wow ! thats a lot of stuff , keep your eyes open for other damage

 

Hopefully the rodent didn't start chewing on wire harnesses.

 

Wow talk about chucked full.
Lucky you looked it over.

 

You need some rat poison ASAP in that garage.

 

Place poison away from the bike, at the other end(s) of the garage/building. The poison is bait, and while it kills them relatively soon, it's still bait and an attractant. You don't want to lure them toward the machine to investigate.

 

I expect improved throttle response , possibly pick up a couple mpg.

 

How do they always know exactly where the air filter box is??

 

Like everything they do, they stumble across it foraging for food then decide it’s a good place to hide and live. Warm and dark fits the bill!

 

Did you place the mesh screen on the intake? It doesn't look like it would keep mice out.

 

That was my first thought too. It's a close call. Adults can get through an opening the size of a dime.

 

Thanks for sharing this. Reminded me of a related “rodent” issue from a number of years ago.

I used to feed the squirrels in my yard years ago.. after my Dodge Ram wouldn’t start one morning, found out squirrels had chewed up the wiring harness on the warm engine components. Then a remembered squirrels were just rats with pretty tails. I traded the squirrel food for a pellet gun and never again had a problem. Go figure...

 

For 2 mice, that looks like more fun then a water bed

 

This what I found in my air filter, I must have a mice family with rotted out teeth, hiding in garage somwplace.....

Ronnie
I now have that same screen on my bike as well now!

 

We bought some "Hardware Metal Cloth" and had the place that replaced our air filter install the wire over the intake vents. Just to be on the safe side.
Can't remember if i got it at TSC or Ace Hardware or Home Depot.

 

That's what I used too. It is manufactured in at least two mesh sizes :1/4" and 1/2". 1/2" is too big.

 

I don't know where you live(hint: fill out profile), but the best protection you can have for your garage is a CAT or two. I'm serious. I have 2 cats and NO MICE. Critters don't last too long around my house and garage.

Funny story I've told here before, but since you're new I'll tell it again. Before getting the cats, when my wife was vacuuming our bedroom, she moved a chair that was against the bay window, and she found a surprise...a bunch of Hershey chocolate miniature candy wrappers! The dadgum little critter had taken them out of the Candy Bowl, in the KITCHEN, for crying out loud, and taken them UPSTAIRS into our bedroom and eaten them under that CHAIR! I had accsued my wife of sneak-eating my little chocolate treasures, only to have to apologize to her after finding the REAL STEALER.

After that, I brought in cat from the street and rescued him, got him shots at the Vet, and we NEVER had a mouse problem again. Not to mention, that cat became my best buddy, and HE TRAINED me to feed, water, and give him treats anytime he pawed me. LOL!! He finally passed away and I took in two more from the street, who are still with my wife and I. And STILL no meeses! LOL!

 

Yes, a cat! I'm not sure how many litters a pair of mice can have in a year, but I suspect it's a considerable number. So when my "Mouser" kills one mouse I credit her with killing thousands of future mice.

 

Yes, a cat! I'm not sure how many litters a pair of mice can have in a year, but I suspect it's a considerable number. So when my "Mouser" kills one mouse I credit her with killing thousands of future mice.

And, you will know when they kill one because they will leave it at the foot of the door to the garage! HEY, LOOK what I got for you, DAD!!!!!!!!!

You got to love those little kitties!

 

I was a little concerned with the size of the openings in the mesh I used. I've put everything back together however so will consider an "upgrade" next time I dive in. I'm certain this contribution was from a prior owner since I don't have insulation in my shed as a source and I've just had it a short time.

Funny stories about the cats (I'm allergic) and the candy (Mrs. HooWing has largely outlawed that).

I don't have a ton of experience riding it yet for comparison but I took it out last night for a short run. It was snappy. Will see how the MPG goes with some long rides I'm planning for next week. The existing filter was a K&N which is what I have in my BMW. I replaced it with a HiFloPro (or something like that). I never know if these have any impact.

 

I was a little concerned with the size of the openings in the mesh I used. I've put everything back together however so will consider an "upgrade" next time I dive in. I'm certain this contribution was from a prior owner since I don't have insulation in my shed as a source and I've just had it a short time.

You can also consider using as others on the forum have, the screening on the bottom of an old air filter.

 

...and I figured out where to update my location, bike, etc. Virginia Beach is known for it's lovely rats. I've had them in our crawl space (which I encapsulated last year) and had one get it's head stuck in the bird feeder because it got too much birdseed in its mouth and couldn't pull its head back. Died there with its body and tail dangling from the front.

 

I put these on. Works great

Add On Accessories Air Filter Intake Screens - 45-1257 Goldwing - Dennis Kirk

Find the Add On Accessories Air Filter Intake Screens - 45-1257 at Dennis Kirk. Shop our complete selection of Goldwing parts and accessories including the Add On Accessories Air Filter Intake Screens - 45-1257.

www.denniskirk.com

 

Be careful with those aftermarket air filters, they can supposedly mess up the airbox and let air in around the edges.

 

good rule of thumb.....if you can pass a dime thru a space, the mouse can get it's head thru...the body will always follow.

 

So, @tamathumper you were saying to be careful of aftermarket air filters. @MichaelB explained the issue with installing K&N. I installed a Hiflofiltro HFA1921 I got from Amazon but is offered by a few reputable Goldwing suppliers. Frankly, I only ordered it from Amazon because I knew it would arrive before I take off on a trip on the bike next week. It seemed to fit fine other than the issue of not knowing to look for the gaskets. I did notice that the K&N was a more rubber-like frame where the Hiflofiltro was harder plastic. Is this a big problem?

 

The K&N flows too much dirt through the filter media for my taste. I used to run them on the Porsche 968 platform, but started using K&N socks on them to keep the dirt down - I didn't have much choice because the supercharger kit I installed required taking the stock airbox out and using the K&N conical style. Flowing more air at the filter doesn't help the GL1800 anyway, as the two little 40mm throttle bodies are the limiting factor, not the filter.

The K&N also, if memory serves, has a rubber flange that degrades badly over time, and there are some posts showing warped air boxes caused by aftermarket air filters as well. That's not my direct experience, but you can probably do a search for the relevant terms and come up with several posts from the last 12 months on the topic.

 

... and here's a post on HiFlowFiltro

HiFlowFiltro air filter

2003 in for throttle cables. The customer stated that he had just replaced his own air filter. Here is the deal. Often poor fitment from aftermarket parts cannot be spotted unless other parts are removed. In this case the fuel tank is out to remove the air-box to replace all 3 throttle...

www.gl1800riders.com

 

this was mine this spring. They were under the gas tank too. The intakes are now screened. Years back they packed the air box on my Valk and chewed up the vacuum lines. That was fun to deal with.

 

You know why they call it a mouse nest?

pic2http://gl1800riders.com/forums/album.php?albumid=3005&attachmentid=73162

• weengers
• Dec 2, 2012

 

This is why.

pic5http://gl1800riders.com/forums/album.php?albumid=3005&attachmentid=73165

• weengers
• Dec 2, 2012

pic4http://gl1800riders.com/forums/album.php?albumid=3005&attachmentid=73164

• weengers
• Dec 2, 2012

 

This thread reminds me of when I was Automotive Supervisor for a County Agency and we would put wrecked vehicles in a fenced in field to salvage parts when needed. The first time I went to pull some parts off a Ford Tempo and when I opened the hood 3 rabbits jumped out and startled the he11 out of me. They ate the spark plugs wires right down to the boot. They loved to eat those plug wires. It reminded me of a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat.