imported post
pjfsail wrote:
olsonm,Thanks for the information. I am really uneducated in this area and only want to help. I went to Helm Inc. website and found, for example, you can buy the 1986SE-iElectricalTroubleShootingManual for $36.00. This manual, obviously, is not hard to get a hold of. I had no idea this was still available. What we have been hearingon this web site is that these manuals are hard to get. What's Up? On the other hand, when I checked to see if the 1986 GL1200 Supplement Manual was available, theweb site indicated it had been discontinued. My next question: The manuals that are out of print, can we make a project out of those? The manuals that are still in print is a no brainer and the GURUS need to beaware of those, wouldthat be correct?
I recently bought the complete GL1200 manual from Helm, it covers the 84-87 Interstate and Aspencade (part number 61ML950-AH). As far as I can tell, there is no 1986 Supplement anymore- there is a dedicated manual for the 1986 SE, part number 61ML860AH, $36.00. There is also an electrical troubleshooting manual for the 1986 GL1200, part number 61ML870AH, unfortunately the Helm website doesn't say whether it covers all the SE as well as the Interstate and Aspencade. I found the 1985 LTD workshop manual supplement, part number: 61MG950AH, but no electrical troubleshooting guide for that year, but I'd guess that the '86 electrical manual would cover it if it included the FI models.
My guess is that whether a manual is out of print or not, Honda and Helm will not be interested in giving up control of its publication to a web community. It's not that difficult for Helm to reprint books that are not currently 'in print'. In fact the illustrations in my newly printed GL1200 manual look suspiciously like they were copied from a paper copy of the book rather than from original master artwork, as they are rather poor quality. This is why you're probably better off buying an old original manual from ebay rather than ordering one from Helm, unless you have no choice. The original Honda manuals printed back in the late 70s and early 80s (I have one for the CM400T) have very good quality illustrations.
Personally, I think it would be a huge selling point for a bike or car manufacturer to put all their manuals on the web for free. However, since none have yet done this to my knowledge, they appear to disagree with me.
Despite the fact that I have found and downloaded illegal copies of the factory workshop manuals for most of my bikes, I've bought the genuine articles on paper media from Helm (Honda, Ford) or direct from the manufacturer (Suzuki, Kawasaki) for all my bikes and cars and I will continue to do so as long as they are available on paper. I'd much rather have clearly printed drawings with illustrations I can easily see than low-res scans of a printed document. Even the genuine Ford workshop CD I have for my Focus is less useful for the most part than the genuine workshop manual on paper, which supposedly has the same illustrations but the paper is easier to read and I don't need to be getting my dirty fingers all over the laptop's keyboard to use it...