Now it's my turn to be frustrated,running hot and knocking..

[Burnout]

You have confirmed my suspicion of a seeping head gasket.....

I know what you mean about the money. But look at it this way. You can put another couple of hundred dollars into it and still make out on top. A brand new one is $25,000. $-)

[admin]

And if you do the head gasket job properly you will most likely never have to do it again, unless you ride like a madman.

[desertrefugee]

Well, I can't promise anything about the "madman" factor. After all, my other bike is a Vmax. Habits, you know.

Anyway, I just dropped $242 at the local Honda shop. Tropicalsun's list o' stuff on the "Cooling" forum came in handy.

List found on the first page of this fine thread: Head Gasket Kit

Parts should arrive in about a week. I suppose I could have saved a bit by sizing up a few o-rings, but I didn't have the patience for that. I might be starting in on it in a week or so. In the meantime, I have reluctantly parked it and have switched over to the Vmax - just in time for Arizona bike week which starts next weekend. (Bike week might actually delay the head gasket job).

What's really funny is something someone said to me when I first joined having just acquired the 'wing. "You'll enjoy it more and more as you have time to bond with it." :-@ .... :-J ... :x ... :evil: ... :-W

- Shocks
- Rear Brake pads
- All fuel lines and filter
- Poorboy
- Odyssey Battery
- Head Gaskets
(and I won't count the cosmetics ...fender rail, driver floorboards, chrome master cylinder covers)

Couldn't I just bond by riding?

BTW, you know it's bad when the parts guy at the Honda (and Kawasaki) dealership knows your name. (Of course, some of that came from a lot of work I did on my 2nd ZL900 - which I just sold...<sniff>)

[Burnout]

Having Mad Max for a back-up isn't a bad thing! It's one hell of a ride for it's intended purpose. :twisted: The Eliminator was a great bike too.....

Guy down the road from me has a full dress Harley, along with the full dress clothes and full dress attitude. BUT, he also has a ZL1000 Eliminator. He rides it often, and try's to do it in secret. Can't get caught riding a real bike I guess.... :d

[bs175dths]

Well, I can't promise anything about the "madman" factor. After all, my other bike is a Vmax. Habits, you know.

Anyway, I just dropped $242 at the local Honda shop. Tropicalsun's list o' stuff on the "Cooling" forum came in handy.

List found on the first page of this fine thread: Head Gasket Kit

Parts should arrive in about a week. I suppose I could have saved a bit by sizing up a few o-rings, but I didn't have the patience for that. I might be starting in on it in a week or so. In the meantime, I have reluctantly parked it and have switched over to the Vmax - just in time for Arizona bike week which starts next weekend. (Bike week might actually delay the head gasket job).

What's really funny is something someone said to me when I first joined having just acquired the 'wing. "You'll enjoy it more and more as you have time to bond with it." :-@ .... :-J ... :x ... :evil: ... :-W

- Shocks
- Rear Brake pads
- All fuel lines and filter
- Poorboy
- Odyssey Battery
- Head Gaskets
(and I won't count the cosmetics ...fender rail, driver floorboards, chrome master cylinder covers)

Couldn't I just bond by riding?

BTW, you know it's bad when the parts guy at the Honda (and Kawasaki) dealership knows your name. (Of course, some of that came from a lot of work I did on my 2nd ZL900 - which I just sold...<sniff>)

Since you have another bike to get your 'fix', might I suggest you put the GW battery on a battery tender type trickle charger.
In this way, the battery won't be dead when you are ready for your test ride.

^^

[desertrefugee]

Arrgghh. Just blew away a more detailed version of this post... :|

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I've not yet laid into this head gasket job as Arizona Bike Week is in full swing. I am enjoying it astride my '94 Vmax. A great machine.

But, once the fun is over, I really need to move on this Goldwing. One thing is bothering me. I think folks would agree that I've confirmed a "seeping" head gasket as described above. But, why does that create a hot-running engine condition? The radiator is still doing its thing, right? It's not overpressurizing since I have not had an overflow. The temperature just gradually keeps creeping up until I get spooked and shut down before ugly things happen.

So, why would a head gasket make it run hot? (I hope I'm not stupidly overlooking the obvious).

By the way, here's a group of local Vmax nuts enjoying the festivities at Greasewood Flats. Some of us have more sense than others and I'm not gonna say which is which. (I'm the skinny guy on the yellow '94 with a silly grin. Hey, you'd be grinning too if you were about to ride back out with that crew).

[admin]

Sometimes a head gasket leak can make the engine run hot because little tiny bubbles form inside the coolant and attach themselves to the water jackets around the cylinders. These bubbles act as heat insulators restricting the amount of heat that can be drawn from the engine and causing an overheat condition. The water pump can also be slowed down because instead of pumping coolant it is now compressing air instead of moving liquid. If you think about double pane insulated window glass and then relate theory to the wall of air bubbles on the inside of your engine then you can easily understand how a leaking head gasket that introduces air bubbles can overheat an engine.

BTW, the V Max is one very exciting motorcycle. The acceleration forces you to smile because the g's pull the corners of your mouth to the back of your head wether you feel like smiling or not. :lol:

[wingandaprayer]

Vic - if this happened on a trip could a rider loosen the radiator cap to relieve the pressure to get home like we used to do when a 350 Cummins developed a head gasket leak?

[spongebob]

I tried various things like that while trying to diagnose seeping head gasket, the rad cap lets the pressure off on its own so probably wouldnt lessen the gas bubbles if it was loose, just make it boil quicker and leak everywhere. Mine didn't overheat with the gasket leaking just pressurised and blew gas bubbles out, although I never rode in hot conditions, keeping the fan on permanently kept it more than cool enough.

[desertrefugee]

I feel pretty stupid. It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't crowed about being a savvy cycle rider and/or mechanic with a practiced ear.

Stupid for not one, but two (2) reasons.

Number one: As it turns out. I had a stuck (closed) thermostat after all. What had fooled me was that it appears to open occassionally and slightly - like once every fifth cycle. I seem to have caught it on that cycle on my first test. I've now confirmed it is junk. Beats doing head gaskets, although still not too far off I suspect. Extended cruise in 90F temperature never went over 6 bars and often cycled back to 5 on the freeway. Hasn't run that cool since I've owned it. I used a NAPA part.

Stupid thing #2: The "chattering" top end. On my thermostat shakedown cruise with the shelter off, I was afforded with an unrestricted earshot of the airbox intake. During a couple of throttle blips, my "trained" ear notices that the intake pulses to the airbox sounded an awful lot like my suspected top end noise. (Well, they were the noise!) In my defense, I am about 75% deaf in my right ear.

Anyway, bottom line - I have a very healthy Goldwing and serious egg on my face. Sorry for the wasted bandwidth, but many thanks to all those who offered advice or condolances.

Hopefully, good ideas were exchanged that might still be helpful to someone with similar symptoms.

[firstwing85]

good to hear you found the issue, it's always good to see a happy ending.
also goes to show that sometimes an item is bad and when you test it it tries to fool you and works on the test
and then later it shows it's true colors..

now you can ride happy again.. :d :d ^^ ^^

[spongebob]

Thats a nice outcome if a new thermostat has cured it, mine was shot but the PO had done a lot of miles with it like that which I'm sure blew the head gasket..but no other damage thankfully.