[Littlejohn]

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Several months ago I bought the usual items to have a go at servicing the bike myself. Did the front and rear brake pads today and it went fine with little problem. I surprised myself as this was the first time I had tackled brakes on any of my wings and it appears to be a simple job. Biggest job was removing the chrome aftermarket covers etc to get at the caliper on the front. Also the pin was very tight to get off.

I put in the original Honda Pads despite the heavy price of them as I like to feel confident in my brakes. My bike has done 14,000 on the original pads and I felt sure they were in desperate need of replacement. I had been noticing a little rear brake fade when slow riding in parades etc. When I got the front pads out they were well down and needed replaced. The rear brakes however had loads of wear left in them, in fact there was not a lot of difference between them and the new ones. Again having them out I changed them anyway.

Anyone else noticed very little wear in their rear brake pads or could I have a problem. I checked the rear brake at the end of the job and it was certainly stopping the rear wheel ok. I just thought it a little odd given the mileage that there was very little sign of wear on the pads. I won't know if the problem with brake fad has disappeared until i get the chance to test it on a parade etc.

 

[Guest]

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Hey Littlejohn, :waving: Just reading between the lines of your post, :baffled: do i suspect that you are pushing for promotion to "Guru" :stumped: The fact that this is your first attempt at changing the brake pads on any of your wings, is very suspicious indeed :whip: but at least you didn't read it from a thing these guy's call a manual. :jumper:Even more suspicious is that your front brake pads have worn quicker than the rear. :baffled:The fact that the brakes are linked one would assume that this should not occur unless you are a front brake only rider, and i doubt that very much. :clapper:I have just 14k miles recorded and the brakes are still ok.:weightlifter: I have to make my mesgs sound like a "Guru" as this might help my case.:stumped:

:leprechaun: :18red: :leprechaun:

 

[wexy]

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Hi John ,,while I am not a GURU ,,the front brake gets far more use than the back brake ,when you press the back brake ,it brings on the back brake and one side of the front brakes and when you pull the front brake it operates the other side ,,So your front brake will wear quicker than the back ,brake fade usually happens when brakes pads and discs get very hot ,having them on a lot and not much air getting to them as in parades etc ,,so I would not be too worried about it ,It also happens on cars or trucks travelling downhill for long periods .,but I will leave it to the experts to confirm this ,,,see ya sat 26th:waving::waving: cheers Ciaran

 

[Littlejohn]

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I probably could have got away with a few more miles on the brakes but at least now I know that I have new original Honda pads front and rear. Oil and filter change tomorrow. Air filter maybe later when I am feeling brave.

Ps:- Don't forget to have a look at the photos and register on the new N ireland Website Forum at

www.gwocni.co.uk :18red:

 

[07Silver]

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John, the GL1800 pads are the easiest to replace of all the Wings, probably down to the fact that you can do them without removing the callipers. I've had 26,000 out of my rear pads and I believe this isn't unusual. I've read lots of posts from other owners on different forums and many of them have had over 30,000 miles from the rear pads and anything from 11-18,000 from the front. I'd say your mileage is about right.

 

[Guest]

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Littlejohn wrote:

Air filter maybe later when I am feeling brave.

Hey Littlejohn, :wavingont leave it too late. :whip: Filter should have been changed at 12k (s)miles. :crying:Just take your time and keep close track of every little screw and bolt that you remove and every item that you disconnect. :baffled:The first time is tricky :stumped: and i didn't have the benifit of this great article by the Master himself :weightlifter:http://www.goldwingfacts.com/18airfilter.htm The second shot will be a doddle. :jumper:Ride Safe in all your journeys. :grinner:

:leprechaun: :18red: :leprechaun:

 

[Littlejohn]

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I am expecting delivery Tuesdayof the Fred Harman DVD Set which gives you an idiot's guide to routine maintainance of your 1800. I understand it is reported to be an excellent must have set of DVD's for any 1800 owners. It is a set of 15 DVD's covering virtually every eventuality with the 1800. I have a little portable DVD player so can watch it while I work. Can't wait to get it.

 

[07Silver]

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Having done some of my own servicing work on my 03, I have to say that the only hard job was the air filter replecement. I used the video clip here and it made it very easy. All the other basic jobs are easy enough to do without any guides, but a guide would be handy for the harder tasks..

 

[BRowan]

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I seen the video clip from the Honda GL1800 maintenance CD. Brake pad replacement looks as simple as pulling out a pin and dropping the old pads out, then pushing the pistons back and slotting the new pads in.

 

[Guest]

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BRowan wrote:

I saw the video clip from the Honda GL1800 maintenance CD. Brake pad replacement looks as simple as pulling out a pin and dropping the old pads out, then pushing the pistons back and slotting the new pads in.

Hey BRowan, :waving:You nowsound like a "Guru" promotion is just around the corner. :clapper:

:leprechaun: :18red: :leprechaun:

 

[Littlejohn]

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Having just sat and watched the first three DVD's in the Fred Harmon collection witheleven more to go, I am more than impressed by the detail and quality of information he goes into. Fred doesn't confess to being a Honda mechanic but he manages to show you, ina verydetailed video, every nut and bolt action when dismantling or replacing parts during routine servicing. He also highlights very graphically how to avoid the little problems that can occur during jobs. He makes it so simple that if followed correctly anyone with a bit of mechanical knowledge could tackle the jobs that dealers charge a fortune to do. Also when you do it yourself you can be sure it is done.

I am in no doubt that the 14 DVD's would be a worthy addition to the collection of any 1800 owner who fancies having a go at servicing whilst saving a fortune on expensive bills from the local dealers. Handbooks can be very technical but when you see it being done from virtually every angle you feel it is possible to do it yourself competently. The DVD is handy in that you can pause and watch clips over and over again, making sure you get it right.

:clapper::clapper::clapper::clapper:

 

[Guest]

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Hey Littlejohn, :waving:I read all the reports on this set of DVD's they are very well presented :clapper: but the most important thing for you to remember is that you have all the time in the world to sit down and watch them, and then do the job :baffled: now that your retired at the grand old age of 46/47yrs :stumped:but a lot of these guys on the forum have work to go to :crying:and for myself well im just to old. :crying:I was checking around re the brake wear for the :18red: and the least miles that i could find re the front replacement was 25k miles and the most was 63k miles. :weightlifter:Checked mine today and still loads of thread front and back at 14k miles.:clapper: So Littlejohn ease off the brakes they only slow you down. :whip:

:coollep: :18red: :coollep:

 

[wexy]

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Hey John ,,how about we do a whip round and buy REDWING a set for next xmas ,,

Then he can answer all the tech questions ...But he still wont make GURU ...cheers Ciaran

 

[Littlejohn]

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Hey Redwing, I will have you know that I am back hard at work again as a driver for the out-of-hrs Doctor service. They even gave me a car complete with flashing lights again so nothing changes. This job is really hard. I forgot to mention that I watched the first three DVD's on the TV at work between calls. I am at work at the minute. Started at 4pm and no calls so far. Finish at 1am. On DVD five at the minute. Night shift is a real drag having to blow up the inflatable mattress, get the quilt and pillows out, alarm clock set and night-night. Retirement is really hard work???? :waving:

 

[Guest]

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Littlejohn wrote:

Hey Redwing, I am back hard at work again as a driver for the out-of-hrs Doctor service. They even gave me a car complete with flashing lights. Retirement is really hard work???? :waving:

Hey Littlejohn, :waving:But there not blue. :whip: Yeah this retirement is really catching on. :clapper:

:leprechaun: :18red: :leprechaun:

 

[Marky]

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The brake pads are a piece of cake to do, I was surprized how easy they were. Air filter is not the easiest job first time round, but with the help of the wingnuts free from this site video clip it's actually very easy. Once you have removed the top shelter once you will never fear this job again. It's just that first time you need and appreciate some visual help.

 

[GWEddie]

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The brake pads are a real pleasure to do on the 1800. It's nice to ba able to do this without fear.

 

[Littlejohn]

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On the subject of doing your own maintainance I have just got my bike ready for 2005. I did the brakes, oil filter, gear oil, air filter and some electrical work myself with very little problem having downloaded Wingnuts video aids and watched Fred Harmons's DVD's. I had the stealth lights put on by the professionals and when I went to replace them the wiring was a little messy to say the least. Probably because it was my bike and I took my time, the whole lot looks a lot tidier now. One thing I can say for the dealer is that he replaced a set of faulty stealth lights without question so I can't fault them for that.

 

[JDuggan]

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There you go John. Already you are improving on the work that the professionals. You can only get better at this.

 

[Littlejohn]

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Anyone put on the little mirror lights? I followed the instructions only to find that the UK model doesn't have the compatible wiring loom connectors unlike the US Model so I had to do a bit of splicing. I had the option of wiring them as running lights or indicators and ended up wiring them as indicators as this was easiest to do. No doubt it wouldn't be too hard to make them run as running lights but they look fine as indicators. No doubt someone will know how to convert them but I am happy with the result so far. The newer stealth lights look better in orangethan the one's I replaced which had a white finish with orange lights. Lasted 4 months before they went onto only half the bar lit. Thankfully they were replaced FOC without question.