Per my original July 14th post here:
Received/installed new Progressive 412-4223C rear shocks on our '95 SE; set @ max compression for s/c work, per enclosed instructions. This boosted rear of Wing up quite a bit, but with wife/yours truly seated, it settles fine, EXCEPT the following: Wing now leaned right; hack nose was lower, rig pulled right on road. After upper struts lengthened, all was OK again. Front tire wear pattern again dead center on new Avon, like in the past.
Additional Spring Maintenance items:
New Austone taxi tire on rear; purchased from Universal Tire, Hershey, PA, for $173.00, incl. shipping. F.Y.I: Austone slightly larger in circumference, so engine rpm is slightly lower, gas mileage a tad better; Austone rode/handled better than expected! A HEADS-UP! Re-adjust your headlight up a bit. Cussed a lot, as it turned out my headlight adjuster screw was so badly corroded, adjustment knob would NOT move, so could do nothing about this on the road, during a 3-day trip.
Since Wing IS 18 yrs. old, also performed long-overdue, in-depth brake maintenance. Good component cleaning on all 3 calipers, new rubber boots on slide pins, new caliper seals, six new pistons [old ones badly corroded; would destroy new seals], new EBC HH pads, good bleeding w/DOT 4 fluid, including my clutch. Brakes are excellent again! Tried polishing scratches out of old windshield but t'was a lost cause, so must find another shield. Venco had best price on new vent assembly [$42], as old one was kaput. And made sure Honda Moly 60 paste was applied to driveshaft & r/e splines. Also did bolt, nut, screw tightening on entire rig [some were very loose!]. Changed rear end lube also; try to do this annually. Use Valvoline Synthetic 80-90 every time.
All the above made our 592 mile, 52nd Anniversary trip thru NH, VT [incl. our annual ride on the Burlington Ferry, across beautiful Lake Champlain], NY & MA, trouble-free! Of course, the potholes. divots, moguls were always found somewhere; were worst in city of Springfield, MA. Our overall gas mileage, using crappy plus grade gasohol was 33.3 mpg, which is not bad for our heavy rig w/luggage in hack.
Next maint. items: New seat, windshield, front rim powder-coated in winter [unless good used one is located]. RIDE SAFE ALL! TTFN.....papasmurf in NH
Last Aug. 5 I blew out the rear tire on my Goldwing. When I pulled it apart I decided to do the same as you and ordered a set of 412s from Dennis Kirk. I also had some aftermarket lights and "creative wiring" problems. The previous owner really liked Scotch connectors. While I had everything apart, I decided to install the disc brake on the sidecar. It came with the car when I bought it, but I never installed it.
Three weeks later, I took my first test drive today. The jury is still out on the brake, but I will recommend those shocks to anyone running a Wing. They have brought back the smooth ride I lost when I mounted the sidecar.
FWIW, I mounted a Dunlop Run on Flat Winter Sport, which is the same tire I blew out. I didn't have to realign the sidecar. The Dunlop blew at about 75mph on the interstate near Wisconsin Dells. I was able to maintain a reduced speed till I reached the next exit. I even drove it up onto a trailer for the trip home without damage to the rim.
I'm disappointed to hear that Dunlop has discontinued the tire. I was tempted to buy a second one and save it, but the last one did almost 20,000 miles. With two bikes now, it'll take me three or four years to wear this one out.
Hi Papasmurf, thank you for the rear shock info, sounds good, I also have a Dunlop Winter Sport run flat, on my 1500, seems to be a great tire, while lowering the rear end 3/8 of an inch. About replacing the windshield, I use a Firecreek, Windbender windshield on mine that I am very happy with, it lets me look over the windshield without a lot of helmet buffeting, and with no one on the back seat, I can't comment on passenger buffiting. The only complant I have about the Windbender, is that there is a rattle in the adjustment mounts, that I may be able to get rid of with a couple of small pieces of electrical tape to tighten it up a bite.
HI SIDECARMIKE & LLOYD:
THANKS MUCH for responding to my post! Hoped a few GL1500 rig Wingnuts would benefit a bit from info.
Forgot to mention: Speedo cable also got good shot of aersosl lithium grease, as middle third of cable tends to become starved for lube over time; a big cause of speedo needle fluctuation/erratic cruise problems.
Have any of you had a GL1500 rim powder coated? Was wondering how durable finish would be. My front wheel looks terrible; am NOT into polishing it, with arthritis in my shoulders.
And, if anyone might have address of the K4 windshield website, please post; want to get more info.
Last questions: My clutch throwout bearing seems a bit noisy[ just turning 68,000 on Wing ] Is this still OK? And if you might have Honda part number for the VALKYRIE driveshaft U-joint boot, please post, as heard it's a LOT better than standard 1500 boot [already replaced mine once, due to a large tear].
TTFN......papasmurf
P.S: MIKE, always liked my Friendship III s/c brake when hack was new. Always gave me straight-line stops on hard braking [rig now swings a tad left on hard stops].
After my 2010 s/c brake fire and inability to get all needed repair parts from CSC, I pulled the whole assembly from hack.
papasmurf; What size was that Austone taxi tire? I am currently running a Federal Formoza and it sits a little lower than I like. I hit my subframe at the curb on my driveway especially when loaded. Would like to gain a little more height on the back end if possible. That should also get me back to looking over the windshield again rather than looking at the top edge.
Thanks
Austone taxi tire is 175/80-16
