[211Chuck]

Hey Folks, After reading all the post about tranny issues, I was wondering if I did something wrong by putting the Kury floorboards on my 06' wing ? I run high quality Spectro 15-50 full syn in my wing. I baby the bike and I've been riding for fourty years . I'm getting nervous about what I'm reading.Any suggestions ? Should I take the boards off ?

Regards,Murf:-(

I've never seen in any motorcycle shop I've worked in an 1800
Goldwing or any Goldwing for that matter that has driver
floor boards with heel toe shifter with 100,000 miles on it with
out trany problems.


But I've darn sure seen thousands of Wings with (NO) driver
floor boards/heel toe shifters over the years with well over
250,000 miles on them with no trany problems ever. I've
also seen many Wings without heel toe shifters that had over
1 million miles on them with no trany problems, for that matter
they had no major problems ever in 1 million miles.


You can do what you want with your Wing, it's your money
and it's your loss of riding time if your bike goes in the shop
for weeks or months at a time during prime riding season.


Good Luck and ride SAFE, but above all ENJOY"

PS: if heel toe shifters were safe to use on a Goldwing trany
Honda would have put them on from the factory like other
motorcycle companies do that build their tranys to take the
abuse they will get from the heel toe shifters.

 

[211Chuck]

Just from my limited view of the scope of this problem, I have seen a lot of posts from people without boards having tranny problems too.

That is why I posted this on another thread:

Gary;

I am a motorcycle mechanic for over 40 years now, I'm not going
to guess what is wrong with your Wing (even though I probably
could come close to knowing what it is)

The reason I am posting on this thread is to hopefully help you
and others avoid this problem in the future.

Back from the time I started in motorcycle repair I've noticed that
motorcycle tranys were fairly weak. Meaning if you pound on the
shifter while shifting you will bend the forks. Also if you rest your
toes on or under the shifter while riding you will burn the shift forks
out of it.

I'm sorry to say this on a Wing forum, but it is absolutely 100%
true. The strongest motorcycle trany out on the market is Harley
Davidson hands down. They are the only trany out there that has
always been able to take the abuse of a heel toe shifter and that
is why up until a few years ago the motorcycles made in Japan
never had heel toe shifters.

The two major cause's of trany failures in all my years has been.

#1 Heel Toe shifters on bikes that don't come with stock.

#2 Wearing steel toe work boots or very heavy large boots while
riding.

What I'm telling you and everyone reading this is: if your
motorcycle did not come with a heel toe shifter from the
factory (NEVER PUT ONE ON IT)

Also ever since the late 80's when most the motorcycle companies
started trying to save weight on their motorcycles, the one place
they have taken out a bunch of weight out of is the tranys.

The 1800 Wing was Honda's first touring bike with a lightened
trany. So now it is much more prone to steel toe/heavy boots
or heel toe shifters breaking them, just like the problem we've
had on sport bikes and adventure bikes for a long time now.

The sport and adventure bikes do not use floor boards but they
do wear heavy or steel toed work boots back and forth to work.
The adventure bike guys are wearing heavyer and heavyer boots
when they ride off road. This is mostly due to the guys riding
them are getting older and older like Wing guys. Old guys like to
protect their feet. Thats just life LOL"

I just happened to notice in your picture of you and your wife
that your wearing heavy riding boots or steel toed work boots.
This can be some of your cause of your problem's. I'm not in
any way trying to pick on you or anyone else at all. My post is
to help my fellow riders the same as I do in my shop.

Riders of modren light wieght motorcycles just need to be more
awhere of what they do with their feet and the foot wear the use
while riding to help make their trany's last.

Light wieght slim boots and no heel toe shifter's is the answer to
long trany life, now more then ever on these lighter wieght bikes.

I hope my post will help you and others from more trany problems.

Good Luck and Ya All" ride SAFE out there!
__________________

 

[211Chuck]

As with the others, I also have the Kurakyn floorboards and shifter without any problems.

Yeah" and the big question would be do you have over 100,000
miles on your 1800 with no trany problems with your heel toe
shifter?????????

That there is the key to everyone who says (I've got a heel toe
shifter and I don't have any problems)

Famous last words.........LOL" :shock:

Good luck and I wish you well with your Wing..

 

[211Chuck]

Thanks everyone for your thoughs and insight on this issue. I am leaning towards taking the boards off and going with the mini boards and the stock shifter set-up. It will be the first bike without floorboards since I was a kid. I always had floorboard, Harleys, Yamaha made a kit for my 85 venture and I had boards on my 77' wing. But to be safe, and stop my own worrying over it,I'll pay it safe.. Regards,Murf

Yes Yamaha did and they set a world record for the most trany
failures on any touring bike ever built in history. I rebuilt more
Venture tranys in the first 5 years Yamaha built the Venture then
I ever care to remember.

if not for their CRAPY trany the Venture would have been the best
touring bike ever built! Great" bike with only two problems that
killed that bike.. To Bad

 

[211Chuck]

I don't disagree with you at all, but ultimately it's not the H/T shifter or the boot, it's the transmission.

This sums it up for me:
"Also ever since the late 80's when most the motorcycle companies
started trying to save weight on their motorcycles, the one place
they have taken out a bunch of weight out of is the tranys."

Because the manufacturers are cutting corners and using lighter materials the transmissions are not durable and don't hold up to normal wear and tear. I would argue that a person should not be prohibited from using a heavy boot, steel toe boot or aftermarket shifting assistant because the transmissions were improperly designed to withstand normal use.
Just my opinion though, I am just the end consumer that wants to buy a quality product for a fair price and expect it to perform as any other quality product at a fair price would. Maybe I should have bought a Harley. They probably have bad fluid in the turn signals.


By the way Chuck, thanks for the information, I will strongly weigh your comments as I contemplate the addition of boards on my bike.

The new generation out there wants LIGHTER,FASTER,BETTER
HANDLING and they don't care if it is desposible. They don't
keep them very long anyways because they are Social Club
motorcycle owners that don't ride, but they need the latest
and greatest to show up on for Social Club events to impress
everyone. Honda knows this and delivers what they ask for!

Everything is desposible to this new generation inclueding life
unfortunetly!!

Thats the way of America, just look at the hole we're in if you
don't believe me"

 

[211Chuck]

Hey Chuck do you have a theory about why the H/T would cause premature failures of the transmissions?

Yes I do..... Really it is just common sence,it's not really a theory.

The heel toe shifter and/or large heavy boots allows the rider to
put such a heavy load on the shift drum and forks with no effort
at all on their part they don't even notice their doing it.

So if you combine the H/T or heavy boots with a new style light
weight trany (IE 1800 Wing) you have a formula for break downs
or blow ups in the gear box!

I've always looked at this as common sence vs theory, I also
know, not to many people today have any common sence
anymore............

Sad isn't it???