It started on gas more than a year old? Here if you let a bike set for more than a month, it will need a carb clean. But then we are stuck with that ethanol gas that is crap to begin with, and quickly deteriorates into something that will not burn in an engine, while destroying the rubber, plastic, and aluminum parts of the fuel system at the same time. If you actually intend to try and make it roadworthy, you have a lot of work ahead of you.
1. new battery. with the engine running, check the charging system output at the battery. hopefully the stator is good
2. clean out the gas tank, get all old gas residue out of it, and check it for rust
3. remove, disassemble and clean the carbs, as well as the entire intake system
4. check, adjust, lubricate, and replace control cables as necessary. remove the throttle assembly, clean and lubricate that. Lubricate the carb linkage
5. new tires
6. new brake and clutch fluid
7. Check the entire brake and clutch systems for damage and deterioration, replace anything bad that you find. I had to rebuild all 3 calipers, all three master cylinders, clutch slave cylinder, repair a hole in the clutch master cylinder, and replace a broken rear fluid reservoir, plus replace all the pads
8. while you have the rear wheel off to replace the tire, check the bearings, then disassemble the ENTIRE final drive, inspect all the splines, clean everything, and coat all the splines with a high moly content paste (not moly grease) change the oil in the final drive gearcase, and replace the rear oil seal on the drive shaft
9. while all that is apart, wiggle the swingarm, move it up and down and try to move it side to side. If it has much side to side movement, or makes noise when you move it, you will need to remove it and replace the bearings and grease seals
10. I would use the cheapest oil you can find (like Walmart SuperTech) and change the oil about every 200 miles for the first 4 or 5 times before putting anything expensive in it. add some Seafoam to it each time, and leave it in there for the entire 200 miles
11. definitely change the timing belts, and check the tensioners
12. check for leaking fork seals. change the fork oil
13. check for leaking shocks. mine were completely rusted and had to be replaced
14. check all the switches, lights, turn signals, horn, make sure everything important works
15. new air filter
16. new spark plugs
17. check all the connectors in the charging system for damage. All mine were burned up. I cut them out and soldered everything together
There are about 20 more things I had to do, replacing the windshield was the only safety related one. I'm sure you will find other things as well, depending on the condition of the bike. Bringing an old, abused, neglected Goldwing back to life is not an easy or inexpensive job. I would verify the engine is ok, and compression is normal, before doing most of the stuff, though you might want to replace the belts first. Many perfectly good engines have been destroyed by broken belts.
Pictures.
