getting a Goldwing, and it is because I simply want to chill and relax on my motorcycle rides, and the Goldwing is the best at doing that...I may be 39, but I ride motorcycles to keep relaxed and relieve stress, not to speed and do wheelies, etc...I simply want to just be in my quiet zone and stay mellow.
You want to buy a Honda Goldwing, so you can "chill out" ??? Did I read that right ???
Dude (used to be known as Chris), I am the guy that would use a Honda Goldwing to BLOW other bikes away during 24+ hour IronButt Rallies.
First guy to do more than 2,000 miles in under 24 hours (2,156 miles), using a 1994 Honda Goldwing 1500 with 14.8 gallons of fuel, and two 32 oz nitrous bottles.
Coast to Coast 4 times in under 8 days, on a 2003 Goldwing. 109,781 miles in less than 1 year, testing tire pressures for Dunlop, on a Honda Goldwing.
If YOU are buying a Honda Goldwing to :"chill out", maybe you are buying the wrong bike. Maybe a (gulp) BMW would be best for you, as those sit in the parking lots of any Starbucks coffee shop around the country. Maybe a H-D Ultraglide, so you can listen to the potato-potato whilst singing along with Willie Nelson..On The Road Again, and chillin' out.
Don't think of a Honda Goldwing as an olde man's bike, or what a great grandpa would ride. In the right hands, a Goldwing can be a very sporty bike, and yes, they can do wheelies.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
AND....Chris....one of the reasons that a past owner of this sidecar rig you are contemplating buying had the yellow wrap installed is probably because the paint that Champion Sidecars used on that Daytona 2+2 sidecar, is a thin coat of paint. It chips relatively easy, and once it does, it leaves white chip marks all over the nose of the sidecar body.
I had Champion build me a brand new Daytona 2+2 sidecar, in 2019, color matched to my 2006 Wing, in Titanium grey, and on the drive home 1200 miles, I saw that the thickness of the paint on the sidecar was THIN. It matched the bike color very well, but was a thin layer of paint, so....I had a Carbon Fiber looking wrap applied to the nose of the sidecar, and to the front of the fairing, to protect both so that rock chips didn't show.
Point is (yes, there is a point) that it might be smart to leave that yellow wrap on the sidecar, to protect the paint.
BTW, check (just check...darn it) to see if the orange flames are actually printed onto the yellow wrap, as part of the yellow wrap, or...are the orange flames an additional layer of wrap, laid on top of the yellow wrap?
I am definitely leaning toward leaving the wrap on and just hoping that the flames are an overlay that I can "easily" remove. If they aren't, I am going to figure out how to cover them up, whether it be some black wrap or silver wrap. I am all about having paint protection, so I really don't want to completely get rid of the wrap.
Did you happen to see the two small videos that I posted yesterday? Everything appears to be sounding right, correct? The seller also provided some small clips last night that showed all the lights working. I noticed the tail lights on his sidecar are longer than the ones you had on your sidecar, but I think the sidecars are the same make and model? Maybe a generational difference in the sidecars?
However, in general, I am not a crazy rider...there is a reason I am getting a Goldwing, and it is because I simply want to chill and relax on my motorcycle rides, and the Goldwing is the best at doing that...I may be 39, but I ride motorcycles to keep relaxed and relieve stress, not to speed and do wheelies, etc...I simply want to just be in my quiet zone and stay mellow.
You want to buy a Honda Goldwing, so you can "chill out" ??? Did I read that right ???
Dude (used to be known as Chris), I am the guy that would use a Honda Goldwing to BLOW other bikes away during 24+ hour IronButt Rallies.
First guy to do more than 2,000 miles in under 24 hours (2,156 miles), using a 1994 Honda Goldwing 1500 with 14.8 gallons of fuel, and two 32 oz nitrous bottles.
Coast to Coast 4 times in under 8 days, on a 2003 Goldwing. 109,781 miles in less than 1 year, testing tire pressures for Dunlop, on a Honda Goldwing.
If YOU are buying a Honda Goldwing to :"chill out", maybe you are buying the wrong bike. Maybe a (gulp) BMW would be best for you, as those sit in the parking lots of any Starbucks coffee shop around the country. Maybe a H-D Ultraglide, so you can listen to the potato-potato whilst singing along with Willie Nelson..On The Road Again, and chillin' out.
Don't think of a Honda Goldwing as an olde man's bike, or what a great grandpa would ride. In the right hands, a Goldwing can be a very sporty bike, and yes, they can do wheelies.
haha, those are quite the credentials you have! I am aware the Goldwing is a silent killer when it comes to performance and is a bike that can easily be thrown around the bends if need be. The Goldwing has been a dream bike of mine since I first saw one in the mid 90s....no other bike or make or model is going to make me happy. I thought the Africa Twin would make me happy, but it turns out, I should've just bought a Goldwing in the first place.
a little backstory---I bought my first bike back in 2010, a GSX-R1000. I loved it, what a crazy bike. However, I was in the military, and I got rid of it after I PCSed...and never owned another bike until July of 2024. I was dead set on a Honda and dead set on the DCT. I went to a local Honda dealership and sat on the Rebel 1100T, Africa Twin, and Goldwing...I couldn't believe how light the Goldwing felt, it felt lighter than both of the other two bikes mentioned...however, I ended up finding a great deal on a 2019 Africa Twin with 800 miles on it. So, I bought that bike and have put around 2,000 miles on it in the past 2 months...all highway/backroad miles, basically using it as a touring bike, which many and/or most Africa Twin riders seem to do.
But I knew I should've bought what I really wanted, a Goldwing, so that is where I am at now...as for why I am looking for a GW with a sidecar...no major reason other than I like being unique, I like the stability, I like that I can use this thing as a grocery hauler and I like that I can bring my wife and daughter on some of these weekend rides I go on with my friend and his Harley.
See a couple photos of my beautiful Africa Twin (that will be sold once I acquire the Goldwing). The picture in front of the white house was taken just last weekend (that is Mickey Mantle's childhood home)
Did you happen to see the two small videos that I posted yesterday? Everything appears to be sounding right, correct? The seller also provided some small clips last night that showed all the lights working. I noticed the tail lights on his sidecar are longer than the ones you had on your sidecar, but I think the sidecars are the same make and model? Maybe a generational difference in the sidecars?
Ha, asking ME to listen to the sound on any video, is like asking Dolly Parton to suck in her chest. I am quite hard of hearing, primarily due to having both eardrums blown out due to a Lightning Strike hit to my helmet....and I am not joking.
The Goldwing 1800 does some slight whine to the alternator, and some slight ticking of the vales, and injectors, but NOTHING to worry about.
And yes, your future Daytona 2+2 sidecar is the earlier version of what mine was (now belongs to Thane, so your sidecar taillight is the longer version. I believe that it is quite probable that the Daytona 2+2 sidecar that Champion built for me, was the last Daytona 2+2 that they made....possibly.
The Goldwing 1800 is a low RPM engine, so don't rev it up to 5,000+, as you gain nothing from that. You will spend 90+ % of your time in the 2,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm range. Only when you get that silver bullet up to and over 100 mph, will you see it hit the 4,000 rpm range.
That trans likes using all 5 gears, and 5th gear is an overdrive, but it can be lugged down to 30 mph in 5th gear, then just roll on the throttle and it will pull away nicely without hurting the engine. This is more of an automotive engine than anything you have had before on a motorcycle, and just use 87 to 89 octane fuel.....NO need to run premium or 91 octane in it. Think of this engine as a tractor...a tractor that can run at 130 mph, when the sidecar is not bolted to it.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
And, Chris, I also happen to own THEE Honda Goldwing that you really wanted in the first place...a '19 Wing with the DCT trans. It is my 4th Honda with the DCT trans, and I have had ZERO problems with any of the DCT transmissions. This bike is my USA sidecar rig, with a Hannigan Dream sidecar attached to it.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
Question for Chris...is that a Corbin seat on your Africa twin ?
Think carefully, because....if it is a Corbin seat, we can no longer be friends 
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
