brianinpa
Five Star Vetteral

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