GL Cruising

It seems like I just did an oil and filter change not too long ago. The amount of commute miles I have ridden the past 6 months justifies another oil change.

I will refer to the actual service manual but the internet community seems to think the oils should be changed every 8,000 miles. That number seems to be off too.

I decided it was time for me to change out the original Bridgestone tires that came with the Goldwing Bagger. These set of wheels made it to 14,466 miles and still had some rubber left. The rear tire still had the full wear bar intact and had not worn down. Also, one note. I didn’t not put in all the miles. I purchased the sled with 4,430 miles, 10,036 miles are mine. That’s approximately 6 months of riding.

The procedure for removing the rear wheel based on my current shop situation called for servicing on the ground using the center stand and floor jack (The Fatboy was on the table lift).

If this is the first time removing the wheel and the factory torque is still being applied the lug nuts are a bitch to get off. I tried both my MAC air and Harbor Freight impact wrenches and they would not budge the lug nut on bit.

I had to use a 2 foot half-inch breaker bar with the 19mm socket on a 5” extension. This method worked great, each of the nuts broke free easily. This also meant I had to have the sled on the ground with the rear wheel making contact on the ground.

The removal of the rear center fairing and stabilizer cross bar is necessary to roll out the wheel. There is also an inner exhaust shield that needs to removed to get the final clearance necessary for the tire removal.

Since the original Bridgestone tires lasted so long I decided to stick with the same brand and model. The Exedra G852 (rear) and the G853 (front) tires had an active rebate offering at the time of my purchase.

This is the wear on the rear and front tires. This is probably the earliest I have changed out a tire. My normal method of operation is to take it down to the Steel bands below the rubber.

The rear tire.

Removal the front tires is easier to do than the rear. Once again the center stand was used, I also used a regular floor jack with a piece of 2×6 piece of wood to raise the front of the bike up just enough for me to drop the front tire and pull it out.

I finally broke down an purchased side extensions for my Handy 1000 Table Lift. This came about while trying to load up the 2015 Goldwing onto the lift and I could not see the side edges of the table to place my foot down. This is obviously a safety issue especially if I’m trying to load a motorcycle by myself.

Loading the smaller Honda CM 450 is no problem at all. It’s super light and there is no fairing that obstructs the front view and being so narrow I can see both sides of the bike easily. Not to mention it probably weighs half the amount of the Goldwing.

I found a seller in the Fairfield area that had the extension kit listed more less than half of the retail price. The deal was too good to pass up even though it was a good distance for pickup.

The side extensions kit I purchased is made for the Handy 1200 lift model. I have the Handy 1000 model. The difference that would affect the installation was not having the same pole mount positions. The hole position delta is approximately 7”. My lift is the shorter of the two, 87” is the longer model.

Because of the difference it was necessary for me to drill out four 1 3/8 holes to accommodate the 1 1/4 outer diameter of the mounting poles.

The side extensions also come with ramps, this will make nicer for me to ride motorcycle onto the lift table. I allows additional foot placement while rolling forwards.

The stock ramp has a steep angle. This is fine for bikes with a good amount of ground clearance. If you try to roll a Harley Davidson Softail up on the ramp there is a good chance you’re going to bottom out.

This modified red section adds about 30” more to the ramp, decreasing the angle significantly. You can see from the rear the slope is slight and will provide much better clearance.

This ramp modification along with the side extensions will make loading and unloading a breeze.

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.

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.

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.