Bandit Alley
GENERAL MOTORCYCLE FORUMS => GENERAL MOTORCYCLE => Topic started by: vadim on April 13, 2006, 09:45:24 PM
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Can't be. Or can it? :shock:
http://www.safetyfeatures.com/
Can they make me wings for high speed riding? :) :motorsmile:
IMO, Goldwing Trike is a better option. Those wheels are a bad idea - they are working from the reverse. If you can't control your bike at slow speeds, you probably shouldn't be riding it... :stickpoke:
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Oh, that's for lawyers and doctors...
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Yep, those wheels are for real. Gold Wings are huge. What do they weigh? 800 lbs.? 1000 lbs? I don't know, but it's gotta be alot. I can see some folks having trouble with handling them.
Don't get me wrong, I like Gold Wings. I'd have one for a second bike in a blink, except I can't justify the expense to my pocketbook. I can't even justify the expense for the 10 and 15 year old used ones. They seem to hold their value quite well.
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I recenly checked out the latest GoldWing at the MotorCycle Expo, and I found quite handle-able for such a slug (standing still, of course). In surprising contrast, I had a hard time of it with the ST1300, a bike I thought would've felt far more nimble, comfortable, and maneuverable.
I imagine the GoldWing will be quite handle-able at low speeds. I would imagine the ST1300 is NOT. I'd put those wheels on a ST1300 before I'd put one on a GoldWing.
Of course, putting those things on ANY bike will make you the laughing stock of the town. Even people who don't ride will laugh at you.
Make no mistake, if you think you need that on your bike, you should NOT be riding.
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I always thought that those wheels weren't to make it easier to handle at lower speeds, but to make it more convenient for the lazy people. This way they wouldn't have to take their feet off of the bike when they come to a stop. It seems kind of excessive to me but then again, isn't that the alure of a goldwing?
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First time I've seen that particular system, but I've seen other traing wheel setups for Wings & Baggers. There's one that is even retractable.
The big thing I love about motorcyles is the leaning. Adding more wheels takes that away. I figure if I get to the point I need an extra wheel or more to ride, it's time to sell the bike. For the wind-in-your-face feeling, I'll just get a convertible... and won't need a helmet.
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>>I'll just get a convertible... and won't need a helmet.<<
Unless it doesn't have a roll bar... :wink:
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>>I'll just get a convertible... and won't need a helmet.<<
Unless it doesn't have a roll bar... :wink:
Even if it doesn't, the law wouldn't require me to. :monkeymoon:
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From a friend of mine on another forum (www.gigabikes.com)
His dad got landing gear on his wing
He's like a kid at Christmas. He's put 38K on his GL1800A since we bought it about 2 years ago (I think it was 2 years ago ). He's 76, has cancer, has had some minor strokes due to anti-cardiolipid antibody syndrome, broke both hips last winter, and has a titanium knee also. He's finally able to hobble around without a crutch, but just barely. Think that stopped him from riding it 230 miles yesterday?
I unloaded it from the 18-wheeler for him, and if I hadn't been there it would have been ugly, if not fatal. With the landing gear the bike's VERY wide, and after I unstrapped it from the shipping palette it juuuuuuuust fit between the pianos and stuff strapped to the inside walls of the big rig (the bike was in the very front). There's no way the driver could have even moved the palette with the bike on it, let alone maneuver it out. But that wasn't the problem.
The loading gate (that lowers to the ground) was about 1/2 inch away from being too narrow to hold the bike. I backed/turned the bike onto the gate/lift and it was VERY precarious, to say the least. I felt like I was going to fall off with the bike on top of me. But after much adrenaline, we reached the ground safely. I took the bike around the parking lot to make sure everything worked. What a weird feeling... these wheels retract (with a switch you have to flip) once underway, but when down (when slowing or stopping) the bike steers like a trike/sidecar; i.e., no countersteering; you turn the bars in the direction you want to go. It's a trip switching back and forth.
I got the hang of it pretty quickly as I've ridden ATVs a bit, but my dad was very shaky. He ran over a curb once when we first started out despite practicing in a parking lot for a while before we left; he waited too long to drop the gear and was wobbling a bit when they touched down, and this turned him toward the curb a bit. He instinctively countersteered to move away from the curb, and of course this just turned him into the curb even harder. The gear was sturdy, though, despite this rather serious impact. The little wheel just jammed up over the curb, and came down when he gathered his wits and moved on.
Needless to say I nearly had about 4 heart attacks during our ride, but we made it to Delta (aout 115 miles away) and visited some friends. We made it home fine and by some lucky stroke of fate or the benevolent eye of the traffic-signal gods, we made it all the way from the freeway offramp to my mom's garage (where my dad keeps his bike) without having to stop once. This has never been accomplished before, to my knowledge. I told him he wouldn't always be able to rely on traffic flowing and needed to practice A LOT in a parking lot, riding with the wheels down until he could figure out how NOT to countersteer. He realized he needed more practice.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/1KPerDay/GL1800%20landing%20gear/image005.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/1KPerDay/GL1800%20landing%20gear/image016.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/1KPerDay/GL1800%20landing%20gear/image007.jpg)
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I think they are great if they can keep someone like Ronrdrcr's father riding, smiling and looking forward to the next day!! :motorsmile:
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Insanity is catching - you get it from Marketing Idjits!
If you can't handle a big bike, get a smaller, lighter one, fer heaven's sake!! Others will perceive you to be a total ass if you show up with
"training wheels " on your big bike. And it will be even worse if you're duded up to look like a rough-tough Pirate (Ba-Hah-hahahahaha!).
Herb
Can't be. Or can it? :shock:
http://www.safetyfeatures.com/
Can they make me wings for high speed riding? :) :motorsmile:
IMO, Goldwing Trike is a better option. Those wheels are a bad idea - they are working from the reverse. If you can't control your bike at slow speeds, you probably shouldn't be riding it... :stickpoke:
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Hmmm.....I'm kinda torn about the whole thing. I guess if it keeps you riding and you HAVE to have a GoldThing then.....well.....OK.
However....I had an old guy drive into the bike salvage yard (where I work in the summers) on a 400 Burgman. He had owned a series of Hardly-Ablesons over the years but had both hips replaced recently and could no longer throw a leg over anything. He said if he had known how great the Burgman was, he'd have ditched the HD's years ago. I quietly pointed out that Suzuki has only been building the Burgman for a couple of years but he said "Well, you know what I mean."......
Score another one for the Big Red S !!! :beers:
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I think they are great if they can keep someone like Ronrdrcr's father riding, smiling and looking forward to the next day!! :motorsmile:
Not my dad, a friends from another board.
Ron
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I think they are great if they can keep someone like Ronrdrcr's father riding, smiling and looking forward to the next day!! :motorsmile:
Not my dad, a friends from another board.
Ron
Oops sorry bout that. Still think if they can keep an old man riding..there great..... whether it be trike...training wheels...whatever. Alittle time and practice...no problem.
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Insanity is catching - you get it from Marketing Idjits!
If you can't handle a big bike, get a smaller, lighter one, fer heaven's sake!! Others will perceive you to be a total ass if you show up with
"training wheels " on your big bike. And it will be even worse if you're duded up to look like a rough-tough Pirate (Ba-Hah-hahahahaha!).
Herb
Can't be. Or can it? :shock:
http://www.safetyfeatures.com/
Can they make me wings for high speed riding? :) :motorsmile:
IMO, Goldwing Trike is a better option. Those wheels are a bad idea - they are working from the reverse. If you can't control your bike at slow speeds, you probably shouldn't be riding it... :stickpoke:
Well at that age you tend not to give a %#@t what other people think. :stickpoke: Also like what was said previously.... you still get to lean with these compared to a trike. Not saying these are the greatest solution. Damn near anything is better than NOT riding at all.
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I think a lot of you can't relate to being that age and having infirmities, but not wanting to give up something you love.
I'm happy for him. And as soon as I saw the guy's age, I would NOT be laughing...I'd be congratulating him.
Now, if I saw a 30 year old with them, assuming no physical issues, I'd laugh my @ss off!
That color, though... :shock: But I guess that makes him safer, as well.
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IMO, Goldwing Trike is a better option. Those wheels are a bad idea - they are working from the reverse. If you can't control your bike at slow speeds, you probably shouldn't be riding it... :stickpoke:[/quote][/quote]
Well at that age you tend not to give a %#@t what other people think. :stickpoke: Also like what was said previously.... you still get to lean with these compared to a trike. Not saying these are the greatest solution. Damn near anything is better than NOT riding at all.[/quote]
Not to put too fine a point on this thread or be insensitive, but as an ex-EMT on an ambulance squad, I would not want to see my Dad riding on a dangerous contraption such as a Goldwing with traing wheels. A 'Wing is a MASSIVE machine - incapable of stopping quickly enough for aged reflexes. I know whereof I speak, having seen a 'Wing go down right behind me for nothing worse than having a startle reflex. This was a man in his late '30's riding in a group who let his attention wander. Heck, I went over the handlebars once myself because a moron in front of me jammed on his brakes and I locked the front brake in a reflex reaction. Lucky this was only a Honda 360. All it cost me was a busted collarbone. I got right back on a bike as soon as I could, so I KNOW fully what you want for your Dad - it's a good thing. But at some point, if we live long enough, we have to stop operating a motor vehicle lest we become a danger to ourselves or others.
Even at the best of times, under the best of circumstances, riding a bike is a risky business. Like they say in combat, "you got nothing to worry about except the bullet with your name on it". For your Dad's sake, you're doing a wonderful thing. But for everyone else's sake, try to get him to take up a safer sport such as sky diving. I've seen the police reports on accidents where the driver was cited for operating a motor vehicle with "diminished capacity". It doesn't feel so good to the driver when that happens, especially where someone was seriously hurt.
Keep the shiny side up - don't become a statistic.
Herb :motorsmile: