Recent restoration rides like CRAP. Help!

[Workinman]

Okay guys, (and gals)
I’ve recently completed a full restoration on my 77 GL, and I’ve put around 1300 miles on it. It is a JOY to ride for the most part. However, since day one the forks have been “off”. They seem to work just fine over big bumps, and they compress normally when you hit the front brake, but riding over ANY small bump in the road comes STRAIGHT through the bars. On a freshly paved section of asphalt it rides great, but anything less than brand new surface feels almost rigid. I have tried changing the fork oil from ATF to 5 wt. and it basically made no difference. I’ve tried draining oil out a small amount at a time,with no improvement. Yesterday, I did the “stiction” adjustments as per the instructions on Randakks site. Took her out today, and I believe it feels better, but still not right, and I’m still not happy with it. The oil, per Randakks directions is 160mm down from the top of the fork with the fork fully compressed. I know I’ve gotten spoiled riding my BMW over the years, but a GoldWing should ride like a GoldWing. I’m hoping someone here has experienced this problem and can help me out. The ONLY thing I can think of at this point that might be causing my problem is, as Randakk puts it, “Cheap aftermarket fork seals”.
Any ideas???
Thanks, Chris

[winguyjo]

if the fork seals were really tight, i imagine they could provide enough resistance to give the symptom you describe. did they feel super tight going on ?

[Workinman]

No, they actually felt okay. They didn’t feel any tighter than normal, and I’ve redone the forks on several bikes, but honestly, it’s the only thing I haven’t tried. According to Randakk, this is a common problem with these machines, and I was hoping someone else had experienced this and figured out how to correct it.
Today I ordered a new set of billet fork caps, because the original ones are junk, and when they come in I think I’m going to tear the forks back down and put genuine Honda seals in. If that doesn’t cure the problem then I guess I’ll just learn to live with it. Fingers crossed…

[landisr]

When you have the forks off, be sure to confirm that they are straight and true, and also take care to follow the installation steps in the order specified in the manual.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Ron in AZ

[Workinman]

Beautiful billet fork caps came in today, so as soon as the USPS gets around to delivering my Genuine Honda fork seals I’ll take it apart and try this.
Thanks!

[DenverWinger]

My 1500 was starting to ride hard over little bumps as you describe. I, too, was beginning to wonder if there was some issue with the front forks. It didn't ride hard like this when I bought the bike....

When I bought the bike 4 yrs ago it had Dunlop E3s both front and back, the rear tire was mostly worn out and developed a leak shortly after buying the bike. So I replaced that with a new E4 right away.

But the Front E3 still had most of the tread, I figured to run it until needing replacement.

Well, due to COVID and other factors I only put 10k miles in the last four years, the E3 on the front still had lots of tread left. But this year Deb and I are on a cross country trip (Colorado to Michigan) pulling a camper trailer, currently still in Michigan, starting return trip tomorrow. Before leaving Denver I put new tires on the camper and checked the date code on the front E3 still on the bike.

I found the E3 to be seven years old, though it still had plenty enough tread for the entire planned trip I replaced it anyway due to age. Installed a brand-new Dunlop E4 on the front.

I immediately noticed the bike war riding much smoother, I now have the ride you'd expect from a Goldwing. Just from replacing a 7 yr old tire.

So the only thing I can figure is the old E3 had gotten hard from age.... How old are your tires?

[Workinman]

Tires are new. Less than a year old and around 1300 miles on them. They are, however, not a great quality tire. I couldn’t find decent tires in a size to fit the early Wing, so I ended up with a set of Kenda tires if I’m not mistaken. And I’ve seriously wondered if that could be the problem. I think I can find a better set of tires if I do some research, so that will be my next thing to try. Thanks for telling me that story. It gives me some hope!

[LAB3]

There's quite a bit there to go over in the front fork, wheel bearings and steering stem bearings, any of which could be the culprit. Ran Kendas on another bike a few years ago which where good enough except in the rain, they are known to be quite poor in the wet. When I switched to Shinko's my ride and handling improved greatly and when those wore out I was able to find a set of Continentals at a reasonable price. The bike was once again a whole nuther animal just as when I went from Kenda to Shinko. Bottom line: Make certain your front end is in order then make a better choice for tires, Shinko's are usually within $5-10 of Kenda and are a good "Middle of the road" choice.

[Maz]

Okay guys, (and gals)
I’ve recently completed a full restoration on my 77 GL, and I’ve put around 1300 miles on it. It is a JOY to ride for the most part. However, since day one the forks have been “off”. They seem to work just fine over big bumps, and they compress normally when you hit the front brake, but riding over ANY small bump in the road comes STRAIGHT through the bars. On a freshly paved section of asphalt it rides great, but anything less than brand new surface feels almost rigid. I have tried changing the fork oil from ATF to 5 wt. and it basically made no difference. I’ve tried draining oil out a small amount at a time,with no improvement. Yesterday, I did the “stiction” adjustments as per the instructions on Randakks site. Took her out today, and I believe it feels better, but still not right, and I’m still not happy with it. The oil, per Randakks directions is 160mm down from the top of the fork with the fork fully compressed. I know I’ve gotten spoiled riding my BMW over the years, but a GoldWing should ride like a GoldWing. I’m hoping someone here has experienced this problem and can help me out. The ONLY thing I can think of at this point that might be causing my problem is, as Randakk puts it, “Cheap aftermarket fork seals”.
Any ideas???
Thanks, Chris

My '79 CB750L did exactly the same. I finally replaced the bushings in the sliders and now all good. HOWEVER, I don't think all GL1000's actually have these bushings, so I've probably not helped you at all!!
Maz

[Workinman]

Thanks for the help, guys! The steering stem bearings are new, the wheel bearings are new, tires, tubes, spokes, etc, etc. Most everything on this scooter is brand new, and unfortunately it was a barn find so I didn’t get to ride it before I tore it down. This may be, for all I know, a preexisting condition. I haven’t ridden a first gen GoldWing since they first came out and I was a 16-17 year old wet behind the ears Honda mechanic FRESH outa motorcycle mechanics school. (We were called mechanics back then. We hadn’t figured out how much cooler we sounded if we called ourselves “technicians”) I certainly don’t remember them riding like this when they were new, cuz God knows we wouldn’t have sold many! I’m just plain stumped here as to what is causing this, but I should have my new Honda fork seals in a couple of days, and I will tear into it then and see what happens. I’ve never had a problem with cheap inferior aftermarket fork seals before, but who knows? It’s worth a try.

[Maz]

When you strip the forks to replace the seals, check how the sliders move on the stanchions with no oil or springs in them. They should slide easily and both exactly the same. If they take a bit of effort and then suddenly slide, that's the problem. Strip them completely and check the sliding surfaces for ANY corrosion/roughness. If these forks don't have bushings, the stanchions move against the actual alloy body of the slider. Check this surface thoroughly.
Maz

[Workinman]

Will do. When I take them apart this time, I’m going to examine everything with a fine tooth comb. Everything appeared to be in good shape when I restored them, but now that I know there’s an issue I am going to REALLY check everything out.
I will let everybody know what I find.

[detdrbuzzard]

what springs did you install up front

[Workinman]

what springs did you install up front

Stock

[Workinman]

I’m looking at front tires on line. Randakks reccomends the Bridgestone BT45, which is now the new and improved BT46. It’s rather pricey, but I’m usually not one to skimp on tires. I run Michelin’s on just about everything I own. Has anyone run a set of BT45’s or BT46’s? To be honest, I would believe that my problem is tire related before I would believe it’s fork seal related, but I’ll replace both if it will cure the ride issue I’m having. Randakk also recommends the Shinko 230, and it’s half the price of the Bridgestone. Any experience with the Shinko? Thanks for y’all’s help on this!

[LAB3]

The Bridgestone BT45 is a highly respected tire, the Shinko 230 will give you good service half as long as the Bridgestone. Since rear tires tend to wear out much more quickly than fronts my bike got a Dunlop Elite 4 rear and a Shinko 777 front this spring. The matching Dunlop has a rib running directly down the center which tends to make the bike squirrely on rain grooves and bridge grates and having run 777's before this is never an issue. Try running an eBay search for tire size you need, that's usually where you'll find the lower prices and largest choices.

[twofest5]

Superbrace

I had a similar issue with my resto as well. I replaced everything from the triple tree down. I have been running the shinko 10 Sr 712f 100/90 with no issues. I also added a super brace as I feared one of my new used front forks may have been weaker than the other causing the problem. After all of that it seemed to be fixed. I think that the super brace was the biggest help. Don't know if that helps any but that was my experience.

[ehadams]

My front end was pretty bad on my 75. I will admit that I am running a sidecar so that affects everything quite a bit.
I'm running progressive springs and a superbrace fork brace.
When I put the fork brace on one year at Americade, as I was riding it back from the vendor area to the parking lot it was like I had a new bike. What a difference.

[Workinman]

Thanks guys. I got my genuine Honda fork seals today and installed them but haven’t had a chance to really take it for a ride due to the rain. I’m hoping to try it in the morning. To be honest, I’m not really expecting any major improvements. I will be ordering a new (better) tire while I’m on vacation next week and will be trying that when I get home. I will post my results tomorrow after I take her for a good ride.

[Workinman]

Okay… I took her out for a fifty mile ride today and although I did notice an improvement, it’s still not where I would like it. So, I just ordered a new Bridgestone BT46 and will install that when I return from my vacation. Baby Steps…

[landisr]

..... Baby Steps…

Little by little...

[Workinman]

Okay… sorry it’s been so long getting back, but I bought another project (1980 CB750F Super Sport) and it’s been taking a lot of my time trying to get it running right. I’m also doing some minor crash repair on my brothers Electra Glide, so the Wing has been relegated to the back burner for now. I did, however, install the new Bridgestone and take it for a good ride. I would say a slight improvement, but STILL not where I think it should be. I just don’t know what else I can do to correct the problem at this point, so I guess I just call it GOOD ENOUGH and enjoy it like it is. I might try the fork brace at some point, but I hate to put anything on this bike that’s not factory. If I discover a solution to this problem, I’ll certainly post it here.

[Rambozo]

You may have problems in the fork valving. Old gunk or debris blocking passages. Did you fully strip down the fork, and make sure the oil lock valve and valve spring were working properly? The service manual should have the service limits for the spring length and pressure. Do you have the TRAC unit?

[Yoyosk]

How Olds the tire.
Mine on my 1100 were 15 yrs old that I know of so changed oil and all that but still rode hard . Put new tires on and it became a goldwing again.
Didn't check volume on yours but doesn't sound like enough.
750 on my 1100.
I find it better to take front wheel off and pump oil back in from bottom. Make sure your air is all out before starting. .
Once you have drain screws out of bottom push up shocks to make sure there Mt. Pull down again to fill. I use a boat pump on mine

[Yoyosk]

Forgot to mention.
Nice looking job