Found my sixth gear?

[f6john]

No, not for my Valkyrie sadly. But I did order a modified final drive for my Wing today. The housing gets custom machined for a new set of gears, assembled and sent ready to bolt on. The advantage? First, first gear on the Wing is too low for most situations and paired with the throttle control make for a very jerky engagement. Maybe two up loaded and pulling a trailer? I don’t know and won’t ever be in that situation, but a lot of Wing owners start out in second gear by personal preference. Personally , especially on a cold start take off the bike is much harder to control smoothly. Next and as important for me is reducing engine speed at highway speeds, reports are 70mph comes in at 2600 rpm. Reports are that mileage improves some but that is secondary to improved drivability. Really looking forward to getting this installed, (45-60 day wait currently) but will probably wind up being a winter project, lookout Spring!

[old2soon]

      How many $$$$$$? Curious. RIDE SAFE.

[f6john]

      How many $$$$$$? Curious. RIDE SAFE.

$1495.00. I know crazy.

[cookiedough]

1495 for parts only not including labor?  YIKES,  must be worth it to you?

I find if keep speeds below 70 mph which is 99 percent of my driving I can deal with just 5th gear on a Valk or Wing.  Now,  if doing a ton of interstate driving speeds 75 to 85 mph then I suppose might be worth it.  Only been on interstates doing 80 mph or so a few times and it does raise up the rpms a tad bit too much for my liking. 

I did something similar to my kids 1997 honda magna, but changed chain drive front sprocket to another tooth I think std. is 16 tooth front and got 17 tooth front (15 tooth is torquey/faster/higher rpms).  WOW,  is so much nicer loose just a smidge of power take off/speed, hardly noticeable, but not as high of revving rpms drops it 300 rpms at hwy. speeds and allows 2nd gear in town say 25mph at lower/quieter rpms vs. otherwise 3rd gear is better in towns 25-35 mph to keep rpms/noise lower.  I bet it also saves on gas mileage as well say 1 mpg or so due to lower rpms doing 70 mph or so. 

[f6john]

Nope, all inclusive. Custom machine work to the case, new gear set, all Honda factory replacement parts, bearings ect, assembled and shipped ready to swap out. I know still a little crazy, but so are Cobra light bars ect.

[Rams]

Sounds like a plan, keep us posted on how all this works out.

Rams   

[carolinarider09]

I think I have seen your "handle" on the Goldwing forum..   But just in case, here is a write out on Henry's final drive.

I have/had considered it.  My drive on my wing is leaking (ticks me off but ..... with only 80,000 miles on it) but I purchased a trike takeoff on eBay and I am going to have it installed this fall/winter.  Claimed to have zero miles on it and just sat on his bench until he no longer needed to have it as a spare (just in case).  Pretty simple but I cannot do it because I have to drop the rear tire completely down due to the trailer hitch.

And yes, I have seen/heard/read of the roll it over but......  (oh have unintentionally verified that works twice not planned events). 

https://www.gl1800riders.com/threads/installed-the-henry-final-drive-in-my-2016.472906/

[old2soon]

      How many $$$$$$? Curious. RIDE SAFE.

$1495.00. I know crazy.

          NOT REALLY. We M/C Riders are as bad as racers-Simple really-WE WANT IT! I've raced cars M/Cs and boats so I Git IT!  RIDE SAFE.

[f6john]

I think I have seen your "handle" on the Goldwing forum..   But just in case, here is a write out on Henry's final drive.

I have/had considered it.  My drive on my wing is leaking (ticks me off but ..... with only 80,000 miles on it) but I purchased a trike takeoff on eBay and I am going to have it installed this fall/winter.  Claimed to have zero miles on it and just sat on his bench until he no longer needed to have it as a spare (just in case).  Pretty simple but I cannot do it because I have to drop the rear tire completely down due to the trailer hitch.

And yes, I have seen/heard/read of the roll it over but......  (oh have unintentionally verified that works twice not planned events). 

https://www.gl1800riders.com/threads/installed-the-henry-final-drive-in-my-2016.472906/

Yep, I read most of them! A member on the Goldwing forum offered his final drive that he had swapped out due to a little bearing whine as a core and I took him up on his offer. Cost me $75.00 for shipping and he is sending it directly to Henry so I get to keep my 25k mile final drive on my Wing now.

[DarkSideR]

This is click bate.

[f6john]

This is click bate.

Sorry you feel that way, maybe the admins will shut it down.

[Willow]

      How many $$$$$$? Curious. RIDE SAFE.

$1495.00. I know crazy.

So, at that price how long will it take the "improved fuel mileage" to offset the cost?

[f6john]

      How many $$$$$$? Curious. RIDE SAFE.

$1495.00. I know crazy.

So, at that price how long will it take the "improved fuel mileage" to offset the cost?

No one has done this for the mileage that I know of, certainly not me. On my first road trip this year to the Spring Fling, almost all on Interstates I found myself running much higher speeds than I would normally run, some just flowing with traffic and some just not paying attention. At times I looked down and was up around 4,000 rpm which is ok but I prefer to do my cruising at 3,000 rpm which with the new final drive will equate to 80mph. If all the benefits that others who have done this proclaim, the cost will be insignificant to the amount of enjoyment gained in overall performance.

More to your point, how long the mileage improvement takes to offset the cost could depend on who prevails in the next two election cycles and how many miles I can afford to ride.

[carolinarider09]

Not directly related but the final drives in the goldwings (mine is a 2015) have been known to fail.   My appears to have a failed inner seal since the little nipple drip thingy at the bottom of the drive is weeping some oil.

Its not 100% of the wings just a larger percentage when you look at my ST1300 with 106,000 miles and my 2003 Valkyrie with 89,000 miles.  Neither of those bikes has had major issues and they cost less than the wing.

Given the fact that final drive failure in a Goldwing is not unheard of, and if you have to replace it (as I said mine is weeping oil now), there is the possibility that your ride could be improved with a different final drive ratio. 

So, why not?   

Henry's final drive is the same price (more or less) as the OEM drive. 

As I said I considered Henry's drive when I was looking at replacing mine.  Having found one with zero miles from a trike conversion for $400 solved my problem/decision.  Stick with stock.

There are things you have to do to get the speedometer back on track, which is not a big deal but, again, the speedo on my wing is spot on.  Compared to the ST being abut 5 MPH off and Valkyrie somewhat the same. ''

So,,,,  I decided, since I have the final drive in my possession with supposedly zero miles (and it looks like it) and its ready to go.

I don't ride the wing much anymore on Interstates.  I stay off as much as possible so my normal speed is 60 MPH or less.  So, another reason that Henry's final drive would not provide me that much of a benefit.

One thing about Henry's Final is that I bet its got a much lower "seal" failure rate.  I am very ticked that I spent over $22,000 for the new wing and its final drive is failing about 80,000 miles.   

[Willow]

No one has done this for the mileage that I know of, certainly not me. ...

I can't think of any other reason to do it.  The Honda flat six has such a wide torque range that higher gears will not give you noticeable better performance.  I guess one could consider the possibility that running at lower RPM will diminish wear on the engine but then we have a rider on a flat six with over 700,000 miles on the power plant.

If one does it just to have a higher top gear I guess that answers the need.

I don't understand Goldwings.  I'm just not old enough yet.  

[The emperor has no clothes]

Not directly related but the final drives in the goldwings (mine is a 2015) have been known to fail.   My appears to have a failed inner seal since the little nipple drip thingy at the bottom of the drive is weeping some oil.

Its not 100% of the wings just a larger percentage when you look at my ST1300 with 106,000 miles and my 2003 Valkyrie with 89,000 miles.  Neither of those bikes has had major issues and they cost less than the wing.

Given the fact that final drive failure in a Goldwing is not unheard of, and if you have to replace it (as I said mine is weeping oil now), there is the possibility that your ride could be improved with a different final drive ratio. 

So, why not?   

Henry's final drive is the same price (more or less) as the OEM drive. 

As I said I considered Henry's drive when I was looking at replacing mine.  Having found one with zero miles from a trike conversion for $400 solved my problem/decision.  Stick with stock.

There are things you have to do to get the speedometer back on track, which is not a big deal but, again, the speedo on my wing is spot on.  Compared to the ST being abut 5 MPH off and Valkyrie somewhat the same. ''

So,,,,  I decided, since I have the final drive in my possession with supposedly zero miles (and it looks like it) and its ready to go.

I don't ride the wing much anymore on Interstates.  I stay off as much as possible so my normal speed is 60 MPH or less.  So, another reason that Henry's final drive would not provide me that much of a benefit.

One thing about Henry's Final is that I bet its got a much lower "seal" failure rate.  I am very ticked that I spent over $22,000 for the new wing and its final drive is failing about 80,000 miles.   

I guess the definition of a failed rear drive is subjective. I wouldn’t consider a leaking seal a failed unit.

[f6john]

No one has done this for the mileage that I know of, certainly not me. ...

I can't think of any other reason to do it.  The Honda flat six has such a wide torque range that higher gears will not give you noticeable better performance.  I guess one could consider the possibility that running at lower RPM will diminish wear on the engine but then we have a rider on a flat six with over 700,000 miles on the power plant.



I don't understand Goldwings.  I'm just not old enough yet.  

I didn’t either until I rode one! And that was over 20 years ago. But to be fair in the discussion, I really really wanted to do the Mario gears to my Valkyrie, but splitting the case to put them in was just too much for me to consider. If memory serves me correctly, the gears were $995.00 and that was close to 20 years ago too! BigBf could have told us what he charged to do a set but the cost would have to be more than the gears, plus he was a definite no go on ever doing them again due to issues he encountered.

[f6john]

Not directly related but the final drives in the goldwings (mine is a 2015) have been known to fail.   My appears to have a failed inner seal since the little nipple drip thingy at the bottom of the drive is weeping some oil.

Its not 100% of the wings just a larger percentage when you look at my ST1300 with 106,000 miles and my 2003 Valkyrie with 89,000 miles.  Neither of those bikes has had major issues and they cost less than the wing.

Given the fact that final drive failure in a Goldwing is not unheard of, and if you have to replace it (as I said mine is weeping oil now), there is the possibility that your ride could be improved with a different final drive ratio. 

So, why not?   

Henry's final drive is the same price (more or less) as the OEM drive. 

As I said I considered Henry's drive when I was looking at replacing mine.  Having found one with zero miles from a trike conversion for $400 solved my problem/decision.  Stick with stock.

There are things you have to do to get the speedometer back on track, which is not a big deal but, again, the speedo on my wing is spot on.  Compared to the ST being abut 5 MPH off and Valkyrie somewhat the same. ''

So,,,,  I decided, since I have the final drive in my possession with supposedly zero miles (and it looks like it) and its ready to go.

I don't ride the wing much anymore on Interstates.  I stay off as much as possible so my normal speed is 60 MPH or less.  So, another reason that Henry's final drive would not provide me that much of a benefit.

One thing about Henry's Final is that I bet its got a much lower "seal" failure rate.  I am very ticked that I spent over $22,000 for the new wing and its final drive is failing about 80,000 miles.   

I guess the definition of a failed rear drive is subjective. I wouldn’t consider a leaking seal a failed unit.

I imagine that it depends on how much tear down you have to do to get to the offending seal and whether or not you can perform the maintenance yourself.

[baldo]

I've had my order in for my 14 Valk for a couple of months now. I just heard from Henry today, it's just about ready to go. I'm doing it mostly for the change in first gear performance. Not so much granny gear, a bit more useful. The lower RPM at cruise isn't a bad thing either.  I ride about 175 miles a day for work, that will be nice.

[f6john]

I've had my order in for my 14 Valk for a couple of months now. I just heard from Henry today, it's just about ready to go. I'm doing it mostly for the change in first gear performance. Not so much granny gear, a bit more useful. The lower RPM at cruise isn't a bad thing either.  I ride about 175 miles a day for work, that will be nice.

I wasn’t sure and had wondered if the Valkyrie final drives were the same. Let me/us know what you think.

[baldo]

I've had my order in for my 14 Valk for a couple of months now. I just heard from Henry today, it's just about ready to go. I'm doing it mostly for the change in first gear performance. Not so much granny gear, a bit more useful. The lower RPM at cruise isn't a bad thing either.  I ride about 175 miles a day for work, that will be nice.

I wasn’t sure and had wondered if the Valkyrie final drives were the same. Let me/us know what you think.

Will do.

[carolinarider09]

Just in case you are interested, here is my "write up" on my final drive issue on the Goldwing forum.

It does have information on where the seal issue is and why its important to fix it when it fails.   

https://www.gl1800riders.com/threads/dirty-final-drive.476577/

[Robert]

I wasn’t sure and had wondered if the Valkyrie final drives were the same. Let me/us know what you think.

The Valk 1800 final drive is the same as long as you get the one with the correct driveshaft. I bought an extra rear for mine off a trike conversion.

[turtle254]

I wasn’t sure and had wondered if the Valkyrie final drives were the same. Let me/us know what you think.

The Valk 1800 final drive is the same as long as you get the one with the correct driveshaft. I bought an extra rear for mine off a trike conversion.

does that mean the "Henry's final drive" will work on a valkyrie?

[f6john]

I wasn’t sure and had wondered if the Valkyrie final drives were the same. Let me/us know what you think.

The Valk 1800 final drive is the same as long as you get the one with the correct driveshaft. I bought an extra rear for mine off a trike conversion.

does that mean the "Henry's final drive" will work on a valkyrie?

2014 and up only

[f6john]

I've had my order in for my 14 Valk for a couple of months now. I just heard from Henry today, it's just about ready to go. I'm doing it mostly for the change in first gear performance. Not so much granny gear, a bit more useful. The lower RPM at cruise isn't a bad thing either.  I ride about 175 miles a day for work, that will be nice.

I wasn’t sure and had wondered if the Valkyrie final drives were the same. Let me/us know what you think.

Will do.

Just ordered on the ninth, placed deposit, although I had contacted him last winter/ springtime when he was out of parts and had not heard from him since. Friend on the Goldwing forums gave me a core and I paid to ship it to Henry and it arrived yesterday.

Henry texted me today that the final drive was a good one and he has mine ready to ship! It’s leaving his place tomorrow. The stars must have aligned somehow, that never happens for me, I was expecting at least a 60 day wait!

[f6john]

Well, it got here yesterday. May be a little while before I tear into it. Been busy with a bathroom remodel for my son and been a little under the weather this week. Anyway here’s what a custom machined and regeared final drive looks like. I know, kind of anticlimactic for $1500 bucks.



Fun stuff is on the inside!