Oldwing History Part 1

Having owned my trusty 1984 BMW R100LT for a year I realized it was too small for two up riding with the likes of me at the helm, I needed something bigger. I had always had a thing for Goldwings but had never ridden one. I put aside some cash and watched Ebay for a likely candidate. Many of the bikes I looked at quickly sailed out of my price range. I put a bid on a 1989 burgundy Aspencade that had low miles and hoped for the best. I sent some questions to the listing member and learned that he was listing it for a friend and would get back to me. I asked questions like "was the bike stored outside" they said no. I asked if the display bezel was broken, they said yes but it was "repaired". The auction came to a close with me on top so off to Baltimore MD (175 mi away), I went with my fist full of dollars. Dozer was the name of the owner and he exhibited a rather strong affinity for Brand "H-D" motorcycles and claimed to have bought this Goldwing to help out an old friend. The clear coat on every horizontal surface was shot, the color coat was bleached almost gold in places (this was described as "some finish wear" in the listing. The bezel on the instrument cluster was glued together and reminded me of the Frankenstein monster. Fortunately for Dozer, I approached this like many men do, seeing what it could become, rather than what it actually was. I made an offer less than the winning bid price because I felt the finish was in worse condition than advertised and I suspected this bird had spent way too much time outside, away from a suitable nest. He did let me test ride it, which does not happen often during MC sales transaction. I went around the block and cracked the throttle on the return leg, HOLY CRAP! I had never been on a bike with torque like that. My 1000cc BMW felt like a moped compared to the power this thing spilled forth. Giddy, after a visit from the "Blessed Mother of Acceleration" we settled up and my son and I headed north. After a few miles I noticed that the throttle had almost a quarter turn of freeplay, I decided to keep an eye on it and forge ahead. While crossing one of the bridges on the highway leading out of Baltimore I hit an expansion joint that jarred my teeth and the big bike shut right down. So there I was traveling at about 70 MPH in the midst of 4 lanes of city traffic on a bike with no engine. I reached up and flipped the ignition key off then on again and two giant giant clouds of soot shot out of the tailpipes and the beast roared back to life. Mind you at this point I really could have used a change of underwear, but possessing the fortitude required of someone who rides old motorcycles, I forged ahead undaunted. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, aside from a few more " panic shut down" procedures (hell, it was old hat now ). I parked the giant bike next to my BMW in the garage and went in the house for a stiff drink.
The next day I decided to investigate the play in the throttle cable. I started applying the the procedure in my service manual and the play worsened, the throttle return cable was rusted in two, I had just ridden 175 miles with only a single little spring ensuring that the throttle returned to idle, could have ended badly but we made it home. I ordered new cables and replaced them. While doing this I dug in and inspected the bike very closely. Look for the results in Part 2. Thanks for reading!