OPINIONS, TIPS, IMPROVEMENTS AND MODIFICATIONS;

Even the most successful designs have room for improvement. The Goldwing is no exception and I have found numerous opportunities for simplifying and refining the overall package. The following is a list of my ideas and some descriptions of how and why they work.

1. Better machine screws;

If you own an early GL and find yourself in need of a new water pump or new front cover seals, I suggest that you consider these ideas; The front cover is secured with phillips head machine screws. These will require an impact driver to remove, and will surely suffer from this effort. The best thing to do is to replace all the phillips head screws on the motor with allen head versions of the same length. These can be found with a little time and effort and will be well worth the trouble.

2. Water pump impeller;

If your early GL has one of the bakelite (brown) impellers, it can be replaced with a later model metal one, and will be better for the change. The bakelite ones can become brittle and crack, which may be the reason you are replacing it in the first place.

2b. Front cover O-rings;

When I did my first front cover, I went down to the Honda dealer and bought a gasket set for this procedure. They charged a ridiculous price for this and soured my taste for their idea of a sweet deal. The second time the cover came off, I decided to make my own rules, and made my way down to the local hydraulics parts house. They had O-rings of every size and thickness and I took my old ones along for comparison. The cost was a fraction of what the dealer had charged and the only other thing was to cut myself a new gasket for the edge of the cover. This was relatively easy and has worked beautifully.

3. Timing belt cover bolts;

The timing belts are one of the most important and risky components on the GL engine. They should be easily accessible for inspection on a regular basis. The need to reach the inside pair of bolts usually requires some version of a radiator removal. I have found that these two inner bolts are actually not required to secure the covers. If you take the time to carefully glue the rubber trim to the edge of the covers, they can be held by one bolt with no problems. I used a nylon 1/4-20 bolt and nut with a couple washers, to plug the inner holes. My '78 motor requires two short bolts with the same thread as the originals to secure some tabs associated with the belt tensioners. After this modification has been completed, it's a matter of about 30 seconds to remove the belt covers. This makes for no excuses when your guilty conscience tells you that it could be expensive to lose a timing belt due to lack of vigilance.

4. The starter button;

The starter button caused me some real problems and could have resulted in expensive damages if I'd tried to let it go. The starter would occasionally fail to stop when the motor began running. I also had some problems with the headlight cutting off and on. I finally traced the problem to a faulty starter button. This tiny and fragile component is poorly designed and not worthy of a place on "my" bike. It is supposed to disconnect the headlight while it connects the starter to the ignition current and then re-engage the headlight connection upon release. This works till dirt and wear take their toll. Then the result is the 2 problems mentioned above. My solution was to devide the two functions and replace this one button with a toggle switch for the headlight and a big sturdy button for the starter. No more problems. The headlight switch allows you; 1. to run the bike or leave the ignition on without the light. 2. a junction point to use if you want to connect additional running lights. 3. to flash your light at another driver. You should try to remember to turn off the headlight when starting the bike to save stress on the light filament and provide the maximum current for the starter. I placed the starter button in a location where I can reach it with the throttle hand. You may be able to tuck it out of the way for security reasons, like not accidentally hitting it and slowing down a potenial thief.

5. Easier sparkplug boots;

The rubber boots that gang the plug wires together at the spark plugs were always a pain to deal with, and after I converted to my new manifolds for the Webber carbs, I found that it was even tougher to fit them in or pull them out of the head. I found that I could use large rubber grommets for filling the hole around the plug. They need to be slid over the rubber plug wire end and sized to fit snugly. This will allow you to remove one wire at a time and also to more easily place them out of the way while changing plugs. You can also more easily maintain the connection to the wire core with an occasional twist of the end.

6. Spark plug cleaning;

I've been using Split-fire plugs for a couple years and really like them, but like all spark plugs they sometimes need cleaning. I keep an extra clean set in my tool kit at all times and what I do is take my dirty ones and stand them up in a small plastic container with about 1/2" of laquer thinner in the bottom. After about 24 hrs they just need a lite going over with a small wire brush. No actual cleaning necessary, and the gap is generally not affected. If you've been cleaning with knives or tools or what ever, this is a whole lot easier and it gets all of the carbon. Give it a try.