Stuart’s GoldWing Blog

The Organisers of the Blackpool Illuminations  GoldWing Light Parade, Britain’s original, brightest and best, have finally revealed the new Venue for the popular social weekend which is part of the Event – and it’s a whole Crescent of hotels and apartments, right on the Promenade.

On the face of it they were going to have real difficulties replacing Pontin’s Holiday Centre when it closed abruptly soon after last year’s Event.  It had been the Event’s home for several years – not perfect but it worked, or at least it worked in most respects for most of the time.

But the new Venue turns out to have a number of real advantages over Pontin’s and not many drawbacks – well, nothing that can’t be sorted one way or another.

The new Venue also takes the Event, now in its eight year, into Blackpool proper, and into proper Blackpool accommodation – hotels and B&Bs.  A group of these, all located along the same Crescent, on but set back from South Shore Promenade, are cooperating enthusiastically with the BLP Organisers to make the 2010 Light Parade innovative as well as successful.

The Crescent where the participating hotels are located also provides useful parking, display and Parade mustering space, although the Hotels all have out-of-sight off road overnight parking too.

The new venue will allow the Organisers to provide much better for day visitors as well as those coming to stay.  All the parking and display spaces will be open to non-resident GoldWings and the participating Hotels are all offering catering and other facilities for non-residents.

The location is a short stroll south of the Pleasure Beach, close enough to be handy to pay a visit on foot and handy for the Trams, yet far enough away from the really busy parts on the Prom (eg the Golden Mile) to provide, for example, crowd-free Parade mustering.  The Crescent is also right opposite the formal start of the Illuminations, so it’s ideally placed for purposes of the Parade Route.

As well as support from Blackpool Council and Knutsford Honda again this year, the event has the support of an enthusiastic bunch of Blackpool Hoteliers and Landladies.  They are combining to welcome Wingers to their Crescent by coordinating their entertainment programmes for the Event as well as offering specially discounted accommodation and even discounted bar prices.

This year’s event can also look forward to cooperation from Blackpool Police and there will be no risk of a repeat of last year’s misunderstandings.

Let’s hope that 2010 will see the return of genuine friendliness to the UK GoldWing community and an end to the factionalism.  The Blackpool Light Parade is organised for the benefit of all UK Wingers, regardless of whether and to which club or clubs they might or might belong.

For further information, including about the new venue and how to book your accommodation,  visit the GoldWing Light Parade Website.

You can also go directly to the Accommodation page.

It’s going to be a Great Weekend!

This is just one corner of Knutsford Honda's GoldWing Accessory Store above their Showroom

Knutsford Honda are holding an Open Day for GoldWing Owners and Riders this coming weekend and offering special discounts and deals, especially on chrome accessories, of which they keep an extensive stock, probably the best in UK

Knutsford Honda, as the name suggests, a Franchised Honda Dealership which is taking a  special interest in GoldWings and is already the premier GoldWing Dealership and Accessory Stockist in the North West.

They took over PricedRight Ltd, a prominent UK mail order GoldWing Accessory Supplier, a few months ago and now operate a mail order service for GoldWing accessories from their Knutsford site as well as stocking GoldWings for sale too.  Click here to visit their GoldWing Mail Order Website which shows the range of their stock.

Click on the Map for a larger image

Knutsford Honda will be open all day on Saturday and Sunday to welcome GoldWing riders and interested visitors and there are sure to be refreshments offered as well as demonstration rides.

If you haven’t been to Knutsford Honda yet this will be a good weekend to pay your first visit – and you will be sure to meet lots of other GoldWings and their owners there, there’s sure to be a good turn out.

Knutsford Honda are on the A50 just a few miles east of Junction 20 of the M6, about half way to its junction with the A556.  It’s the site once occupied by GoldWings International, which was when Chrome Crazy Days first started.

Click on the image for an enlargement

Holding a non-camping social weekend for GoldWings at the darker ends of the biking season, to allow Wingers to show off their display lights, is catching on.

Norfolk Wings are holding one in their part of the Country for the first time this year and would welcome plenty of support.

The Parade itself is on the evening of Saturday March 27th in Hunstanton, Norfolk, a small holiday town on the North Norfolk Coast.

Proceeds are to be donated to the local Air Ambulance so it’s all in a good cause – and the Town Mayor is joining the Parade as a passenger on a trike.

The social weekend is based on Manor Holiday Park, where the accommodation is in chalets but they will also allow caravans and motorhomes on site but no tents.  Day visitors are welcome to join in the Parade too and they can also enter the Holiday Park on payment of a visitors fee.

Inscription (i.e. event registration, payable to the Organisers) costs only £2.  The Event is being run continues………

The Manchester Bikes Show, which had to be cancelled during the snow and icy weather we suffered earlier this year, has been rescheduled for Easter Weekend, April 3rd and 4th 2010.

It takes place at the Manchester Arena (formerly GMEX) and advance tickets are only £10, children and OAPs £5.  It will cost £12 for adults if you pay at the door.

There are stunt shows and an opportunity to get a feel for doing wheelies on the safety of a tethered trianer/simulator.

There are also said to be lots of dealer and trade stands.

The Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs was to be exhibiting at this Show – it would have been the first outing for its posh new Exhibition Stand – but unfortunately the new dates clash with other commitments, so maybe next year.

Further information by clicking here.

Graham Whitaker's stunning Hybrid GoldWing at the 2009 BLP - photo by Nigel Mackintosh

The Organisers of the Blackpool Illuminations GoldWing Light Parade, now in its eight year, have found a new Venue, which is to be announced on the BLP Website shortly.

It became necessary to find a new home when Pontin’s Blackpool Holiday Centre, where the Event had been based in recent years, suddenly closed down towards the end of the 2009, even before the end of the Illuminations Season.

Sometimes Fate takes charge with beneficial effect and so it is with this new BLP Venue, which the Organisers believe will offer considerable overall improvements.  Details of the Venue will be announced on the BLP Website within the next week or two – they are being delayed purely because continues………

Crash Testing a GL1800 Airbag System

Honda introduced the first ever motorcycle airbag system in 2006 as an update, and arguably a considerable upgrade of the GL1800 GoldWing. The design and testing effort which went into this development must have been enormous; getting the balance right, so the Airbag goes off when it needs to but not otherwise, is quite an engineering feat.

Honda’s Airbag System is designed to save riders’ lives and it appears genuinely to have done so on at least one occasion already, but it is an expensive addition and it adds significant extra weight. And is there a risk that it could go off inappropriately while riding, in which a crash would almost certainly be caused.  Is it a vital safety aid, is it worthwhile if you can afford it – or would GoldWing riders be as well choosing (in North America at least, where they have a choice) the lighter, cheaper, non-airbag versions of the GL1800 anyway, regardless of budget?

How can an airbag system work safely and reliably on a motorcycle? continues………

Honda’s new motorcycle mega-factory, built on its huge Kumamoto Site in Japan, is already producing bikes, indeed that’s where the new VFR1200, unveiled in UK February 14th, is being built.

But Honda has announced to its US Dealers that production of GoldWings will not start at Kumamoto until 2011 and that the GoldWings to be made there will be designated a 2012 Model – indicating that the (presumed) new design is unlikely to be unveiled before late 2011.

Quite what this means for UK Wingers remains to be seen because although it is now virtually certain that a new model GoldWing will be on sale somewhere in the world for the 2012 Model Year, it may not be available in Europe until a year or so later, so 2013 – or maybe not at all.

Meanwhile HondaUK has a stock of 200 or so GL1800s in UK, all of which were manufactured at Maryville Ohio before that Factory closed in March 2009, which it will use to fill what will hopefully be a gap rather than the end of a UK model line.  These stockpiled GL1800s include some in a new colour (or at least new for UK) called continues………

Click on the image for an enlarged view

Autocom, manufacturers of high quality motorcycle headsets and intercom systems, hit a bad patch recently but they have been rescued and are now part of a larger Group of companies and they are trading normally – and they are releasing new products too.

Some Wingers prefer Autocom headsets to the the standard Honda/J&M types.  The are a number of differences between the two systems, one  being that Autocom use electret (i.e. powered, miniature-sized) microphones rather than the larger, self-powered (and arguably old-fashioned) dynamic mics on which Honda/J&M still rely – mainly because they are restrospectiovely compatible across all GoldWing models.

Autocom has many loyal biker followers, based on a reputation for excellent noise suppression as well as audio quality.  Bikers who migrate to a GoldWing (or should it be ascend to a GoldWing?) having used an Autocom system on a previous bike will often want to stick with it, not least because of their investment in the headsets.

Autocom headests are not directly compatible with a GoldWing’s intercom system but a simple adapter can be purchased which goes in series with the headset, to convert to a Honda 5 pin DIN connection.  This adapter allso provides the necesary power supply for the Autocom electret microphones.

So Autocom headsets can be used with the GoldWing’s normal (i.e. Honda) intercom system via this simple adaptor arrangement, but thius means buying extra parts, so some riders prefer to continue using their complete Autocom Intercom system with their Wing instead.  In this case the Autocom system, which is designed to accept and “talk to” a variety of other audio devices, does most of the work and it just “listens in” to the GoldWing’s intercom, in order to pick up and pass on to the rider’s headset things like Navi system voice instructions and such other audio output from the bike which the rider wants to make use of.  The bike’s FM radio and, if fitted, CD changer will also be relayed to the rider via the Autocon system in the same way.

Although on the face of it adding a full Autocom intercom system to a GoldWing is an unnecessary complication, it does open up one or two interconnection options which are otherwise more difficult to contrive on a UK -spec GoldWing.  For example CB radio and a Bluetooth interface for a mobile phone can be made more easily to an Autocom system than directly to a GoldWing’s own intercom.  An Autocom intercom system’s “brain” is designed to accept mixtures of audio input and output safely and easily and it’s often just a question of buying the appropriate additional connector lead.

For many Wingers, Autocom’s rescue from the brink of what might have been closure is therefore very welcome news indeed.  Their Website is active and can be viewed here.  Their new phone number is 01480 494444.

Click on the image for an enlarged view

The annual Meeting of Alliance (a group of independent GoldWing clubs in France) will take place in Beaujolais near Lyon, organised by GoldWings Sans Frontiere, a Club based in that Area.

It’s a weekend event from Friday May 21st to Monday 24th and UK Wingers will be most welcome. It’s not a huge gathering (about 150 bikes) and should therefore be friendly and welcoming.

It’s based on a lakeside site north west of Lyon, so easily accessible and in an attractive biking area.  You will encounter golden mountains and the Land of Amplepuis, with its framework of forests, water courses and the beautiful Lake des Sapins (Pines).

The organisers have provided for a wide choice of accommodation including camping, gites, B&B and hotels.  The Programme includes group rides through the Beaujolais area and a display in the local town with a welcoming reception by the local Mayor.  Most meals over the weekend are included in the inscription price and these meals are taken as a group – apart from breakfasts, which you sort out yourself.

An expatriate Brit, Peter Ware, who is a member of GoldWings Sans Frontier and involved in organising the Event, will take either email or telephone enquiries and do what he can to help.  Peter’s contact details are provided below. continues………

The Promoters of the Manchester Bike Show were forced to cancel the Event, due to take place this coming weekend at Manchester Central (formerly GMEX) – but they are hoping to reschedule it in early April.  The weather and the forecast of more freezing conditions for the weekend seems likely to have been the reason.

This was to be the first Bike Show at which the Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs would exhibit using their posh new Exhibition Stand. which has been donated by a Sponsor. You will therefore have to wait for another Show to see this facility unveiled, hopefully soon.