Stuart’s GoldWing Blog

Connectors and terminals - there's plenty of choice

Good electrical connections are an extremely important factor in the reliability and durability of accessory installations on motorcycles – and therefore connections are a common source of faults on GoldWings which have had them installed. The accessories or display lighting units themselves can of course be a source of unreliability too, but poor connections account for lots of failures.

The plugs and sockets which come with ready-to-use kits will usually, but not always, provide reliable connections but otherwise the installer has to make up the connections.  This Part of the Series tells you how best to do this.

Connections on a motorcycle are often exposed to fairly harsh environmental conditions and at the very least they are likely to get damp if not completely wet.  Motorcycle connections are also, even on a GoldWing, subject to vibration.

A wide variety of cable connectors and terminators are sold commercially, so there’s no shortage of choice.  Each different type of connector has special advantages of one sort or another, which is why there are so many different types sold.

Some are specially designed for quick and easy application, maybe even without tools, but they may not be suitable for the motorcycle environment and as a general rule the robustness and durability of continues………

Click on the image for an enlargement

This Blog is predominantly a collection of feature articles for Wingers, with occasional bits of topical news or comment on the GoldWing club scene thrown in.  It’s not a personal blog, so you won’t find much about me on it, although I did once get a bit carried away and wrote about my own hip replacement operation.

The Blog seems to have captured the interest of quite a few UK Wingers (and others, but hopefully mostly Wingers) since it started in November 2008 and it is currently attracting very nearly 4,000 hits (unique visits) each week.  So my thanks are due to all of you for making my efforts to do something useful worthwhile.  I’m by no means a computer techie and all credit for the overall appearance and functionality of the Blog is due to my friend Nigel Mackintosh, who also dreamed up the clever backdrop of a tiled image of the yellow GL1800.

There are (as this one is being written) 145 Posts (i.e. Articles) altogether.  They are usually fairly well continues………

Royal British Legion Riders Branch

The weather was kind again to Colin Appleyard’s GoldWing Centre at Keighley for their Open Day today, Sunday 28th March, although there was a cool breeze and the clouds did build and threaten.  But it didn’t rain.

Maybe this accounted for the strong turnout from the West of the Pennines, where it was sunny and fair.  But the numbers overall seemed lower than last year, although it was still a large gathering of GoldWings and Wingers by any standards.

Appleyards have re-configured their upper floor area to provide increased showroom space and this was a welcome improvement.  There seemed to be much more space and the accessories were better displayed.  Likewise downstairs they had tidied up as usual and the Nosebags (excellent again this year) were well organised but there was also more organisation about the Used Bits Area and there was a part-finished Trike under construction in what is now a dedicated Bay of the Workshop, such is the scale continues………

One switch panel bought, one hand made

Some accessories come with their own switch, some don’t.  Even switches which come with a kit may or may not be suitable to adorn a GoldWing, so for most GoldWing accessories and display lighting it will be necessary to choose and install your own switch or switches.

Although GoldWings are big bikes and most of them have large areas of dashboard available, installing switches tidily,  especially if they need to be in a location where they can be used conveniently and safely while riding, is not always straightforward.

Choosing the type and location of switches for your accessories is worth careful thought, especially if you might be installing more accessories requiring switches later.  In other words don’t plonk your first switch in the most obviously easy and/or attractive place on the bike, in case you regret it later.

We are all inclined, when we get a GoldWing which is new to us, whether or not it’s brand new, to give little or no thought to its resale value, even though in practice we are unlikely to keep it for ever.  So we should give at least a little thought to the implications of what we do for our bike’s resale value, especially if continues………

Crezz holding his Route Map

An active Member of GoldWings North West, Adrian Cresswell, known as Crezz (soon to Iron Butt Crezz) will be leading a team from GoldWings North West to take part in the second RBLR 1000 mile endurance ride in support of the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

In October 2008, the Royal British Legion Riders Branch (RBLR) came up with the idea of breaking the world record for the largest number of riders completing a 1000 miles ride in less than 24 hours, all starting and finishing at the same place.  The RBLR1000 was born and it’s being repeated this year!

The inaugural Event started from Squires Cafe, near Leeds, in June 2009. The 1000 mile ride was done using one of two routes, a Northern Route into Scotland or a Southern Route taking in the West Country. There were 162 riders and 9 pillions who completed the ride, which would have smashed the world record if the Americans hadn’t pipped them to the post.  However the Event did break both the European and UK records and so far has raised over £33,000 for the Poppy Appeal.

This year there is the same gruelling requirement to complete 1,000 miles in less than 24 hours using either a Northern or Southern circular route starting and finishing at continues………

Fog light, Ring of Fire and lots of LEDs

Under the left glove box of many a GoldWing is a a tangle of unsecured electrical cables and dodgy connections. Wingers are better at some things than others and accessory wiring isn’t always one of them. This article provides some guidance on safe and tidy ways to add accessories and display lighting to your GoldWing’s electrics.

Connecting 12 volt accessories or lighting to a GoldWing is not especially dangerous or difficult and it’s well within the capacity of a reasonably practical individual to do it, and to do it without creating a “rats nest” of loose wires and dodgy connections.

It takes more care and trouble to do it properly and it helps if you have learned some of the basic do’s and dont’s of auto-electrical work, but it isn’t rocket science and any reasonably practical individual can make a decent enough job providing he (or she) takes the trouble to learn.

It is however worth mentioning that even though low voltage (only 12 volts) circuits on motorcycles cannot cause hazardous electrical shocks, short circuits and component failures can cause electrical continues………

Nigel Simpkin was offering his 1994 Model GL1500 Aspencade for sale because he moved to France and took it with him, only to discover that he cannot register it there.

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The bike was first registerred in UK in 1997 but it’s a 1994 Model Year GL1500, US-specification Aspencade in Pearl Atlantis Blue, which is a greeny-blue colour.  Nigel thinks there are less than a handful of GL1500s of this colour in UK and he might well be right because Pearl Atlantis Blue was not released as a GL1500 colour in UK.

Three models of GL1500 were sold in the USA: the Interstate, the Aspencade and the SE.  The Aspencade has the all-important reverse gear and an audio/intercom system, and this bike is fitted for (but not continues………

Bill & Barb with Bike & Trophies

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR AN ENLARGED VIEW

We all like to think our own GoldWing is special, i.e. well kept, tastefully accessorised and of course well ridden.  Most GoldWings  are reasonably well kept and tastefully accessorised and many are well ridden.  But a few of them, just a few, are exceptional.

Bill Squires’s GL1800 is an exceptional bike for all sorts of reasons.  It’s a real eye-catcher.

This bike is the one they all pick out as special from a line of GoldWings, whether they are Wingers themselves or members of the public.

Partly it’s because Bill’s bike is always immaculately clean and well polished, but it’s also exceptionally well embellished with shiny bits and it’s got all sorts of gadgets, some of which are one-off, made by Bill himself.  Above all it’s stunningly eye-catching.  Wherever awards or prizes are being offered, Bill’s bike is at the very least in with a chance. continues………

The Wirral Egg Run takes place on Sunday 28th March.

This is an annual event which raises money for local children, children’s charities and donates Easter eggs to hospitalised children.

Traditionally it takes place on the Sunday immediately preceding Easter and so it again for 2010.

Several thousand participants are expected to take part in the Event.  It’s usually very well organised with lots of Stewards and Marshals – and the Organisers would be delighted to hear from any Winger who is willing to help.

Riders from GoldWings North Wales will be attending, so visit their Club Website for the rendezvous if you would like to meet up and ride with them

Picture from the BBC News Website - click on the image for an enlargement

An estimated 15,000 bikers and passengers turned out to honour the people of Wootton Bassett yesterday, saying thank you for their efforts to honour the Fallen of our Armed Forces as they are repatriated.

A detailed report with a video and lots of pictures can be viewed on the  BBC News Website.

The idea of this ride was being kicked around a local bike club of which 18 year old Elizabeth Stevens was a Member and it took off spectacularly when she decided to put it on Facebook.

The bikers gathered at Hullavington Airfield and were organised into groups leaving at intervals throughout the day to ride through Wootton Bassett.

The charity Afghan Heroes became involved, the Town’s Mayor was supportive and so were Wiltshire Police, who did their bit to make the Event happen safely.

Well done all concerned; this was a splendid example of what bikers can do to contribute positively to our Society.