2008 Honda Goldwing Airbag

This bike was purchased new from a dealer in March 2011 and was a leftover 2008 bike. I purchased it from Don and Ray's Powersports in Milwaulkee Wisconsin. Honda was having a promotion in March, so I got $1000 worth of accessories and the 7 year warranty for no extra cost.

The following will be a running log related to the bike. (small images are thumbnails, click for larger image)

I ordered the following options:

Honda 7 year Warranty
Chrome trunk rack, 08L42-MCA-100
Trunk Net, 08L63-MCA-100
Deluxe Saddlebag / Trunk Liner Set, 08L56-MCA-101
Trunk Lid Organizer, 08L63-MCA-100B
Saddlebag Lid Organizer, 08L63-MCA-100A
Trunk Inner Light, 08E75-MCA-100H
Trunk Inner Light Harness, 08E75-MCA-100K
Accessory Socket Set, 08U55-MCA-101
LED Foglight Kit - Airbag Model, 08V31-MCA-100E

Picking up the Bike

I flew out on a Friday in early April and drove it 1000 miles back home. I left mid afternoon Friday and rode to South Bend. Saturday I rode to Warren PA. Sunday I took my time through the mountains of northwestern PA.

Mounting EZ-pass Transponder

I mounted the EZ-Pass transponder under the front faring. This keeps it out of sight and avoids the need for an after market mount. There is a small gap between the front fairing cover and the windshield where the tag can be placed. I attached it using the standard windshield adhesive/velcro strips. The arrow indicates the location.

First pull back the rubber around the mirrors and push the mirrors forward to gain access to the bolts holding the cover on. Remove them with a 10 mm wrench along with the washer and the rubber grommet. Clean the inside of the cover and attach the strips. The transponder was placed 1.5 inches from the lower edge and from the edge of the vent.

Reassemble and you are ready to go.

Goldwing Bike Covers

I ordered a Primoshield half cover from Kuriakin. It is sturdy and well made but I was very disappointed by the bulk. My primary criteria is minimum packing size. I do not care how sturdy it is. If I have to replace it each year that is fine, just so long as it is small. This thing is twice the size of the Dowco Ulralight Plus I used for my BMW RT.

For now I am using the full size Dowco as a half cover. I just found out that Dowco makes a half cover for the Goldwing and have ordered it. It is not Ripstop nylon so we will see how small it really is. I wish vendors would publish the weight and packing size of these things.

Update: The Dowco half cover is the one to go with. Works Fine.

Centech Fuse panel

The Goldwing has only a single switched circuit available in the fuse panel and no un-switched circuits. This is an obvious design failure on an otherwise well designed bike. In spite of the size of the bike, there is very little room to ad a fuse panel in an easily accessible location. I was able to fit the centec AP-2 to the left of the standard panel, but it is a very tight fit.

I used the Centech CG-Harness-AP2 relay wiring kit with the fuse block/ This allows 3 switched circuits and two that are always hot.

I fabricated a mounting bracket out of two pieces of 18 gauge steel. The first was a curved piece that goes around the frame member and is attached using a standard hose clamp. A hole was cut through the center of the bracket to pass the clamp through. The second was a rectangular flat plate for mounting the fuse panel. They were riveted together and I coated them with Dip-It rubber coating, in order to avoid any rough edges damaging the nearby wiring harness.

Rubber coated bracket, Hose clamp attached

Panel mounted on bracket

Mounted on bike, cork pad to protect wires

Routing or relay and retaining straps

Doran 360M Tire pressure monitor, May 2011

Since I have a poor record of checking tire pressures, I decided to get a Doran tire pressure monitor system. I chose this one because It can be mounted inside the tire, is hard wired to the bike and has a fairly small display readout for mounting. Also, if you want to mount the readout in a hidden location, it has a simple warning light to indicate a problem. I will mount the senders outside on the valve stem and put them inside next time the tires are changed.

The bracket was made from 18 gauge steel and mounts under the bottom screws that hold the navigation system. The wire was routed under the left side of the fairing and back to the Centech fuse block, to an always hot circuit. The unit draws very little current so this should not be a problem.

Putting the key cover on was very difficult and it may have been better to make a two piece bracket, with the top part bolting on after the cover is in place.

4000 mile Oil change

Used Honda filter and Motorex Synt4T oil, 5W/40. The oil change was done at 4500 miles

Kickstand foot! July 2011

Seriously Honda WTF were you thinking when you designed the foot for this thing! Why would you put such a small footprint on a kickstand for a 1000 pound motorcycle!!!! Look at a H-D to see how to design a proper kickstand.

Ordered a Goldwing Sidestand pad from GoldwingOnline.com, $40. Much better.

Air Wings, July 2011

Ordered a fill set of Baker Air wings. These allow you to direct air on you in hot weather or away from you in wet or cold weather. Make sure you order the special extension to the mounting hardware if you have an airbag. There are 5 panels: under the side mirror, above the side radiator vent, at the radiator vent, by your shins and at your feet. They are very effective in hot weather.

Honda organizers, July 2011

I ordered the following accessories with the bike. Very nice at first glance but crap designs in practice. They attach with adhesive strips. GUESS WHAT HAPPENS ON THE FIRST HOT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! (see December below for fix)

Trunk Lid Organizer, 08L63-MCA-100B
Saddlebag Lid Organizer, 08L63-MCA-100A

I will try to fabricate a metal mounting bracket. There are attachment points that could be used. HELLO HONDA! I will post it here if it works out.

Bridgestone Tires, 9500 miles, Aug 2011

The bike came with Dunlop 250 tires. My conclusion after riding 9000 miles is that these are very dangerous in the rain. Although there appears to be quite a few miles left on them, newer tires are much better in the rain.

I ordered The following tires from CycleGiant:

TR300768 Bridgestone Tires for GL1800 Front GL1800 Bridgestone G709 130/70R18 $139.99
TR300769 Bridgestone Tires for GL1800 Rear GL1800 Bridgestone G704 180/60R16 $179.99

On surprise I got was that I could not get the new rear tire on the rim and had to bring it to the local Honda dealer.I probably could have done the front tire easily but since I was going there anyway, I had both installed and balanced. I also had the Doran tire pressure monitors placed inside the tires.

The new tires make the Goldwing feel like a new bike. These are much more responsive than the Dunlop tires, which is a good thing. However when I went for my first test drive, I nearly fell on my ass turning around in the driveway :)

Oil Change, 12,400 miles, Oct 2011

Hit 12,000 miles after 6 months! Used Honda filter and Motorex Synt4T oil, 5W/40.

Radar detector, Oct 2011

I installed an Adaptiv Technologies TPX detector. This is made for motorcycles and is water resistant, has large buttons for operation with gloves and has a visual alert. I ran the wires so that they were hidden as much as possible.

I removed the top cover from the dash, the left hand storage box and removed the fairing screws from the left side.

Connected the power from a switched circuit at the fuse box.
Ran the main wire harness up under the fairing, under the left side storage box, around the fork assembly to the right side handlebar. The wire was routed and tied to existing hydraulic lines so it does not appear to be an add-on.
Ran the visual alert from the storage box, up to the right side of the dash, just above the Tachometer.
Bundled the extra wire under the under the storage box with a plastic tie to avoid cutting the extra wire length