[gnis drnkr]

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I think I know the answer to these, but "think" is the key word there. My 83 does not like to start in temps under 60. Yes, I havea choke and know how to use it, but it still takes forever. Is this normal? Also, it has a terrible wobble at 85mph or at lower speed when I let go of the handlebars. Whats the deal?

 

[exavid]

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:waving::waving:Welcome to the World's Greatest Goldwing Site gnis drnkr! :waving::waving:

A Guiness drinker eh? You're sure in the right place on this Irish based website.:cooldevil:

Not really enough information to make a good guess at your hard starting problem, it will take a bit more to determine whether it's a fuel or ignition problem. Start by checking your sparkplugs, do you get a good spark when cranking the engine? Do the spark plugs look dry after cranking for a few seconds?

The wobble is serious and the bike shouldn't be ridden until that's corrected. The most common causes of wobble on a 'Wing are a bad tire or loose head bearings. I'd give the tire a good going over to make sure it's seated properly on the rim, there's usually a molded in line near the edge of the bead. That line should be the same distance from the edge of the rim all around the tire and on both sides. Use a pencil or something and hold it against the fork tube just touching the tire. Rotate the front wheel and watch the gap, the tire shouldn't show any runout more than a 1/32 of an inch or so on either side. Do the same for the diameter, hold an indicator close to the face of the tread and turn the wheel to check for out of round. While the front wheel is off the ground slowly swing the handlebars from full left to full right feeling carefully for a 'notchy' feel. If there is any roughness or notchy feeling it's likely the head bearings need attention.

If those check out, with the bike still on the center stand and a jack under the front of the engine to keep the front wheel off the ground push and pull on the wheel. There should be no play front and backwards. You can also check with the bike on the ground and the transmission in neutral. Hold the front brake and rock the bike back and forth, you should feel no play in the forks. If you do it's possible you have loose head bearings and need to inspect and retorque them. If all checks out it might be a good idea to replace the front tire.

One more possibility would be the swingarm. With the bike on the centerstand you can try prying the swing arm sideways to see if there's any play. There should be none.

Whatever you do correct this problem before riding the bike again, something's seriously wrong.

 

[chris in va]

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The choke butterflies might be out of position and the pilot jets may need tweaking/cleaning. There's LOTS going on under there, and if anything is out of whack, it'll cause problems.

 

[jfree04]

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Question for exavid concerning lateral play in swingarm.
I've noticed that there is play in the swingarm while on center stand and during low speed maneuvering.
Any thoughts on possible culprit? please say there's a quick and easy fix!

 

[Nightrider1]

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Hey gnis drnkr,

I had this very same problem on my 80 Standard, and I had too much oil in the right front shock, making it very unsteady, but it was noticable at all speeds. First,I changed out the front tire and axel, off of my parts bike. Same thing. The worst being about 55mph. Also, you can pull your handlebars, and check and make sure the top of your Tripple tree is lined up and tightened correctly. This could also cause the problem.

Good Luck,

Nightrider1

gnis drnkr wrote:

I think I know the answer to these, but "think" is the key word there. My 83 does not like to start in temps under 60. Yes, I havea choke and know how to use it, but it still takes forever. Is this normal? Also, it has a terrible wobble at 85mph or at lower speed when I let go of the handlebars. Whats the deal?

 

[vabikeguy]

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I have read that many people fix front end issues with a new front tire. Hopefully, your issue is as simple as torquing the head bearing or replacing the tire.

I recently had (sort of still do) a cold starting issue with my GL1100. The synopsis of what has helped so far is a) new choke cable and b) new starter. By no means am I suggesting this will cure your problem, but at least it will give you a point of reference.

Here is the thread:

 

[RB]

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More info.. How long have you had the bike, did it start more easily before the temps dropped, does it start more easily after it's warmed up, what color are the plugs after a good ride, have you gaped the plugs, set the valves, checked the timing, changed the oil, what kind of oil is in it...

 

[Nightrider1]

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vabikeguy,

I have to pull my choke cable. I was trying to adhust the lower part and get the proper 1/4 inch play, and it froze up. I am gonna pull it, lube it, and if that doesnt work, replace it.

Thanks,

Nightrider1

vabikeguy wrote:

I have read that many people fix front end issues with a new front tire. Hopefully, your issue is as simple as torquing the head bearing or replacing the tire.

I recently had (sort of still do) a cold starting issue with my GL1100. The synopsis of what has helped so far is a) new choke cable and b) new starter. By no means am I suggesting this will cure your problem, but at least it will give you a point of reference.

Here is the thread:

 

[exavid]

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jfree04 wrote:

Question for exavid concerning lateral play in swingarm.
I've noticed that there is play in the swingarm while on center stand and during low speed maneuvering.
Any thoughts on possible culprit? please say there's a quick and easy fix!

Any play in the swing arm is bad news. I wouldn't ride the bike until that's taken care of. There really isn't a quick and easy fix, basically you really need to remove the swing arm and inspect the bearings. It's not a huge job but you'll need to remove the rear wheel, disconnect the rear brake line, remove the caliper and the caliper brace rod, pull back the swing arm boot and remove the circlip from the end of the output shaft on the engine inside the u-joint. Those are the basic moves I might have missed something but that's about the size of the chore.

If you have play, it could be temporarily corrected by retorquing the swing arm bolt but that really isn't be a good idea because it's possible a bearing has begun to fail. That could cause a misalignment and possible damage to the swing arm or frame if the bolt was tightened with a bad bearing. Those bearings are probably original and haven't been serviced since the bike was built. Best bet is to remove the bearings and replace them. They aren't a special bearing, it's possible to get the number off the bearing and order them online from a bearing supply.

 

[exavid]

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gnis drnkr wrote:

I think I know the answer to these, but "think" is the key word there. My 83 does not like to start in temps under 60. Yes, I havea choke and know how to use it, but it still takes forever. Is this normal?

I forgot to mention that I had a similar problem with an '82 Aspencade. It ran well but was slow to start. I installed iridium plugs and the problem disappeared. The bike started up immediately. I don't claim that cured the underlying problem which was probably somewhat deteriorated wiring and/or connectors in the harness somewhere but I do know that those plugs cured the problem for over a year. I used Champion Iridium plugs since my closest auto parts store didn't have NGK. I just asked for the nearest equivalent to the standard NGK plugs that were in the bike.

 

[gnis drnkr]

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Thanks for the info!

 

[gnis drnkr]

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Thanks for the info.

 

[gnis drnkr]

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Thanks for the input!

 

[gnis drnkr]

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Thanks for the info!

 

[gnis drnkr]

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As far as the starting issue, it starts up immediately in warm temps, and runs good on start up. I've checked the valves, have new plugs, light-weight oil, and the choke does work. I have it serviced at Logans here in Mesa. They seem to know what there doing. Any suggestions?

 

[gnis drnkr]

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Thanks for the help, I was guessing the swing arm, but I now realize there could be other issues.