Lowering a Goldwing 1978/76 1000gl

[emayora]

Hi Guys just a quick tought and question

I have a 1978 and a 1976 1000gl goldwing, but I have a small problem, I am 5,4 feet high and as you can imagine I feel a little lose driving my toys
My Question is: does any one have an Idea how could I lover my bikes as much as posible without damaging them nor myself in the process?
I would love to be able to put at least the tip of my toes on both sides at the same time

Please Guys give me some light in this Issue, as you can imagine is not nice to park somwhere and drop the bike or shivering everytime I have to stop Uphill

Thanks in advance,

Sincerely,
Eduardo, another happy Goldwing owner in Guatemala

[WingAdmin]

The easiest (and safest) way is to cut the seat foam down. You can cut both the height and width down, that can give you 1-2 inches back.

[Fred Camper]

Even back in the day folks wanted the bike lower, so aftermarket rear wheels were mostly 16 inch diameter instead of the stock 17 inch diameter. So that is something to consider if you do not get enough off the seat.

[emayora]

Hi Guys, those 2 ideas sound great, I will try them, please any more Ideas will be appreciated, besides that does anyone know where I can get the saddlebags (hard plastic ones) and the Windshield for the bike and if they sent Worldwide

Thanks and as soon as I can post pics of the bikes I will

Eduardo M

[pierce]

Ebay is your best bet on finding the fairing and bags. You can find them pretty cheaply, and with a some sanding, painting, and a bit of restorative work they come out beautifully. The biggest pain for me was the edging (always looks bad) but I found that boat edging looks fantastic on it, as i dirt cheap. Really makes a difference. Whether or not they would ship to Guatemala ......?

[landisr]

Something quick and easy to try is to either buy a pair of boots with extra thick soles, or have extra layers of sole stitched on by a leather/shoe repair outfit. You'd be surprised how much this will help. Lowering the bike will, if nothing else, decrease the bike's ground clearance and possibly cause something to drag in corners, depending on how 'aggressive' you ride....

Just a thought. Ron in MI/USA

[fysty-1]

Hola. ¿Cómo está usted? There we go with all the spanish I know. Welcome to the site. As to you question one way is to go with shorter shocks inn the rear this you will have to do with a tape measure & check different shocks that have the same mounting (Examle eye to eye or eye to pin etc) If yours are 13" long the find a shock that is 11" or 10" Now there is also a way to shorten the length on your tubef ( front end) but I am not familiar with yours but you should be able to loosen off the tube clamps and slide the tubes further up toward the triple tree. Hope this helps. ciao Angela aka fysty-1

[emayora]

Guys you leave me speachless, those ideas sound like I will have to try them
Today I did something naughty hahahaha, went to the nearest Triumph dealer to check on a fork told to be almost identical but smaller for the Goldwing, sadly I was not able to measure it since the Sales Guy was "hawkeyeing" me all the time, will try next week again,
Thanks to all and
Gracias hahaha another spanish word for you Angela

[Fred Camper]

Now keep in mind you can lower the front fork with no new parts. Just jack up the bike to take the weight off the front wheel, then loosen both sets of bolts that clamp the fork tubes into the triple clamp. Now you can slowly lower the bike until you get 1 inch of the fork tube above the triple clamp. Tighten back up the clamps on the fork tubes, and away you go. You need shorter shocks for the rear, but no new parts required up front.

[fysty-1]

Now keep in mind you can lower the front fork with no new parts. Just jack up the bike to take the weight off the front wheel, then loosen both sets of bolts that clamp the fork tubes into the triple clamp. Now you can slowly lower the bike until you get 1 inch of the fork tube above the triple clamp. Tighten back up the clamps on the fork tubes, and away you go. You need shorter shocks for the rear, but no new parts required up front.

Isn't that what I said?

[Fred Camper]

Now keep in mind you can lower the front fork with no new parts. Just jack up the bike to take the weight off the front wheel, then loosen both sets of bolts that clamp the fork tubes into the triple clamp. Now you can slowly lower the bike until you get 1 inch of the fork tube above the triple clamp. Tighten back up the clamps on the fork tubes, and away you go. You need shorter shocks for the rear, but no new parts required up front.

Isn't that what I said?

Just an echo of what you said earlier.

[Crusty and Sloopy]

Hello All, Thanks for such a wonderful site.

I just purchased a 85 interstate and am only 5'2". Dont know my inseam because the tape don't go that low!! I asked someone from Progressive if I could use the 11" shocks for a harley and they said it would mess up the drive line. Can anyone explain that answer? I have heard many people use the FLH shocks but have not heard of any drive line issues.
Thanks

[Fred Camper]

The drive shaft in a GL has u-joints to allow the suspension to move up and down during bumps. U-joints are designed for the bikes suspension travel. When changes are made to the ride height, two things can happen;

1) The alignment of the u-joint during level travel is now cocked, and this may have a small effect on friction
2) The maximum up and down travel may change (depending on the method used) resulting in binding in the u-joint at the one end where maximum travel increased. Lets say you lowered the bike with shocks, but retained the full jounce travel upward. Now when the wheel goes into maximum upward travel, the u-joint will be at a more extreme angle than Honda intended.

There are work around plans for 2), as you can just accept the same maximum travel as before and ensure the wheel does not go further up than stock. But item 1) would take a different alignment of the engine in the bike to resolve and that is not a practical solution.

But for your concern, not that big of a deal provided you only go after maybe 20 mm (3/4 inch) of squat. The seat is by far your biggest opportunity and also the most practical place to start. Using much less foam is one option, as is using way less of a denser foam. Seat craftsman abound and are a bargain if you are uncomfortable doing this.

I think your Interstate already has a 16 inch rear wheel, so no real options there. But an Interstate expert I am not!

[landisr]

I repeat my post above; try buying some riding boots with thicker soles.

Ron inMI

[fysty-1]

Another problem that you will have that is not mentioned is fender clearance. There is just about an inch of clearance here. What I did (and documented a dozen time in the past 4 years ob 5 forums) as I believe I mentioned before is I took a 2"(@widest part) x 6" wedge out of my saddle in the area that my thighs make contact with the seat. And as mentioed before as well a good pair of boots with thick soles. Cheers Angela aka fysty-1

[JellyBelly]

I would go with the shoes idea or cut foam from the seat.

Fairings: I am selling these, not sure of what it would cost to sent it to you though.

http://memphis.craigslist.org/mcy/2972621436.html