[jsilas]

Hello all, and greetings from the PNW. I've just purchased a new 2022 Gold Wing Tour manual - my first touring bike. I've spent the last 20 years riding sport bikes on the road and race track, so this is a new world for me and I have a ton to learn.

For years, my father and I have dreamed of riding distance together (he's on an FJR), and last year he reminded me that he's getting older, which was a major motivator in getting this done. Also, I've taken my wife on a few 2-up rides on the R1, and on the last ride we were both so sore and uncomfortable we vowed never again until we had a proper bike.

With those reasons in mind, I was thrilled to bring home this beautiful machine. I've started immersing myself in all the information I can digest, and I'm looking forward to all I'll learn from this forum and its members. Thanks so much in advance for the wealth of knowledge!

Threads are boring without photos, so here are a few of the new bike and a couple of the sport bikes too.

At the dealership:

New bike day smile courtesy of the wife:

Strapping the bike into my trailer for transport home:

The smile of someone who no longer has to ride seated on a postage stamp:

Tucked in with the other bikes:

Proud new owner:

A couple of photos of the other bikes at the track:

 

[Goldwing Love]

Riding 2 up in an R1 ( or any sportbike) for anything but a quick romp is not going to be a happy experience.
Did you keep the R1 just for fun?

 

[jsilas]

Riding 2 up in an R1 ( or any sportbike) for anything but a quick romp is not going to be a happy experience.
Did you keep the R1 just for fun?

Yeah you're right about that. We decided to ride the Mt. Rainier loop which worked out to be around 350 miles. That was a horrible idea.

The sport bikes are staying around for now, and I'll see how much time I spent on them now that I have the Wing. I still plan to spend time on the track so they'll likely stay around.

 

[sunny_gv01]

congrats, and that big smile on the Mrs. says it all....

 

[murf]

Congrats on acquiring a new 2022 Gold Wing Tour manual. Nice pics.

 

[gkarasik]

Welcome from Los Angeles.

 

[Auburn]

Welcome from Auburn, WA

 

[rufasim]

Welcome from Boston! Nice new bike. I am sure you will enjoy it. Make sure you find sport mode

 

[Navy Gator]

Hello all, and greetings from the PNW. I've just purchased a new 2022 Gold Wing Tour manual - my first touring bike.

Strapping the bike into my trailer for transport home:
The smile of someone who no longer has to ride seated on a postage stamp:

Congrats on your new Wing!

Since you are a racer, looking forward to hearing your thoughts about sport mode

Lots of of good advice and how to's here. Some key ones below...there are lots more

Here is your first piece of advice:
Don't use canyon dancers or anything connected to the handle bars to strap the bike down for hauling or maintenance. The steering spindle is aluminum to save weight. A number of the early bikes had the spindles broken when strapping down by the handlebars until the community figured out what not to do. Traxxion Dynamics has several videos about it. Just search for Steering on his youtube channel.

If you are going to haul, get the Goldstrike or Kury tie down kits for the front end.

2018+ Consolidated List of Accessories

2018+ Deciding on Comms Set Up

2018+ Guide to Making Comms, ACP, and AA Work

2018+ Bolt, Pin, and Screw Diagrams

Hope to ride with you if I get up that way to see my father.

 

[Kodiak536]

Welcome from Eastern NC, nice bike to your collection.

Are they say, happy wife, happy life. She'll appreciate your generosity on giving her a human size seat to sit and enjoy MANY of scenic rides to come.

 

[Larrykenn]

Welcome aboard from South Florida

 

[airmanw8]

Congrats and and welcome! I just received mine last month.. same year/color.. but DCT.

 

[jsilas]

Here is your first piece of advice:
Don't use canyon dancers or anything connected to the handle bars to strap the bike down for hauling or maintenance. The steering spindle is aluminum to save weight. A number of the early bikes had the spindles broken when strapping down by the handlebars until the community figured out what not to do. Traxxion Dynamics has several videos about it. Just search for Steering on his youtube channel.

If you are going to haul, get the Goldstrike or Kury tie down kits for the front end.

Thanks much for the advice, I ordered the Kuryakyn tie down bracket and am installing it today. I'm curious if you leave this installed at all times, or if you only install when hauling is necessary. More importantly, I'm curious about how tight to make the bracket. I've got it placed but I don't want to get super tight around that obviously-cast steering component so I'm unsure how tight to go and there are no torque specs in the installation instructions.

What have you all done?

 

[ssncob]

Normal hand-tight on the torque value, nothing outrageous. Leave it on all the time, no biggie.

And you trailered it ??? Blasphemy I tell you...

Welcome from Tennessee and miles of smiles 😃

 

[jsilas]

Normal hand-tight on the torque value, nothing outrageous. Leave it on all the time, no biggie.

And you trailered it ??? Blasphemy I tell you...

Welcome from Tennessee and miles of smiles 😃

Thanks ssncob. Yes, I did trailer the bike home and used a combination of canyon dancer for lateral stability and soft-ties around the steering knuckle for additional security. I've received a handful of comments and messages urging me to avoid the canyon dancers which got my attention (hence the Kuryakyn purchase).

In truth, I'm unconvinced that the canyon dancers pose any risk. I've used them for years on super bikes with no issues whatsoever. Those bikes even have aftermarket aluminum clip ons designed specifically to break away easily to help avoid tumbling in the case of a crash. I also watched this video from Traxxion Dynamics who seem to be a trusted source of information on these boards, and they directly address the topic of trailering a 'Wing in this manner. No issues.

Given the risk of damage to the steering head casting with too much torque applied to the Kuryakyn product, I wanted to get additional information / second opinions.

 

[ssncob]

@jsilas you are confusing the older generation bikes with the 18+ ones. Older gen you could stand on the handlebars with no damage. 18+ has a different steering / mounting system, you cannot canyon dancer the handlebars without risking breaking the aluminum steering stem system.

 

[jsilas]

@jsilas you are confusing the older generation bikes with the 18+ ones. Older gen you could stand on the handlebars with no damage. 18+ has a different steering / mounting system, you cannot canyon dancer the handlebars without risking breaking the aluminum steering stem system.

I'm not confusing the generation, and I appreciate the link to the new video.

The video I was referencing is also from Max @ TD - you can see it here. It looks like this one is 4 years old, vs the one you shared which is just 2 years old. Perhaps Max has revised his opinion!

Thanks again for sharing!

 

[BigBob1]

Welcome from SE Alaska

 

[lowbar]

Welcome from Georgia. Being from the opposite end of the country I am envious of your riding environment. Have a good time with the new bike. I'm not going to comment on the picture of the pretty lady because that would be inappropriate.

 

[H20man]

Hello from Sammamish!!! Congrats on the new purchase!