BlueSky

A trike with two front wheels makes more sense than two rear ones. Will be much safer.

I bought a 2004 Kawasaki Concours a few yrs ago when my riding skills were really rusty. I dropped it turning into the driveway one day and I let it go. Second time I was pulling into a parking space in the Everglades national Park and dropped it. I was determined to keep it up but only succeeded in pinning my foot under the bike and it broke my second metatarsal. Only one other car was there so there was a person to help get the bike off me. No way I could get it off my foot by myself. Then a couple of weeks sitting at my desk at work combined with my age and I had blood clots in my lower leg. Took blood thinners for 4 months. So let it go when it has to. Trying to save it just causes more grief.

Ahhh! The Hooters Girls!!!

Put a charger on the battery and see if it will take a charge. If not, the battery is kaput. If it charges up properly, something is amiss with your motorcycle.

When I bought my 85 Kawasaki ZN700 from a barn in WI, it had 1,053 miles on it and the original Bridgestone tires looked almost like new with no cracks or signs of age. I replaced them anyway with Metzler Lazer Tecs bought from Motorcycle Superstore. The rear was 5 yrs old when it arrived. I put in on anyway. Hey, now it's ten yrs old!

I assume it is much like my Kawasaki. I used an impact on the bottom bolt the first time and got it out. Second time, the inner cylinder was spinning too much for the impact to work. I was working away from home so I bought an electric impact wrench from Lowes. So, I put a wooden broom handle down the tube contacting the cylinder and it held it enough that the impact worked.

When I bought my old 85 Kawa ZN, it had a dead cylinder. I put a conductor in the spark plug cap and touched it to the block and it sparked so I assumed it wasn't the ignition. Wrong! The spark plug was completely dead! After spending some time on carb cleaning and # 2 was still dead I switched spark plugs and found out the real problem! I felt like a big dummy!

You probably will have to fix your bike to get rid of it so fix it and keep it!

Another possibility that no one has mentioned is the BMW K1200LT. They are less expensive than Goldwings to buy and they are great bikes from what I hear. Of course there are lots of other BMW models to choose from depending on your preferences.

The guy who owns that gold 87 says he doesn't work on his bike. He takes it in to his favorite mechanic when it needs anything. Says he wants to spend his time riding and not working on the bike.

I've been looking for a 1st Gen Venture and several of the owners are selling to buy a newer Goldwing. I looked at the Gold 87 in the previous craigslist link. The owner rides it daily and says every thing works but it does show its age in person much more than the photos. The owner lives in Durham and works at Sneads Ferry, NC. There are several for sale now with 20k miles on them in NC and SC. You could use your current bike for spare parts if you bought another 1st Gen.

I used to go to a dance club in Myrtle Beach. Three times I was there on MM Day weekend during the bike week. Normally, it took me about 15 minutes to get from the club in Myrtle and stop at a restaurant in North Myrtle to eat some breakfast before driving home . Once I left the club at 01:00 AM and it was 05:30 when I reached the restaurant because the streets were so jammed up with traffic. It's unbelievable. After that I drove out 501 until I hit the I95 to go home. It added an hour to my driving time but that was nothing in comparison. If I was a young black single guy I'd definitely be there. Looks pretty wild.

I'm planning to buy an early Venture and I'd like to know how much wind turbulence I can expect around my helmet. I have owned in the past a 1981 Honda CB900C that had a Hondaline fairing, I think the same one that went on the Goldwing and there was none around my head. I've also owned a 2004 Kawasaki Concours that protected me well from turbulence. However, I also have owned a 1983 Yamaha 750 Virago that with a full National cycle plexifairing III windshield had awful turbulence around my helmet. The bike had a long enough frame that I was seated too far behind the windshield I suspect. My current bike 1985 Kawasaki ZN700 has a short frame and I am seated close to the National Cycle Plexifairing III on it and there is no buffeting around my helmet. It appears to me that the rider is seated a good distance behind the windshield on the Venture and wind buffeting around the head could be a problem. What has been the experience of the Venture riders? the 83 to 93 Ventures. Thanks Much!