But I will be, in just a little over a year. And it's weighing heavily on me--- Sure, most folks see that particular number as a sort of rubicon to be crossed, but in my case it's even more so. You see, none of the male members of my family live to see 60. The bad diet and smoking coupled with high stress is certainly a factor, but undeniably so is genetics. I don't smoke, and I don't have what I'd consider a really stressful career... But I've been diagnosed with Metabolic syndrome for over ten years now. In a nutshell, that means I'm a diabetic with heart disease. I manage it OK, not as well as I'd like... But between my condition and the fate of my ancestors, there's been an ever-present ticking clock in my mind... How long before I can't see? Before I'm on dialysis? Missing bits of me?
So, let's back up. I've had a friend since 1982. He's a really good friend, and even though he's been in a pretty bad accident, he still rides motorcycles--- and has for decades. His true passion for it took a while, but eventually infected me---When I laid eyes on the new Honda Goldwing F6B bike a few years ago. I've been actively studying up on all things motorcycles, culminating in (finally!) passing my MSF course earlier this year and getting my motorcycle endorsement. Around the same time, I picked up a copy of Neil Peart's 'Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road'... Which details his 55,000-mile ride in the wake of the loss of his wife and daughter within mere months of each other.
A little background. I'm an adventurous guy---I love expeditions to remote places, and I love driving. Now, there are many people who say they enjoy driving, but you have to understand this---I've driven from central Florida to Utah and back within a week's time... TWICE. I regularly drive to the desert of southwest Texas to 'relax'. It's a part of me. And it's these parts of me that suddenly clicked into place like a puzzle piece: I would do an epic ride, a great adventure in the wake of my 50th birthday.
For someone new to motorcycling, this is no small feat---Riding those kinds of miles on a motorcycle is MUCH harder than doing it in a car. But I fell in love with the idea. I needed a bike that would be up to such a task---Big enough to carry what I needed, all day long, day-after-day... In relative comfort, that I could fix if need be... AND I needed to like it. And so, I arrived at the Goldwing GL1200. To me, it's the perfect mix---Simple enough to fix with fairly simple tools, advanced enough to not need a metric ton of constant tuning and tweaking, parts everywhere, and there are a ton of them out there. I even loved the way the lines of it flowed--- Once you took some of the extraneous stuff off. It has what I need and can be adapted to be what I want. And I can do it for a fraction of the price of one of those new bikes.
So that's what's happened. I bought a 1986 Goldwing GL1200 Aspencade off of Facebook marketplace at the end of August 2019. It kinda ran, but wouldn't start. It was being sold by a retired firefighter and pastor. I'd looked at a few of them over the years, and they were always MUCH worse---Even though this one was pretty straight and unmolested, it had been stored for a while and had clutch issues... And leaked gas when it ran. I inspected it enough to have faith in it for what I paid, and did the deal. The gentleman and his wife was nice enough to trailer it the 2 hours to my house for the cost of a nice dinner, and we had a great time getting to know them. It's an honest bike.
I knew that before I was to cross the country with the thing, I'd be basically replacing and restoring almost every system on the bike---Partly to make sure it was up to the task, and partly to become *intimately* familiar with every system. I was hoping to be able to do a quick carburetor rebuild and fix the clutch, then start riding a bit as I went over the bike over the course of the next year.
Reality, of course, has raised its ugly head. During the initial work, I've discovered how rusty and crusty this thing truly is. Things I thought were in better shape have disappointed me on closer inspection---like BOTH saddlebags are pretty broken. The more I fix, though, the better it looks and the better it works. I still truly believe it has good bones. I'll be riding in no time.
The purpose of this blog is to document and share the whole process--from my first steps learning what everything does, to piloting my dream machine 8,000 miles across America in spring 2021. I'll share more about my trip when it becomes more of a reality---possibly my 'Last.Great.Adventure.' But for now, I'll just try to share how a guy who knows almost nothing about motorcycles restores a 35-year-old project bike in desperate need.
This is the road to my L.G.A....
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