I’ve had my First Gear heated liner since 2003. It has gone through many winters and held up well.
As with anything used repeatedly wear and tear will eventually take its toll.
The weak spot is the DC connection between the liner and gloves. The mono jacks wiring seems to come apart at the point it makes contact with the connector base.
I have enough parts in the Manetarium to replace the worn parts as needed.
The connector replacement wiring I use has a larger diameter wiring and the insulation cover is much more robust than the original.
When the winter season rain and cold weather goes away, the bugs come out in full force. I don’t mind wiping the windshield down every time I pull inside the Manetarium.
That’s all part of being a daily rider. You get used to the different rituals you do before you take off and when you return.
I started using bottled water that I pour into a spray bottle. This seems to break down the bugs mess if done carefully. I do use towels that are not abrasive and soft on the windshield avoiding scratching the snot out of the outer surface.
Another step I take is spraying Honda Detailer cleaner onto the freshly wiped windshield and apply a layer of protection.
The good thing, I was able to hop back on the sled and ride. The not so good thing, we lost that beautiful Maui weather and scenery. It doesn’t matter that it rains on my motorcycle rides, I’m completely used to that but jumping from paradise temperature down to the upper 30’s isn’t a happy vibe for sure.
On a side note, I really enjoy the have XM satellite radio. It makes the commute much nicer being able to listen a large variety of music and not have to flip around for radio stations that have a strong enough signal that is bearable for listening.
I still need to program a channel list. I’m still only using a small portion of channels that are in the R&B and Rap genre. There are many other stations that I have found but not programmed in yet.
I purchased the non-touring GL1800 knowing I would not have the extra capacity for luggage space.
I picked up a few luggage bags since last October. The most used are the “barrel” type. These fit nicely strapped down on the rear luggage rack. In my opinion these look nice and very simple to remove.
The T-Bag shown as the featured image is the model I use most often. It is on the bike 90% of the time. The capacity is large enough for me to carry my Alpaka daily travel bags.
The Saddlemen barrel bag above is my “Uber Eats” go to choice. It is large enough to carry most food orders made for two. I carry a set of bungee cords in case the items are too large.
One of my favorite taco tucks to hit on my way home from work.
I really like using the barrel bag setup. I don’t miss using the full tour pack on the Generation 5 Goldwing. The sporty look and feel of the Goldwing Bagger is my preference.
The Honda OEM backrest may look the best but as far as adjustment it lacks the versatility the competing manufacturers sell.
I’m just under 6’ tall and find myself having to sit irregularly to be able to use the backrest and handle bar grip controls.
The Traxxion Dynamics backrest relocation modification raises the backrest about an inch and forward 0.5” – doesn’t seem like a lot but it did make a big difference.
I’m not sure if the manufacturer designs and sells these backrest positioning hardware for other backrest manufacturer models.
I may have to move the backrest back a bit as the riding position was essentially being vertical with no rear lean at all.
EDIT: I’ve put in a few miles now with the backrest block backrest relocation block. Even though the changes are small it is the correct changes to make in height and forward movement.
I should have done this modification as soon as I had purchased the Honda OEM rider backrest. I highly recommend this product from Traxxion.
I bought the Goldwing Bagger November 9, 2024 with 4430 miles.
When I pulled into the Manetarium this evening I was at 10,067 miles. That’s 5,637 miles I rode in 107 days or you can say 3 1/2 months. The first couple months I was healing from my motorcycle accident.
At this pace I will have ridden over 20,000 by the end of the year.
It’s getting pretty dang cold during the morning commute. At certain areas the temperature is dipping down to 24 degrees.
Even with upper body heated gear I can feel the cold bite in when my speeds are in the 60 mph range.
I’m having to wear my Tour Master over pants as jeans are not enough to keep my legs comfortable.
The morning I took this photo I was not wearing the over pants and by the time I arrived at work my legs were stinging and numb.
The temperature inside the Manetarium is even chilly. I don’t mess around too much in the shop because of the cold temperatures.
I’m digging the blue light theme that is really visible night riding. I may look into dimming it down just a tad so I don’t look like a giant Smurf at night.
I went for a ride and noticed my sled leaking oil on the street. This at a steady 1 second drip intervals. Not good especially being 40 miles from home.
When I did the oil change I replaced the oil filter, oil, DCT filter but neglected to replace the DCT filter cover O-ring. This was a big mistake in my part.
I looked at the original O-ring and determined it was in good shape. I didn’t even remove it from the cover.
The problem wasn’t removing the cover it was reinstalling back in place.
When I reinstalled the cover with the new DCT filter the original ring must have gotten damaged during the insertion process.
I ordered the parts from WingStuff. That’s my go to online store. I would say anything you can possibly need for Goldwing maintenance will be available at their online store.
The O-ring I purchased has a different part number than that is listed on the Goldwing official service manual. In fact the part shipped from WingStuff is better than the original in my honest opinion.
The alternate O-ring part is slightly less in diameter size and seems to be thicker in material. These difference allows the part to seat around the DCT cover much better.
