Various conversations

[GoldWingrGreg]

When I get interesting stuff, I'm gonna post it here. Please keep in mind that I've not verified any of this, and I'm only reporting a summary of a conversation.

Yesterday a guy calls from Michigan. He has a 2002 with 350,000 on the ODM that was using "a lot of oil." He buys a used engine that came from a wrecked 2013 with 5,000 miles on it. I think he pulled the old and installed the new by himself. Now that it is running, he reports a "rhythmic noise that increases with RPMs". He also said that he'd cut the oil filter open and found aluminum particles in the filter.

[GoldWingrGreg]

Today I was installing a new set of tapered bearing onto an easy-steer triple tree. The old lower bearing drove off unusually easy. Once the new bearing was installed, I discovered why ... the bearing race spun on the steering stem instead of the bearings spinning on the race. When the customer was notified, he requested that the new bearings be installed anyway ... NOT !!! Sorry, but this is a "no-hack shack."

Unfortunately, the stem was incorrectly machined when new. The error should have been caught then.

[GoldWingrGreg]

A guy walks in saying he has a 2005 trike, and when trying to shift, he cannot get past 2nd gear.

- got a heal-toe ??? Yes !!!

- any noise associated with using 1st or 2nd ??? No !!!

- then the first thing I'd try is to completely remove the heal-toe shifter and see what happens. It's been my experience, if someone is having problems shifting past 2nd gear, and there is no noise associated when using 1st and 2nd, it is usually a heal-toe problem of some sort ... a worn heal-toe bushing, and/or a left side cover not held in place that is interfering with shifting, and/or sometimes a chrome cover with rubber strips (I believe it is called a pivot plate cover) that covers the frame on the sides. Sometimes the rubber strips in the pivot cover come loose and interfere with shifting.

He just called and reports now having all 5 gears.

[GoldWingrGreg]

Guy calls with a 1 month old 2017, and is afraid to take it to Honda for warranty repair. Says at times when using his right turn signal, his right dash indicator flashes extremely fast with no lighting at the indicators themselves.

- any aftermarket lighting ??? None, however I do have a non-heated customer seat with a backrest and a heated seat "block off plug" so that the grips still heat.

- in a dark garage, have you checked to see if the indicators begin to light at all ??? No

- try removing the seat to verify that the back-rest support frame is not damaging any wires.

- try to get it to act up with the old seat on.

- when it begins to happen, have you tried thinking back on what just happened, such as going over a bump ??? No

- you might try to replace the right turn signal bulbs, front and rear to see if it reoccurs.

[GoldWingrGreg]

2008 trike 14,000 miles

Guy calls about needing a transmission repair. He reports just paying it off. The Wing only shows 14,000 miles on the ODM, and he paid $24,000 for it. It now has a noise in 1st and 2nd gear, but he says it's not there at really slow speeds.

I hear these stories often, and can only say this. Buying a used GL1800 comes with high risk. Many prior owners suspect a transmission problem, they've heard that it's gonna be an expensive repair, so they dump the problem on the used GL1800 market. Buyer be ware ... he's gonna try selling his problem to someone else.

[GoldWingrGreg]

A trike is in from IL for transmission repair. Apparently the customer was renewing his insurance policy today, and his insurance agent asked if he needed a liability policy while it's in my shop ?

Here's the answer I gave him. Most shops carry a policy called "Garage Liability." It covers things when **it goes wrong. For example, if his trike gets stollen, or damaged while it's in my shop or in my possesion. It also covers if it's in an accident while on a test ride. The insurance also provides coverage after a repair is completed and he leaves. For example, if I removed a tire, and that tire falls off while he is going down the road, my garage liability would cover the repair of the Wing, other damage, such as hitting a car, and his hospital bills. Although I cannot speak for all shops, but my shop is insured for such stuff. Fortunately for me, since I've never had a claim, my renewal costs this year was less then last year.

[GoldWingrGreg]

I found this interesting, got a good chuckle out of it, and decided it was worth posting.

A "local" stops in and while we were swapping stories, telling lies, and talking about the new wing, he tells me about the new Triumph he bought in 1972. The model was the one that used its frame pipes as its oil tank. Anyway, he buys it new and says it leaked oil so bad, that every night when he pull into the garage he parked it over an oil tray. Every morning he would dump the tray of oil back into the bike.

[GoldWingrGreg]

2006 GL1800 with 17,000 on the ODM

A Honda dealer just called. They're doing a repair on a low mileage GL1800 that has completely lost 5th gear. Their customer is requesting his repair to include an undercut gear set from me