[Malcolm White]

I have just acquired a 2005 30th Anniversary edition Goldwing and while I am enjoying the power,torque, comfort and all that goes with it I am intrigued by the seemingly excessive amount of work required to fit a new air filter. It appears to me that the only way to access the air filter is to either remove the entire upper bodywork and fairing, or drop the engine out of the frame. Can this really be true? Such a fantastically conceived and implemented bike with such a disastrous design flaw? Or am I missing something here?

Oh, and a word of warning to any Wing owners who live outside the USA - don't order a Clymer maintenance/repair manual online. After you have agreed to a $34 price for the manual and provided your credit card details to pay, Clymer add another $50 for "shipping" to the price you thought you were paying. A scam of the worst sort.

Regards,

Malcolm White
Pretoria
South Africa

 

[AApple]

I can't help with the air cleaner issue, as mine is fairly easy to get to and service, but...
You can download the service manuals for free at Goldwing docs.
My '81 came with a Clymer manual, which is decent, but not very detailed, imo. I d-loaded the Haynes, and factory manuals from the above location.
hth

 

[detdrbuzzard]

1500 wings have the same problem, the fake tank has to come off

 

[Red Ron]

I have seen pictorial guides and instructions for doing it either here or on one of the other websites. I have not changed mine but one bit of advice I can give is do it when it is warm or in a heated garage as the tupperware is supposedly much easier to work with.

 

[ptwingmn]

I have just acquired a 2005 30th Anniversary edition Goldwing and while I am enjoying the power,torque, comfort and all that goes with it I am intrigued by the seemingly excessive amount of work required to fit a new air filter. It appears to me that the only way to access the air filter is to either remove the entire upper bodywork and fairing, or drop the engine out of the frame. Can this really be true? Such a fantastically conceived and implemented bike with such a disastrous design flaw? Or am I missing something here?

Oh, and a word of warning to any Wing owners who live outside the USA - don't order a Clymer maintenance/repair manual online. After you have agreed to a $34 price for the manual and provided your credit card details to pay, Clymer add another $50 for "shipping" to the price you thought you were paying. A scam of the worst sort.

Regards,

Malcolm White
Pretoria
South Africa

yes, it is quite an ordeal to change and or service the air filter on the GL1800. You have to remove the top shelter, which involves removing the faring pockets, meter panel, faring moulding, seat, side covers. And you have to disconnect all the wire harness for the audio system. The service manual recommends replacing the filter every 12,000 miles. I installed a K&N filter and I clean it once a year. It is not easy and very frustrating because it does not make sense to have to do that much work for an air filter. But it is what it is. Good luck and safe riding.

 

[lonewolftx]

On the Green Wing I pop off the ignition cover then loosen up the top cover. Bingo there it is.

 

[ptwingmn]

On the Green Wing I pop off the ignition cover then loosen up the top cover. Bingo there it is.

that is on a GL1500 correct? Not that simple on the GL1800.

 

[Chopin]

I have 20,800 miles to date on my '08. I'm going to ride through this season with the original air filter and fluids. Come winter and I put the bike up in the shop warehouse I'll change it all. The worst the air gets around here is during the early pollen season.

 

[Red Ron]

I finally did get around to changing mine a couple of weeks ago and it really wasn't all that hard just a lot of small time consuming tasks that all together make for a big job. One thing I did was to adjust my cruise control to take out the delay it had before engaging. Ended up having to let mine out about 5 turns. Oh, and the air filter, it had 30K miles on it and looked like it could have gone for another 30K miles. I also done the trick where one takes the wire screens off of the bottom of the old filter and used zip ties to fasten them over the end of the air intakes to keep mice from getting into and building a nest on the top of the filter.

 

[Chopin]

I finally did get around to changing mine a couple of weeks ago and it really wasn't all that hard just a lot of small time consuming tasks that all together make for a big job. One thing I did was to adjust my cruise control to take out the delay it had before engaging. Ended up having to let mine out about 5 turns. Oh, and the air filter, it had 30K miles on it and looked like it could have gone for another 30K miles. I also done the trick where one takes the wire screens off of the bottom of the old filter and used zip ties to fasten them over the end of the air intakes to keep mice from getting into and building a nest on the top of the filter.

Those " clean " reports on many who have changed their filter is why I am in no hurry to do it. 12,000 mile air filter change may make sense for those who ride in L.A.

 

[ptwingmn]

Those " clean " reports on many who have changed their filter is why I am in no hurry to do it. 12,000 mile air filter change may make sense for those who ride in L.A.

chopin,
I agree, I have found my K & N filter is always clean when I service it. I usually do it once a year so I exceed the 12K miles interval anyway. The 12K miles is what the shop manual schedules and I was passing on what Honda reccommends.