Goldwing air filter replacement

[cruise_carter]

So I've been thinking about adding another bike to stable, a new model Honda Goldwing.
Found a fair deal on a 2018 Honda Goldwing DCT Tour.
Nice bike, liked the DCT Africa Twin I had. (sold it as I got tired of climbing on it and the twin had just a tad too much vibration for me)
The AT was a PITA to change air filters.

The ST and my Harley FLHTK have easy air filter changes (along with other maintenance items)

Checked out air filter change on the Goldwing......OH MY GOD!
GIANT PITA as you have to take off a ton of body panels and crap.
Couple of guys have posted youtube videos showing this, ugh
If you go to Honda, labour is 3 hours.

For now sticking with my 2 rides, have to really consider before I choose one of these.

 

[dduelin]

Not a big deal if you keep things in perspective. Supposing it’s changed at 12,000 miles you will ride it maybe 240 hours to get there. The ride of the bike for those 240 hours is far more important to this enthusiast than the time it takes to change the air filter.

 

[ST Gui]

Supposing it’s changed at 12,000 miles

My 'Wing buddy has changed oil in all his bikes at 3000mi forever. I mentioned how with synthetic oil many riders have put tens of thousands of miles and more with changes every 10K on STs. He was not swayed. I said that "cheap insurance" adds up.

Will removing Tupp be involved in oil changes on the new 'Wings? While capable he's a time is money guy so while he does his own oil changes I don't know if he's ever taken the time to do the air filters on 'Wings. Our GL1000s were a piece o' cake.

 

[SMSW]

I think basing the time it takes to do occasional maintenance on whether to buy a bike or not is misguided. Were we all to do that, this website would not exist because taking the tupperware off an ST is way more time consuming than, say, diving into a naked Guzzi or any bike without a fairing.

 

[ST Gui]

I think basing the time it takes to do occasional maintenance on whether to buy a bike or not is misguided.

If we all obeyed the law there'd be no need for police. If we all took better care of ourselves and loved ones there'd be no need for the military to send help to hospitals. But none of that is going to happen is it so I think this site is on solid ground in that respect.

The OP wasn't offering a doctrine but just deciding what was right for him. If the maintenance isn't easy peasy to the skill level of the rider facing it or the rider doesn't have the budget to farm it out then it makes sense to base a purchase that meets those expectations.

Maintenance costs or difficulty are a valid metric for the budget of a vehicle purchase as is insurance costs or storage or any other number of considerations. I'd consider it misguided to buy a vehicle that you couldn't or didn't want maintain yourself or pay to have occasional maintenance performed.

If 3 hours is Honda's flat rate then changing an air filter could be extremely pricey depending on where you live.

I'm not concerned about how anybody else maintains their machines. It's what works for me that's important and I can see the OP's viewpoint clearly.

 

[dwalby]

If a mfr. designs a bike so that regular periodic maintenance items are ridiculously complicated and time consuming, they've lost me as a customer. This isn't the first time I've heard someone complain about the GW air filter replacement process, so I'm not surprised at this thread.

 

[Mellow]

On my 01 and 05 GL1800's it was similar, took off a lot of stuff but I got used to it because you just about had to take all that same plastic off whenever you added some farkle and wanted to route wires. The ST is somewhat similar, valve checks for instance, in which the Wing is actually easier. On my 2 previous wings I did change the air filter at 48k miles and they were barely dirty. The STs were always pretty dirty.

The ADV bikes are a lot easier for some of this stuff but you still typically have to remove the tank and valve checks are a heck of a lot more involved.

On the RT now and 12k valve checks but they should be much easier as I don't think any plastic needs to be removed but a shorter check interval so it's all just the particulars of that specific bike.

If you like the bike, it doesn't matter and you do what you need to to keep it maintained and enjoy it.

 

[schlep1967]

Took me less than 4 hours on my 2013 GL1800. Buying Fred Harmon's video's can save you a lot of money doing your own maintenance. Is it a pain to disassemble half the bike to replace the air filter? Yes. The long interval between changes makes it easy to consider it "winter Maintenance" so I have something to do when I can't be riding. Also, once you go that deep into the bike one time, it is a lot easier the next time when you decide you want to add some other toys and actually want to properly run the wires.

 

[Nashcat]

I changed the filter on my 2018, just last Saturday. When I say “I changed it”, I really mean that I helped. I have a Goldwing mechanic that lives in my neighborhood and he had never worked on one of the new models. Since I had experience in pulling all the plastic, we used my experience along with his organizational skills to tackle the job in his shop.

It was a little over 4 hours, but a lot of time was spent watching Fred Harmon’s videos. I think that 2 1/2 hours would be a good estimate for the next change. Everything was completed with the bike on the centerstand.

I saw an excellent method of keeping fasteners organized. Each time a panel is removed, the fasteners for that panel go into a separate container that is kept with the panel. We were using the caps from aerosol paint cans, which is a good size for holding several screws and push pins. When you set the panel aside, set the container of fasteners next to the panel. At reassembly time, grab the panel, and all of the needed fasteners are in the cup. I’ve worked on ST’s and Wings for 10 years and this method beats any anything I’ve tried in the past.

John

 

[Mr ed]

compared to the 1995 VT 1100 Shadow I had for 10 years I would say the ST is a pain for maintenance and looking at Nashcat's pictures of his wing filter change I wouldn't want to do it. But then while the Tupperware's off what else can we do. last year IGOFAR had my ST for2 days and in less the 20 minutes had the bike naked. I just needed that one time to show me how it's done. I guess it comes down to how bad do you want it. The thing I find that's a pain is finding space to lay the panels somewhere that they will not get damaged.

 

[red one]

Well my thinking is the engineers need to be sentenced to an eternity of changing that filter. Imho on a maintenance item no excuse for a 2.5 to 4 hour task. But for people like me who like to tinker it would not stop me from buying one. I'm retired and I got the time so what else I'm I going to do with my time lol. Something else to consider is I wonder how many tabs will be broken by your dealer on your bodywork and you know they aren't going to tell you. Just put it back together the customer will never know.

 

[red one]

I changed the filter on my 2018, just last Saturday. When I say “I changed it”, I really mean that I helped. I have a Goldwing mechanic that lives in my neighborhood and he had never worked on one of the new models. Since I had experience in pulling all the plastic, we used my experience along with his organizational skills to tackle the job in his shop.

It was a little over 4 hours, but a lot of time was spent watching Fred Harmon’s videos. I think that 2 1/2 hours would be a good estimate for the next change. Everything was completed with the bike on the centerstand.

I saw an excellent method of keeping fasteners organized. Each time a panel is removed, the fasteners for that panel go into a separate container that is kept with the panel. We were using the caps from aerosol paint cans, which is a good size for holding several screws and push pins. When you set the panel aside, set the container of fasteners next to the panel. At reassembly time, grab the panel, and all of the needed fasteners are in the cup. I’ve worked on ST’s and Wings for 10 years and this method beats any anything I’ve tried in the past.

John

John how many miles on that filter looks dirty?

 

[ReSTored]

When I had my ST1100 it was on a 2 year PM cycle, aside from regular oil and filter changes. and twice a season brake pad, piston, pins, caliper cleaning. Coolant every 4 years.

For the bi-annual PM I had a fair amount of plastic stripped off anyway and the air filter on the ST is pretty easy to access. While everything was open I'd do a thorough cleaning of everything I could reach. So, while the GW air filter is a PITA to access schedule this to be done over your winter storage season and already working on the bike for other things.

If I was paying Honda to do all of this then I might be picking another bike, although, these days, most bikes are fairly time / labour intensive to work on. It seems you spend more than half the time simply gaining access to the part / area requiring attention.