Day 01 - Home to Abingdon, VA

We started today at 6am. Most of the gear had been packed last night so we only needed to add a few last items. We spent the morning doing final house prep to be away for three weeks. 

To make sure the trailer has the correct tongue weight to be safe for travel, Rob weighs all the items we put in the trailer. For three weeks of travel with one laundry day, we are taking: clothing, toiletries, a cooler with water and snacks, electronics devices and chargers, umbrellas, hats, extra N95 masks, bike tool kit, trailer lock and cable, extra rain suits, and bike cleaning supplies. We keep our usual rain gear and bike cover in the bike’s saddlebags. The trailer cargo added up to about 180lbs. The trailer empty weighs 245lbs. That adds up to a gross weight of 425lbs. This trailer handles best if it has at least 12% of the gross weight on the tongue which in this case is about 51lbs. Often times we need to shift the weight forward or backwards to get the weight right but today we nailed it on the first try with 52lbs. Michele says Rob deserves the credit for being so diligent about this every time we travel. 

With the trailer fully packed, Rob rolled out the Wing and the trailer and hooked them up. We were on the bike and ready to roll at 8:15am.

The temps this morning were around 46F when we left and the skies were very overcast. The high temp at our destination was only forecasted to be 44F. Heated gear was definitely getting used today! 

Our route took us south down US15/US29. We made our first stop in Madison at about 80 miles. We topped off the bike with fuel and Michele decided to use her second heated gear thermostat since she was feeling cold. Each thermostat has two zones. Just one thermostat was not working well for her since the gloves, pants, and socks were on one zone and the jacket on the other. To keep her legs and feet warm, her gloves were cooking her hands. With the additional thermostat, she could run the pants and socks in a different zone from her gloves, which she turned on the lowest setting from that point on. She was much happier with that setup and vowed that anytime temps are in the 40s, she will absolutely use both thermostats in the future.

Traffic eased after UVA as it usually does, and we enjoyed the mountain views. It was so gusty windy that Michele could not take pictures today. 

Our next stop was for lunch at around 11:45 near Liberty University in Lynchburg. We stopped a little early from our original plan since we were hungry. We found a Chick-fil-A and shared a sandwich and fries inside since it was way too cold to eat outside. The wind was really blowing by this point and the temps had only reached 50F. Michele received a compliment on her motorcycle “getup” from a friendly local college student. Next time we are in the area, we may grab lunch at McAllisters just down the road. It has a bigger parking lot and would have been easier to navigate traffic. 

We made our way on US460 towards Roanoke where we picked up I81 south.  After about an hour, we took an exit in the Roanoke area for a bathroom break and to refuel. When we pulled into the gas station, it started to snow and sleet and the air temperature dropped from 43F to 36F! A man inside the station told Michele, “Cold day for a bike ride.” She agreed! We made our break quick as the wind was blowing the snow and sleet sideways and the roads were starting to get wet. 

Rob could see on the radar that the snow/sleet was just in the immediate Roanoke vicinity so we jumped back on the Wing and made our way south on I81. The precipitation switched from rain to snow to sleet continuously for about 10 minutes and the road surface was wet. We were closely watching the temps as we approached the climb up to Christiansburg and were afraid the temps might drop below freezing. 

Just as we began to climb, the rain let up, the road surface turned dry, the clouds broke to blue sky, and the temperature rose back to 50F. We had dry weather for the rest of the day but the winds continued to gust above 25mph and the temps fell to 46F. 

We arrived at our hotel in Abingdon at about 3:45pm. We settled into our room for awhile and then took a quick 2-minute walk to a nearby pizzeria, Moon Dog Pizza. We got a small greek pizza and a salad as carryout. 

We covered about 350 miles today. The Wing and the trailer performed perfectly. Tonight’s temperatures are forecasted to fall into the upper 20s by the time we are scheduled to depart tomorrow at 9:30am. Tomorrow promises to be the coldest morning of our trip. Fortunately, Huntsville, Alabama is expected to get to 54F. While the day will start out cold, it should warm up as we head south. We are excited to stay in an AirBnB cottage in town for four nights, with our own private driveway for the Wing. 

Day Minus 1 - All systems "GO"

This morning we took a quick shakedown ride to verify the Wing was working correctly. We rode about 25 miles and topped off the fuel tank. The bike performed perfectly. Tomorrow we head out for TX on the Wing!

Day Minus 2 - The Wing is ready

This morning Rob started reassembling the Wing. He refilled the coolant system, installed the fuel tank and the battery and put the airbag and the essential electronic equipment to run the bike. 

After a lunch break, we put some fuel in the bike and started it up. The bike ran with no squealing. Success! The culprit was indeed the water pump. 

Rob spent the rest of the afternoon reassembling the body panels, control panels, and the seat.

Tomorrow, we will take the bike on a short shake down ride to make sure everything is operating properly. If everything checks out, we will depart Saturday morning on the Wing with our Tailwind trailer in tow. 

Day Minus 3 - The water pump arrives

At 4:15pm, UPS delivered the water pump! Rob did a quick examination of the part the make sure it was correct. The input shaft on the new water pump turns nice and smoothly compared to the old one. Fingers crossed this will correct the squealing noise.

Rob oiled up the o-ring on the water pump, aligned the input shaft with the output shaft on the motor and slipped the pump in the tight space and tightened the bolts. He then slowly rotated the engine to confirm that the water pump shaft was correctly mated to the engine and not binding. With the engine turning over smoothly, he then attached the three coolant lines, tightened up the band clamps and pressure tested the cooling system to check for leaks. The cooling system pressure testing kit is a tool loaner from AdvanceAuto. They let you borrow the tool for up to 90 days and if you bring it back in good condition (you do not break it), there is no fee. Pretty nice deal!

The pressure held steady so no leaks in the system. Rob reinstalled the alternator and the timing cover cap and called it a night. It took about 1.5 hours but the bike is ready to reinstall the tank. We will tackle that tomorrow along with the rest of the reassembly steps.

Day Minus 10 - While the bike is apart...

Rob wasn't planning on changing the air filter on the Wing, but since it was already pulled apart, he decided to go ahead and replace the air filter. The old one only had about 14k miles on it and wasn't very dirty.

Irregardless, it was convenient to go ahead and replace the air filter now.

The adhesive for the felt padding that sits between the windshield and the dash was beginning to fail and pull out so Rob went ahead and and fixed that.

While the front nose was off, Rob noticed that the adhesive holding on the rubber seal at the top was failing. He removed the seal, cleaned it up, and used some silicon adhesive to reapply it. The front looks much better now.

The water pump is supposed to arrive Wednesday (3 days before our departure). If it does, we have a good chance of getting the Wing back together and taking it on the trip.

Day Minus 11 - Removing the old water pump

The Goldwing's water pump is located on the rear of the motor under the fuel tank. That means a good bit of the bike needs to be dismantled in order to gain access to the pump.

First step is to remove the seat and the dash cover and top shelter (the body work that covers the top of the bike). Because the tank must be removed, the air bag must also be removed. Rob also removed the battery and battery box to provide additional room to remove the fuel tank and drained the coolant. Here's the bike with those items removed and ready for the tank removal.

Rob removed the fuel tank's fuel lines and electrical connections and coaxed the fuel tank out of the bike. It is a very tight fit and required a bit of wiggling and twisting.

Next up is the alternator. It needs to be removed in order to gain access to some of the water pump bolts.

With the alternator removed, Rob was able to remove the three coolant hoses from the water pump and then remove the 3 bolts holding it to the motor. It was a tight fit but the water pump came out.

The Goldwing was now ready for the new water pump when it arrived. You can see the mounting locations for the alternator and water pump. The alternator is the closest hole.

A shot from above.

So was the water pump bad? Spinning the input shaft revealed that the bearing was sticking a bit. It was a bit grabby when turning the shaft. It should spin very smoothly. So it does appear that the water pump was bad. No telling how long it would have lasted before completely failing. Here's what the pump looks like with the case split. The Goldwing's water pump assembly includes the thermostat (lower left section of the right case).

Now we wait for the new water pump to see if that was indeed the source of the squealing.

Day Minus 18 - Which mode of transportation will we take?

To prepare for the trip, we performed some preventative scheduled maintenance on the Goldwing. New brake pads were installed, the clutch and brake fluid replaced, and the coolant system was drained and refilled. During the warm-up of the bike after the coolant change, a loud squeal started after the bike had warmed up. Rob tracked the issue down to a likely failing water pump. He ordered a new water pump but it isn't a normally stocked part so it may not arrive in time for us to take the bike. 

In the unlikely event, the water pump does arrive in time, Rob plans on dismantling the Goldwing to get it ready to receive the new part.