I used to tease Harley riders about the aftermarket expense

2005 Views 34 Replies 23 Participants Last post by josephdphillips, Jul 28, 2009

bbach

Discussion Starter · Jul 17, 2009

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Not any more. Holy crap, every time I turn around I'm spending a bunch more on this bike or some riding gear. It seems to be a motorcycle thing and not a Harley rider thing. My apologies for all my past transgressions to my Harley friends. :waving:

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21 - 35 of 35 Posts

josephdphillips

· #21 · Jul 26, 2009

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TitaniumWing wrote

Buy your tires on line, or find a good price on line and have a dealer match it. The Motorcycle Superstore was selling Stones for a little over300, free shipping, I printed it and a local dealer matched it. I take the wheels in and pay to have them mounted as I'm not in to that struggle, but by removing them from the bike, that saves alot of labor. Get a service manual and do most of the service work yourself. Oil & filter changes are very easy, as are a lot of other items - maybe take it in for the valves at 30,000, but you should be able to do the rest.

Thanks. That's good advice. Now I just have to find the service manual.

TitaniumWing

· #22 · Jul 26, 2009

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josephdphillips wrote:

Thanks. That's good advice. Now I just have to find the service manual.

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Buy it on eBay. You will have to bid on several, but you should be able to get one for about 60 to 80 bucks. I think they run about 125 at the dealer - but don't trust my memory, check on it first.

exavid

· #23 · Jul 26, 2009

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You can order a Honda Service Manual for the 1800 from Helm Inc. for $75. These are the official Honda manuals.

Helm Inc. service manual

AZgl1800

· #24 · Jul 26, 2009

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Farkles,

Got my share of wishes for them.

I just spent most of the day surfing WWW to see if I can find a retirement home on wheels

I had the perfect one all picked out now for several months, but taking the Goldwing with me means pulling another trailer behind the 5th wheel.

So, my son PJ was visiting here today and he made the point to his mom, that she better start thinking Toy Hauler style because California and a few other states won't let me pull two trailers.

Also, he drove it into her about the parking availability in "just any ole campground" for 2 trailers is just about non-existent. Funny thing that, I have told her many times that we need to think Toy Hauler and she refused to accept the idea.

Now she is coming around because it was not me saying "we need to do this".

Well, I finally found an acceptable model made by CrossRoads called the CrossTerrain. Two versions of it for a base price of $63 grand. But those farkles :shock:

By the time I added in all of the Requirements like a/c in the bedroom, etc.... that puppy grossed out at a piddly little $83 grand. :?

Yep, them farkles will get you everytime.

Airplanes? I refused to renew my medical about 6 years ago when the cost of flying our club airplane hit $85/hour, annual dues of $500/year. I can't afford that kind of waste of my pocket money.

I sold my personal airplane back in 1976 to make a down payment on a new house.

Sob, I sure regret that decision, but I probably could not have afforded to keep it either.

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muaymendez1

· #25 · Jul 26, 2009

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I keep having to spend money on repairs. I never get a chance to buy mods or upgrades.
I just cleaned the carbs and changed out some wires. Fixed the speedo hub now I nnow how fast i will get the ticket for, new tires, oil changes, nd now I need a fuel pump and need to get my aftermarket mufflers welded.

I need this and that but nothing to make her prettier and happier. 2 more years with this bugger and Im going bigger. A 1500 is surely calling my name out there.

82gl1100iWingman

· #26 · Jul 26, 2009

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OK time for dessenting voice. I myself like lots of "saftey" chrome and lights. It catches others drivers eyes when the sun sparkles off the chromegets in their eyes or at night when you see the "christmas tree" running down the road. We all believe in being seen and to me anything that helps me be seen is worth it in the long run. Just my two cents.

ScooterTramp

· #27 · Jul 26, 2009

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I got the 3 year maintenance package. It cost me $1,100 extra. It includes, all scheduled maintenance in the OM, one set of tires (mounted) and unlimited oil changes (with filters).

I bought the service manual. Riding gear is a must. You'll never see me, or my back seater, without this. The rest of the stuff was to get the GW ride-able. Back rest, handle bar risers, taller (and stronger) window and vented belly pan. Next move will be Mic-O-Pegs. The legs get a little cramped, in the position they're in. Maybe some good running lights and a Ham radio. Down the road a music player, maybe. The FM radio stations suck. Or maybe I'll just listen to the sound of my pipes, they're starting to sound good.

I am not opposed to decorating the bike. But chrome (or wood) don't get it down the road, so this can wait. Besides, that is a lot of money for chromed plastic.

TitaniumWing

· #28 · Jul 26, 2009

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82gl1100iwingman wrote:

........ I myself like lots of "saftey" chrome and lights. It catches others drivers eyes when the sun sparkles off the chromegets in their eyes or at night when you see the "christmas tree" running down the road. We all believe in being seen and to me anything that helps me be seen is worth it in the long run. Just my two cents.

I like this!:dude: Now I can not only buy lights purely in the interest of safety, but now I can buy chrome for safety too!

I'm off to the store!:action: Any chrome you see on my ride will be purely for safety purposes only. I think I'm gonna need an alternator off of a Mac truck for the lighting system. :cheeky1:

a/c man

· #29 · Jul 26, 2009

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Chrome don't get you home! looks good

82gl1100iWingman

· #30 · Jul 26, 2009

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TitaniumWing wrote:

82gl1100iwingman wrote:

........ I myself like lots of "saftey" chrome and lights. It catches others drivers eyes when the sun sparkles off the chromegets in their eyes or at night when you see the "christmas tree" running down the road. We all believe in being seen and to me anything that helps me be seen is worth it in the long run. Just my two cents.

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I like this!:dude: Now I can not only buy lights purely in the interest of safety, but now I can buy chrome for safety too! I'm off to the store!:action: Any chrome you see on my ride will be purely for safety purposes only. I think I'm gonna need an alternator off of a Mac truck for the lighting system. :cheeky1:

I'm glad I could enlighten at least one person!!! :clapper::clapper::clapper:

stickyfingers

· #31 · Jul 27, 2009

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I do almost all my of my own maintenance also on both my 1800 and my wife's 1500. The dealers won't work on an "old bike" anyhow. I have seen many really sharp bikes loaded up with chrome and so forth, but that's not for me. I had an HD awhile back, and to REALLY clean it took about 5 hours. I also had a 1500 complete with lots of chrome, light bars, etc. Same amount of time. Nowadays, I hate cleaning, so I bought a Titanium colored wing (close to the same color as dirt and most bugs) and the only chrome stuff added was a pair of air horns. Everything else is ride comfy or maintenance. BTW...changing your own oil is the easiest way to save a little coin. If you are leery of doing it, try to find another winger that does his, and go watch or have him help you. Plenty of maintenance info on line also.........

tomusa

· #32 · Jul 27, 2009

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I have worked on my own vehicles pretty much all my life except in recent years. When using the Honda service manual I still find it difficult to do a lot of things that should be simple. Just taking some of this darn plastic off gets frustrating sometimes. I would like to see a video on how to take apart a 1500.

exavid

· #33 · Jul 28, 2009

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It's indeed a pain to remove the plastic the first time but after you've done it once it gets easier. I've had all the plastic off my 1500 except the main fairing, mainly just to take a look at things. It would have been easier of Honda didn't seem to have a phobia about screw heads. My brother's BMW is a lot easier to pull the plastic because BMW doesn't rely on so many tabs and such, they just leave screw heads exposed. I don't think the fasteners hurt the appearance at all.

Bob W

· #34 · Jul 28, 2009

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josephdphillips wrote:

Bob W wrote:

All I am trying to say is you do not need to spend too much money to enjoy riding.

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Like others on this board I, too, am a little taken aback by the maintenance costs of riding my '09 Wing. I just got back from Wingstuff for my 12k service -- almost $400 and they tell me I need new tires already -- another $500. Geez! I've had my 2001 Tacoma for 7 years and have only spent $1,000 in all that time on maintenance -- new tires, struts, oil changes, fuel injection cleaning.

Anyway, this won't stop me from enjoying my GL1800 but I am now interested in lowering my maintenance costs, where possible.

You said you got helmets online and that you're a big guy. Me too. My helmet is a XXXL and fits OK, but I am looking for a second one, maybe a shorty. What do you recommend?

Also, what do you think of car tires on an 1800? They're certainly cheaper and last longer, plus I'm no speed demon anyway. What do you think?

I found both helmets on E-Bay. Both were last years models but were brand new. I do have a half helmet that I have had for several years. I haven't used it in at least three years. I rarely use my 3/4 helmet anymore and stick with my full face / modular now. Cousin Jack's photo of him holding up his full face helmet after his deer strike last year has convinced me that you need that much coverage. My modular G-Max is a XXXL and fits me perfectly.
I recently saw a diagram showing what area of a helmet that hits usually the ground in an accident. The lowest percentage of strikes was on the top. A shorty helmet just doesn't give you the coverage that you need.
Mind you I am not cheap, just frugal. I do have a service contract on my '08 wing so I do not have to handle any routine service for the first few years. I still manage all the service on my '81 wing and my '85 BMW myself. My garage is now set up just for bikes. I have a bike lift table and a bike jack. I have pretty much torn down and rebuilt the '81 and now I am looking to do the BMW.
My frugality is born out of necessity. Even though I have worked hard at it my career plan of winning the lottery has not yet payed off for me. Additionally as my clothing sizes are not routinely produced by the motorcycle clothing manufacturers I have had to find other reasonable substitutes. So since Vanson does not make a leather in my size King Size Direct did have a nice leather pilots jacket in 5XL for around $100. Blaine's Farm & Fleet has provided me with boots and gloves at reasonable prices. Levi and Wrangler provide the pants when I find them on sale. I did drop a fair amount for a HD rain suit. It fit and is extremely well made. I do not mind spending money on items that are quality and needed.
Truth is some of my bargans I think are better then some of the specialized items I see. Wells Lamont gloves make great deerskin gloves and hardware stores carry them. My Timberland work boots are waterproof and offer as much protection as most riding boots do but at a substantial savings.
The real problem is trying to find add ons that are not chromed.

josephdphillips

· #35 · Jul 28, 2009

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Thanks for the tips, Bob. There's only so much service I can do, since I have no garage. I'll try changing my own oil at the next interval. For now the high cost of tires is keeping me from riding my Wing every day, as I was. Anyway, thanks again.

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