78 Goldwing

Yes....a Goldwing. An opportunity presented itself Friday night and walking away from it would have been...extremely stupid. I still can't believe what I got this thing for. After loading it on the trailer and pulling out of the guys neighborhood, I heard sirens and knew it was the cops coming for me. It was ambulance.

This was owned by a co-worker of mine. Hasn't given him one problem in the four years we've worked together. His father was the original owner and he took it when his dad passed on about 5 years ago. It's in excellent shape. 36,000 miles. He just came into work one day a few weeks ago and said he had parked it last fall and didn't ride it all summer but got it out about three weeks ago and it was running poorly and dropping cylinders. I asked if he drained the tank and carbs before parking it and he said no. I even asked if I could come pick it up for him and get it running right again so he could enjoy it and he said he just wanted it gone. I even called him on the way home to try to talk him out of it. I felt badly.

When I got there with the trailer and turned the key on there were no lights and it wouldn't start. He said there were electrical problems and that it did that sometimes and at other times it would fire right up. He said the electrical problems also had the tail lights and head light not working. So...40 minutes later I was home and had it unloaded. Right away I found the positive battery cable was only finger tight. I tightened it up and the thing fired right up. Then I checked fuses for the lights and they were all good but every bulb he mentioned was bad. Then I drained the tank and carbs and put in some Hot Start additive and 2 gallons of fresh gas and took it out. About 5 minutes in to the ride it fell right on it's face, backfired and then...ran wonderfully as I cruised around with a huge grin on my face for 30 minutes. So here it is.















I still have my 550 project that I need to finish and I really don't want this thing. Not sure what I'm going to do with it.

Clean it up, sell it. Spend the profit on the 550.

riverfever said:

I still have my 550 project that I need to finish and I really don't want this thing. Not sure what I'm going to do with it.

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Yep, you stole it! Your penance is to pass it on to me.

Well, whatever you do with it, please...... no more of this!

Wow. You really had that picture at the ready huh? I'm kinda flattered Troy. That was a great day. I texted the owner of that bike and told him that Heather had this wild idea of a photoshoot and a whole lot of skin but wanted to incorporate his bike and would he be ok with it if we sent him some of the less erotic pics? Right away he was excited about the project. Afterwards I suggested he consider replacing the seat.

I've had several offers today from friends that know I have the bike or friends of friends who've heard. The guy that owns that 650 Custom that I rubbed all up on offered 350 plus his bike. I didn't even bother returning that text. That poor thing lives a haggard life over in Keystone and sits outside all winter long under a pile of snow. It's too bad too because that motor will bolt right up to my frame.

I like those old Goldwings. Looks like a great project.

I parked the bike on highway 24 Saturday with a for sale sign on it. When I walked up to get it I took it for a spin around town and it ran horribly. Felt like it was on 2 cylinders. I limped it home and fiddled with it today for a bit. The air filter is a brand new K/N unit and there isn't a spec of dirt down inside the airbag. It looks brand new. Then I went to get to the points to adjust those and...found a Dyna electronic ignition under the points cover. I removed the throttle lock and that fixed the binding throttle tube. I put 3 ounces of Seafoam in the tank and the thing started right up on all four cylinders. Took it for a ride around town and almost immediately, it dropped two cylinders. This lasted for a few minutes and then it was fine for the rest of the 25 minute ride.

I got the timing belts changed today and flushed the cooling system. Then I reset the timing and took the thing out for a 40 minute ride. It did great. No dropped cylinders.

Sometimes objects carry memories. I would have been sentimental about it and not sold it, but that's me

Nice bike!
Next thing you know you and the Wife will being going to "WingDings" :angel:

I had a guy wanting to negotiate last night via text. Told him I was asking 2 grand and he went to 1200. We settled at 1700 but it felt really weird and I wasn't at all excited about things. He was supposed to come over this afternoon but texted and backed out. In getting the title out and ready, I noticed that the guy I bought it from dated it when he signed it. So...I'm guessing this means that I need to register it in my name now because isn't there a window that needs to be done or a penalty is charged? That will be an issue if it sits all winter before selling. So...if that's the case (if someone could verify I'd appreciate it) then I'll at least be able to enjoy it for what's left of the riding season. Just the wrong time of the year to be selling a motorcycle.

riverfever said:

In getting the title out and ready, I noticed that the guy I bought it from dated it when he signed it. So...I'm guessing this means that I need to register it in my name now because isn't there a window that needs to be done or a penalty is charged? That will be an issue if it sits all winter before selling. So...if that's the case (if someone could verify I'd appreciate it) then I'll at least be able to enjoy it for what's left of the riding season.

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You have to pay the ownership taxes from that date. Just keep in mind, a title transfer is not expensive. Registration fees and insurance are expensive.

What Mike said. The date of sale will be when ownership taxes will be calculated. No penalty.

You're thinking of the penalty for letting your registration expire. That's a fee that's assessed based on the length of time it's expired and doesn't exceed $100.

If you title it in your name..... you'll pay the taxes from that date on the title. For a $1,700 bike.... won't be bad at all. I paid $1,800 for my Suzuki and to get it registered was around $78 if I recall correctly. Since you'd just be doing a title transfer and not registering it, you'll just pay the title transfer fee and tax on the stated purchase price, which in your case is much less than what you'll be selling it for.

Stick a spork in this one. I got 5 calls on it over the weekend and it went home with its new owner today. I'm left with a lovely profit that's really going to allow me to do some significant upgrades to the 550 project this winter.