Naked Goldwings - What FUN!

[rgbeard]

Who knew how much fun these are?????



I scraped pegs across the Ortega on the way home with it yesterday.  The Fun of an original "Power Cruiser" motorcycle!!!!!!  It just seems so right, and so wrong all at the same time!

(oh and when I'm done playing with it, I'll be looking for the next owner - so if you want a "Hooligan Goldwing" keep me in mind).

[shesmyjewel]

wow that's in nice shape too....pretty.....nice classic.

[Virginian]

Very nice!  

[Fourstring]

I wonder if you could streetfighter a modern one.  It'd be an interesting project...

[Rincewind]

I wonder if you could streetfighter a modern one.  It'd be an interesting project...

Have you ever seen the insides of one?  Not pretty!  



Actually Honda almost made the EVO-6 model, which was essentially a GW streetfighter - but it decided against producing it.



Nice classic, Rgbeard

[steve.ski]

Who knew how much fun these are?????



I scraped pegs across the Ortega on the way home with it yesterday.  The Fun of an original "Power Cruiser" motorcycle!!!!!!  It just seems so right, and so wrong all at the same time!

(oh and when I'm done playing with it, I'll be looking for the next owner - so if you want a "Hooligan Goldwing" keep me in mind).

COOL!!! My Dad had a couple naked wings, the latest one I actually got to spend some time on and it was really fun...

Nice find!

[MK96xj]

OHHH oww OHHH

[Scratch33]

Have you ever seen the insides of one?  Not pretty!  

I've had my '01 stripped down to that point of fugly before.

[chornbe]

Who knew how much fun these are?????

I scraped pegs across the Ortega on the way home with it yesterday.  The Fun of an original "Power Cruiser" motorcycle!!!!!!  It just seems so right, and so wrong all at the same time!

(oh and when I'm done playing with it, I'll be looking for the next owner - so if you want a "Hooligan Goldwing" keep me in mind).

I've had a couple of these and LOVE them!

[Snowbird]

About 15 years ago, I had a 1979 model. It was ~ok~... felt like being atop a locomotive, but the low speed handling was squirrelly due to the then-current idea that lower centers of gravities were better. My FJR makes me think of the 'Wing... only way more better. So, county is sort of right.

[chornbe]

About 15 years ago, I had a 1979 model. It was ~ok~... felt like being atop a locomotive, but the low speed handling was squirrelly due to the then-current idea that lower centers of gravities were better. My FJR makes me think of the 'Wing... only way more better. So, county is sort of right.

Squirrelly?   Maybe you just had an issue with steering head or wheel bearings.

Those things will practically pirouette in the parking lot.

[Paintman]

ive had a few ove rthe yrs they are  ablast to ride wouldnt mind another 80 or so just add real tires and maybe a Turbo oh and better brakes

[SLK50]

  I had one virtually identical to the one pictured. Had it for about 13 years.
I crossed the country twice on it, two up, second time pulling a trailer.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING ever broke on it! It still had the original clutch
in it when I sold it. It was the definition of "smooth".
  After I had taken a turn for sport-touring I sold it to a deserving new owner who actually paid more for it than I did.
  I almost cried the day I delivered it to it's new owner.  

[Dan K]

Wasn't the Valkyrie a naked goldwing?

Or is that too cruiser like for this crowd?  I'd take one of those.

- Dan

[kevin_stevens]

And look!  It already comes with an extended swingarm!  

Honda originally purposed the Wing as an all-around "superbike" similar to what the XS-Eleven ended up being; but the touring crowd immediately adopted them to such a degree that they took over the model direction.

KeS

[chornbe]

Wasn't the Valkyrie a naked goldwing?

Or is that too cruiser like for this crowd?  I'd take one of those.

- Dan

Lower and longer frame.

But Valks will do wheelies.

[Fourstring]

When I first started looking at bikes, it was a hard choice between a Valk and a Burgman (yeah, yeah, I didn't know shit).

I still like the look of them.

[rjstaaf]

I have been looking for one as a project bike for some time.  I recall when I was in High School in 79 spending a lot of time at a Honda dealership near school dreaming about having one...

This pic is from a recent Craigslist ad.

[mxvet57]

caught this little beauty last month at Ohio Caverns

[duceduceexplorer]

there are tons of naked wings and man do those people take them seriously. like the looks of yours, check out this site to see more
http://www.nakedgoldwings.com/

[Phenix_Rider]

Actually Honda almost made the EVO-6 model, which was essentially a GW streetfighter - but it decided against producing it.



Nice classic, Rgbeard

Do WANT!  A stripped down GoldWing would haul ass!

[bomber]

a neighbor rode home on one of those within days of their becoming available -- he was button busting proud of the thing . . . . I made the appropriate OOooo AAAhhhhh noises, while thinking, good keerist, lookit the size of that thing . . . . I can hear Gregory Peck hollering "He BREEEEECHES!" already -- nah, too big, too heavy, never sell. Honda's stepped on their own dick this time.

And went back to trying to get my Triumph to make electricity that went to the headlight, rather than my left knee.

This was the beginning of my meteoric rise in the motorcycle product planning field.
Nice scoot, beard!

[DrMikey]

How about a neo-retro update of the concept?



What do you think inspired the 'wing in the first place? Something like this, maybe?



My college roomate had one in the mid-eighties. Riding it was a riot. It had been crashed, and it was aligned everywhere, except the handlebars. You would be riding in a straight line with your arms cockeyed. Powerful, though. It had an electric fuel pump. One winter, he took the engine out to replace the pump and it sat in the kitchen for a month. He later traded it and a bomber jacket to another roomie for a foosball table and a 10-gauge goose gun. Them were the days.

[3banger]

This one speaks to me...

[VAbikeguy]

 

I would love to own one if I were allowed to keep two bikes.  You have a great looking specimen there.

[jsh1120]

there are tons of naked wings and man do those people take them seriously. like the looks of yours, check out this site to see more
http://www.nakedgoldwings.com/

Quite a sight, er...site. Here's an example that defies (my) comment.

[wvrider]

I've had my '01 stripped down to that point of fugly before.

Yeah to put an air filter in   What were they thinking?

Phil

[Leanintree]

I have to admit, I've never been that much into cruisers, but I LIKED the Valk...


Then they went and ruined Runed it...  I know that Lord of the Rings was hot then, and Gandlaf needed a bike, but DAYUM...

Leanintree

[jsh1120]

I have to admit, I've never been that much into cruisers, but I LIKED the Valk...

Same here on both counts. Just replaced my rear shocks with Works Performance units and getting RaceTech fork springs for my 2002 Valk. Almost ready for the track.  

Seriously, the Valkyrie is a unique and wonderful experience. The only cruiser I've ever owned. When I bought her new in 2002 her 1520 cc engine was considered a behemoth. How times change. Now 1520 cc's is "midsize" in that segment. The smoothest bike I've ever owned. Utterly reliable. Like my Prelude, I've never done anything but put oil, fuel, and tires in/on her. Still turns heads, especially among those who assume I put an auto engine in a motorcycle frame.

I've ridden just about every cruiser that has come out since I bought "Puff" and have yet to find one I would rather have.

[Blunder]

[ScottysB12]

Id ride that!

[Justin]

I have to admit, I've never been that much into cruisers, but I LIKED the Valk...


Then they went and ruined Runed it...  I know that Lord of the Rings was hot then, and Gandlaf needed a bike, but DAYUM...

Leanintree

Indeed, the Valk is a great bike... the Rune...  

[Pshrynk]

Half the time I think the naked G-wings are the ugliest bike ever,

the other half I think they look pretty cool in a utilitarian, function over form kinda way

[Metal Cutter]

That is pretty groovy.

[JReazor]

I saw this one yesterday at the VFW in Ephrata.

[shawn and gwyn]

ohh damn.  now if honda would have the balls to put somthing like that on the market.. i might be interested in them again. i would so hit that. bike..

   

OHHH oww OHHH

[Dan K]

What is that and where can I get one?

- Dan

[Rusty the Scoob]

BIG yes to the JeffN bike.   I like retro stuff and that is sweet.

[scottzilla]

Who knew how much fun these are?????



I scraped pegs across the Ortega on the way home with it yesterday.  The Fun of an original "Power Cruiser" motorcycle!!!!!!  It just seems so right, and so wrong all at the same time!

(oh and when I'm done playing with it, I'll be looking for the next owner - so if you want a "Hooligan Goldwing" keep me in mind).

The moment I saw the Valkerie for the first time, I said "Ah, the 1981 Gold Wing".
A few people weren't aware the Wing started as a naked bike.

[rgbeard]

Well I cleaned it up a little and posted it in the ForSale section.

Full photos and Video over there.

I'd love to see it stay "in family" if someone here wanted it.  I think I've got it priced under-value given miles and condition.

[karlfitt]

No room for two now.

And hooligan, didn't someone make a supercharger for those???


Edit: Yes, stole from post found with google


The following two articles are reprinted with permission from Petersen Publishing, and orginally appeared in the January 1983 and August 1984 issue of RIDER magazine.  Thanks to Ken Chapin of Vancouver, BC, Canada for providing me with the articles and pictures from his personal archive.  We apologize for the quality of the pictures here, but trying to scan an old black and white magazine photo and get good quality pics is hard to do.
RIDER
Product Test

The Flying Wing :  Supercharger Makes the Gold Wing a Pavement Wrinkler

Getting a small accessory firm off the ground floor has never been easy.  One of the first objectives facing any new business is to create product awareness with the public.  That usually requires coming up with some kind of a promotional gimmick.  Some use the traditional bikini-clad poster girl to open your eyes, while others plaster their products with big name endorsements.  These ploys, however, seem a little tame compared to what the fellas at CC Products use to stir up some attention.  They?ve got something that borders on the bizarre - an honest to goodness supercharged HONDA Gold Wing.  This hunk of rolling thunder is the creation of Chris HODGSON of CC Products.  You probably wonder what motivated him to take on such a project.  Well, that answer pretty much lies in the kind of products this Los Gatos, California based firm produces.  If you hadn?t guessed by now, they more or less cater to the high performance touring crowd.  For being in business just over a year now, they already have a wide range of products: roller cam kits and machined triple clamps for BMW?s, strengthened swingarms for all the shaft-drive bikes - fork braces for all 400cc and up machines, and naturally they?ve got the Gold Wing well covered with a full line of suspension components and accessories.  When it came time to test the suspension products for the Gold Wing, Chris realized that first he had to bring the Wing?s bad handling characteristics more readily to the surface before he could fix them.  We all know how that?s accomplished on Japanese bikes - you just pour on some additional power.

But why supercharging?  Why not something a little more conventional like turbocharging?  Well, Chris admits he was going for the ultimate shock treatment and the pure sight of a blower certainly provides that.  But in reality, he?s a firm believer that when it comes to force feeding motorcycle engines, especially a flat four configuration like the Gold Wing?s, supercharging is much more efficient and better suited to the task than turbocharging.  Having a bachelor?s degree in aviation management and a minor in mechanical engineering, Chris is well qualified to verse the pros and cons of each application.  He acknowledges the fact that turbochargers are excellent horsepower producers in certain instances - like on airplanes and big diesel rigs where throttle settings are kept relatively constant.  But like many of you, he isn?t ready to accept the familiar turbo lag that nags the turbo installation on motorcycles.

Supercharging on the other hand isn?t afflicted this way.  The compressor, being driven directly off the crankshaft, pumps essentially the same amount of charge for each revolution of the engine, regardless of speed, and because it is a positive displacement device all of this charge must pass through the engine.  So with supercharging there is no waiting for the power to ?come on?.  It is almost instantaneous the moment the throttle is cracked open.

As you might suspect, getting the application from paper to reality took some engineering prowess on Chris?s part.  The most laboring task was hand fabricating the intake manifold in just the right configuration so that all the mixtures flowed properly.  Then he had to remove the Gold Wing?s cooling fan and cut away portions of the cambelt covers to allow installation of the toothed blower belt and drive pulley to the front of the engine.  To restore some air circulation through the radiator, Chris resorted to the electronics world for a little help, utilizing a tiny pair of fans whose original purpose was to cool the insides of computers.

Actually the Gold Wing is probably one of the most applicable candidates for supercharging simply because of its widely spaced frame tubes and hollow tank.  It provides an excellent cavity for housing the 20 pound Magnuson MC60 blower and the accelerator pump equipped Holley/Weber two barrel carburetor.  This particular Magnuson blower displaces 60 cubic inches of volume with every rotation.  That makes it a little bit smaller than those used on the typical top fuel drag bike.  Chris also has it a bit undergeared with the blower turning 95% of crankshaft speed.  So in essence, this is rather a mild application supplying only around five to six pounds of boost pressure.  Chris intentionally kept it on the mild side so that all of the Gold Wing'? internals could be left totally stock.

Now some of you may still have the wrong impression about a supercharged Gold Wing.  All you can relate to is the drag racing jobs, sitting there rumbling at the starting line, spitting flames and nitro fumes.  That?s certainly not the case here.  I jockeyed this beast for a couple of days and can truthfully say it?s almost as docile as the stocker when it wants to be.  In the mornings, a couple of squirts from the accelerator pump easily brings the engine to life and it will sit there and idle just as patiently as a thoroughbred commuter bike. Oh sure, there are a few constant reminders that you?re riding something a little different.  For instance, there?s always that soft ?whine? from the blowers straight cut gears.  And at low rpm, you can sense some vibration and hear the faint clatter caused by slack in the blower?s drive line.  But otherwise, there?s hardly a hint of the thunder lurking within.  One of the alleged downfalls of supercharging is that it takes power to make power.  This bike pretty much disproves that assumption because believe it or not, under a gentle throttle hand it can still deliver 41 mpg.

But obviously what sets this bike in a class by itself, is the ungodly amount of power it produces.  This thing is a genuine asphalt wrinkler.  Chris claims he?s turned 11.8 second quarter-mile times aboard this behemoth.  I have no reason to doubt this either, because I remember how easily it stretches my arms when I cut it loose on a lone straight away.  You have no idea what it feels like to have 650 pounds of Gold Wing literally try and jump out from under you.  More weight would surely dampen this, but on a more practical note, it should be great for the heavy, fully dressed Gold Wings, including those that pull trailers.  The supercharger delivers the power immediately, evenly and smoothly and when weight gets up around the ton mark, it should greatly improve throttle response and make the Gold Wing more enjoyable.

As mentioned earlier, all this power was intended to bring out the Gold Wing?s poor handling characteristics.  Well, if it ever did handle badly, then such items as the CC Products fork brace, the strengthened swingarm and The Fox Superbike Shox that were added to the test machine certainly straightened that act up.  In spite of all the horsepower, this was one of the best handling Gold Wings I?ve ever ridden.

I have to admit that when I first laid eyes on this bike I chuckled with skepticism.  But now, after riding it, I?m inclined to think that supercharging a streetbike isn?t all that crazy.

CC Products will offer the supercharger system for about $2250 plus installation, which they expect to be $200 to $300.  That?s a healthy tab for improved performance, but just think - you won?t have to put up with those ?Lead Wing? jokes anymore.

(Company Address:   CC Products, 14431 Winchester Boulevard, Los Gatos, California  95030).

[FredE]

I owned these two naked Hondas back in the early eighties.  Used the 750K for short/intermediate trips/work commuting. Used the 'Wing for the long haul..................I put a TON of trouble-free miles on that bike.