My Strategy
The motorcycle in question is a 1982 Honda Goldwing, and had lived most of its life unprotected from the elements in Sierra Vista AZ. Needles to say the paint had deteriorated considerably over the 20 or so years since rolling off the production floor.
The once leather bound seat had deteriorated to a piece of leather held on by duct tape, which can be seen in on the Project Pictures Page. Compound this with the recent accident which destroyed the speedometer, engine guard, blinkers, and front brake reservoir. The engine was in good shape, except for carburetion problems, and I knew there was potential in this machine. An equivalent purchase from the showroom could run as much as $12,000, which I neither willing or able to pay.
I bought a Haynes Repair manual for this cycle, and began to work on my new acquisition. My first expense was the carburetor rebuild, which cost $400.00 at the Honda dealership. This also gave me the opportunity to consult with the mechanic on other mechanical problems he could foresee happening before continuing in this adventure. The motorcycle ran like the day it came off the production line, and was given a clean bill of health by the mechanic. I was ready to begin! I brought it home and parked it in the garage, and began to disassemble it.
Broken parts were removed first and put to the side. I removed the seat, and took it to a local upholstery shop, where I had it recovered for $75.00. I removed the tank, side covers and fenders for repainting. A novice painter in the neighborhood did this job for $300.00. I was now down to the frame and engine components. I removed and replaced both tires, $200.00 from www.JCWhitney.com. I lightly sanded the frame and engine components, and spray painted them myself.
I used black spray paint on the frame, and high temperature silver paint on the engine. I completed the frame with a coat of high gloss clear lacquer, which gave it that brand new appearance. My next task was replacement parts, and my first stop was the Honda dealership. I was amazed at the prices quoted, and could have bought a new model for replacement costs! The speedometer I needed was $750.00. Since I only paid $500.00 for the motorcycle, this was not an option. A quick trip to the yellow pages revealed a gold mine. �Cycle Recycle� in Tucson AZ. I called them reference the same speedometer, and was quoted $50.00. I was on my way.
This was the story on the rests of the parts needed for my motorcycle, picking them up for $10.00 to $20.00 respectively. $150.00 to Cycle Recycle and I had all the basic parts necessary for a fully functional, safe, and road ready motorcycle. I now had a beautiful motorcycle, but the wife would not ride! No back foot pegs, or backrest for the rider. Back to Cycle Recycle. I found a backrest, with pad, for $50.00. It was a universal sissy bar, so with a little engineering, I made this work. I found a set of passenger floorboards (foot pegs) on e-bay for $35.00. After installing these, my wife loved to ride with me! But I was still far from finished. I found a rooster fairing at Cycle Recycle for $80.00. This consists of the windshield assembly, and a radio with speaker mounts. I had this painted by the same person who painted my tank, fenders, and side covers. I slowly was transforming the motorcycle into a work of art. At this point I had invested approximately $1500.00 in this machine, including the purchase price. Another thing I may have failed to mention is a general mechanical aptitude when beginning a project such as this.
My test of engineering skill consisted of driving from Ft Huachuca, Arizona to Fort Gordon Georgia. It was a sheer leap of faith as in my mechanical abilities as I began the approximately 1600 mile trip. I am happy to say the restoration was a complete success. I have since replaced the rooster fairing with a full size Goldwing Vetter fairing, and matching saddlebags for storage area. I found these on e-bay as well along with a wealth of other parts and accessories to finish out my project.
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Last Update: 01/28/03
Copyright © Jim Pinson 2003
