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[Boatman]

Can't speak for Bob but even if it's .003" now I don't trust them to stay even that "good" if they're that way to begin with.  Some, too many, just don't.  And, at least for me, I don't like to use gears past .0025" and prefer .002" or less.  Honestly without having significant crank work done prior to the installation of gears I'd never use gear drive in the 96" and up era Harley engines.  Just don't trust them.

That's what Scott (Sadunbar) told me too.

[porthole]

Makes sense without a baseline.
Mine was .003 at 20-22K and still .003 at 55K

[Boatman]

Makes sense without a baseline.
Mine was .003 at 20-22K and still .003 at 55K

Duane-My brother in law rides a 88 GL1500 GoldWing with over 130,000 miles and all he does is ride it and change fluids.

If I ran this thing to redline each shift it would be different.  Just fortunate like others have stated that I tore it down before a catastrophic failure.

[Twolanerider]

Makes sense without a baseline.
Mine was .003 at 20-22K and still .003 at 55K

But the 05 is an entirely different crank with an entirely different history.  Would (and did) use gear drive commonly on the "old" Twin Cams.  It's the newer engines that one has to heed Monty Python or Doctor Who and "run away" from gear drive due to crank worries.

[porthole]

But the 05 is an entirely different crank with an entirely different history.  Would (and did) use gear drive commonly on the "old" Twin Cams.  It's the newer engines that one has to heed Monty Python or Doctor Who and "run away" from gear drive due to crank worries.

Are you giving me another reason to keep the ole' redhead 

[Twolanerider]

Are you giving me another reason to keep the ole' redhead 

Amen to that Brother Duane; amen to that.  My old 2000 has .001 one each side and will likely never move.  The engine in the SERK was shopped for with an engine old enough to still have the Timken bearing in the left as a goal.  Both have much better cranks than the new stuff.  You shopping for a 2014 ?

[sadunbar]

 You shopping for a 2014 ?

    You kill me sometimes....  That's a good one!!  

[porthole]

You shopping for a 2014 ?

Ah - nope

Waiting to see what the next RG looks like, but giving things beyond our control, that may not happen either.

[CVO2FIXUP]

Duane-My brother in law rides a 88 GL1500 GoldWing with over 130,000 miles and all he does is ride it and change fluids.

If I ran this thing to redline each shift it would be different.  Just fortunate like others have stated that I tore it down before a catastrophic failure.

   A gold wing engine is basically a car engine stuffed in to a bike. Sure it's reliable like a civic, but has no sole at all.  And BTW, I see lots of gold wings getting MAJOR repairs done to H2O pumps, Clutches,  and alternators. The hole thing has to come apart to get at those items. Not very pretty.

[grc]

Next time you want to ride coast to coast and back, let me know if you would prefer to ride a dependable Honda or something with "soul" from the folks who produce crap with a useful life of maybe 30k miles.  I get so tired of that "soul" argument I feel like puking.  "Soul" is just fine for those who mainly buy a bike to park at the various watering holes as a piece of mobile art. 

What do you drive for a four wheeled vehicle, something reliable or a "soulful" TR3 with Lucas electrics?

Jerry

[HD Street Performance]

Dewey-Have read about rear cyl valve guides sticking also.  Thanks for the advice.  Maybe above my doable level.  How do you keep the cylinders from moving-don't want to pull the jugs.

Pull them and replace the base seals with HD genuine. Do not worry about the rings and honing. If the bores and rings look good and the pistons present without a lot of signs of oil consumption pop the barrels right back on. Post a photo, a closeup of the rings and piston sides, and the skirts
A stuck valve is the likely cause of that one lifter presenting worse than the others and I would be investigating why. No lifters will last if that is what is occurring.

[CVOThunder]

   A gold wing engine is basically a car engine stuffed in to a bike. Sure it's reliable like a civic, but has no sole at all.  And BTW, I see lots of gold wings getting MAJOR repairs done to H2O pumps, Clutches,  and alternators. The hole thing has to come apart to get at those items. Not very pretty.

Sorry but I ain't buyin' that at least not on the 1500. Never owned a 1800 but I'd have to guess they're close to the same on pump and alt. Both pretty easy to get at and all 3 have a good service life. Brushes on the alt get hung up once in awhile and need replaced around 50k miles. Now the 1200 had problems with the wiring connection leading to the stator and would wipe it out. Then yes you'd have to pull the motor. Washed my 1200 just after buying it and had to pull the engine. Dielectric grease inside the connectors was the fix. Reliability wise, Honda did a bang up job the Wing. Took my 96 1500 on a 2700 mile trip to AZ this past Sept to see if it still held any interest for me and it's the longest trip I've ever ridden on it. Smooth and reliable but I missed my Hog the entire trip. Guess I should have taken it instead but I wasn't digging the noises I was hearing from the engine and the shop was booked up. Just finished 15,000 mi service and they didn't find anything wrong. Hope I never do but time will tell.

[evodistraction]

Just curious but at what point do you just move on to an aftermarket engine builder like Jims or S&S? I don't have the tools or skills to get that far into the weeds so I would be looking at paying someone to rebuild it when the time comes (and from reading this thread it seems like it's when, not if!). I might, with a little help, be up for an engine swap though.

Evo

[timo482]

my wing in the 80's washed out a cylinder from intermittent missing. the cost of the raw parts to fix it was about double the price of a used bike so i sold it for parts. at least at that time pistons came on rods on a crank in a box as a assembly - to get rings i would have to buy the whole rotating assembly......

so while i got the wing because it was supposed to be more reliable than my hd, what i found was that it would go farther between repairs but the repairs were 4 times the price for parts.

oh well live and learn.

to

[Para Bellum]

What do you drive for a four wheeled vehicle, something reliable or a "soulful" TR3 with Lucas electrics?
Jerry

Lucas electrics, a/k/a "The Prince of Darkness," provided lots of soul.  I remember him well.