You must be a gem at parties.
Still, I too ride a Gold Wing. It’s a 2004 1800cc that used to belong to my dad. That crazy old man rode it until he was 72. It was his second one after a jeep ran into him at a stoplight and totaled his 1500.
I’ve put 12k miles on it so it’s up to 82k.
It’s mostly been bullet proof, but the buttons on the handlebar pods are going out. I managed to be a d****ss and break the reverse pawl putting in a new starter. That repair basically involves disassembling the whole bike, so I’m just careful not to get in situations where I need reverse.
Also, it was fun parking on hills while the starter was out, so I could bump start the beast. Then doing it again because the first starter was a Chinese knockoff and needed replacing in a few months. Bit the bullet and paid $500 on a Japanese OEM for the second go-around.
I remember how I converted to the Goldwing after being a Harley Rider for decades. I was in a repair shop getting my last Harley repaired at 32k miles.An older gentlemen was in the shop and talked to the owner.The conversation was basically "Okay Ed, your Goldwings ready, didnt find anything , bring her back next 100,000 miles...."
That was the very week Harley had its 100th anniversary featuring Elton John. Sold my last Harley and bought one similiar to yours mint condition.
Everyone wanted Aerosmith, ZZ Top etc...but no Gay Lil Willie G wanted Elton to appeal to his new customer base. Never looked back.
I liked the reverse. It came in handy a few times especially anytimg the bike was trailered.
This was mine:
I had a subwoofer mounted in the trunk. I used to roll up to cops at lights and have the sub going "Boom ba da booom", then Id motion for the cop to roll down the window and when they did, Id say "Hey Officer, out looking for me today!". If it was a female cop , they loved that. I was shameles flirting with female cops.