Category: Motorcycling

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Time for another trailer…

After our trip to Colorado, and the fun of shipping clothes to the hotel, I began to consider a trailer to pull behind the Goldwing.   We   could take clothes with us, raingear, jacket liners, and pick up groceries.   When it’s really hot and you’d like to take your jacket off, you need a place to put it. Holding it on your lap doesn’t work for a long ride and if the saddlebags and trunk are full you’re out of luck. Enter the trailer. You have room for the jacket and your helmets when you stop for a meal. I’ve never had a helmet stolen, but that doesn’t mean I will not have one stolen in the future. That would be a real problem on a long trip. Locking your jackets, gloves, and helmets in the trailer is a real plus. Once you get to your destination, lock the trailer around a light pole or take it in the garage and you’re ready for day-rides.

Another big plus it that you can assemble a good tool kit to take with you. The motorcycle tool kit is woefully inadequate for anything except a starting point to build a decent tool kit. The truth is that a decent tool kit doesn’t necessarily take up a lot of space, and putting it together with good quality tools means that it will give you a chance to make a repair on the road. Not that I expect to need many roadside repairs – that’s the reason the trailer will be pulled behind a Goldwing.

Now to find one. There are a number of models available, in a huge range of prices. You can take a Harbor Freight frame and put a cartop carrier on it and voila – a trailer. You can spend upwards on $8,000 and buy a Tailwind. I’ve read a lot about this and I think the Aluma trailer made in Iowa would be the best bang for the buck. New, the Aluma trailers are around $1600 and they have a five-year warranty. Most trailers hold their value quite well, so there isn’t always a big savings by buying a used trailer. Usually, the savings from buying used comes from the accessories the previous owner has added, and sometimes you can get a better price at the end of the season.

UPDATE October 17, 2008: I found and made a deal for an Aluma trailer, but the problem is that it’s in Virginia and I’m not.   I could take the truck out there and get it, but I’m going to see if there’s another way.   Maybe I can arrange shipping, or maybe someone else is heading west and could get it part way to Illinois.   Time to do some checking around.

UPDATE October 27, 2008: A gentleman named Jason on the GL1800 forums responded to my question and would be willing to bring the trailer from Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky.   That’s a lot closer than going all the way to Virginia, so I accepted his kind offer.   It’s a really nice feeling to know that there are people willing to help someone they’ve not met – it kind of restores your faith in humanity.   Now to finalize all the arrangements.

UPDATE October 31, 2008: I met Jason and his brother in Louisville and brought the trailer home in my pickup.   It’s still amazing to me that buying a trailer sight unseen from someone I’ve never met, having someone else I’ve never met take a day of their time to help transport it, and have everything go perfectly.   My faith in humanity is restored.   Now, I need to help someone else just because I can.   Maybe this is a trend we can all follow   – and we’d all be the better for it.

Humble thanks, guys.

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My journey to the darkside, episode 2

…is ongoing but has it’s share of pitfalls. The Kumho 205-60VR16 was the proper diameter to correct the speedometer, but was just a little too big in diameter when 2-up with an insufficient preload setting. The tire rubbed on the amplifier box (which is molded into the inner rear fender on the ’06 and up wings) and rubbed a hole it it. Not OK. Even though the speedometer was correct, which is a nice bonus, the potential damage to expensive electronics from water incursion is not worth the risk.

Plan B – I ordered and installed a ContiProContact SSR 195/55VR16 tire. This tire, for all intents and purposes, matches a factory MC tire for diameter and width. Installing it was simple and even without weights I have been unable to detect an out-of-balance condition. Knowing that an even-slightly-out-of-balance rear tire can cause the infamous “wobble”, I ran up to 60mph and took my hands off the handlebars and let the bike coast down. Not a hint of a wobble at any speed. To the collective dismay of the naysayers, there was no fiery crash caused by running a car tire on a motorcycle. This tire will be on the bike for a long time – probably twice as long as a new MC tire, if other’s experience is any indication.

UPDATE – September 30 – I got back from my trip to ride the mountains in north Georgia, east Tennessee, west North and South Carolina and the Conti was flawless. Not a slip during the trip, and I did remove some metal from the footpegs. On the Cherahola Skyway, we were in the clouds at about 2000 feet on up to 5300 feet, with the resulting poor visibility and wet pavement. Not a slip from the Conti – it just held the road like a good tire should. When we stopped for gas, the rider behind me told me that the tire tread was almost flat on the road the entire time. When I tell you that we were wasting no time, believe it. Our group rode almost 500 miles through the mountains in about 12 hours of riding. If you’ve ridden in those mountains you know that is not a slow pace.

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My journey to the darkside…

…is not yet complete – on the Goldwing, of course. For those of you not familiar with the meaning of the phrase, in the Goldwing community it refers to riders that are using a car tire on the rear wheel rather than the more conventional motorcycle tire. The Goldwing rear wheel is a 6″ wide, 16″ diameter tubeless wheel that is just begging for a car tire to be mounted.

Why, you ask? Well, there are many reasons. Here’s just a few

  1. Available in Run Flat
  2. Longer lasting
  3. Doesn’t delaminate
  4. Doesn’t explode
  5. Quieter
  6. Better traction in dry conditions
  7. Better traction in wet conditions
  8. Better traction in snow/slush
  9. Better performance on dirt/gravel
  10. Smoother ride
  11. Higher load capacity
  12. Capable of performing with lower PSI
  13. Runs at lower tire temperature
  14. Costs less
  15. Better balanced (fewer weights required, if any at all

That’s quite a list, isn’t it? Pay special attention to the advantages I highlighted. If the motorcycle tire manufacturers decided to build a tire that addressed these issues they would sell as many as they could make. But, economics enters into the picture. The market for motorcycle tires is a small fraction of the market for automotive tires. Given today’s litigious society, I suspect that a revolution in motorcycle tires for touring bikes is not going to happen anytime soon.

I purchased a spare rear wheel for my Goldwing and mounted a Kumho 205-60HR16 non-run-flat tire on it. I swapped it for the wheel with the Bridgestone cycle tire on it. The first difference I noted is that the bike is slightly taller, as the Kumho tire is a larger diamater tire. I expected this and the choice of a larger tire was intentional. The Goldwing (all motorcycles, as a practical matter) have a built-in speedometer error of 6-10%. When the speedometer says 60mph, a gps will show your true speed at 54mph. Of course, the odometer is off as well, so mpg calculations are based on “shorter” miles. The larger diamater tire corrects the speedometer to within a tenth of a mile per hour. Now, when the speedometer says 60, your speed is 60 mph – just as it should be.

While I’m on the topic, virtually all speedometers are incorrect. It’s just that most drivers aren’t aware of how far off they actually are. With the increased use of portable gps devices that display groundspeed to within a tenth of a mile per hour, more drivers are starting to realize the problem. Why do you think that built-in gps devices don’t display groundspeed? One reason is that drivers would demand that the manufacturers fix the broken speedometers. Consider what this does to warranty work. If the speedometer/odometer is off by 10%, your brand-new 50,000 mile warranty expires in 45,000 actual miles.

Consider what this error does to mpg calculations too. More people are paying attention to mpg these days and if the auto/truck/cycle manufacturers can have you calculate a higher mpg than you’re actually getting, they win. I’m not trying to say that correcting the speedometer/odometer error is a magic pill that will fix all mpg-related problems, but at least you’ll know what mpg you are really getting, not some number that’s based on a “short” mile and really doesn’t mean anything.

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Ducati suspension upgrade, part 3

Before the GSXR forks get installed, the springs inside them need some attention. The stock GSXR springs are a .95 kg/mm rate, too high for the Ducati geometry and my weight. I’ve ordered some .85 kg/mm springs from Traxxion to replace them and I will overhaul the forks (replace the oil, seals, bushings, etc.) before installing them. No need to install them and then pull them off to overhaul them later – better to do it now and be done with it for a while.

Also, the rear suspension on my Ducati doesn’t have an adjustable link in it so the only way to set suspension ride height is by adjusting the preload on the rear shock spring. But that’s not what preload is actually for – it is to get the rear suspension in the best operating range for the bike and rider’s weight. Once the sag is set, then you adjust the rear suspension link to adjust the ride height. This adjustment will not affect sag – the bike may start higher or lower, but the amount by which it sags with the rider’s weight will not change. There are two ways to get an adjustable rear suspension link on my Ducati – buy a take-off from a different model Ducati, or make your own. I choose the latter, so I will be ordering Heim joints and hex aluminum stock from McMaster-Carr and spend some time in front of a lathe. Maybe I’ll even have it anodized, maybe not. But it will fit, it will be something I made, and it will be on my bike. All of that is good.

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Ducati suspension upgrade, part 2

Well, I found a good buy on ebay and I have a set of forks. Actually, I have a set of forks, calipers that are still mounted on the forks, an axle that is clamped into the forks, and the lower triple tree as well. This assembly came from a 2005-2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000, and the fork diamaters are correct for my Ducati at 50mm/54mm. The forks are “upside down” and the uppers are gold anodized which should look nice installed on the black Ducati. I just need to get the spacers and the fender brackets and I will have the parts necessary to do the swap. There are some incidental parts like copper sealing washers and brake fluid but those should be easily found locally.

I am pretty sure this swap is a rainy morning job, especially with an extra pair of hands. Once installed, setting the preload, rebound, and compression dampening will be trial and error, at least for me. I’m not a suspension expert so I will have to find the right section of road and run back and forth until the adjustments seem correct. Not terribly precise I know, but I have to start learning somewhere.

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Ducati suspension upgrade, part 1

The Ducati front forks, good as they are, are a compromise. The sag, rebound and compression dampening are set for a rider of average weight and allow no adjustments. Well, you CAN adjust them by replacing the springs, and changing to lighter or heavier fork fluid and/or altering the fluid levels. Not optimum for me as I would much rather ride than pull the front end apart because changes are needed. Never fear, there is an answer. Ducati will happily sell you fully adjustable forks for your 695 and the price tag will exceed $1200. WOW, that’s a lot. But there is another solution to the suspension upgrade question – use fully adjustable forks from a different bike.

There are two possibilities here – adjustable forks from a different Ducati or adjustable forks from a different brand of bike. Both will work but you may age significantly while waiting to find a set of Ducati forks. The best answer is to source fully adjustable forks from a different brand of bike entirely. Suzuki forks are made by Showa, just like the Ducati forks. And even better, forks from the 2002-2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 will fit the Ducati triple trees perfectly. Other than the forks, calipers and an axle, all that is necessary to have fully adjustable forks on your 695 is a set of spacers for the axle (the Ducati wheel is a little narrower than the Suzuki wheel) and spacers to center the brake rotors in the Suzuki calipers. The Suzuki calipers are radial-mount calipers and the banjo bolt from the Ducati brake line will bolt right up to it – just like it was made to go there.

Look on ebay for forks, calipers and an axle – they are there all the time. Expect to spend around $400 for forks, calipers, and an axle. If you have access to a lathe, you can make the required spacers, otherwise post a question on the ducatimonsterforum.org and someone will be able to point you in the right direction.

Once you have the forks, calipers, an axle, and the spacers you are ready to begin. I would expect the swap to take a half-day or so. It should be a good project for a rainy weekend day. You will need to bleed the front brakes, so be sure you have fresh brake fluid on hand. While you’re at it you may as well replace the rear brake and clutch fluid too.

You need:

  • 2002-2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 forks (50mm top/54mm bottom diameter)
  • calipers for the forks
  • an axle for the forks
  • spacers to accomodate the narrower Ducati wheel and to center the rotors in the calipers
  • a fender adapter to mount the Ducati fender on the Suzuki forks
  • brake fluid, a single 10mm banjo bolt, 4 copper sealing washers

Let’s get the parts together and then move on to the swap itself.

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Goldwing suspension upgrade, part 3

And so, it begins – the saga of the u-nuts. I ordered some from McMaster-Carr that looked better than OEM but they didn’t fit properly so I returned them. Then, I ordered a half-dozen OEM ones ($2.50 each, ouch!) from HDL and waited for them to arrive. While I was waiting I decided to make some replacements. I ground off the protruding threads from the bottom of the OEM u-nut and drilled the hole out to match the other side. I got some 5mmx.8 nuts and jb-welded them onto the bottom of the u-nut. Now I have some u-nuts that will fit properly, and also have the added strength of a regular 5mm nut instead of 2 or 3 stamped threads. I was looking for some additional strength for the 2 middle u-nuts on each side as that’s where my Baker Air-Wings fasten down.

Today I put the top shelter back on, remembering to plug in both audio plugs and the radio antenna. Plugged in the connector for the pushbuttons on the meter panel, the two tweeter wires and pushed the meter panel into place. I left the pockets out for now, and began the preflight.

Turned the kill switch off, and turned the key. The dash lights worked as expected. I turned the kill switch to “run” and the FI light came on, the pump pressurized and the FI light went off. Started it and it sounded like it did last fall. Checked all lights, turn signals front and rear, brake lights, headlights both low and high beam. Checked the headlight adjuster – worked fine. Check the audio system, AM, FM, WX, speaker and headphones. Verified the suspension preload at “0”. Got on, tested reverse. So far, so good.

The ride height is a little higher than stock, mainly because of less sag. There was a noticeable difference when taking the bike down off the centerstand with traxxion/progressive installed than before. I didn’t measure it but I noticed the difference right away. Pulled out of the driveway and wondered what happened to the bump at the end. First impression underway – firmer but not harsher. I will play with the rear damping later – for now it’s set at the delivered middle-of-the-range. I got up to 60mph and tested the cruise and the clutch/handbrake/footbrake deactivate of the cruise. Tested above the setting, letting the cruise coast down and below the range, letting the cruise accelerate. All working well. Apparently I got everything plugged back in the way it should be. The steering seems very similar to the OEM bearings, not tighter, heavier, or excessively dampened.

Of course, I had to see if there was a wobble. I powder coated the wheels and put on new Bridgestones front and rear while everything was apart. At 60 mph, cruise off, removed my hands from the grips to see what would happen. Not a wobble to be seen, felt, or imagined. Went all the way down to 20 mph or so and pulled the clutch in and called it good.

All in all, a good-sized project, but not brain surgery. Organization is key to success. The only special tools I used were the bearing drivers and the steering stem socket. All other tools were standard and would be found in most any decently equipped garage. I do not have a table lift, I used the centerstand and a floor jack to do the lifting and supporting. Almost all of the work was done solo. Having a helping hand would definitely speed up the proceedings but is not necessary.

Ride report to follow…

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Goldwing suspension upgrade, part 2

I decided to go with the Progressive 460 rear shock, mainly due to the adjustable rebound damping on this unit. The Traxxion rear shock price was within a few dollars so I chose the adjustable one. Both units use a 1200 lb/inch spring, while the OEM spring is 900 lb/inch rate spring. Since I had just finished installing the front end, I already had the top shelter off but a few more pieces are removed and bolts loosened to be able to remove the gas tank. I had not looked forward to this part of the upgrade, but it turned out just fine. The tank finally came out but the ’06 wiring harness (or maybe just MY ’06 wiring harness) had a stiff bundle of wires exiting the relay panel over the rear of the tank and it took a bit of work to get the tank out.

Once the tank is out removing the shock is easy. Loosening the right-side saddlebag and sliding it back a few inches made easy work of removing the actuator. My actuator began to labor at 5, and last year it began to labor at one, so I decided to refill the actuator while it was off the bike. I used Honda SS8 (10 weight) fork fluid for the refill. Reinstalling the shock and preload adjuster was pretty easy with everything out of the way.

While the gas tank was off, I followed the advice of others and checked the coolant hose clamps to be sure they were tight. In my case they were, but I loosened a couple, twisted them to make future checks easier, and tightened them back down. I also checked the main ground lug for corrosion and found it to be tightly fastened and clean.

Putting the gas tank back in required some wrestling with the wiring harness but since it came out it was definitely going back in. A little swearing and some silicone spray and the tank was back in and bolted in place and the wiring bundles returned to their proper location.

Somehow, while it was off the bike, I managed to break one of the tabs on the top shelter – I have no idea when or how. I used abs cement and some fiberglass cloth to repair it, and it’s now stronger than new. The gas overflow tray is held onto the tank by plastic “fingers” and when I went to reinstall it every one was broken except one. Of course that delayed things until I could get a replacement from HDL. Got that and I will not remove that piece if the tank needs to come out again – I’ll just remove the hose from it. Another item to attend to while the top shelter was off – I redid the shielding on the cruise control. I used 8 thicknesses of heavy-duty foil and I hope this is better at blocking the 2-pitch noise from the cruise control actuator.

OK, ready for final reassembly…

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Goldwing suspension upgrade, part 1

After last September’s Wingstock, where I was able to ride a Traxxion-equipped Goldwing, I had pretty much decided to go forward with the suspension update. The hard part for me was the cost – it ain’t cheap. I finally rationalized that I would spend the money but that I was going to do the wrenching myself. I was going to replace tires over the winter and as part of that I was going to have the wheels powdercoated.

The first step was to disassemble the front end in order to extract the forks. Removing the fenders and calipers was fairly simple and I used a trick I’ve used for a long time – a muffin pan. I put the bolts and nuts in the muffin pan in the order I removed them and wote a note about which side of the bike and where they came from. I didn’t know how long the bike would be disassembled and I didn’t want to rely on my memory during reassembly.

With just a bit of luck, I was able to remove the forks without removing the top shelter. So, I packed them up and sent them off to Traxxion. Surprisingly, I had them back exactly 8 days after the UPS guy picked up the box. I had the rebound-damping adjustable fork caps installed. Having the forks back was great, but I wasn’t quite ready for reassembly just yet. I wanted to replace the steering stem bearings too. Since you have to disassemble the bike to this point plus a fair amount more, doing it now made a lot of sense. I removed the meter panel and top shelter and to give me additonal room I decided to remove the meter assembly as well. I know the rubber hoods on the plugs are a pregnant dog to reseat, but I decided the additional room was worth it. I removed the handlebars, the top triple tree, and finally the steering stem came out. Fred’s maintenance DVDs had entertained me to the point that I was able to replace the bearings fairly easily. The OEM bearings were in fine shape, and were well-greased from the factory. Removing the lower race from the stem destroyed it, so the OEM bearings were tossed. Reassembly was fairly easy, the most important part is to be sure the new races are seated completely. I chose to use a lower torque value than a lot of people used as I think the excessively high torque value will dampen the steering and slow the rate of left-right and right-left transitions. I chose to go with 15 ft-lbs, as that is the torque value for the GL1500 stem bearings and they were tapered roller bearings too. With the stem bearings replaced and the top nut torqued to spec, completing the reinstall of the forks and the remainder of the front end took less than an hour. The axle slipped through the newly-powdercoated wheel/new Bridgestone tire and the alignment was perfect. I torqued the remainder of the bolts and then put the front fender pieces back on. Front end work completed.

Now the real fun begins…

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Bringing home the Ducati, part 2

Well, I sure slept well Sunday night and I earned it with a 700 mile day. Today’s ride would be about 300 miles or so, much shorter and pleasantly, the final stretch for home. I lingered around the place, packing slowly for the trip, checking the bike over thoroughly as I strapped on the tailbag. Everything was fine except for a loose screw in the left rear turn signal assembly. I used some blue painters tape to ensure the turn signal wouldn’t depart the bike, and stopped at a small used car lot to borrow an allen wrench. Ah, the wonderfully complete Ducati tool kit strikes again. They were very accomodating and in about 5 minutes had tightened the screw and was on my way north.

The wind had picked up considerably, something I didn’t notice at the woods before I left. Now, thinking about it, of course not. I was at ground level, the wind very well blocked by the forest of trees in every direction. Riding north, out in the open, the wind was merciless. All of my other bikes have a windshield, and of course the Goldwing has a full fairing out front. The Ducati can’t be bothered with any of that, so you are left to face the wind on your own. I began to feel like a bobble-head doll, expecially when passing big trucks. After several hours of this, my neck began to complain about it. Looking over my shoulder before moving into the passing lane became somewhat painful, but necessary.

One thing I will have to address quickly is the mirrors. They provide a great view of my shoulders and not much more. Sure, you can lean right or left to actually see behind you, but since I do my best to keep a good scan going I was moving around a lot. I’m going with bar-end mirrors to solve this problem. Yes, they will widen the bike but more importantly they will provide a clear view to the rear – absolutely essential when riding in any traffic at all. The brand I will probably purchase is CRG, they have a ball and detent to fold them inward when parking or covering the bike – a handy feature. Review to follow.

When I was riding the final few miles home, it got cold. The thermometer said 50 degrees, but when you’re moving at 70+ mph with no wind protection it seems a good bit cooler than that. It was good to see home, and better still to have a nice hot shower and cup of coffee. A long ride, on a reliable machine, is fun all by itself. But, being home is good too. I can see a few changes to the bike – I had plenty of time to think about what they might be and with some miles on it I think I can prioritize the changes pretty well. The mods and accessories phase is underway.