[Kawi Rick]

For you guys that have older 1500's, I'm just wondering how many of you do longer rides. I have relegated mine to be my local traveler. I don't have a solid reason for this other then she's an older bike with 60,000 miles and I worry she won't make it. Aside from my POG failure and a couple minor issues here and there, she has been a fantastic bike. Wouldn't have kept her for 15 years if she wasn't a good bike.

I don't travel a lot by bike anyway and I do have the Concours which I use for that, but I'm contemplating selling the Connie because I don't ride it as much as I should. I use the Vulcan as my DD. If I sold the Connie I'd have to use the Vulcan for my longer rides then since I'd be down to one. Just wondering how you guys with the older 1500 use yours and if you're willing to hit the road for several hundred miles at a time on them. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[Keef]

Hi, I know exactly where you're coming from with this angle. I am in exactly the same position with the RK, although it's almost 10 years old , but with only 5000 miles on it, but then a bike can degrade just as much sitting still as it can being ridden, imo.

One thought though, you say you use it for your DD, well, is it anymore likely to break down on a long run, than it is on a daily run. I think I would be more comfortable in the knowledge that I use it every day and it's fine, than keeping a ride just for the long trips. I think you'd know sooner if something was up on a bike you know well, rather than on one you only use now and again.

 

[rick]

As Keef said, riding it daily should answer your own question. Last year I took my 05 800b on a 2500 mile round trip starting out with 106,000 on it already. 3 weeks after returning, we got the Voyager, so thats our main ride now, but would not hesitate to hop on the 800 and go.

 

[Kawi Rick]

Thanks for the replies. You're probably right and the only real issue with taking it on a longer ride is in my head. Taking your 800 for a 2500 mile ride with 106K on the clock already is awesome. You've ridden the heck out of that thing. What kind of repairs have you had to make along the way?

On a side note, maybe I'll make my old Goldwing my new tourer. lol. I bought a 79 about 7 years ago and am now finally getting around to restoring it. Had a job change and a couple moves so the project bike got put on the back burner. Anyway, been hitting it hard the past couple months and hope to try to fire the thing up in a couple weeks. I'm a little farther along now, but here's a pic after I put the engine back in with the carbs. I repainted the frame and painted the engine and overhauled the carbs. We'll see if she wants to run here before too long. She's only got 20,000 miles, so she should have a lot of life left in her.

 

[rick]

Other than tires, brake pads twice on the front, a set of brake shoes for the rear, 4-5 sets of chains & sprockets, a clutch cable and a light bulb for the tail light, all standard wear and tear/ regular maintenance, I did have to replace the cams and rockers at the 98,000 mile mark. I think this was partaily my fault for running it so long at a low idle for that loping sound.

 

[Kawi Rick]

You can't ask for much better then that. The cams are the only thing that aren't a maintenance item, but then again at 98K that's pretty good. Have you put many miles on your Voyager?

 

[rick]

Bought the Voyager on July 26th last summer, now has a little over 23,300 on it. Work gets in the way of riding more. Have added about 3000 to the 800 since then.