2005 Honda Goldwing Transmission

[rugguy]

I know I am in the Valk board, but thought I would ask. 2005 Honda Goldwing (non ABS) transmission only works in 2nd to 4th gear. Any ideas? I may buy to fix and ride.

Thanks.

[Denny47]

You will probably do better to go to www.gl1800riders.com

[rugguy]

Thanks for the link.

[sandy]

I have an 05 Wing. Great bike but they can have tranny problems. When they do, you R&R the engine and rebuild the tranny. About $4,000 by the time you're done. It's possible the shifter has dirt built up. If you can remove the lower side cover to expose the shift linkage, you may be able to determine the issue. This issue happens from 01-10. My local shop has told me it happens when the owner lugs the engine and then throttles up without downshifting.

[Dr Bobs Patient]

I have also heard that it's possible the shifter fork is bent.  gl1800riders is a good site.

[sandy]

Right about shifter forks. I thought today and remembered more. Gosh I'm old. When heel toe shifters are used, the upshifts can be pretty hard. Some guys stomp on the rear pedal which strains the linkage under the side cover. I won't use a heel/toe setup. Pulling up with the toe is sufficient.

[rugguy]

I believe the photos of the bike I am considering has the standard toe shifter only. The owner said that '05 Wings have two parallel gearshafts. One has 1st and 5th gears and the other has 2nd thru 4th gears. A Honda mechanic told him that one of the bearings in the first shaft had gone bad and that's why he lost those gears but still has the other three.

I can get a great deal on the bike, but after doing some calling around, not even the dealership wants to take on that project right now because everyone is slammed to the wall with work. One guy quoted me $4k to do the work but said he would only work on the bike as "fill in" work and that it could be 6-8 weeks before I got it back. Apparently you have to pull the motor and crack the case to do the repair. They don't want to tie up a tech bench on this.

The guy wants $6k for it so it's not worth it to fool with. If I can get it for $4k...maybe. But the bike is sweet (except for the tranny thing).

[cookiedough]

If, ONLY IF, that is the ONLY issue, 6K is reasonable if it costs 4K to fix is all.  AT 10K, a 2005 wing if somewhat lower mileage say under 40K is still worth it.   Hard to find a 2001 thru 2003 Wing with say 35K miles for under 11 grand and this is an 2005 model year. 

I'd compromise at 4-5K and you can still drive no problems 2,3,4th gears is all.  You can come to a complete stop in 2nd gear and take off just give it more gas is all and can ride in 4th gear no problems up to say 75 mph with not too much rpms being too loud or revving. 

Will no 1st and 5th gear cause other issues though if you decide to ride it while it gets fixed?  I'd offer 4500 and see what he says and if he doesn't like it, then maybe offer 5 grand tops since you, not him,  will take the risk if it costs more than 4K to repair.   

[gordonv]

I would have liked that offer myself. To buy a bike that you could actually ride, for close to 1/2 price.

Get a service manual and pull the motor yourself. Should make the whole job cheaper.

If you can't find someone to do the repair for $, then do it yourself, no better way to learn. I'm sure between a manaul, and online help, you should be able to do it yourself in a week or less.

I used to do VW motors in my garage, and standard transmissions. I know it's different, but you have more help in todays world with the internet than I had over 30 years ago, and all i had was an exploded view.

Even if you had to buy special tools, it would be a lot cheaper than $4K to fix.