Chapter M-2's Technical Corner

Howard Halasz's November 2008 Technical Article


" Mirandy’s Story "

A customer brought this 1977 Honda Gold Wing GL1000 to my shop in February 2008 for some new timing belts, check the brakes, spark plugs, carburetor rebuild, and a general tune-up. He told me that he had bought it online from a person in Minnesota and had it shipped to Houston, Texas. He was not happy with the bike and intended to sell it after I performed all the work that It needed.

I completed all the work that my customer requested in April 2008. After I rebuilt the carburetors, performed the Randakk’s 1977 GL1000 recommended modifications to the carburetors, and the general tune-up, I fell in love with it and thought about buying it. I called the customer and told him that his Gold Wing was ready, and that he might not want to sell it. It was perfectly restored to fairly new condition.

The customer still wanted to sell it. I told him to bring the title and all the paperwork with him, and I'll discuss buying it from him. I consulted with my brother Don, and Don suggested that I check some of the prices for a used '77 Gold Wing on eBay and to check the blue book values. The customer quoted what he paid for the bike and to have it shipped to Houston. I offered him half of what he had invested in it, considering my time spent restoring it, and he accepted the offer. I felt that he was more anxious to sell it at a big loss than I was to buy it. I named it “Mirandy”, after an old country comedy song, “Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy!” written by Del Porter and performed by Spike Jones and his City Slickers.

Shortly afterward, I got on Mirandy and rode her 30 miles to Conroe, Texas to show her to my friend, Bob MacBird, GWRRA Classic Wing SIG Representative. On my way back to Houston, I smelled something in the air that smelled like an electrical fire. I thought that it might be that truck in front of me, so I kept going. Then I felt the engine starting to labor. I took the first exit I could find and managed to make it to a parking lot adjacent to the freeway feeder. At that time, the rear brake was totally locked up. I got off the bike and looked at the rear brake rotor, and it was actually glowing red hot. I could have used it to light up a cigarette. There were also flames coming off of the brake pads, plastic inspection cover, and rubber bleeder valve cover. I managed to blow out the fire. I called Betty, my wife, and told her that I was stuck at that parking lot. I asked her to bring some tools to me so that I could temporarily unlock the rear brake. The rear brake rotor cooled down enough by the time Betty arrived with the tools that I needed, and I managed to get Mirandy home, using the front brake only. I used an 8 mm box end wrench to open the rear brake bleeder valve.

The next day was spent rebuilding the rear brake caliper with new seals, new dust boots, fresh brake fluid, and new brake pads. I also rebuilt the rear brake master cylinder, and found out that the brake lockup was caused by a stopped up return orifice in the master cylinder. I managed to clear the return orifice with a piece of stiff wire from a wooden handled wire brush.

I was invited to attend Randakk’s Customer Appreciation Rally in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee in May 2008 after purchasing the Randakk’s Master GL 1000 Carburetor Repair Kit. I spoke with Bob MacBird and mentioned to him that he would probably enjoy attending the rally and meeting other Classic Wing enthusiasts. We loaded both Bob’s red ’75 Wing and Mirandy into Bob’s covered trailer and headed to Cumberland Gap to attend the rally.

Mirandy is equipped with Lester Mags cast wheels, Calafia saddlebags, trunk, and chrome rails, Vetter Windjammer III fairing and lowers, Cycle Sound with AM/FM cassette player, Diamond saddle, and Big Bike engine guards. It can be viewed online at http://www.randakks.com/gal.htm.

Bob and I attended Wing Ding 30 in Greenville, South Carolina in July 2008. I decided to enter Mirandy in the stock class bike show, not expecting to win anything due to the quantity and quality of competition. Much to my surprise, Bob MacBird called me on my cell phone to notify me that Mirandy JUST WON FIRST PLACE!! I was in the middle of conducting a “MAINTENANCE YOU CAN PERFORM YOURSELF” seminar when the phone rang. I told Bob that I was in the middle of conducting a seminar and that the picture taking will have to wait until the seminar ends. After the seminar ended, I went to the bike show staging area for photos and to receive my award.

Howard Halasz, Chapter M2 Technical Coordinator

Texas Chapter M-2