Hey folks

[smoovew]

OH. MY. I'm in love with this motorcycle now.

I got the front signals on, no rear blinkers blinking. Found the disconnected wires and all blinkers firing. Headlight on and jiggered to not bounce all over (still waitin on a proper bucket). Threw my kiddo on the back with his kungfu deathgrip around my middle and a quick little hour long spin around the block later (had to stop for ice cream, of course) I'm parking back home and can't wait to get back on it as soon as I can in the morning. It has been years since I had to scrape bugs off my helmet....I love it. Thanks NGW Club for giving me the inspiration to start stripping my wing down to the necessities. New life in this old girl. My other girl is going to get a serious sizzle in her seat when she gets her first ride on it too...

[gregforesi]

TA DAAA

Always good to hear from another happy customer.
Congrats.

[smoovew]

Thanks for the advice, Greg. Have a plan is #1!

Picked up a black and chrome bucket today as well as #8 (i think) bolts. If you live in Minneapolis, Midwest Cycle seems to be about the best for parts and one of the guys there likes to nerd out over these older metric bikes. Luckily, they are just a quarter mile down the road from me. I looked at that Emgo Viper fairing and decided against it. They have everything!!!

[smoovew]

So, headlight is all set though needs some proper aiming. Some of the wiring harness still looks like spaghetti (not room in the bucket or won't reach). But the clubman bars and controls went on, no problem. And I don't think they're ever coming off again. It's nothing like riding o the old 2 wheeled winnebago. Pictures tomorrow when the sun comes up.

For the inaugural ride I swung by Bob's Java Hut, a Minneapolis biker coffee bar that has been around forever and is decorated with all sorts of cafe racing memorabilia. Within 5 minutes of parking in front with the other bikes, two older gentlemen ambled up and started looking her over and commenting on the unusual combination of bagger and cafe styling.

I LOVE IT. Took my girlfriend on a ride and she was thrilled. So much fun. So NOT what I think of when I think Goldwing.

[rcmatt007]

always great to find a dealership with a guy who likes old bikes!

[gregforesi]

Yeah, there are a lot of dealers who won't even touch a carburetor'd bike anymore.

So NOT what I think of when I think Goldwing.

Yeah, most folks think of the later dressed bikes. I've got one, and it's an outstanding piece of machinery, but the white one goes out almost everyday. The black one goes on trips.

There is a slight difference between the old and the new.

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[rcmatt007]

[smoovew]

always great to find a dealership with a guy who likes old bikes!

Well, Midwest Cycle Supply is parts and service as well as accessories and such. But all the stuff I've found online they also seem to stock for the same price. And they also have a front counter case full of GL1100 parts and bobber/cafe bits. Nice guys working there. And it's just down the street from me. Perfect.

[NakedWing82]

dude, jealous out loud ..... I want a shop like that down the street from me......

[smoovew]

Lets see if I can get the latest pics up.
Yesterday afternoon I got the headlight+bucket, signals, clubmans, etc...all set!
Most fun to ride ever. Dunno if I can go back. Maybe swap to the Daytona bars if I plan a full day-log ride with back seater.

Here it was,

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and is

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[smoovew]

Might as well give the proper shoutout. Their website is not really great, but that's because they're motorcycle mechanics, not website monkies!
http://www.midwestcycle.com/home.php

[BobManifold]

Welcome from Connecticut
Here's some pics of what we have done to an 81 interstate found under a tree in April......

[smoovew]

I suppose I should look into replacing the speedo. I'm pretty sure the gearbox went kaputz a couple months ago and I dunno if it is worth the hassle and $$ to replace with OEM. As much as I want to be hands-on, the prospect of removing the front wheel and all that seems risky considering i don't have a garage to work in. Any recommendations for an after market magnetic sensor speedo that might fight right in where the stock speedo is now?

[smoovew]

Figure it's time to follow up with some current pics.
I have replaced the speedo gearbox, speedo (and cable, for length) and tach, front left caliper, rotor, and break line(SS), front MC, left and right switch controls, front and rear signals, tail/break light, clubman bars, bikemaster bar-end mirrors.

Right now I have a sort of temporary seat built. I'm working on a fiberglass rear and seat. I also need to repaint. And of course, I need to do something about the spaghetti mess of fires that are just sorta hanging out between the headlight bucket and the false tank. I wish there were some easier place to stash all those wires. There's also a set of progressive front fork springs on their way to me in the mail, so my next piece of the project is to replace the springs and front fork seals.

And I'm doing all of this without a garage sigh... But hey, working in the open air can be nice sometimes.

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[smoovew]

OH, and I forgot I have a set of progressive springs coming in the mail...that's the next major project. New front seals and springs. Front end is so squishy right now. So it the rear but not so much of an issue when it comes to how the bike feels, performance wise, I don't think.