naked bike luggage

If you've read very many of my posts you know I have a preference for naked bikes.  My Harley Strreet Bob and vintage 75 GL1000 are naked most of the time but sometimes there's just no getting around it, you have to carry something.  Maybe it's your lunch that you're taking to work, or maybe it's a couple of things the significant other needs from the grocery store, or parts from the dealership.  What do you use to carry stuff and still keep the sleek naked look?

When my only bike was my Honda I got by for a long time just putting things in the shelter.  The shelter is a small space inside the faux gas tank.  It is handy for a lunch, a few papers or odds and ends.  When I started going on long trips with my brother, I bought a small Tourmaster bag with built in bungee cords that would attach to the back half of the seat.  I would go for 4 days or so and if it didn't fit in that bag it didn't go.  The nice thing about that little bag is at the end of the day I would just unhook the bungee cords in 10 seconds and carry it into the motel.

I travel light when I'm on the motorcycle.  I also pack clothes to wear that are mostly worn out so at the end of the day I just throw them away.

The Harley Street Bob was a different story.  There was no faux tank to stash my stuff in the Harley.  I rode it for quite awhile before I finally gave in and bought and installed a luggage rack to my Harley.  It's small.  It's black.  It isn't very noticeable, and it works pretty well.  I bought another Tourmaster bag that had a profile that fit the Harley better than the bag I use with my GL1000.  Even though this bag is small it still holds enough for a 4 day trip.  If I really need to I can stack the two bags on top of each other and the bungee cords hold nicely.  They both have a rain cover that work perfectly.

I have a third bag that I use quite a bit with the Harley.  It's a tank bag with magnets that hold securely.  This fits nicely on the tank and it even has a clear plastic compartment that allows me to write out a list of the highways I want to take on my trips and I can stay on course with a quick glance to see what junction is coming up next. More often though I use the tank bag on my daily commute.  Its magnets hold tight to the luggage rack in back and is just the right size for my lunch and a few papers or a book.

       
You have to carry things from time to time but the best thing about these bags is that when you don't want them cluttering up the look of the bike you can just take them off and you have a naked bike again.

Honda GL1000 starter fiasco

For a couple of years my 75 Honda Goldwing GL1000 has had a tired starter. The starter would work, sort of, mostly.  If I rode somewhere and parked it for an hour it would be fine, but if I needed to start it up in 5 minutes after I had just ridden it,,,,sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldn't.

In the meantime I had been wanting a motorcycle lift table to make working on the bike easier.  I don't like to hear all the snap, crackle, and pop in my joints every time I get down on the garage floor to work on the naked Goldwing.  I had been saving my money and for two years in a row I had carefully inspected the Titan tables at the Motorcycle Expo in Indianapolis.  I finally took the plunge, pulled out the plastic and the black Titan beauty was mine.  I was so excited to use the lift that I pulled the bike up on the lift, cranked the lift up as high as it would go and removed the starter.  I was on my way to a starter rebuild.

I kept telling my wife, "This lift is awesome."  The only problem was, in my excitement about the lift I had forgotten to read the instructions about how you're supposed to have the bike on the side stand when you remove the starter. If you don't ...warning... warning....warning...you will have to pull the engine to get the starter back in.  It's too bad I didn't heed the warning.

So now I had a problem that loomed enormous in my mind.  I would have to pull the engine, or at least that's what the instructions said.  I've pulled the engine before, twice, but I work slow so it would take a month of Sundays to get the bike back on the road.  So I was just sick, and embarrassed.

I was going to rebuild the starter myself but someone who (unlike me) actually knows a lot about motorcycles recommended that I take the starter to a place that rebuilds starters.  So I got a recommendation on a place to go in Indy.  Unfortunately, they damaged my starter shaft when they rebuilt it and they didn't tell me, and never did 'fess' up.

I took the starter home from the rebuild place and tried several times to get the starter shaft in the sprocket but it wouldn't go.  I thought, yep, sure enough, you must have to pull the engine to get the starter back in place.  

But then I started looking at the shaft and realized it was damaged.  I took the sprocket off of the chain and tried to put the starter shaft into the sprocket.  It wouldn't go together.  It wasn't even close.  It was like the two had never known each other.  So I took the starter apart and to my surprise it hadn't even been packed with grease.  Now I was really upset.

It's a good thing I belong to NGW Club because one of the guys came to my rescue with a reasonably priced shaft and I swapped them out.  This new/used shaft fit in the sprocket perfectly.  The starter also slipped right in to where it was supposed to go.  Now that I have the bike back on the road the starter works great.

So, what was the deal with the instructions saying that you had to have the bike on the side stand when you pull the starter or you'd have to pull the engine to get the starter back in?  And what if you did pull the engine, what was the procedure for putting the starter back in with the engine pulled?  I don't know.  Maybe God was just merciful to me once again.  I'm just glad I didn't have to pull the engine.

So, if there's a next time, maybe I'll rebuild the starter myself.  For sure I will have the bike on the side stand, just in case.            

my favorite motorcycle tool is a lift

You know how it goes.  You lay down on the concrete and begin to work on a motorcycle related project.  Pictured is my Honda GL1000.  You need another tool so you get up and go get it.  While you're up you get a big piece of cardboard for padding instead of just lying on the cold hard concrete.   Then you need a rag, so you get up and get the rag.  You get back down on the cardboard.  Now things are really getting messy so you think maybe you should put on some latex gloves.  You get up to get the gloves.  Multiply this year after year, project after project, and it takes a toll. 
The older I got the more I realized, I need a lift.  I've saved up the money to buy one a couple of times but finally this year I took the plunge.  I went to the Motorcycle Expo in Indianapolis again, and looked at all the same booths again, and gave into this growing, relentless temptation.  No it isn't a necessity, yes it is a little extravagant.  It can be hard to justify a purchase like this when there are so many other pressing things like starving children. 
But here it sits in my shop.  Yes, it is nice.  Yes it was a good price and had a few extras thrown in.  Yes it saves my knees and back and various other parts of my body. 
This is what keeps me going longer in the shop.  This lift is my new favorite tool.  This is what precludes an amazing amount of frustration and aggravation because it is so much easier to work on the bike. 
My motto is: "use things and love people".  Using this "thing" helps me keep my cool longer and ultimately helps me a tiny bit in loving people.

naked goldwing final drive

The final drive must be one of the most overlooked parts on my naked goldwing motorcycle. The oil in this poor stepsister part smells putrid. At least the Kawasaki Gear Oil I'd been using stunk pretty bad. The other reason for my blatant neglect is the infrequency of service required. My Haynes Manual says to change the hypoid gear oil every 2 years or 24,000 miles. Woops, it's been 8 years so I best get to it.
I had actually checked the hypoid (don't you love that term, a combination of hyper and paranoid, which describes a few people I've known) gear oil often over the past eight years and the level never budged by one drop that I could tell. Now that I'm reminded about the proper service interval I'll do better.
Also, I'm going to be using a different product this time around.
The Lucas family is well known around the Circle City and since they sponsor the stadium where one of my favorite NFL teams plays I think I'll give their HUB oil a chance. It sure doesn't stink like the Kawasaki product and it is almost a gel so it squeezes right in where it's supposed to go. After waiting for the HUB oil to settle and for the bubbles to disappear I sealed the final drive up again. It is such an easy job. Why did I neglect this little chore before?
I sure do have a lot of product left over. Does anyone want to come over and get their hypoid gear oil changed?

putting the bikes away for the winter

The Harley and the Naked Goldwing are not quite tucked away yet because it has been such a mild winter so far. Christmas Day was so nice I had to take the naked Goldwing out and then the Harley Street Bob as well. On Monday my youngest son and his wife came for a late Christmas so he and I took the bikes out for a ride. AMH rode the 2012 Harley and I rode my naked 75 Goldwing.

But now it's time to get serious about putting them away.

Gasoline. I already filled the tanks up and put in the Stabill.

Oil. I took my Harley in for the famous 1,000 mile checkup just a few miles back so it has fresh oil in it. So now I need to change the oil in my Goldwing even though I have only put about 1500 miles on it this year. No need to let old dirty oil sit there all winter long.

Wax. I try not to let my bikes get dirty so I never really wash them, only use something like Wizards Mist and Shine about a thousand times throughout the riding season. The guys who painted my bike gave me that bit of advice.

Carburators. I ran my naked wing up into the garage and turned off the petcock to let it run out of gas. I don't like the noises it makes as it is dying but I suppose it's okay. I will probably run it a few times during the winter so I suppose I don't really need to do all that.

Battery. My battery in the Goldwing is somewhat suspect so I'm not too optimistic about how good it will be next year. I will trade the battery tender back and forth between the naked wing and the Street Bob all winter long. My brother brings his battery into the house for the winter but I'm sure if I did that I would spill battery acid on the carpeting.

Covers. I know a guy who shrink wraps his hobby vehicle during the winter but all I do is throw a bedspread or sheet over the bikes. That seems sufficient.

But then if it's nice on New Year's Day I might take them out for a spin after church.

Street Bob in Mace, Indiana

I got the naked Goldwing out to take a ride, but it had a problem, so I took my Harley Street Bob instead. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to take advantage of the warmth. Before long the nice days to ride will give way to snow drifts. As I was riding I came across this simple gem of yesterday architecture; the roadside gas station. The massive self service gas station/convenience stores commonly seen along the road elicit only ambivalence from me. Exaggerated pricing on everything from a bottle of soda to a dreamcatcher to hang from your rear view mirror is enough to create a major hit on your bank account if you linger very long.

On the other hand, I love these nostalgic roadside reminders of the days when people didn't have to drink pop and eat Slim Jims while they drove.

I believe this prim and proper former gas station serves as an office for some rental property but whatever its use my compliments to the owners on a nicely maintained building. It also serves as a nice frame for a photo opportunity.

Naked Goldwing Vs Harley Street Bob

For nearly a decade I have been the owner of a 75 Naked Goldwing motorcycle. For two of those years I, with some help from my friends, brought it back to life. I have continued to maintain, repair, and improve my Goldwing.

This year I won a 2012 Harley Street Bob. A Street Bob is a big engine and a minimum of everything else.

When the Naked Goldwing and the Naked Harley are sitting side by side in the garage they seem a lot alike. I call them kissing cousins. Both bikes are black with just enough chrome. Both bikes have lots of power. Both bikes insure a lot of interaction with the environment since neither has a windshield or fairing of any kind. Both bikes encourage getting away from everything since there is no place to put anything on the Street Bob and the only place to put anything on the Goldwing is a compartment inside the faux gas tank or shelter as it is often called.

The Harley even discourages taking a friend along since it has a solo seat. So get on and ride, go fast, go loud, cast aside everything that so easily entangles and enjoy God's masterpieces that rush by in the constantly changing scenery.

The Goldwing encourages a friend to ride along behind on its two person seat. You can still go fast, and shed the cares of the world, but there's someone doing life together with you. The Goldwing is even quiet enough that you could talk to each other a bit at a stop light.

When I ride alone I ride the Harley, when my wife goes with me, I take the Goldwing. It seems perfect, until I consider that maybe I should sell them both and get a bike that can provide the best of both bikes. But what would that be?

Don't forget the seat

One of the most important parts of riding a motorcycle is sitting. When you are riding a motocycle you spend most of your time sitting. You sit more than you shift, more than you brake...and so forth. So it stands to reason that you would want a high quality seat almost as much as you want high quality brakes. At least this is the way I see it, but I may be in the minority.

I've noticed that a lot of show bikes don't have much of a seat. I understand that they aren't going to mass produce these bikes, they're one of a kind. I understand that they are going for engineering, design, art, style and a lot of other things that appeal to the eye and the emotions. I like that, and I notice that too. But please, put a good seat on the thing. A lot of the really cool bikes that I enjoy looking at have a seat problem. Some of the seats look like nothing more than an antique shaped tractor seat. Some of the seats look like a piece of plain leather or vinyl stretched over a board and stapled with no style or artistic quality. It looks like a six year old kid did it. Some seats are so short and basic they look like a mini bike seat.

So I say, design a beautiful bike and design a beautiful seat to go with it. Build it so a person would actually be comfortable sitting on it for an hour or two at a time. Build a seat so it fits with the flow of the bike but is comfortable and attractive. It doesn't have to be a sofa, or a Lazy Boy, but it could have some comfort and still be pleasing to the eye. Use some nice stitching, chrome pieces, silk screen logos, patterns, rivets, bones, beads, braids, whatever. Just don't slap an ugly nothing seat on a frame. Some of the really beautiful custom bikes are completely predictable with the seat. It's always the thin sliver of a seat, just like all the rest.

The stock seat on an early Goldwing fits the bike. Later versions let comfort get involved too much in which case you have a sofa and a stack of luggage on wheels. Comfortable and convenient, but not as much for the eye or to get the adrenaline going.

I'll still admire the other bikes but I thankfully have something reasonable to sit on .

Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Let me say right up front that I don't drink alcohol and I think the world would be a better place without it. However, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a fun trip to take because of all the beautiful Kentucky scenery, stately horse farms, stone fences, and historic sites.

Recently I went on a trip with a fellow member of my Naked Goldwings Club. Naked Goldwings were made by Honda from 1975-1984. They have no bags or fairings etc. hence "naked." Even though I think the trip is probably best on a motorcycle or in a convertible, I plan on making the trip again with MKH in our Camry.

Clustered around Louisville are a handful of bourbon distilleries that make 95% of the world's bourbon. We stopped at the Four Roses Distillery, took the tour and found it to be a beautiful location and an interesting tour.

If you go, make sure you travel the roads around Versailles, as they were the best, in my opinion. The area is loaded with historic sites with everything from Daniel Boone to historic Christian revival spots.

Naked Goldwing

Roughly eight years ago I happened to mention to a friend that I'd like to learn about motorcycles. I thought it would be fun to get an old motorcycle and tear it apart and work on it and learn as I went along. He said, "I have an old motorcycle you can have." That began a two year project to get the 1975 Goldwing repaired and running. I don't know if it will ever be a finished product but it's real close to what I had in mind eight years ago.

About a year and a half ago I had some major problems which a shop said would run me at least $1,200 in repairs. I knew I couldn't afford that, so I decided to try to fix it myself, and if I couldn't, to part the motorcycle out and sell it on ebay.

In the process of looking for advice on fixing the "stator" I came upon a Goldwing club that was dedicated to Naked Goldwings. I had never heard the term, didn't know what it meant, but these motorcycles looked a lot like mine. It turns out that Honda Goldwings were born naked from 1975 to 1984. After that they were born with clothes on.

I had never seen another Goldwing like mine but here was a whole community of people who actually knew how to repair, modify, and really get creative with the old wings. If it weren't for that club I don't know if I'd have a motorcycle today.

With all the recent repairs on the Goldwing, my other project was put on hold. Now I need to find a similar club for my 1967 Suzuki.