[whacker]

Was at my local shop today getting an inspection, the lead Tech had an 02 1800 on the rack stripping it to the bone. A little trivial talk with him and I found out the the bike had a broken frame, he showed me where the lower crossmember had failed, the bike is getting a new frame which means he's doing a factory (re)build on this machine, man I don't envy that guy! Seems the current owner bought it from the PO in Las Vegas, the PO never had it checked, the new owner never registered it with Honda, and lived in 2 states since, he appearenly never knew about the recall. Thank the motorcycle gods this didn't happen out on the road, but in the driveway of his home. I read about this on the board all the time, but never knew the gravity. That owner needs to become a member here! I had know idea there was that much under the body of these bikes! WOW!

 

[nebraskadave]

I bought an 02 last year from a dealer. What is the recall? Starting to think I should get mine checked.

 

[joe in calif]

That happens more than you know. A lot of guys on other GL1800 boards have had that happen. I always worried about that when I had my 02. I had the re-weld done but some of the frames are breaking in spots that were not covered by the recall and those guys had to fight Honda to get them replaced. If you have an 01 to 03 GL 1800 inspect the frame regularly. What looks like a scratch in the paint can be a crack, A lot of them were cracking behind the left passenger floor board. Here is some good reading for you


Service bulletin
http://www.goldwingfacts.com/1800 Service Bulletins/1800SB17.pdf

http://www.motorcycle.com/news/news1403.html

 

[joe in calif]

I bought an 02 last year from a dealer. What is the recall? Starting to think I should get mine checked.

Any dealer can enter your VIN number in his computer and see if the recalls have been done. Two of the most important ones are the frame recall and overheating issue. If the frame recall has been done than the dealer was suppose to stamp an "X" somewhere on the bike, I think after the VIN number but I'm not sure.
Here is a list of recalls and service bulletins
http://www.ridersrally.org/sb/sb.htm

 

[Thrasherg]

As mentioned a dealer can check your VIN number or you can email Honda USA with the VIN number and they will tell you if it has had the fixes and updates. First thing I did when I bought my 03 wing. Big sigh of relief to find everything had been done.. I didn't know about the recals until after I bought the bike and started joing a few Wing WEB sites..

Gary

 

[nebraskadave]

Placed a call to Honda and asked about my '02 . They say it was checked out. They have no notation if it was checked and was OK, checked and fixed, or if it had a frame replacement. My question is this, after a bike passes inspection, what are the chances of the frame breaking later? No doubt it is something to keep an eye on.

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

I think we all get spoiled by the classy looks of a Goldwing and forget that under all that tupperware is a machine with lots of parts that can from time to time break down or need attention. A good reminder to check our bikes often for problems. There is more to caring for a Wing than just a good washing. Ride safe and enjoy the road..

 

[lonewolftx]

A comon fault back then. My brother made a good bit of money welding the frames for Honda.

 

[joe in calif]

IF the frame has been re welded there will be an X punched on the lower right corner of the VIN plate which you can see by looking down the left side of the neck.
Check this out, it is the recall service bulletin and it tells you about it and where to find the "X"
http://www.goldwinginfo.com/pdf/18/sb17.pdf

 

[MaineWinger]

2004 GL1800 Frame

I am new to the site and found this post. I own a 2004 GL1800 and this is the first that I have ever heard of the frame issues. In researching the info on this thread I cannot find where the 2004 model year have this issues. I purchased this bike from the original owner (family member) with very low mileage. I am sure any technical bulletin's that he would have recevied would have been taken care of or the bulletin would be with the bike.

I will be looking the frame over closely, but the bulletin that I have seen is for 2001 thru 2003 production years? Was there issues with 2004 models that Honda has not addressed? Any help or advice in this matter would be greatful. I see on this thread that 2005 is the magical year that the issue was resolved. That leaves the 2004 production year in question!

 

[budoka]

I'll e-mail my Honda tech-line friend about the '04 and see what he says. It seems to me that the '04s were'nt included in the recall but I'll check tomorrow. The other thing you can do is call your dealer with your vin or HondaUSA can search it for you as Joe mentioned.

 

[MaineWinger]

I am going to check with local dealer as you mentioned. I have checked the bike over and could not see any signs of cracking anywhere, but my bike only has 10k on it. I printed out the recall and it did not include 04 model year, but also notice one post that owner had 04 that had frame issues. 05 seems to be the first year that frame issues were cleared. Thank you for the info and advice.

 

[budoka]

MaineWinger: The '04s were definitely affected, but I only have the VINs of the Canadian afflicted units, not those released in the US. As mentioned prior, there should be a mark stamped ('x' in the US but only a punch mark in Canada) on the lower RH corner of the VIN plate (as you look at the bike from the left/shifter side) once the repair has been completed. A VIN search will only show if your bike is affected not whether or not it has been completed. Only the mark tells that. This is a safety recall and is in effect until all affected units are repaired regardless of time of purchase. Note to trike and side-car unit owners, the recall does NOT apply to your units (at least here in Canada). If youy need any more info, feel free to PM me.

 

[Roadie]

With the 01 to mid 04 model the real frame issue is cracks in the rear triangle frame tube behind the left passenger floorboard. Honda redesigned the frame to correct this issue starting with bikes made in June of 2004. If you own a GL1800 made before June of 2004 you should inspect the frame often and use a magnifying glass as the cracks can be faint at first and hard to see with just your eyes.

Here's the same area of the frame with the 2001 to mid 2004 model

Here's the redesigned frame in the mid 04 and up models.The frame casting were made longer and beefier in the weak area of the frame. Honda also lengthen the rest of the frame lugs in the frame to better spread out the loads put into the frame tubes

 

[MaineWinger]

Thanks for the photos Roadie, My frame is the mid year production with the re enforcements. There is a sticker on my bike in this area with the manufacture date which states 5/04.

A picture is worth a thousand words and your photos were great.

Thanks Again, this site is really great information for the Wing owners.

 

[benferngl1800]

I am not sure how reliable the VIN number search is.

The service bulletin for the safety recall has a range of VIN numbers for 2003 Goldwings. My bike is within the range.

The bulletin goes on to say you have to do the repair procedure. It doesn't say to check the weld and repair if necessary the way other recalls did.

Anyway, the repair procedure was not done. There is no punch in the VIN sticker plus you can tell by looking at the welds they have not been reinforced.

But when I do a VIN number search it says no outstanding recalls (it also says records only kept back 15 years).

 

[trike lady]

Contact the local Honda dealer and let them check their data base or better yet bring the bike to the Honda dealer.