[scotwing]

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A few weeks ago I reported having an intermmittent grinding noise coming from my 1989 GL1500.I initially thought, maybe a clutch or timing belt pulley problem....WRONG, MUCH WORSE. The problem has turned out to be a gearing fault, apparently a not uncommon problem with earlier 1500,s up untill 1994. The bottom line is that the engine requires to be pulled and crankcase split to gain access for repairs. Graham Whittaker (goldwing specialist) has kindly offered to carry out this work for me, although it will be fairly expensive, and there are no gaurantees it will not happen again. The bike has only 67k miles on it, but to be fair I drive it hard. Graham informs me that Honda America have been approached in the past about this problem, however they do not recognise this for obvious reasons. It appears to be a design fault on the earlier 1500,s. I will keep you posted as to how this all turns out, when I get the bike back (although I won,t be changing my riding style). Graham,s advice is to get into overdrive as soon as possible and ensure the oil is changed frequently. Personally I find 4th gear a more flexible and useable gear when riding on the twisty roads.

Anyone had the same repairs carried out?

 

[FitzAl]

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I thought there was a modified 4th gear for the problem bikes around that time? Apparently that fixed the problem for good.

 

[BRowan]

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There was indeed a modified 4th gear and some other bits for the 1994 models. Honda must have the info available.

 

[Jrogers]

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Is this noise at very low speeds? I have a 1988 GL1500 and have noticed a rattle that seems to be coming out of the front fairing. Engaging the clutch has no effect on this noise. Any ideas?

 

[scotwing]

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The symptoms that I had were originally interrmittent, and only occured (or was noticed) when warming the bike up, in neutral and on the centre stand. I found that there was a very sharp grating noise, which sounded as though it was coming from the front of the bike. This would dissapear , however lifting the bike off of the centre stand would cause it to occur again. Once off the centre stand I would hear it whilst the bike was idling. When driving the bike and accellerating through the gears , this problem dissapeared and only showed up when decellerating in the lower gears and backing off the throttle. The specialist I contacted informs me this is a problem with fourth gear and is a known design fault, however Honda America have been petitioned and do not recognise this fault. I have never had the bike jump out of fourth gear, as this can be a symptom.

This is a major repair job, which involves removal of the engine and splitting of the crank case.

The specialist I am dealing with has never mentioned there might be modified parts for this. He has told me that he cannot gaurantee that this will not happen again. The problem apparently affects years 1988 to 94.

I hope this helps

Joe