clutch basket

[jrb]

First let me thank everyone who gave me input on my clutch basket change. I switched to a generation I clutch basket, It made no difference at all in fact it added a churp down in my low rpm range. Now I have a churp/whine all the way from 0-70, I will be changing back to the original tomorrow. This 05 Venture is the most comfortable bike I have ever owned, and I've owned many, but this churp/whine p's me off.

[allwx]

You're right, it sure can be a bummer. It can be so loud on mine that I can't ride without earplugs, or a fullface helmet. One or the other. Sure there are lots of other loud noises going on with a motorcycle, but this whine thing just goes straigght for the ear bone.

 

However, for me, earplugs or a fullface helmet are a complete fix. Attenuate the racket so that it fades from consciousness. Works for me.

[SilvrT]

Can't help but to comment on this.

 

I've had my RSMV for 3 years now and it has been a "love-hate" relationship.

 

I totally love the looks of the bike. I totally love the comfort and rider position. I look at it every day and damn... it looks so good.. and it hauls a$$ pretty good too.... BUT

 

Even after changing the clutch basket out to an I basket ... and it did help a lot ... that whine is still there and at times i HATE it. It really annoys me... at times. And then there is the incessant engine "rattly" sound ... especially when I first start it up ... it's the cam chain on the rear cylinders apparently ... goes away once it's warmed up but it's just not a "quiet" engine even then.... I HATE that. So ... compromise, compromise... I was always saying to myself .... "accept those 'quirks' .... ignore them ... coz I love that bike".

 

Well, I'm tired of compromising ... so it's for sale and I bought another, different bike. Dang! .. I sure hope I don't have to go thru all of this again.

 

Pls don't get me wrong... I'm not bashing the RSMV ... I'm just saying I'm not willing to continue with those compromises anymore.

 

But, I may be wishing I'd stuck with it as time passes coz I haven't had this Wing longer than a test ride yet.

 

Life can be interesting LOL

[jrb]

SilvrT, T had a 1500 goldwing couldn't ride it more then a 100 miles without getting off. The thing just killed me, but it didn't churp or whine.

[SilvrT]

SilvrT, T had a 1500 goldwing couldn't ride it more then a 100 miles without getting off. The thing just killed me, but it didn't churp or whine.

 

I looked at the 1500's .... never rode one but my brother-in-law has a '96 and he loves it. I can tell you this... I rode that '03 Wing for a couple hours and there was nothing about it that bothered me ... except the seat a little bit... but that can be remedied easilly. I guess it's a situation of "what works best" for each person. A combination of variables that sum up to the best percentage so to speak. I know I will be tweaking the Wing for best comfort and fit to some degree ... even for Nina. But, it doesn't whine/chirp or have a noisy engine LOL ... in fact, it sounds awesome with the Cobra pipes on it.

[Old Texan]

There are a lot of things your going to like about a GL1800, plenty of low end torque, great engine, reasonably comfortable, and of course having a reverse will spoil you quick. The only suggestion I have is if your going to keep it awhile then have a full monty traxxion system installed, the wings are known for having a less then perfect suspension and also joining the "GL1800riders" site. They have about as much info on the GW's as we have on our Yammy's. Enjoy your new ride, I know I had lots of smiles on my 02 when I had it.

 

Jim

[SilvrT]

There are a lot of things your going to like about a GL1800, plenty of low end torque, great engine, reasonably comfortable, and of course having a reverse will spoil you quick. The only suggestion I have is if your going to keep it awhile then have a full monty traxxion system installed, the wings are known for having a less then perfect suspension and also joining the "GL1800riders" site. They have about as much info on the GW's as we have on our Yammy's. Enjoy your new ride, I know I had lots of smiles on my 02 when I had it.

 

Jim

 

Jim, thanks ... apparently this Wing has had some "upgrades" to the suspension; however, I don't know what they are... yet. But I intend to find out. I do know it has a fork brace but more has been done.

[Condor]

I'm glad my '99 doesn't whine.....

[SilvrT]

I'm glad my '99 doesn't whine.....

 

Apparently my new Wing WILL whine ... or maybe that's me!

[Jactana]

The worst thing I could say about any Honda I've owned is that the ST 1300 was a pain in the ass to work on, costantly removing little plastic push pins ro remove body work. Other than that, they were rock solid. Ron

[allwx]

I put well over 100k miles on three Wings, two of them 1500s and the last one an 03 1800. Up until two years ago when my wife got very sick, I used these bikes for daily transportation, with a daily commute of 140 miles round trip, year 'round, so the miles really piled up, and I had ample time to figure out what I liked, and didn't like, about each bike.

 

I like the Wings, and frankly I'd still be with my 03 1800 if it hadn't been for the overheating problems I had with it, the failure of Honda to fix that problem, and then the cracking frames. When the frames started cracking, I got fed up with Honda and sold the 1800.

 

Three years ago I started shopping another new bike to replace my VTX which was going to go to my son while he went to university. I looked seriously at another GL1800, but couldn't make the deal with local dealer to my satisfaction, so I jumped back into the Yamaha Star, an 07 Venture.

 

Yes, there are a few little niggling problems with the Venture that Yam is unwilling or unable to fix. The Venture is not the type of bike that just anyone can hop on and ride without a concern for fixing the littlle niggling things that irritate. It is more of a tinkerer's bike. Someone like me, who loves to tinker and "fix" things is very happy with the Venture. Someone who hates to work on a machine will probably hate the Venture. As for the whine, I believe a lot of how much the whine bothers is a function of perception. Heck, some people are deaf, others are hypersensitive to certain sounds at certain frequencies. I'm one of the hypers, and that's why I MUST wear earplugs or a fullfface helmet when riding the Venture. But, that's a good idea even without the whine. The noise levels of a large motorcycle cruising at 75 mph on a highway full of trucks and cars are way too high for human ears to tolerate for long without damage. If Yam removed the whine completely, we'd still be left with enormous volumes of racket, from wind, tires, loud pipes, and the deafening noises coming from other vehicles. This is why I say, solve the problem of the whine not by "fixing" the whine, since that apparently isn't really possible. Rather, fix the entire noise problem by using ear protection. All noise, including the whine, will become non-problem.

[SilvrT]

I like the Wings, and frankly I'd still be with my 03 1800 if it hadn't been for the overheating problems I had with it, the failure of Honda to fix that problem, and then the cracking frames. When the frames started cracking, I got fed up with Honda and sold the 1800.

 

 

I'm aware of the cracking frame but from what I understand, only certain serial #'s were involved...yes/no? As for the overheating, was that just your bike or was it an issue with the GL1800's of that year or what?

 

I'll be going to a HOnda shop today to do a search to see if this bike was one affected and if it's been repaired.

[saddlebum]

After 34 years of Marriage I have developed an incredible, uncanny skill, to be able to tune out what I don't want to hear.

 

 

That is not to say it doesnt have its drawbacks

 

 

Incase anyone is interested ....

...Hospital visiting hours are from 8:am to 10: pm

[allwx]

I'm aware of the cracking frame but from what I understand, only certain serial #'s were involved...yes/no? As for the overheating, was that just your bike or was it an issue with the GL1800's of that year or what?

 

I'll be going to a HOnda shop today to do a search to see if this bike was one affected and if it's been repaired.

 

 

The overheating problem had to do with slow riding, such as in stop and go, or "parade" mode riding. People who seldom ride in those conditions seldom see the prob. People in cities who ride in stop and go, see it more often. The worst I ever had it was descending down into Mexican Hat, UT on a gravel road behind a slow moving car on a warm, not hot, day. By the time I was able to get my speed back up, I was blowing coolant onto the road. Some people thought the problem had to do with the fact that the Wing fan blows the air forward against movement airflow, rather than sucking it backward the way every other motor on Earth does. The idea was that, at 10 mph, the fan blowing forward is canceled out by airflow to the aft. Some people modified their fans to blow backward by reversing the blades on the fan. Not sure if that worked.

 

I knew about the overheating prob from two of my friends who bought early production Wings. When I bought my 03, I asked the folk at the dealership if Honda had fixed the prob, and they all said, oh yes! But they hadn't. Three years in, Honda had done almost nothing to address the problem beyond claiming that it was an indicator fault, not a true overheatting issue. Their earliest "fix" had involved changing out a wire harness that had absolutely no effect on the problem.

 

Then, in 04 the head of Honda America sent a letter to each owner, saying Honda was addressing the issue head-on. By that time, owners were screaming bloody murder. They came out with a "fix" that involved a detailed inspection of the cooling system and repairs to bikes shown to have a problem with castings in the heads that might impede coolant flow. They also changed out the ignition computers that modified timing during slow riding. None of these fixes fixed mine. It continued to overheat during slow riding, and when I say "overheat" I mean needle pegged into the red zone complete with the sounds and smells of overheating.

 

I was willing to live with that situation, and then came the cracking frames. It seemed to come all at once. The forums erupted with reports and photos of cracked frames. Honda addressed the issue by calling all (or some) bikes in for inspecttion and repair by rewelding certain faulty welds. I reacted very negatively to the cracking frame issue; I was already worn out and pissed off by the overheating problem. I decided to jump ship rather than wait for my frame to dump me on the road. I sold the bike, at a significant loss, of course.

 

To say that I (and hundreds if not thousands of other 1800 owners) was disappointed would be an understatement. Honda issued two bikes in 02, the Wing and the VTX, that were plagued by problems apparently caused by insufficient R&D testing. They must've rushed these two models to market a year or two earlier than they should've, and it cost them dearly. Then, Honda played silent partner for three years, denying there were these problems, which just pissed everyone off much worse.

 

I haven't kept up with Wing or VTX issues since those days. I'm sure Honda finally got to the bottom of things. If you want to see if your bike is an "overheater" just take it out on a warm day and ride in 2d gear at 10-15 mph for ten minutes or so and see what happens. Keep your eye on the guage. It would be normal under these conditions for the needle to creep upward a bit until the fan comes on, and then go back down. With an overheating Wing, the needle just keeps on climbing until it pegs. The good news is, if yours is in fact an overheater, by now surely Honda has a firm fix on this, so it shouldn't be a problem getting it fixed. Except for these two issues of overheating and cracking frames, the GL1800 is a fantastic machine, and you will undoubtedly love yours.

[myminpins]

Our '06 doesn't wine, thank goodness. I do wear ear plugs, though, that block noise AND are my headphones for my iPod. Unless we're on city streets, I always have them in - my ears are super sensitive to cold as well as to noise so these work beautifully for me

 

Best headphones I've ever had, too, and can't feel them at all once they're in - ideal for helmets http://www.plugup.com/the_S_plug_earcanal_stereo_earbuds_p/s%2022-3.5-4.5.htm

[Old Texan]

AALWX, I'm sorry to see you had so many problems with your Wing, I still follow what's going on with the GL1800's on various forums and seldom see anything about a Wing overheating so apparently they were able to fix that problem, the frame problem was addressed by Honda a long time ago and has been a non issue for many years.

 

 

Ride Hard-Ride Fast but keep that shiny side up.

[allwx]

Yes, looks like they sorted things out, since they have dropped off the screen. But back in 03, the overheating problem caused a lot of overheated conversation on the forum. After that I stopped paying any attention to the Wings.

[playboy]

I noticed Sunday that if i stayed in 4th at about 65 mph things got suddenly a lot quieter I guess mine has the whine also. Does this mean I am lugging the motor to much.

[Guest Slab_Ryder]

Agreed Playboy, I don't kick up to 5th until I reach 70 mph. It's a little hard on gas, but let me tell you, my 08 Venture is totally erect with the torque!

[jrb]

Here is what I have noticed about my RSV, the whine is not unbearable for me until I turn on the intercom. The intercom picks up the whine and amplifies right into the headset. I know, turn off the intercom, the wife and I really enjoy riding together and the intercom is just part of the deal.

[Freebird]

I agree completely. That's why I love the Mic-Mutes. We just quickly toggle the mics on and off.

[jrb]

What are mic-mutes and where do I get them?

[jrb]

Hey Freebird,

I just found Mic-Mutes, you may have just saved my favorite passtime, thank you.

[SilvrT]

Well, I just got back from several hours of riding on the Wing. City stop & go, back country roads, super-slab ... solo and 2-up later on. All I can say is WOOOHOOOO !!! I am a happy camper!

 

The first thing I did was go to a Honda shop and have them check the VIN ... there are no recalls on this bike and it has never had any warranty work done. I also discovered it has Polk speakers but there's no aftermarket amplifier so I might have to get me one of those LOL.

[Kirby]

I agree completely. That's why I love the Mic-Mutes. We just quickly toggle the mics on and off.

 

 

Yea, what he said!!!!