A Harley Guy's Take on Converting a new GW. Thoughts and Questions.

[PFWiz]

A Harley Guy's Take on Converting a new GW. Thoughts and Questions.

So it it looking more and more like I am going to be getting rid of my 2018 CVO Limited and converting a GW DCT. Most likely it will be 2021 model and most likely it will be a CSC trike. Just to let you know where I coming from, I grew up riding street bikes, the last Honda I rode was a CB 750K, The last foreign bike was a Yamaha XS Eleven. (I am old...)When I had my kids I decided to stop riding and did not ride until my youngest about 13. At that point my wife took me to a Harley dealer on my 50th birthday and told me to buy a bike. That was 12 years and about 85,000 miles ago. I considered GWs to be good touring bikes (If a little too covered with Tupperware) and certainly never saw myself wearing a Power Ranger outfit...

This thread is going to be a ongoing stream of consciousness kind of thing and I am going to be asking questions as I think of them. Please help me build my knowledge base.

My wife and I stopped at a Trike builder about 2 hours from our house. We had hoped to get a test ride, but it decided rain. Anyway we got to look at and sit on a new GW CSC trike.

1) The trike is very pretty. Maybe a little less macho than a Harley trike, but very pretty. Kind of like comparing Dom's Charger in the Fast and Furious to a curvy Ferrari.

2) All the buttons and switch's seem overwhelming. Probably no more or not much more than on my CVO, but I will have to learn them and their locations all over again.

3) At first sitting on the bike bothered my hips, but that went away after a few moments. My wife was ok with her seating position.

4) Handle bars are too far forward and maybe down for my tastes. Fortunately Helibars makes a widget to correct that.

5) Foot rests and the brake pedal seem much farther aft than on Harley. Not sure if I like that, but with the DCT I am not sure how much it will really matter.

6) Trunk is huge, my wife gave it her official seal of approval.

7) I like the phone storage and the other cubby just to the right better that the fairing storage cubby on my bike.

More to come...

 

[rhino 2]

So it it looking more and more like I am going to be getting rid of my 2018 CVO Limited and converting a GW DCT. Most likely it will be 2021 model and most likely it will be a CSC trike. Just to let you know where I coming from, I grew up riding street bikes, the last Honda I rode was a CB 750K, The last foreign bike was a Yamaha XS Eleven. (I am old...)When I had my kids I decided to stop riding and did not ride until my youngest about 13. At that point my wife took me to a Harley dealer on my 50th birthday and told me to buy a bike. That was 12 years and about 85,000 miles ago. I considered GWs to be good touring bikes (If a little too covered with Tupperware) and certainly never saw myself wearing a Power Ranger outfit...

This thread is going to be a ongoing stream of consciousness kind of thing and I am going to be asking questions as I think of them. Please help me build my knowledge base.

My wife and I stopped at a Trike builder about 2 hours from our house. We had hoped to get a test ride, but it decided rain. Anyway we got to look at and sit on a new GW CSC trike.

1) The trike is very pretty. Maybe a little less macho than a Harley trike, but very pretty. Kind of like comparing Dom's Charger in the Fast and Furious to a curvy Ferrari.

2) All the buttons and switch's seem overwhelming. Probably no more or not much more than on my CVO, but I will have to learn them and their locations all over again.

3) At first sitting on the bike bothered my hips, but that went away after a few moments. My wife was ok with her seating position.

4) Handle bars are too far forward and maybe down for my tastes. Fortunately Helibars makes a widget to correct that.

5) Foot rests and the brake pedal seem much farther aft than on Harley. Not sure if I like that, but with the DCT I am not sure how much it will really matter.

6) Trunk is huge, my wife gave it her official seal of approval.

7) I like the phone storage and the other cubby just to the right better that the fairing storage cubby on my bike.

More to come...

-------ThumbUp--------

 

[CJAC]

Traded in my TriGlide for a 2018 GoldWing DCT Tour with CSC kit. You're going to love the Wing!

 

[trike lady]

The Goldwing has all the power you need right out of the box, no need for engine modifications. The Wing is quiet you'll have to look at the gauges to see if its running. If you'd have had better weather the test ride would have been a wonderful chance to experience the awesome silky smooth ride of a Goldwing. :clapping:

 

[cScjhb]

Scott,

Welcome to TT! It will be interesting to follow your conversion. There is a wealth of knowledge here. Questions, experiences and thoughts are always welcomed..... Jim

 

[paws]

You are going to LOVE the power that the GL1800 plant offers.

That Honda engine is so smooth and just purrs…

The Heli-Bars?? Let me tell you… they are ICING ON THE CAKE !!!

Good decisions!!!

epper::buckingreindeer:

 

[Gorilla]

My wrists would not let me ride without my HeliBars. I've had them for 8 years and won't leave home without them.

 

[Notgrownup]

I too am curious being a Tri Glide rider. I do admire the technology of the Wing but the money kept me on the Tri Glide side when I was looking. The seating position was a big thing for me but I probably could fix that. The independent suspension was really sweet on the CSC but I added better shocks… like I said I am following this …

 

[56Elwood]

Riding over 50 years here, last 7 on both two and three wheelers. Had Harley's of all types, Sportsters, CVO softail and Ultra Classic. Ridden Harley trikes several times over the last few years. They steer very light but ride very rough (in comparison). Got my first Goldwing 10 years and 50K miles ago, don't think I will ever get rid of it. Got my first Goldwing trike in 2015, it was a Hannigan conversion and I put about 20K miles on that. Currently riding a 2019 DCT with a CSC Encore conversion and couldn't be happier.

The motor has all the power you'll most likely need and if you put it in Sport mode it's just a beast. I tow a trailer with it from time to time and switch to Econ mode regains a little of the mileage you lose pulling the trailer. The current generation of the CSC has all the bugs worked out from what I understand (spongy rear brakes, shifting issues from a stop) I've added Goldstrike highway pegs, and the Helibar risers were installed during the conversion so the ergo's (while still not as good as my 2012 two wheeler) are close to spot on for me. Can't say enough about the ride quality of the CSC independent rear suspension and the fancy front end Honda uses on the new Goldwings is a delight. The selling dealer did the conversion and I've been under the trike several times and the work is all first class. Good luck!

 

[Notgrownup]

What is the approximate fuel mileage on a GW trike

 

[CJAC]

What is the approximate fuel mileage on a GW trike

Depends how fast you are riding, the rear fenders catch a lot of wind. I've gotten 150-200 miles per tank (5 gals), depending on speed. Pulling my heavy camper with a passenger I can usually get 125-175 miles per tank. Nice thing is you can run regular unleaded instead of premium fuel.

 

[tourman]

30-35 mpg

 

[cScjhb]

After I first got my 2008 GL1800 with cSc trike I tracked my fuel mileage for every tank for about 3,000 miles. My average works out to be 34 MPG. My previous 2 wheel GL1800s averaged 39-40 MPG. Riding same areas, same speeds, with same people on both 2 and 3 wheels. So, triking cost me about 15% MPG..... Jim

 

[PFWiz]

Planning on trying to get a test ride in on Monday. Next week may be the last good weather of the season up here on the North Coast.

8) I like the adjustable wind screen, but I am not sure it is wide enough.

9) Trying to figure out where Highway pegs will be mounted. There are several locations on a GW where they can be mounted. On a Harley the actual mounting location is the same for almost all of them.

10) I will have an aux fuel tank. For me that is a requirement. I don't want to suffer from fuel anxiety and when riding with our group I don't want to be the bike with shortest legs that everyone has to keep stopping for.

11) Having a hard time believing just how few accessories are available for the GW when compared a HD. That goes triple for performance mods.

12) One thing my wife is not happy about is the lack of GW clothing, (Tshirts, jackets...etc). Say what you will about HD bikes, their clothing while expensive is extremely well made. Our HD HiVis rain suits are second to none IMO, my heavy HD leather jacket could stop zombie bites.

 

[Notgrownup]

PF, go test ride all of them, I test rode the CSC Goldwing DCT and the big Indian, I maybe repeating myself. The Goldwing is sort of serene in ride. I talked to The owner at the Honda store and told him it felt like I was driving a convertible Accord… he laughed. The Indian was ok and was closer to a Ultra I guess.

I have like you been on a a Harley for a while.

I recently rode my Tri Glide 1700 miles in 5 days and the power although being a 103 was sufficient. I will upgrade to another trike but I am not sure if I will move away from HD. I want to ride a GW for more than a few miles to decide. I love my Harley-Davidson but I am first and foremost a motorcyclist and appreciate other brands as well.

good luck with your search and keep us posted here and on HDforums as well.

 

[trike lady]

Farkels for your Goldwing: https://goldstrike3d.com/ and you'll find Goldwing clothing scattered here: https://wingstuff.com/shop/jackets as well as other items for the bike itself.

 

[MikeyTX]

Wingstuff is still around ? That is interesting. So many online sellers come and go.

 

[trike lady]

Wingstuff is still around ? That is interesting. So many online sellers come and go.

Yes, and they seem to have a good portion of the accessory market for Goldwings.

 

[Notgrownup]

My riding buddy was a Winger for years and bought Harley-Davidson schwagg and clothing, I guess it finally rubbed off enough that he soldhiswing and upgraded to a Ultra Limited… lol

 

[paws]

In all my years of riding various brands of 2-wheel motorcycles, a trike, and now a Spyder.... I have never felt the need to wear the brand's clothing or exhibit their logos.

Plain old blue jeans, boots, shirt, gloves, helmet, and appropriate outer wear for the season is my attire.

It fits in with all the brand groups.... and the cowboys.... and the dog shows.... etc., etc.. whichever venue I attend... saves me a lot of money.