GoldWing World    

 
GL-1500 1988-2000 "King Wing"

If you don't like comfort and gadgets then odds are you aren't a Gold Wing fan. The longest running production of the Gold Wing by far is the GL-1500, a horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine that set new standards in long-distance touring performance and all but drove the other manufacturers out of the market. 

The polished power delivery from the twin-carb six allows the Wing to blast off the line quicker than a Porsche 911. And despite many bikers dismissing Wings as nothing more than two-wheeled automobiles, it is a true Motorcycle. It accelerates, brakes, leans and even falls over like any other motorcycle – (unless you’ve installed the optional safe-stop ‘training’ wheels) although it's superior engine guards protect from damage in all but the worst tumps.

The low-speed handling of the 1500 is very good, due to its low-slung engine and brilliant steering geometry.  High-speed handling, while admittedly not sport bike class will make you think you are on a different bike that you started out on and many a squid has had to hang his head in shame after being shown up by an experienced Gold Wing rider!

The heart of the GoldWing is its liquid cooled six-cylinder 1500cc normally aspirated engine.

Power delivery to the rear wheel is, of course by shaft drive to reduce maintenance. Standard equipment includes such luxuries as cruise control; a stereo system including AM / FM, Cassette, CB and Intercom all with integrated volume leveling; an electric reverse gear; a fully integrated luggage system with inner bags and an onboard compressor to change the air suspension pressure and therefore the ride. But while these are luxuries they are also no more than you would expect on Honda's flagship luxary-touring bike. When you buy a GoldWing you don't just take home a new bike - and while the 1500 is not as agile at high speeds nor does it have the additional 300cc or fuel injection of it's newest rival the GL-1800 it's onboard compressor, foot warmers and options not available on the sportier sibling still make it a valuable bike that will be in vogue for years to come.

Like all things mechanical however some knowledge of how to properly operate and work on the GoldWing is a useful commodity. To that end this page holds many references to tribal knowledge gleaned from 20 plus years of Gold Wingers the world over.

Bugs annoyances and Recalls

Key Areas

Separating the front and rear brakes:

This CAN be done but is no trivial task, as you have to remove a splitter block, and enlarge the front brake master cylinder. Contact a local Trike shop for details on reboring the master cylinder.

Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines:

The following information is from WOTI ( http://www.woti.org ) the best bunch of Motorcyclists in the world. It deals with an 1100, but the manufacturers involved should be able to supply you for a 1500’s fittings as well. Information from posts by: Dick Taylor and "Larry Price"

"I got some Aeroquip TFE racing hose and fittings from an outfit called Neff Engineering. They are a Midwest company and may not be in your area. I cut the hose to the length needed then attached the fittings. They are somewhat like a compression fitting and can be put together with ordinary hand tools. I covered the SS with black neoprene hose before I put on the last fitting - looks almost like brake line. I only did the hand brake but I think there are fittings available for almost any common thread.

Earl's Performance Products is another source for the hose and fittings. Aeroquip TFE hose Neff Engineering Earls stuff (or http://www.earlsperformance.com/html/company.htm ) Dick Taylor Columbus, IN"

Here's Russel's web site http://www.russellperformance.com/ You will wind up with one extra Speedbleeder, and some extra crush washers. You can get an idea of the cost of these parts at this site by calling Russell at: 904-253-8980"

Article on changing to Stainless

The following is from CyberCycle magazine a really great publication:

Why do I want to replace my stock rubber brake line with a stainless steel braided brake line?

Well, it's not a necessity, but it's an easy way to get more efficient braking. Most, if not all, stock brake lines are rubber. When you engage your brake the brake fluid puts pressure on the rubber brake line, which causes it to expand slightly. Any pressure that is being used to expand the brake line is pressure that is Not being used to stop your bike. A braided stainless steel brake line won't expand as much as a rubber one; this makes for more efficient braking (and Matt claims there is a better, more precise "feel" in the braking, although I'm not sure I can tell a difference).

How easy is it to replace my brake line?

Ohhhh, this is an easy one. It took us less than an hour to swap out the brake line. You only need a few items to do the swap:

Now let me explain how to swap your line. There are a few things you need to know about brake fluid before you start messing with it:

1) it eats paint, skin, and anything else it comes in contact with, so be careful not to spill it on your tank, your hands, or your dog,

2) brake fluid is SUPER water-absorbent. When you're not using the bottle of fluid, CLOSE IT or it'll be ruined, and

3) don't re-use brake fluid. If you use "new" brake fluid to bleed your line, you can't catch it at the bottom and pour it back in the top. Once it's gone through your brake system and out the other side, it's OLD, so don't re-use it!
 

Now, start with your old line. Open the bleeder valve (check your manual if you're not sure where it is), attach a short hose, and let the fluid drain out of the line. As you're letting the fluid drain out of the old line, remove the cover for the brake fluid reservoir (the box-looking thing located somewhere near your right handlebar). Use some paper towels to sop up all of the brake fluid from the reservoir. Once the brake fluid is completely drained from the reservoir, you can remove the brake line connection at the top. (When you do so, make sure you have some paper towels handy in case you need to mop up a leak or a spill.)

Before you chuck your old brake line, check it and remove any rubber mounting thingies that might be on it. You'll want to swap those rubber thingies onto the new brake line, so you can firmly mount it .

Now take your new brake line (isn't it beautiful?) and attach it (with the NEW mounting bolts and NEW crush-washers which should have come with it) to the brake fluid reservoir. Don't tighten it just yet, but attach it loosely.

Thread the brake line through the appropriate mounting areas (in other words, put the new brake line exactly where the old one was), and then bolt it onto the bottom mount (loosely - don't tighten it just yet).

Take your torque wrench and tighten the two mounting bolts to spec. (The line on the Hawk GT had to be tightened to 30 N-m; you should check your manual for the spec for your bike.) Once the two bolts are tight, you're ready to add the brake fluid. (There are some folks who actually make sure the new brake line is full of fluid before they put it in place. I have NO idea how they do this... if you're one of those people, drop me a line and tell me your secret - I'll pass it on!) Pour the brake fluid into the top reservoir, keeping it topped up while you bleed the brakes.

Finally, you need to bleed your brake line until there are no more air bubbles. Air bubbles in your brake line are BAD. They can be deadly. If there are air bubbles in your brake line, the best-case scenario is that your brakes will be very spongy, and the worst-case scenario is that they won't work at all. So bleed, bleed, bleed. And it's a good idea to let the bike sit for a day or two after the swap so that any bubbles you missed can work their way out on their own, and then bleed the brakes again.


Carbs and Air Intake

Air Filters:

There are several aftermarket manufacturers of air filters including EMCO, and K&N. I tend to use EMCO or the Honda part number just because the electronically controlled two-carb setup of the GL-1500 doesn’t lend itself to much improvement by changing the filter and a lean condition can actually be caused by swapping these out, requiring rejetting. There are no ‘stock’ jet kits for a 1500, although several people have changed their jetting and experienced a slight performance and / or gas mileage improvement.
 

TOOLS

If you have been trying to locate a pilot adjustment wrench (a special tool to adjust the idle jets on the two carburetors on a 1500 GW) The following will be of interest to you:

This tool, the end of which has a kind of "D" shape to it is extremely long to allow access to the adjustments through the front, center radiator area on the bike matches the following Thexton part number: Thexton #380 includes 4 metric size D shape adjusters for use with 1/4" drive extensions. Its inexpensive and should be available through NAPA.

Chrome and Accessories

Kuriyakin is a perpetual favorite for Gold Wingers. Other neat places to check out include:

AeroStich, Chrome World, HeliBars, Tulsa Enterprises,

Clutch Information

Exhaust System

http://www.helibars.com/goldwing.html has some great products, including the X-Tractor, a replacement plenum that adds horsepower and makes the Wing sound like a porshe!  A little pricy but a neat addition.

Tulsa Enterprises
Carries aftermarket mufflers as well as their great windscreen.  Check them out at http://www.inb.net/tulsa.enterprises/

Lighting

Dave Haggard has some GREAT stuff and has shared all of his Wing information with me.  Check out his pages at  http://www.newcovenant.com/ The following is from information he published there CAVEAT: this doesn't match the Manual's instructions but worked for him.  I will try and verify later.

Adjusting your GL 1500 Headlamps

The ['96] 1500's headlamp assembly has 4 adjusters. One is the well-known height adjuster located in the dash. The other three are located on the top and bottom of the headlamp assembly. Access them by removing the front fairing panel and the bottom center vent inlet grille.

The Headlamp Assembly
    The headlamp assembly has a moveable outer housing, allowing up/down adjustment of the whole light assembly. Inside the housing are three separate mirror assemblies, two parabolic mirrors and one flat mirror.
    The two parabolic mirrors hold the bulbs. They control the general beam pattern, and specifically control the low beams. The right-side parabolic moves separately from the left-side parabolic, which is **generally** fixed in place.
    Beneath and in front of the two parabolics is a flat mirror that extends across the entire front bottom of the lamp assembly. This mirror controls the high beam height. It moves separately from the parabolic mirrors.

Beam Operation
    On low beam, the low-beam filament's output from the bulb is blocked from hitting the flat mirror by a tiny parabolic mirror inside the bulb itself. This light is re-routed into the parabolics. This allows the parabolic mirrors to spread the low beam light and give a clean cut-off (a "horizon" cut-off) on the top of the beam. The low-beam filaments are located off of the parabolics' focal points, which diffuses and widens the beam.
    On high beam, the high-beam filament's output is not blocked. Light hits the flat mirror and is reflected out from the bottom of the bulb to produce a full, higher-aimed beam. The high-beam filament is also located closer to the focal point of the parabolics, sharpening the beam's focus.
    On high beam, you can shine the lights against a wall and see two "hot spots." These are the focused beams from the parabolic mirrors. You also see a swath of light across the whole area, extending above the hot spots. This is the light from the flat mirror. On low beam, the hot spots are much more difficult to see, because the light is not as focused. The beam cuts off cleanly at the top.
    '88-'97 models further modify and focus the beams using refraction through the headlamp lens. '98 and newer models have clear lenses, and rely on better-designed parabolics for fine-tuning of the beams.

Adjusters
 

    Adjuster 1-- Overall beam height. Located on the left end of the dash in the fairing. Rocks the entire headlamp unit forward and back to move the beams up and down.
    Turn this knob clockwise (CW) to lower the beams, counter-clockwise (CCW) to raise them. The "easy" way to remember this is that the beam height will move the same direction as the right side of the knob.

    Adjuster 2-- Right-side beam height. Located behind the rubber plug in the top front of the headlamp unit. Rocks the right-side parabolic mirror forward and back to move the right beam up and down.
Turn CCW to raise the right beam without moving the left beam. CW to lower the right beam.

    Adjuster 3-- Hi beam height adjustment. Located behind the rubber plug in the bottom front of the headlamp unit. Rotates the flat mirror at the bottom of the light assembly forward and back.
    Turn CCW to lower the high beam without moving the low beam. CW to raise the high beam.

    Adjuster 4-- Left/Right adjustment. Located in the bottom front of the headlamp unit. This is the Phillips head screw that is not hidden behind a rubber plug. Rotates all three mirrors and the bulbs left and right as a unit, to move the beams left and right.
    Turn CCW to move the beams right. CW to move the beams left.

Headlamp Adjusting Procedure

Tools needed

    NOTE: All adjustments are very fine. You have to turn the screws A LOT to see changes in adjustment. This procedure is best done after dark, because you will need to do some test rides.

Preparation

1.     Set the bike on its center stand, 10 feet away from an unobstructed wall or garage door, and square to the wall or door.
2.     Remove the front fairing cover and lower vent grille to gain access to the headlamp adjusters.
3.     Idle the engine or connect a battery charger to the battery, to prevent battery drain.

Low Beam Vertical Alignment

1.     With the lights on low beam, cover the right half of the lamp assembly with the cardboard square, so only the left bulb is shining on the wall.
2.     Using a marker, mark the top of the left low beam on the wall (use paper taped to the wall if you don't want to mark the wall itself).
3.     Move the cardboard so it blocks the left bulb, so only the right bulb is shining on the wall.
4.     The top of the right low beam should be even with the mark you made for the left low beam. If it's not, adjust by turning the screw behind the rubber plug at the top of the lamp assembly, using a long, slender #1 Phillips screwdriver.
5.     Move the cardboard back and forth between the bulbs to verify that the low beams are at the same height. On high beam, the two hotspots should line up vertically.

High Beam Vertical Adjustment

1.     With the lights on high beam, note the position of the beams' hot spots on the wall in relation to the mark you made in step 5 above.
2.     Most owners complain about their low beams being too low on the roadway. To correct this, lower the high beams by turning the screw behind the rubber plug at the bottom of the headlamp assembly, using a long, slender #1 Phillips screwdriver. You can watch the high beam hot spot being lowered on the wall in relation to the mark you made.
3.     Take a test ride. Get out on a dark street, and adjust the high beams using the dash knob until you like what you can see. Then switch to low beam and see how that looks.
4.     Repeat these steps until you get the low beam pattern you want.

Left/Right Adjustment

1.     Back to the wall. Set the bike on its center stand at a distance of 25 feet from the wall and square to the wall. Center the front wheel.
2.     Shine the high beams on the wall.
3.     Step to the back of the bike, and level your eye with the center of the passenger backrest. Use the center of the backrest and the center of the windshield like a gunsight. The center of the hotspot of the high beam should hit the wall in this line.
4.     Adjust by turning the uncovered screw at the bottom of the headlamp assembly, using a #2 Phillips screwdriver.

Reinstall the vent grille and front cover, and you're done.

Lubrication and Cooling

Cooling

Check out EVANS waterless coolent. Works WONDERFULLY is PRESSURELESS and WON’T BOIL OVER. Not to mention you take that nasty oxidizing water out of your bike!  Note: the temperature gauge will read HOTTER after the change over but this is NOT a bad thing - higher temps aren't damaging and there can't be a "boil over" with this system so no worries.

Oil

Links to Lubrication and Oil summaries: bottom line: anything over Castrol is a waste of money but is YOUR choice!

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/lubricants-redline.html 

http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/synth_oil.txt 

http://www.riem.com/disk$user_disk1/http/Oil_Facts.txt 

http://www.riem.com/disk$user_disk1/http/Snake_Oil.txt 

http://lonestar.texas.net/~jrh/oil_faq.html  or

ftp://ftp.cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Accessories/Oil/Summary 

Mobile has their own FAQ: http://www.oslonett.no/nl/ndiv/Mobil/automotive/oil-faq.html  and more info starting at: http://www.mobil.com/lubes/automotive.html 

Oil Filter Cross-Over Chart:

A late-model Honda Accord, oil filter can be substituted for a '93 GL1500's (Fram # PH3593A) according to some sources. The Fram PH6017 is a direct replacement for the Honda filter but costs nearly the same and is of lower quality. The ubiquitous PH3593A is often touted as being a substitute (but not a direct replacement) for the Fram PH6017 so using that number as a starting point reading the labels on the boxes there are a number of possible filters to use on the 1500 - if they fit!  I recommend the Honda filter - it's the best build of the bunch.  If you want to save money changing your oil less often with a quality filter is safer than changing often with cheap stuff IMO.  BTW the PC-800, CBR-600 and Kawasaki Ninja 500R all use the same filter.

Measurements in inches with a 6" steel rule:

The Honda filter measures  2.9 long, 2.7 flange diameter, seal outside diameter 2.4, and seal inside diameter 2.35

Radio and Intercom

The standard helmet headset wiring is as follows: NOTE: 5-pin DINS are not number in order, so use the enclosed GIF image to determine what pin is which #.

Pin 1 Mic Shield

Pin 4 Mic hot

Pin 2 Audio Ground

Pin 5 Left Audio

Pin 3 Right Audio

The Left and right may be swapped since motorcycle stereo's do not have balance controls.


Note that Din connectors are not laid out 1,2,3,4,5 Check the molded terminals on the connector or the following GIF image for the correct number.

Radio Repair:

You ship the unit to them, they respond with a quotation, and it rolls on from there. Address etc....

Clarion Canada Inc.
Attention: Service Department
2239 Winston Park Drive,
Oakville, Ontario,
L6H 5R1
Phone 905 829 4600 Fax 905 829 4608

Another excellent electrical technical contact:
Matsushita Electric of Canada
1 905 238 4011
5770 Ambler Drive
Mississauga, Ont. L4W 2T3

Seats: Ratings and links

Corbin is arguably the best looking, but most people SWEAR by Russell Day-Long, and they have the only 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee in the business. Check them out!

Shocks & Suspension:

Front wheel wobbling: ever wonder why?

Most likely it is that the Steering Stem Nut is not tightened to the proper torque, but you could have tire cupping or warped calipers as well.

Many Wings have a low speed front wobble that a lot of people have installed the Super Brace to help with. You might also want to have your dealer check the steering head and wheel bearings. My Steering head bearings needed tightening before I had 5,000 thousand miles on Phoenix and I have heard other say it was loose out of the box.
 

Fork Seals

Fork seals should be replaced at the first sign of oil appearing on the stanchion tubes' legs. At first, there will be a black ring of oily dirt at the top of the fork's travel. If allowed to go on unchecked, the leak will worsen until there is enough oil accumulated on top of the dust seal to run down the back of the fork leg, straight onto the brake calipers. Eventually the fork will run out of oil, seizing the bushing surfaces that allow the fork halves to slide, thereby locking up the front end.

How to fix a leaky Fork seal? Simple: Replace it by following the procedure outlined in your manual!
Begin by letting any air out of the shocks (if so equipped) then loosen the upper triple tree's pair of bolts that clamp down on the fork legs, and then loosen the fork caps atop each leg. Just a half turn or so, don't unscrew them. Next, loosen the brake caliper bolts and the front axle. Then prop the front end off the ground.

Once safely aloft, remove the brake caliper(s), speedometer cable, front fender, and front wheel. Depending on your bike's model, you may also need to loosen or remove brake hose clamps, the handle bars, fairings or air caps. Loosen the triple clamp bolts that secure the fork leg, and pull the fork down and out with a twisting motion. Now take it to the shop and have them replace the seals (G) seriously the following steps are messy, and I always skip them and take the forks in, but in case you are adventurous I'll leave them in here:

Place the upper half of the fork vertically in a soft-jawed vice (one with brass or lead inserts), being careful not to damage the chrome plating. In order to get the fork cap off, there must not be any vice pressure near the top of the fork leg. Back off the spring preload adjuster and remove the cap carefully - expect the spring inside the leg to push the cap off forcefully. Usually, you can hold your hand over the top of the cap while turning it with a box-end wrench, preventing it from flying across the garage. Remove the spring and drain the oil into a container. Stroke the fork a few times to get all the oil out.

Notice that the fork will only extend a certain amount then stop. The two fork halves are held together by the damper rod, and the amount of fork travel is determined by the length of the damper rod. A socket-head cap screw (an Allen bolt) runs through the bottom of the outer leg and into the bottom of the damper rod, holding the two pieces together. The length of the rod passes through the bottom opening of the inner tube, stopping the inner leg's travel with its head, which has a small spring attached to cushion the rod/inner tube when the fork "tops out."

In order to separate the fork halves, the bolt hidden within the bottom of the outer tube must be removed from the damper rod. To prevent the rod from merely spinning with the bolt, a special tool is inserted down the inner tube to fit into the head of the damper rod. The manufacturers sells this tool, but a proper-sized nut welded to the bottom of an old spark-plug socket works just as well.

With the damper rod free, the forks will almost separate, but are stopped by the lower slide bushing (on the inner tube) hitting the upper guide bushing (on the outer tube). Remove the dust seal at the top of the outer leg to reveal the metal spring-clip underneath. Pry it out with a small flat-blade screwdriver. Now the seal is free to come out with a little persuasion. Clamp the outer tube in a vice using the brake caliper mounting tabs, and firmly grasp the inner tube. Now fill the fork assembly full of oil and pressurize it so that the oil drives out the seal. This is messy, and is reason enough to take the tubes to a shop in my opinion!

Now that the legs are apart, it's time to clean and inspect. Clean all the non-rubber parts to remove the contaminated oil. Look carefully at the chrome surface of the inner tube. Pay particular attention to the area swept by the seal. Any pitting, scratches, or rust spots must be removed in order for the new seal to work. Use wet-n-dry emery cloth soaked with oil, or an oiled honing stone to take off the rough edges of small pits. If the pitting is severe, or the chrome has worn through to the underneath layer, the leg needs to be replaced.

Inspect the two bushings. The one on the bottom of the inner tube has a Teflon coating on the outside, and the bushing should stay on the leg. It's not necessary to remove it for inspection, and some manufacturers specifically say not to take it off unless you're replacing it. If the gray surface is showing any signs of the brass underneath it, junk it for a new one. The upper guide bushing that came out with the seal has its coating on the inside. If it looks worn, give it the same treatment. In fact, because of the banging it gets on its way out, most manufacturers recommend replacing it with the seals.

Assuming everything is in order, it's time to re-assemble the fork. There should be an exploded view of all the parts of the fork in the factory service manual that you have open in front of you. Installation is the reverse of the disassembly, with the exception of banging the seals back in. With the damper rod installed and tightened, slide the upper guide bushing over the fork leg and into the recess where it sits in the outer leg. Ideally a seal driver should be used for this part, another expensive factory tool, but you may have something laying around in your garage that will work just the same: If you've ever changed a set of steering head bearings, and thought that the old damaged races that came out were just useless junk, well think again. With a little luck, they just may be the perfect size to use for a make-shift seal driver!

Just make sure that the bearing race doesn't get jammed in the same housing the bushing is going into. If it looks like it's going to work, use a heavy hammer and a flat-blade screwdriver on the bearing race to gently drive the bushing in. Make sure to start the bushing carefully, tapping around the circumference of the driver, so that it goes in square. Grease the lips of the new seal before sliding it over the fork leg, and drive it in the same way. Install the clip, making sure that it seats in the groove all the way around the leg, followed by the dust seal.

Using the factory service manual fill the fork leg with the specified amount of the recommended weight of oil. Now, if your bike had a mushy feeling front end to begin with, under-sprung and under-damped like a pogo-stick, it may be beneficial to go with a thicker weight of oil. If the book says 10 weight, try using 15 or 20 weight.

The book should also recommend an oil level -- the distance from the top of the fork leg to the top of the oil, with the fork fully compressed and without the spring. This is a more accurate measurement of how much oil is in the forks. Make sure to stroke the fork a few times to fill the damper rod and purge any air before measuring the oil level. The last inch of travel will be very slow, but make sure the fork is fully compressed or you'll get an inaccurate reading.

Re-extend the fork and install the spring, any spacers, and the fork cap. Insert the fork leg up through the lower triple clamp, make sure that the cables and hoses are routed around the leg properly -- especially the brake lines -- and tighten the clamp bolts. Now do it all again for the other leg. To make sure the forks are aligned properly when installed, take a pane of glass and put it across the exposed upper fork tubes. If it doesn't sit flat, something's crooked. If you've crashed the bike and made sure the fork tubes are straight, then there's a good chance that the triple clamp was bent. To fix this, remove the top triple clamp -- which only acts as a brace, and is rarely ever bent -- and drop both fork tubes down so they sit flush with the bottom triple tree. Tighten the bolts to firmly hold the forks, and put your pane of glass across the fork tubes. Then you can see which way the triple tree is bent -- luckily, it'll almost always be tweaked in a two-dimensional "front to back" plane, so just grab the bottom of the forks and pull (or push, as needed) really hard. It's not rocket science, but this will bend the triple tree back rather easily.

When the front end is completely re-assembled, set the suspension's sag, or the amount of travel used from full extension -- when the bike is upright without supporting either it's own weight or the rider's -- to the amount it "sags" under it's own weight and the rider's. Unless your bike is some raked-out chopper or a dirt bike, the sag should be 1.25 inches for sporting types, a bit more for street riders. The sag can be set with the spring pre-load adjusters on top of the forks. If there is no provision for adjustment, simply insert spacers on top of the springs.

REAR SHOCK ISSUES

The 1500 uses a single shock on the left and an "air bladder" on the right.  Progressive has a twin air-shock system that stiffens the ride considerably and gives better cornering but a higher ride-height and 'rougher' ride.

Alternator and Charging information
 

GL1500 Alternator Bearings. The rear bearing on the GL 1500 alternator can wear prematurely, the first sign of this is when a warble is heard at around 2,000 to 3,000 rpm. If ignored damage may reach the point where the bearing spins and damages the alternator casing. The bearing is a NSK 6000DU and only costs a few dollars.

Starter and Ignition Information

Spark Plugs

Check out Dave Haggard's Spark plug info for the Wings at:
http://www.newcovenant.com/features/motors/plugsalternatives.html  or view the chart he created below: