Miscellaneous stuff on Chet's
GL1800 Gold Wing
By Chet Walters
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Click here for an article on why I bought a wing.

VP Accessories - Rattlebars Mfg. - Pegs how to
Issues with the chrome kick stand. The bottom is serrated. Next time you put your bike on the stand, watch as the stand rubs the ground. A kick stand is not a steak knife. The bottom needs to be smooth because a kick stand MOVES! Shoot the designer on this one. In short order, this kick stand will destroy your garage floor, the tile floor in your trailer and the sealer on any blacktop surface you may happen to park upon. I was VERY displeased with this otherwise fine product as it began to turn my garage floor to powder and ruined the finish I worked hard to put on that floor. I'm glad I didn't try to put it in my tiled floor trailer. Solution? Grind off the serrations with an angle grinder and paint with auto paint. This compromises the chrome, however. I would like to speak directly with the loon who put serrations on something that supports a lot of weight and is supposed to slide on the ground. This ain't a steak knife!

Another problem develops with the stand!  OOOPS!  See it's bent?

DISTANCE PIC 1    http://www.speedgraphics.net/slamwrap.htm   DISTANCE PIC 2

THESE TIPS BUBBLED CHROME OFF AFTER ONLY THREE MONTHS AND THEY ACTUALLY MELTED AFTER ABOUT SIX MONTHS.  KURYAKYN, HOWEVER REPLACED THEM FREE WITH THEIR UPDATED VERSION WHICH HAS A TURNDOWN INSIDE.  NEW ONES ARE EXCELLENT AND SO IS KURYAKYN!

Wizard Graphics 330 - 542 - 4444

http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini_tubes.htm

Because the flag has a tendency to bunch up because of the angle, I've had my dear wife sew a second seem into which I have inserted a 1/4 dowel to keep the flags from bunching. I use a simple soda straw in the other seam over which the flag goes and into which the antenna goes. When I had the long antenna I put a sleeve collar on there to keep the flags on. Then I cut off the antenna and put a bowling trophy eagle on there with a set screw. Note I realize that this does little for the CB antenna, but I don't have one. Cutting off the radio antenna has little or no effect on the reception. Been running these flags on the radio antenna for 14K miles without a problem.  The flags never get "wrapped up" because they are free to rotate 360º anytime.

FENDER BRACES!

Busted Fender stuff



Above are my solutions for cracked fenders.  This makes the wing much
less noisy when hitting bumps and fender is SOLID!

Left Bag Stick Fix.  Striker needs to be longer but problem will reoccur so....

My current solution for the left bag problem.
Next, I will remove the entire unit and
spot weld a brace stiffener so the left
bag can again be locked.

No need to weld, Honda was kind enough to replace
the mechanism with a new beefier unit so we will see.

Better method below, but requires you have fog lamps.

Lo beam killer.  Lights do not light until bike is running.

Car manufacturers have been wiring side marker as below for years using the positive wire of the signal bulb as ground for the side marker lights. A POSITIVE wire is GROUND when it carries no current (current flows from hi to lo). If you use it for ground on a light or something, when that "ground" DOES go "HOT" it will no longer be ground and your other light will go out. This is the way I had my mirror LED and side marker LED lights hooked up at first ( I wanted them on all the time then blink with the signals).

But this does cause the lights to blink INVERSELY with the signals (ie they go off when the signal goes on). Since Honda is kind enough to turn off the running lights when the signals blink (adds much more contrast), I have since wired up my mirror and side marker LED lights with DIODES so they blink in unison with the signals. This also makes the aux lights always on when the running lights are on (a bonus with the mirror LED's)