Monthly Newsletter
GoldwingDocs sends out a newsletter on the first day of each month to all of our members via email. This newsletter contains the announcement of the previous months' contest winner as well as details on the current month's contest. In addition, it includes news, reviews, information about new additions to the site, and other relevant information.
Goldwingdocs.com June 2013 Newsletter
Where our Goldwings Take Us We love our Goldwings. We love to clean and maintain them, and most of all, we love to ride them. We ride to get ice cream, we ride between poker stops, we ride between work and home, we ride between campsites. For some of us, part of the allure of the Goldwing is the fact that they can take us very long distances, in comfort and relative safety. This has always been one of the favorite aspects of my Goldwings. Last Christmas, my brothers, mother and I conspired to give my father the gift of a lifetime - something he had wanted to do since childhood, and figured he would never get the opportunity to do: fly the airplane of his dreams, a WWII-era P-51 Mustang. It's quite expensive, and so he figured it would be a dream unfilfilled. So we made it happen. One of the only places in the world that you can do this is at Stallion 51, in Kissimmee, Florida. Earlier this month, my father completed this flight, and I wanted to make sure I was there to see it. So I took a couple days off from work, and rode from my home in Ohio straight through to Florida - 1056 miles, in 19 hours. My Goldwing lets me do this kind of thing - and makes the ride fun and memorable at the same time, not something you experience when driving a car. Even sitting in a couple construction-induced traffic jams is almost "fun" - listening to the truck drivers complain on the CB is entertaining! After 19 hours of riding, I've had enough - but not because I'm sore or in pain - but just because I'm physically tired! I wrote about the ride and the flight and included some pictures here: My whirlwind trip to Florida. The ride back home was less fun: I was riding through the same weather system that was in the process of pounding Oklahoma with tornadoes. Riding for hours through pouring rain, even with my rain gear on, is not what I consider fun. But it was worth it to see the triumphant smile on my father's face after he came back down, having flown almost an hour of straight aerobatics, and then landed(!) the P-51, all himself. He said, "it was great to fly aerobatics in an airplane where you know the wings aren't going to come off." The people at Stallion 51 were fantastic, and I couldn't recommend them more - it was an experience he (and I) will never forget. How old are you? It's a well-known fact that the demographic of the typical Goldwing rider is a bit older than that of say, a sport bike rider. Some of that is pure physics - our bodies just don't contort in a sport-bike way anymore! That said, it's surprising how many younger folk are attracted to the smooth ride, comfort and reliability of the Goldwing. Member Sally wondered about this, and posted a topic to find out. We've got an anonymous poll attached to it - just click what age range you fall into to add your vote: Average Age of Goldwing Rider (note: you need to make sure you are logged in before you can vote). It takes time to run this web site, and it truly is a labor of love for me. The popularity, activity and participation of the members is beyond anything I could have ever expected or hoped for. I do still read every single message posted on the site, and I try to reply to those on which I can offer some assistance. However, with hundreds and hundreds of messages posted in the forums every week, it only takes a few days away for me to get hopelessly behind. I've just now caught back up from my weekend in Florida! That said, I have always had people sending me "private messages" on the site, asking me technical questions. Usually, if I know the answer, I'll just reply with the answer. If I don't know, I'll recommend that they post their question in the appropriate forum, to give someone else a chance to answer. For some reason however, the number of private messages I receive has increased dramatically in the past couple of months - to the point where I get at least one of these every day. A lot of the time these questions are either already answered somewhere on the site (we have a very powerful Search function that can help you with that), or more often, lots of other people would benefit from the answer as well. So while I'm perfectly happy to help answer any questions I can answer, I would be far more happy to do so in the public forums, where other people can benefit - and perhaps more people with knowledge different from mine can chime in with answers or suggestions as well. Lastly this month: multiple posts. We've had a recent rash of members who have a question they need answered, and post the same message in multiple forums. Please don't do this! Duplicate messages posted in multiple forums mean potential answers get attached to different copies of the same question. When this happens, I have to manually detach those answers and move them to a single topic, then delete the multiple duplicate posts - it's a lot of work. So please help me out on this! |
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Looking to buy a new (to you) bike, or parts and accessories? We've optimized our Classified Ads page to streamline its operation, and ensure the results are fast and accurate. There are thousands of Goldwing and Goldwing-related ads, from all over the world. If you're looking for a new bike, or maybe parts for your old bike, check us out first! |
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Featured This Month on GoldwingDocs.com: | ||
Oil Wars: Synthetic oil on Wet Clutches? Now we're in for it! Last month we touched on the "Dark Side" - using car tires on motorcycles. This month, we look at the single most divisive topic on every motorcycle forum I've ever seen: Engine oil. Only this time, the war hasn't happened. It all started when member tunaboy asked if the Mobil 1 synthetic oil he uses in his beloved 1980 GL1100 (which he describes as "NICE!") is OK for his wet clutch. He notes that since switching to the synthetic, his transmission seems a little less notchy and clunky. I braced myself when I read this, knowing what was about to happen, and feeling sorry for the onslaught that tunaboy was about to experience. Except...it didn't happen. Instead of the usual "My oil is best and you are ruining your engine by using THAT oil" kind of shouting back and forth, it instead developed into a very helpful, informative conversation, with some excellent, fact-based posts based on research instead of conjecture and hearsay. Bravo, GoldwingDocs users! So is synthetic oil good for your bike? Or are you just flushing needless extra dollars through your drain hole? Or worse - are you doing damage? Have a read through the arguments for and against, and let us know what you think: Synthetic Oil on Wet Clutches |
Lunasee Active Side Lighting The first time I saw this product, I thought; "Wow! Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?" It's a really simple idea: special glow-in-the-dark adhesive tape is applied to the wheel rims of your bike. Tiny "pods" containing bright LEDs are hidden up inside your fenders, where they shine on the tape. When you start your bike up, the LEDs turn on, and as you ride along, they energize the tape, making your wheel rims glow, and making you stand out in dark traffic. Everyone who I've talked to thinks it's a great product, it generated a lot of buzz at Wing Ding last summer. So who has installed it on their bike? We've got quite a few people on the site wanting buyers opinions, as well as a video of the product in use on a GL1800. There's word that an amber version (instead of the standard glow-in-the-dark green) is in the works as well, which I can see being very attractive - something I would definitely consider for my bike. So what do you think? Would you buy it and install it on your bike? If you have it already installed, please write and tell us your thoughts on the product: Lunasee Reflective Wheel Lights |
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Goldwing GPS Input Device We're very proud to announce that the Goldwing GPS Audio Input Device is featured in the January GWRRA Wing World Magazine as part of their "Cool Gifts for the Holidays" section, and we've been doing our best to make sure we have kept up with large influx of orders. It is far and away the most popular product we have ever offered, and the tons of positive feedback we continue to receive really makes us happy that we're making something that people really like - and use. What is the GPS Audio Input Device? It's an American-made plug-and-play device that lets you hear the audio output of your GPS, cell phone or radar detector over your GL1500 or GL1800 intercom - so that you can hear the spoken instructions from your GPS or cell phone in your headset. It's a simple plug-and-play device that can be installed in minutes, and does not permanently modify any bike wiring. It's been receiving rave reviews - check it out today! Do you already have one of our GPS Input Devices? We've had quite a few people who want to buy a GPS with audio output that they know will work with the GPS Input Device. Take a couple minutes to help out your fellow Goldwingers by posting your GPS make and model on this forum thread. GPS manufacturers don't commonly specify audio output jacks as features, so it can be hard to decide which model of GPS to buy, unless you know beforehand what you're looking for. |
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7 Volt Regulator If you have a GL1000, GL1100 or GL1200 Standard Goldwing with mechanical (not electronic LCD) temperature and fuel gauges, you've had this problem. Or...you will. It's only a matter of time. You'll start noticing that your temperature and fuel gauges are reading off the scale - the temperature is in the red, and the fuel shows full. The only thing is, the bike isn't overheating, and you know you've only got a quarter tank left. Or...even worse: your bike is operating normally, and suddenly your temperature and fuel gauges just turn off, and look like the picture to the right. How much fuel have you got left? You'll have to guess! What's causing it? A faulty, worn-out 7 volt voltage regulator. Behind the fuel and temperature gauges is a special voltage regulator that turns your motorcycle's normal 12 volts into the 7 volts on which these two gauges run. When it starts to fail, it typically starts doing so intermittently. Left in a failed state, it can cause damage - allowing a full 12 volts into your temperature and fuel gauges, destroying the delicate coils inside! That gets expensive, requiring the replacement of the entire center gauge cluster! What's the solution? For almost five years, we've been manufacturing a modern, solid-state 7 volt regulator to fix this problem once and for all. Hundreds and hundreds of Goldwing owners all over the world now have operating fuel and temperature gauges thanks to our 7 volt regulator. If you've got this problem - or you know someone who does - check out our 7 Volt Regulator and get it fixed! |
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Product Reviews The Chatterbox Duo Bluetooth headset gets panned by one of our members as being unusable in real-world conditions in this new review. We've got a member who thinks that his Garmin 2455lm is a great alternative to more expensive GPS units, and it lets you pre-program your routes. The G-Max 3/4 helmet is an affordable helmet, great for summer, according to our member reviewer, who says it is more comfy with less weight, and fantastic visibility. We've got a member who purchased and installed BikeMP3's super-bright Driving/Fog lights for the 2012 GL1800, and wrote his thoughts. One of our Canadian members read the review on the GoldwingHID HID headlight kit, and wanted to source a similar kit for his GL1100. He found a vendor in Canada that sells such a kit, and he wrote about it here: HID Headlight for 1100/1200 Got some pin striping, vinyl lettering or even bumper stickers that you want to remove, without damaging the paint? Have a look at the review for the Astro Pneumatic Smart Eraser Pad. |
Organized Goldwingdocs.com Rides Are you interested in organized rides in your area? Let us know what you think, either by taking the survey, or adding your comments to the forum thread. Have an idea or suggestion for organized rides? We'd like to hear about it! Do you enjoy organized rides overall? Would you be interested in knowing when organized rides are happening in your area - regardless of who is running them? We want to hear about this as well! |
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Regular GoldwingDocs.com Features: | ||
How To Articles Want to do some of your own maintenance but scared to take your bike apart? You're going to like this: We have tons of world-reknowned How-To Articles articles - the largest collection of Goldwing How-To Articles on the Internet! Even if you think you might not be capable of working on your bike yourself, our illustrated, step-by-step instructions make it easy - even for the beginner. Check them out today! We've added lots of new ones, and more are being added all the time. - Improving spark plug performance - How to replace your dash lights with LEDs - How to rebuild your front forks - How to prevent cross-threading fasteners - How to make your own ethanol-free gasoline - GL1100 alternator conversion GoldwingDocs Classifieds Looking for a deal on a Goldwing, parts or accessories? Have you checked out our Goldwing Classifieds section? We have literally thousands of Goldwings and Goldwing-related accessories listed, primarily by private sellers from around the world, updated twice a day. If you're looking for a new-to-you bike, or something to add to your existing Goldwing, you should check us out first! GoldwingDocs Message Forum If you haven't visited our Goldwing Message Forum lately, you owe it to yourself to check it out. With tens of thousands of messages posted by thousands of helpful and friendly people, you can just about guarantee that you will find the information you're looking for, or find an interesting topic to chat about. Stop by and just say hello, we'd love to hear from you! GoldwingDocs Vendor Database The GoldwingDocs Vendor Database is a great place to search for sellers of Goldwings, parts and accessories. Not only do we have a huge, user-maintained database of vendors, but each of those vendors is rated in several categories, with written reviews from other Goldwing owners. Both traditional bricks-and-mortar vendors and Internet vendors are represented. If you want to check up on the reputation of an online vendor, or simply look for a Goldwing-friendly shop nearby, the GoldwingDocs Vendor Database has got what you need! GoldwingDocs Member Pictures The GoldwingDocs Member Picture Area has over 5,000 pictures, all uploaded by GoldwingDocs members. There's nothing that Goldwing owners love more than to show off their bikes - so take a few minutes and upload a few pictures of your pride and joy, to share with the world! You can search through all of the existing pictures, or just browse to your heart's content! |
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