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 July 2013 Newsletter
It's So Hot!!! It's now July, summer is in full swing, and across many parts of the northern hemisphere, the heat is unbearable. I find myself riding less and less, simply because it's just not as much fun to ride in unbearable heat (well, that, and the seemingly constant daily thunderstorms and tornado warnings). I like to ride to work and back, but I'm an ATTGATT (all the gear, all the time) guy, and walking into the office, soaked through with sweat, stripping off my mesh gear, isn't really conveying the most professional appearance. When riding any kind of distance in the heat, limitations of the human body come into play. We need water to survive, and when we are riding in hot weather, a lot of that water is being lost as sweat. If you don't replace it, you can very quickly succumb to heatstroke. Constant hydration is a must. I always carry water with me, and if I am riding any distance, Gatorade as well - to replace lost electrolytes. I see riders in my area whose response to the heat is to strip off as much clothing as possible. The "cool" summer Harley rider outfit around here seems to be shorts and a T-shirt, or tank top. No helmet, of course - that wouldn't be cool. Sometimes they even wear flip-flops. This is a sure way to rapid dehydration and heatstroke. Your body sweats to cool itself through evaporation. Walking around on the ground, this system works great. On a bike - not so much. It seems our built-in cooling systems somehow aren't designed for wind blasting at us at 60 mph. At motorcycle speeds, hot air evaporates our sweat without actually cooling us. This is where mesh gear comes into play. It allows air to move through and evaporate our sweat, but not so fast or in such volume that it makes our cooling system inefficient. You actually feel cooler riding with full mesh gear at hot temperatures on than you do wearing a T-shirt and shorts. The real danger is when the ambient temperature approaches our body temperature, 98.5F (37C). When air temperature exceeds our body temperature, it can actually make you HOTTER rather than cool you. Riding at 100F can give you heatstroke even when you are fully hydrated. When this is the situation, I bring lots of water and drink half a bottle, then dump the other half over my T-shirt, under my mesh jacket. When that dries out, I stop and do it again. I wouldn't have made it home from Wing Ding last year without using this technique. Another option is chilled water vests - we talk more about these in this newsletter - read on below! The last danger of hot temperatures is superheated air. Our bikes also need to cool themselves, and they do this with radiators. The bike's cooling system takes heat from the engine and transfers it to the coolant. The coolant then circulates to the radiators, where the heat is transferred to the air flowing through the radiator. The temperature of the air travelling through the radiator is raised by 40 or 50 degrees. On a cold day, where 45 degree air becomes 85 degree air, it can feel quite cozy and warm. On a hot day, where 90 degree air can become 130 degree air - or hotter - it becomes dangerous. Skin exposed to 130 degree air will burn in around 30 seconds. Lower temperatures can cause burns as well. If you have 110 degree air blowing on your legs - even through mesh - for an hour, you can end up with a nasty burn. On four-cylinder Wings, it would be normal for this temperature air to exit the engine area directly onto the rider. Stay cool, stay hydrated, and stay safe - especially if you're headed down to Wing Ding! Does your wife, or small-statured friend want to learn to ride? (shameless plug) Now that my wife has a larger PC800 Pacific Coast, she's selling the 250 Virago on which she learned to ride. It's fantastic for a beginning rider, easy to ride and light. I modified this bike to fit her, as she is quite small (5'2"), so it would suit someone of that size. It's in the Cleveland area - if you're interested, take a look: Yamaka Virago XV250K For Sale ...and while on the topic of shameless plugs, if you're looking for a really nice SUV, I'm selling mine: 2003 Ford Explorer Limited For Sale Do you have a Superbrace? If not, you're going to like this. One of the most respected and reliable Gold Wing vendors on the Internet, Cyclemax, has made a deal with the manufacturer of Superbraces, and is now selling them at a crazy discount. Want to know more? Or perhaps you don't know what a Superbrace is, and need to find out why you need one on your bike (and believe me, you do!). Read on: Superbrace, super cheap What do you carry in your saddlebags? My right-side saddlebag is pretty much filled with my "take everywhere stuff." Several users have listed their "take everywhere stuff" as well, and I've gotten a couple of good ideas of things that I should probably have. Read more: What's in your saddle bags? |
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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: | ||
Keeping cool in the summer heat - Chilled Water Cooling Vests This is something I have read about several times before, and always wondered about. In the USA, and particularly in the southern part of the country, summer temperatures can be so hot that riding is either miserable, or impossible. You simply heat up so much, that heatstroke is a real possibility. This simple system was purchased by a user from Texas, looking to make his riding more comfortable. It consists of a small ice chest that is strapped to the back seat, some tubing, and a vest. A small electric pump inside the ice chest circulates cold water through to the vest, keeping you cool in hot temperatures. He's been using the vest quite often, with 8 pounds of ice keeping him cool for just over three hours on a 92 degree day. Interested? Read some more about what he thought of the system, and what made him decide to buy this one: Chilled Water Cooling Vests |
I was driving home from work, traffic slowed all of a sudden, and I settled in for another commuting delay. Then I saw the cause of the slowdown: A motorcycle laying on its side, its rider laying in the middle of the lane right next to it. Most of the commuters just drove right by. One good samaritan had stopped, but didn't really know what to do - he was just standing there. I pulled over immediately to help. Have you come across a motorcyclist in need? What did you do? Hope someone else will stop and help them out? Figure they will be OK? Or did you stop and help? Personally I will make a point of stopping any time I see a biker on the side of the road, to ask if they need help. Usually they don't, but I have never had one who wasn't grateful for me stopping to ask. What about the other side of the story? What preparations have you made should the worst case scenario happen to you? Do you have your family's contact information readily available? How about any special medications or medical conditions that medical personnel might need to know about? Read more about my encounter, and what other people thought: Rider Down The GL1800 in the picture above belongs to an Ohio couple, on their way to Wing Ding. Some scrap fell from a trailer being towed in the oncoming lane, and took out the GL1800. Apparently they will be OK. Stay vigilant! |
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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 Texas is hot - and who knows this more than user TXAggie87? He tries out the Veskimo Chilled Water Cooling Vest, and declares it a winner. User dingdog put a set of Avon Venom tires on his GL1500, and absolutely loves them! 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. |
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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