F6B Tires and Maintenance

[F6Dave]

I'm getting close to buying an F6B.  I plan to retire or semi-retire in the near future, and I want to take some long, completely worry-free trips.  My 2 Valks have about 265,000 miles combined, and even though I know I can push them much further, time does take it's toll on even the finest machines.

I look forward to having a single-sided swingarm that lets me remove the rear tire in minutes, as well as a low-maintenance final drive.  But I've heard than changing the front tire on a Wing is a real chore.  And some other things, like the air filter, aren't nearly as easy as on our Valkyries.  What are the experiences of other Goldwing/F6B owners out there?  And how about tire mileage?  I've heard that Wings get better tire mileage than our Valks -- is that true?

[Dave Ritsema]

As you have stated, the rear tire is a breeze. I even saw a video where they just laid a Wing over on it's crashbars and changed it without even jacking the bike up. Single sided swing arms are most excellent. 

I have not changed my air filter yet but it does sound to be a bit of a chore. Sounds as if its about an hour and a half job, but with the frequency that it needs serviced I don't really see it being that big of a deal.

My dealer told me that changing the front tire is all that much of a difference from a Valkyrie, however I have not had to perform this task yet myself.

You will love the F6B it offers so many improvements over the classic Valkyrie's in most areas that after you ride one you will be hooked. I am really happy with my new bike but will say that the one thing the classic Valkyrie will always have over the F6B is it's classic styling.

[cutter]

I have recently changed both tires on my 2010 wing. I placed a some carpet down and genlty set her down on her side. I did remove my iso wings from that side first. Then I used the center stand to give it a 3 point stance. No body parts touched the carpet. The single swing arm makes it very easy to remove the rear tire. The front isn't that bad. Placed the bike on the center stand. Use floor jack to to lift the front and set on the rear tire. The fender is split. Remove the front section and chrome piece covering the calipers, then the calipers and used bungie cords to suspened them so the break lines didn't. Remove axel nut and pinch bolts. i didn't even have to pump the forks like the valk to center everything up. The air filter is a different thing. Like Dave said, the frequency that it needs should be no big deal.

Tire miliage, I need a set of tires yearly on the valk. Run Yoko on the rear and get about 20k +/- with a Avon on the front and can get about 24K.

The wing had a stone(new) on the front and a Dunny on the back. Got 15k on the new stone and changed the rear out at 18k. Bought the bike with 4500 miles on it. I now have Avon F/R.

Go for it. I thought about getting the F6B but couldn't pass the deal up I got on the wing.

[six2go #152]

As Dave & Cutter said, the air filter might be a bit of a pain, but when it's time to service the one on my F6B I'll probably just put in a K&N. With 50,000 miles between cleanings, that should take care of mine for 8 yrs. or so.