I think I've been had.. Gl1500 issues.

[Chess]

I just bought my first Goldwing. A sweet looking GL1500 1988. Grey, with just the right amount of crome. Only minor cosmetic issues and a well documented service history.

It ran like a dream on my test ride everything seems great. I find some final drive issues, nothing serious but a good reason to haggle a bit.

Flash forward to the next day. I take it out for a spin. The tank is almost empty, I fill it up at the local tap. Nothing but the best for the old Honda 98 octane premium Kuwait's finest. Runs line a dream! Loving my bad life choices!

Flash forward two days. My wing has been resting in the garage while little brother (bmw r1200r) gets some runtime.

Then I go to start my new darling. It won't start. Strange. I give it full choke and it sputters to life. Maby she's a bit cranky because I left her in the garage... I drive away, choke off. Idle stuck at 2500 rpm. I take it down a bit to around 900. After 2 km it's back at 2500. Strange. I take it down to 900 again. Back to 2500 almost at once. But if I touch the knob it dies immediately.

Now it is completely impossible to get any kind of idle. I can get 2500 + or nothing.

I don't know where to start. I have a feeling that something is strange with the choke wire. Could that give this issue? It only feels like the first cm or so of the lever is doing something.

I also feel that the choke works quite contra-intuitive. I put slack in the wire to engage the choke. Is that correct or is something put together wrong on my bike?

Sorry for the wall of text.

TLDR: Idle issues, adjust to 900. Shoots back to 2500+. Strange feeling in choke, could that be the issue?

[Rambozo]

GoldWings are low compression engines and many don't like premium. Go back to regular fuel and I bet it will improve.
Sounds like you might have choke issues. It is really not a choke but an enrichment circuit on that engine. If it wasn't used much it might be sticky and need some clean and lube. There are markings on the choke lever to indicate what direction. The lever moves down to turn on the choke and up to turn it off. You might want to get an owner's manual if you don't have one. The 88-89 are slightly different and it's easy to get caught out in the little changes.

[DarthJ]

The manual for the 1500 specifies regular, as they are low compression as stated it's a simple thing to try and couldn't hurt.

[Chess]

GoldWings are low compression engines and many don't like premium. Go back to regular fuel and I bet it will improve.
Sounds like you might have choke issues. It is really not a choke but an enrichment circuit on that engine. If it wasn't used much it might be sticky and need some clean and lube. There are markings on the choke lever to indicate what direction. The lever moves down to turn on the choke and up to turn it off. You might want to get an owner's manual if you don't have one. The 88-89 are slightly different and it's easy to get caught out in the little changes.

The manual for the 1500 specifies regular, as they are low compression as stated it's a simple thing to try and couldn't hurt.

Ok, so mine is an US export. I'm in Sweden, our regular is 95 octane. If I've understod movies and TV-series correctly US regular is around 89 octane, is there som alteration i should do to my wing to make it handle 95?

And if I understand you correctly this is "choke" on

That seems quite contra-intuitive looking att the pictogram next to it.

I've ordered some documentation so hopefully I'll be able to understand more about this magnificent beast sooner than later.

I there any good instruction/tutorial on removing all the plastics without destroying them?

Regards
Chess

[Rambozo]

In the US fuel is measured on a different scale. Where you use RON, we use RON+MON/2.
So your 95 is about like our 89. You should be fine with that.

Yes on the choke. Think of the picture as an arrow.

[DandruffCat]

It sounds like you might have a pretty bad vacuum leak. These bikes, with their incredibly complex induction systems, are prone to idle problems as the many rubber hoses age. It’s a common thing when you get an old GL1500.

Vacuum leaks cause the engine to run lean (getting more air than ideal). I had similar problems like you describe with mine when I got it. It would sometimes not even return to idle, instead hanging around 2,100 rpm unless I blipped the throttle a bunch. If your leak is bad enough, then the only way to get it to run is to engage the choke. This gets the mixture right, but it also sends the right amount of fuel and air for a throttle position higher than idle, which gives it that high idle.

[Chess]

In the US fuel is measured on a different scale. Where you use RON, we use RON+MON/2.
So your 95 is about like our 89. You should be fine with that.

Yes on the choke. Think of the picture as an arrow.

That explains alot.

Then something is defenetly wrong with my choke!

It sounds like you might have a pretty bad vacuum leak. These bikes, with their incredibly complex induction systems, are prone to idle problems as the many rubber hoses age. It’s a common thing when you get an old GL1500.

Vacuum leaks cause the engine to run lean (getting more air than ideal). I had similar problems like you describe with mine when I got it. It would sometimes not even return to idle, instead hanging around 2,100 rpm unless I blipped the throttle a bunch. If your leak is bad enough, then the only way to get it to run is to engage the choke. This gets the mixture right, but it also sends the right amount of fuel and air for a throttle position higher than idle, which gives it that high idle.

Is there any kit with all the hoses needed for the carburetors? It sounds like you've hit the nail on the head on my problems.

[Rednaxs60]

I have 1500 parts for sale, including a full set of the hoses you may be looking for. Sold my 1500 a couple of years back - had envisioned rebuilding the engine. Have an OEM alternator in good working order as well - replaced it with a high output alternator. This is a spreadsheet of the parts available:

Description P/N Qty Fiche Section (FS) Fiche Section Number (FSN)

Tube F P/N 19516-MY4-000 qty 1 FS - Water Pipe FSN - 15
Tube J P/N 19522-MY4-000 qty 1 FS - Water Pipe FSN - 19
Tube D P/N 19514-MN5-000 qty 1 FS - Water Pipe FSN - 13
Tube E P/N 19515-MY4-000 qty 1 FS - Water Pipe FSN - 14
Tube B P/N 19512-MT8-000 qty 1 FS - Water Pipe FSN - 11
Hose Water G P/N 19521-MY4-000 qty 1 FS - Water Pipe FSN - 18

Carb Insulator - Carb to Manifold P/N 16211-MN5-000 qty 2 FS - Cylinder Head FSN - 6

Engine Gasket Set - qty 1

Clutch Plate B P/N 22322-MN5-000 qty 1 FS - Clutch FSN - 7

Clutch Friction Plates P/N 22201-MN5-000 qty 10 FS - Clutch FSN - 3

Fork Centre Gearshift P/N 24212-MN5-000 qty 1 FS - Gearshift Fork FSN - 2
Swingarm Gearshift P/N 24213-MN5-000 qty 1 FS - Gearshift Fork FSN - 1

Water Pump P/N 19200-MY4-020 qty 1 FS - Water Pump FSN - 1

Randaks Carb Kits qty 2

Cheers

[DandruffCat]

In the US fuel is measured on a different scale. Where you use RON, we use RON+MON/2.
So your 95 is about like our 89. You should be fine with that.

Yes on the choke. Think of the picture as an arrow.

That explains alot.

Then something is defenetly wrong with my choke!

It sounds like you might have a pretty bad vacuum leak. These bikes, with their incredibly complex induction systems, are prone to idle problems as the many rubber hoses age. It’s a common thing when you get an old GL1500.

Vacuum leaks cause the engine to run lean (getting more air than ideal). I had similar problems like you describe with mine when I got it. It would sometimes not even return to idle, instead hanging around 2,100 rpm unless I blipped the throttle a bunch. If your leak is bad enough, then the only way to get it to run is to engage the choke. This gets the mixture right, but it also sends the right amount of fuel and air for a throttle position higher than idle, which gives it that high idle.

Is there any kit with all the hoses needed for the carburetors? It sounds like you've hit the nail on the head on my problems.

I don’t believe there’s a kit you can buy. It seems that the majority of people buy appropriate vacuum line in bulk (10ft rolls). I went with this route and it was a piece of cake. Do yourself a favor and dig around on here for vacuum leak threads for the GL1500 and you’ll get a lot more information than I know off of my head. They’ll tell you what kind of hose to get and sizing. They also point out the most common places the hoses fail. Someone on some thread posted Amazon links to the right hoses (I think Wing Admin did) and that’s what I went with. The rubber boots that mate the carbs with the intake manifolds are also common places of vacuum leaks. They’ve gone bad if they feel solid instead of like a piece of rubber.

Of course, it’s hard to say what exactly the problem is. It’s better to tear the bike apart and see what you’ll need to get, but it’s a pretty demanding job to strip it down to that point. Don’t plan on riding the bike for a few days at least.