New Vetter Equipped Goldwing owner (again, sort of)

[brianinpa]

Great looking shot of two classics, and I am in no way referring to the age of those on the bikes! I would never insult a Lady by saying she is classic.

 

[aliensatemybuick]

Watch it, bub.

 

[Kynan C.]

That is the coolest thing ever. Winner for best Vetter Christmas card! Now I know what I am doing next year! Nice bikes!

 

[aliensatemybuick]

Well, it was only a matter of time (have had the bike back for about 4 months now). Last week, I ran into my Dad's old friend, who I had given the bike to back in 1990, and who had sold it shortly thereafter. Ran into him at a local deli. Due to the weather here in NJ, I didn't have the bike with me, but I told him that I found it. He didn't seem too interested. "You don't say?" was about the sum total of his response. Its true that we are not that close these days, but I was expecting more. I suppose the only reaction that would have 100% satisfied me would have been if he said "That's amazing, can I follow you home right now to see it?!"

Bottom line is 25 years ago, I didn't care enough about the bike to keep it, so why should he have? Of course, I grew to regret giving it up over the intervening QUARTER CENTURY, and had groused about the guy on occasion over the years, but all is right in the world now that I've gotten it back, as far as I am concerned. Twenty five years is a long time, so there aren't that many people left around who would remember my Dad's old bike, so as I said I was hoping for more; I guess I need to move on from worrying about what other people think about it.

Except you guys, of course!

 

[brianinpa]

That is the nice thing about Vintage Wings though...

When I was down at Deals Gap last summer, I was in the parking lot with a BUNCH of blingged out bikes: high dollar stuff. Seemed that my old Wing caught more attention.

When my friend and I (he has an 82 Wing, and at the time he had a WJ 5 on) were riding to Indiana and back two years ago, I don't think there was one stop we made that someone didn't stop and ask us about our bikes. They looked good together:

Oh, and when there are a whole pack of Vintage Wings together, there is a lot more sometimes it is hard to get out of the parking lot!

Enjoy YOUR bike... that's why you have it now!

 

[Larry Fine]

Enjoy YOUR bike... that's why you have it now!

Absolutely!

 

[aliensatemybuick]

Well, its been a little over a year now that I've had my Dad's old bike back; I replaced the fuel pump and starter, but otherwise it's been trouble free. And no less satisfying to ride (or even just look at!) than the day it arrived. Plus its a great story to tell people.

 

[Alan 63]

View attachment 706 View attachment 705 My Dad bought a "naked" 1981 Goldwing (standard, I guess it would be called) off the showroom floor in late '81. Shortly afterwards, he "dressed" the bike with a Vetter Windjammer V Nightstalker fairing and KG hard saddlebags and trunk. I was 15-16 back then, and helped him install the fairing, bags and trunk. In 1990, Dad passed away, and I inherited the bike along with a number of other bikes Dad owned. I gave it away shortly after his passing, to Dad's best friend. Said friend sold the bike shortly thereafter, and I never saw it again...till about 2 and a half weeks ago, when it showed up on Ebay. I had been looking on and off for a black 1980-82 'Wing with a Vetter fairing and KG bags (hoping to find something relatively close) , and that is how I turned up his old bike. It was recognizable as HIS bike pretty much from the photos and based on the precise configuration of aftermarket dress-up chrome, but the fact of it was confirmed by the VIN, which was listed in the auction and matched the insurance card and registration, which are still is Dad's old wallet, which I have saved essentially untouched for these many years. The bike looks essentially unchanged since 1990, with the exception of an upgraded sound system and a single carburetor conversion performed by the previous owner. The prev. owner even replaced the aftermarket diamond tufted seat with a near identical replacement. It is in essentially the same condition as it was back in 1990, save for some road rash on the right side, suffered during a crash.

Looking forward to riding and fiddling with the bike, and repairing the effects of the road rash (already started on that!). I am actively looking for a righthand gold edging / moulding (unique apparently to the Nighstalker edition fairings, but perhaps also available on "Regal Edition" WJ5s (based on an ad I have seen from 1983). I suppose I could always replace the edging with new chrome ones offered by Craig Vetter, but I am more interested in preserving the bike as close as possible to Dad's intentions back in the day. In fact, I won't be restoring the bike, just correcting some effects of age and the bike having been dropped.

Very nice bike , and I really like the story of finding your dad's wing , priceless.
Alan

 

[Kynan C.]

Well, its been a little over a year now that I've had my Dad's old bike back; I replaced the fuel pump and starter, but otherwise it's been trouble free. And no less satisfying to ride (or even just look at!) than the day it arrived. Plus its a great story to tell people.

Enjoyed the story as well! Glad to see everything is going well, and the bike continues to be a joy. 1 year anniversary pics?

 

[brianinpa]

There is another by-product of riding these old girls. New GoldWings are a dime a dozen and can be seen almost anywhere you go. Last summer when I was in North Carolina's Smoky Mountains, my 81 was surrounded by over $100,000 worth of GoldWings, but my bike being over 30 years old seemed to be the one that was getting the most attention, and not just from other Winger's. Riders of all makes/models were talking to me about my bike.

Throw in the Vetter on the front, and that is another equation: "I once had a bike with a Vetter..." was something I heard a lot.

 

[Kynan C.]

There is another by-product of riding these old girls. New GoldWings are a dime a dozen and can be seen almost anywhere you go. Last summer when I was in North Carolina's Smoky Mountains, my 81 was surrounded by over $100,000 worth of GoldWings, but my bike being over 30 years old seemed to be the one that was getting the most attention, and not just from other Winger's. Riders of all makes/models were talking to me about my bike.

Throw in the Vetter on the front, and that is another equation: "I once had a bike with a Vetter..." was something I heard a lot.

Amen!

 

[aliensatemybuick]

Well, this month represents 5 years ago that I got my Dad's Vetter equipped GL1100 back after over 24 years. I had previously posted the first photo below showing me on my Dad's '47 Indian, taken back in 1990 and showing the rear of the Goldwing in the background. Today I went back through my photo archive and realized the front of the 'wing also shows up in the background of two other shots from the same series. I scanned and cropped them below, and included a recent photo of the bike for comparison. Same foam grips, same rubber antenna,, same front fender guard / fork brace combo, same distinctive metallic WIndjammer "Nighstalker" lettering (not readable, but there just the same). Actually it was the "Nighstalker" WJ5 variation that led me to find this site in the first place (thanks, Google); it was a detail that I had completely forgotten about over the intervening years (I knew it had a Windjammer fairing and KG bags and trunk).

Its not like I need to prove it to myself or anyone else (the VIN does that); but the photos give me chills just the same.

Put new tires on the bike a month ago, should last me till its time to hang up my boots.

 

[aliensatemybuick]

Here's a photo of a similar bike I considered buying back in 2011; found it via a nationwide Craigslist search (it was in Buffalo, NY). Also had a WIndjammer fairing and KG bags. But there was something about it I just didn't like. Back then, I never dreamed that I'd find my Dad's actual bike, but glad I held off just the same.