OK, here is the thing. I’m a re-entry rider. I haven’t ridden for probably 30 years. My Brother-in-Law wrecked his Kawasaki when someone decided to make a u-turn from the right lane and crossed right in front of him. He had no where to go so his bike was laid up for about a year. He was off work for a month or so but except for his wrist he has made a full recovery. His bike had about 500 miles on it and so as he got better and was able to get around again, he fixed the bike. However he was unwilling to ride it again.

This is where I come in. I had been trying to talk the wife into letting me buy a motorcycle but she was hesitant and not wanting a confrontation I was driving a cage to work. While talking with her brother, he offered to let me borrow his bike since it was just setting. That was summer of 2005. I was having a blast going everywhere in central Arkansas that I always wanted to go but just never got around to. I was just having a ball and talking about it everywhere. Talked about it just a little too much to my Brother-in-Law and he started getting the fever again. Well it was his bike after all. He decided to try it again and I’m glad to report he is ridding again.

Now, the wife saw how much fun I was having and one evening while I was looking through the classifieds with a tear in my eye, she said “Why don’t you just get a bike?” Well….. You don’t have to ask me twice!

I started looking for something in the non-existing budget that I could afford. Took a few trips around the state answering ads but everything I looked at was either a dog or just didn’t seem right for some reason or another until one day I answered an ad for a Goldwing GL1000. I didn’t have a clue what I was going to look at but when he backed the Goldwing out of his garage I knew instantly that was what I had been looking for. He didn’t know it but the price he wanted he would have got if he had been persistent. He wasn’t and I negotiated him down two hundred dollars and became the proud owner of a Silver 1979 Goldwing GL1000 complete with the Vetter faring package.

We loaded it on the trailer and I brought it home and began what turned out to be a long process of restoring the Goldwing back to riding condition. I knew that the left saddlebag was broken but nothing money and eBay couldn’t fix. I bought the Goldwing for $800.00 and thought I stole it. I have since put about $2,000.00 more into it but it’s about ready for some cross country touring this summer. I know, I know, I could have bought one ready to ride for less than what I have in this one. It probably would have looked better also. But now I can fix most anything on this one alongside the road. I’m becoming a GL1000 mechanic. You can’t buy that experience. See what you can talk yourself into if you want to.

One day not too long ago I was at Wal-Mart and when I came out there was a business card stuck in the cassette player with a note to call Jim. It turns out that Jim was a previous owner of my Goldwing. He had some parts that he found after selling it to the person I bought it from and invited me out to his place to pick them up.

I learned a lot history about my Goldwing. I learned it had been in about all of the western United States. On a trip to Seattle he lost the water pump and that had to be replaced. He had bought the bike from an elderly gentleman who only put 1,200 miles on it. He rode it until he bought another wing and then it sat “for a while”. When he sold it, it was not running. The gentleman I bought it from only had it for a short while and never got it going. He was un-able to fix the wiring, seems that it had corroded and some previous modifications were just above his electrical knowledge by his own admission.

I got it running but the carburetors were just too far gone. The local Honda dealer wanted $1,200.00 to overhaul them. Ouch. I opened them up and decided I better not. I started looking on eBay and bought a set that seemed like a good buy. At about the same time I installed a new set of Jardine mufflers from J.C. Whitney. I installed the new (to me) carburetors and they were leaking gasoline all over the bike. I worked with them a week or so removing and re-installing them until I thought I had the leaks fixed and I took it for a ride. Well that was a mistake, the overly rich mixture turned the left muffler cherry red and burned all the chrome off the middle of the muffler. Ruined it. Both headers are now dark blue, the right muffler isn’t too bad.

I contacted the seller and he agreed to take the carburetors back and refund my money. I must say that everyone on eBay that I have ever dealt with have been good people. He had pulled the carburetors from a bike being parted out and I don’t know if he knew the condition of the carburetors or not.

I put the original ones back on and ran about a hundred dollars worth of carburetor cleaner through them but they never cleared up. Once while out trying to ride, I was having troubles and while working on the bike alongside the road a local rider stopped and advised me of a motorcycle repair shop that he said was fair and reasonable. I called them and they quoted a price of $400.00 for a complete carburetor overhaul and $40.00 to balance and adjust them after I re-installed them.

I shipped them off and waited for the phone call. Once they got them done, I hauled the bike up there and installed the carburetors and he came out and worked on the bike for about 4 hours before he got things right. I had ignition problems and a few other things that he identified. He stayed almost 2 hours after his closing time and helped me get things right. True to his word the charge was as quoted and the $40.00 was all he would accept for all that extra time he spent. I would be very remiss if I didn’t mention the dealers’ name. You just don’t run across many people like that these days. Thank you Arkansas Wings Cycle Center of Romance Arkansas.

The bike was running better than ever but winter was setting in. I have ridden on most warm days but not near enough. Its winter now and here I am working on a web page.

I finally tackled the fuse box problem, replaced it with an aftermarket fuse box using ATO fuses. The main fuse was gone when I got the bike so I put an inline waterproof ATO 30 Amp fuse there. Made a big difference with the lights and now when I ride all the lights stay on. What a deal.

I never figured on making a show bike. I just want a clean safe ride. I’m learning about polish, buffing and 0000 steal wool. Just learned how well a fine wire brush in a drill, jewelers rouge and a cotton buffing wheel work. You can make old aluminum shine almost like chrome.

Some of the things I’ve replaced include a new aftermarket rectifier/regulator, new headlight, new to me faring pocket covers and left saddlebag, new windshield, new electronic ignition system and new high performance coils, new chrome dipstick, new oil filter bolt, new rear end filler bolt, new chrome radiator grill, new radiator cap, new front and rear break hose set, new break pads, new throttle cables, new clutch cable, new flasher, used turn signal buzzer, new fuel filter, new fuel hoses, used AM/FM/CB radio and weather cover, new combination antenna and a new intercom system. I’ve bought false covers for the bike because the emblems were all either missing or damaged and I’ve also purchased new black and chrome trim for the faring to be installed after I paint the bike. Of course new antifreeze, oil and filters.

The bike is running pretty good now and I’m looking forward to a lot of fun filled miles next summer. I’ve joined the Goldwing Road riders Association and plan on attending the 2006 Wing Ding in Nashville. That will probably be the first road trip two up, so maybe I’ll get the wife interested in a longer trip someday. She has been talking about maybe a 250cc for herself. I never knew she had it in her. Wonders never cease to amaze me.

I don’t know yet where this web site will go but I’m planning on posting helpful links and I’m also thinking of putting a GL1000 forum up. Maybe I can save other owners some of the frustrations I’ve experienced. I also plan on adding photos once the weather gets better. Time will tell.

If you’ve read this far, then you must be desperate for GL1000 information. Like I stated at the beginning, I’m new to Goldwings, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on a bike and so I’m looking at it like a new kid on the block. Maybe fresh albeit old eyes looking at a problem might bring a new idea. Check back once in a while and see what I’ve come up with.

When the weather gets nice outside, the web page will just have to wait. Hope to see you on the road.

Check out my Amateur Radio web page at www.n5hq.com

Bill Shryock
Amateur Radio Station N5HQ
GWRRA # 244608

June 15, 2006

Well I figured it was about time to add a little to my ranting and raving.

If you have been following the messages on the board here, you know that I took a little trip to North Carolina to the 1st ever Randakk’s GL1000 International Motorcycle Rally. I’m sure glad I did. I got to meet a lot of great people with a common interest. Seems like Goldwing riders are just a great bunch of people. I learned a few things about working on my GL1000 and got to contribute a little myself plus I got to visit Mayberry, USA. Mt. Airy, NC is where Andy Griffith was born and grew up. Mt. Airy was the inspiration for his TV show and everyone I met there was very friendly. Having grown up in a small town myself, I could appreciate the small town atmosphere. I just had a great time.

Before I left on what was my first ever cross country motorcycle trip I put a new saddle on the beast. I was wondering about the wisdom of doing that just before I took off and for a few hundred miles I was sure feeling a stiff ride. But then after a while it started softening up a bit and I think I about have it broke in by now. I guess it’s like a new pair of shoes. I put 1,971 miles on the motorcycle and seat before I made it home. I have taken a few in-state rides with the GWRRA Chapter here and my tush has always hurt by the time I got home. The new seat, a Travelcade, was a good investment. I got home ready for another couple thousand miles.

I also installed new Bridgestone S-11 tires just before I left. Those tires made the old Dunlop 404’s seem like steal tires. I noticed a number of handling improvements. Here at home a lot of the freeway has a joint right in the middle, where they joined the two halves from the construction when they built half then moved traffic over then built the other half. Well if I happened to get on that with the Dunlops, I would just about loose it. I think if I tried to ride the joint I would crash. But, with the Bridgestones I can straddle that joint and ride it from one end to the other. Not that I want to but I can’t feel it anymore. Don’t know what other tire brands are like but I’m sold on the Bridgestones.

I’ve now got the trailer project waiting. I have already purchased a Harbor Freight trailer and a luggage carrier. Not the one I really wanted, but it will do. Anyway I plan on putting all that together and then I’ll be able to carry enough luggage and supplies to take the wife with me cross country. Now all I have to do is convince her that that is a good idea.

I will need to replace the clutch before I start pulling a trailer and I’ve already purchased the clutch. I just need to find the time and energy to get that project done. It’s getting hot here in Arkansas and not real fun working outside and the wife has some silly idea that bringing the motorcycle into the living room is a bad idea. Women! What are you goanna do?

I just finished getting the rally photos on the web site. I hope you enjoy them. I had a great time going there and meeting all the great riders there and on the road. Every stop I made, without exception, if there was anyone within sight of the bike, I would be engaged in a conservation about the “Old Bike”. Seems that just about everyone I meet either used to own one about that old or knew someone that did. I received a lot of very nice complements on the bike and a lot of people liked the color. “Very nice shape for such and old bike” was a common comment. Makes all those long days rubbing, sanding, polishing, painting, buffing, waxing, cleaning and turning wrenches seem worth the effort.

Ride safe out there,

Bill Shryock

October 23, 2006

Well I got the trailer built and the next day after finishing it the wife our dog and I left for Natchez, Mississippi and The Natchez Trace Parkway. We rode in the August heat down to Natchez pulling the new trailer. We camped out and had a good time and saw some nice sites.

Deep in Mississippi we stopped for fuel and while fueling up a couple on a Harley also stopped and we started talking. They were local to the area and offered to show us some of the grandeur of the Old South. Off we went following complete strangers into the back country of Mississippi. My wife speculated that they could be devil worshippers and taking us for some sort of human sacrifice or something. She has a way of being a little over dramatic at times. They were very nice people and showed us some of the ruins and sites of Southern Mississippi. Good times and good memories.

We then rode to Natchez then started back on The Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway is nice, it is a 444 mile long National Park and I’m glad we went however after twenty to thirty miles or so it all started looking the same. There is a lot of history there but we didn’t see any of the original structures, it has just been too long and the old sites have long since disappeared. Still the scenery was awesome and parts of the old trace are still there. I highly recommend you read about some of our nation’s history. A good place to start would be HERE.

All in all it was a pleasant trip but in the late August heat it was a long ride for a small return. I say small because we only spent about fifty miles on the trace. It was getting late in the day and we left to get a place to sleep and decided the next day that it was time to head home. Total trip was 794 miles with no mechanical trouble at all.

Guess all the work on the bike is paying off. Since the last entry I have painted the bike Ocean Blue Metal Flake. I’ve also added an electric fuel pump, chrome valve covers, passenger floorboards, intercom, trailer hitch, replaced the clutch, master cylinder reservoir and a chrome master cylinder cover. The front master cylinder is leaking just a little and I have purchased a repair kit and will be installing it soon. There is always something to do.

We’re planning on attending the Wing Ding in Billings, Montana next year and after the Natchez trip the wife insist that I get a more comfortable ride. She tells me that her legs really hurt after a few hours and the seat is just too firm for her. So I was forced to invest in a newer bike. Isn’t that awful, my wife “made me” buy a newer motorcycle.

After a lot of searching I located a GL1500 in Chicago, Illinois that only had 5776 miles on the clock. I made the purchase and now own two Goldwings. This hopefully will allow me to spend a little more time restoring the GL1000 so maybe I will be able to get it in much better condition than I would be able to do while ridding it daily.

Thanks for reading. Ride safe and wave when you pass by.

Bill Shryock