Please Please Please Help me 🙏 :(

[Whynot6166]

Hello all, I am new to the forum and new to the Goldwing. I have a memory from back when I was 9 or 10 of my grandfather taking me on a ride and he had a Goldwing. There was a way to talk to him thru the helmet, we also could listen to music, and his Goldwing even had a reverse!!

A little about myself, I have been working on cars since I was 6 years old. My grandfather was an A.S.E. certified master mechanic. He owned a shop during the younger years of my life and I would always help him out. I was pulling engines out, rebuilding them and putting them back in. I absolutely love working on cars. I have so much passion for engines even still to this day. I've never worked on a motorcycle before and am extremely concerned about working on it.

So after discussing bikes with quite a few different people, attending bike rallys, mingling with people who have knowledge of bikes. After a while, based on discussions I had I decided a Goldwing was the way to go. It is big enough to carry a load, comfortable enough to take on a road trip, and has enough power to hold it's own.

So I decided to start looking around for a bike. After a few months of searching, handling, riding different bikes It became very clear to me that these are HEAVY bikes.

I found 2 different Goldwings.
First one, (1984 Goldwing 1200 interstate 46,000) was locally owned, low mileage, looked pretty clean and not molested.
Second one (1986 Goldwing 1200 Apache?? 80,000) was a 3 hour drive, had more miles, and looked to have been laid down a couple times.

Prices were $1500, for each of them.. So I decided to get the 84, instant gratification thing I guess . I talked the guy to $500 cash and took the bike home.. On the way home, the bike died. Lights got dim, turn signals didn't work, and then it died.

I did some investigating and discovered that it was the stator/alternator causing the issue. So I looked on this forum and found a video showing how to remove the engine. I tried to follow along but somehow I lost my way. Now my Goldwing is in pieces, and I'm extremely concerned and confused about this project.

I've taken every bolt and nut out that attached it to the frame. Now I'm having issues actually removing the engine. I've gotten everything disconnected, even the driveshaft?? But I can't get the engine up enough to get it past the mounts. I've tried to use a floor jack, a scissor jack, and I just can't do it. It almost clears but it never gets over the mounts.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[Rambozo]

You probably need to pull the drive shaft. Remove the final drive and you can pull the shaft out of the swingarm.
Do you have the factory service manual? Worth every penny and can often be had on ebay for cheap.

[Whynot6166]

I forgot to remove the bar on the left side, at the bottom of the engine.. I had no clue it was removable.. I didn't see any type of mention of this bar.. I could have just not heard it but regardless, I didn't realize it until my friend came over and asked me if that bar was removable... then she slid right out..

[Whynot6166]

I forgot to attach the pictures..

[Rambozo]

I sure hope you tested the stator before you did all that work. Some just need a new rectifier/regulator.

[Bike...and Dennis]

Some just needed an electrical plug bypassed.
The fact that you didn't know the piece of frame had to be removed tells me you don't have the book. Get the book. Honda's version.
If the stator is burned, you will be much better of having it re-wired. The aftermarket junk is just that...Junk.

[Whynot6166]

Please understand "bike....andDennis"

I do infact I am in possession of the book, and the owners manual.. but having worked on cars all my life, way before Internet, I kinda just dive in.. You can see by the picture, the rectifier, I think is what's it called, but it's new.. Sometimes it bites me in the ass, other times It just works.. I know that I should have read the book and whatnot but it's always WAY more fun to just dive in. That and if somehow I mess it up SO bad that it won't run or something, it only cost me $500.... I mean $500 might pay the electric bill for a house for a couple months but...


Personally I believe this bike is going to be amazing.. tho 800 lbs is extremely heavy... I bought one of those Baja Phoenix 150 and rode that around town until It blew up.. yes, I know 150 is ALOT smaller than the 1200, and all that but we all have to learn somehow. I'm assuming every person here has been in the same situation, maybe a little different but the feeling is still there... I've been talking with all sorts of people, the number 1 thing I've heard is "keep the speed above 5mph on corners any slower and the bike will dump...


My goal is to fix it, then take a trip to Texas... I've never been and gas on this thing is going to be WAY cheaper than my Edge...

Thanks again for all the help...

Aside from the Stator, anything else I should check while I've got the engine out? The clutch pack was replaced "7" years ago, along with the "stator'... I can't tell if they were replaced or not.. the individual who sold it to me seemed trustworthy, was really open and honest with me. Made me go put hands on it before I could buy it. It starts right up, doesn't rattle much in high RPM, I've rode it for about 5 minutes then battery dies, so bike goes with it..

Anyway, the stator wires, (3 yellow) have had their clip clipped off. The individual said this way the problem of "shorting wires" or "corroded connections" . I bought the bike with it cut and everything made sense to me..

[Bike...and Dennis]

The rectifier looks aftermarket. I've seem some of those last an hour. Others, not nearly that long.

[Whynot6166]

Yea, I was thinking the same thing.. there is definitely a difference between the two.. but on the flip side, both have 18 poles, both are wired with the "Delta" pattern.

So the one I pulled out of the bike has rectangular poles while the one I bought has got more of an oblong poles. I'm thinking that the oblong one has more surface area and therefore should be more reliable. ??? Maybe ??


So I got the engine out, tested the stator again, and again there's no resistance going from wire to wire, or ground. The one I purchased, also has the exact same problem, but with this one when I go from wire to ground the meter doesn't beep at me..


I've read the Stator can be rewired.. I've rebuilt alternators, starters, transmissions, and engines. I have tore down and rebuilt countless engines, and Transmissions so I believe I should be able to rewind a stator. It's just with this being my first time tearing into a motorcycle, I'm "cautious" and "concerned". I usually just dive right in and figure it out as I go but these bike engines are a different beast...

The cheapest stator I have found is $150+ , and shipping.. the individual who sold me it said I should buy from a company called "Ricks" or something like that. I was informed that it's as OE as possible...

I'm probably just overthinking it and making a big deal out of nothing but that's why I wanted to join this forum. I figured there is a bunch of people on here who know what's going on, and can explain it even...



Thanks again in advance for any and all assistance with this project.
I truly appreciate all of your patience, support, and Understanding.

And again, if there's any pro-tips anyone is willing to share, please feel free.. I really want to get to know and understand this bike .

[Rambozo]

The stator is just a normal delta 3 phase alternator. There should be continuity between all three wires and nothing to ground.
The best thing to extend the life span is to use a series regulator instead of the factory shunt regulator. That will reduce the heat substantially. (As long as you haven't lit up the bike like a Christmas tree, as some people do)

I have also heard that Rick's Motorsport Electrics are as close to OEM as you can get. But I have never used them myself.
https://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/Ne ... tor-21_102

https://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/Ho ... or-10_105H