Honda GL500I SILVER WING INTERSTATE 1981 US Forum

i have an 81 honda gl500i silverwing interstate. i was told by 2 different people that this box is, 1- an electrical wireing holding box, and 2- a front fork weight box to keep the front forks stable from wobbleing. i do know that if i take one or the other of my hands off the bars, the front starts to shake. now i dont know who to beleve because all i have is the front cover and the brackets that bolt it to the front forks. can someone PLEASE tell me what the heck this thing is?

thank you,

stuart.

stuart,
I also have the 1981 interstate model, there is no such thing as a weight box. that is only for the wireing of the headlight, that box is where the headlight would be on a regular standard model of the silverwing (no fairing) the problem you are having with the wobble (when you take a hand off the handlebars is the steering head bearings are extreamly worn !! The original steering head bearings consists of a number of loose ball bearings that sit in a cup for both upper and lower steering head placements. Water will deteriorate them over time. (there are approximatley 16 of them ) the replacement bearings are a sealed unit (aftermarket ones) Your steering is probably stiffer right now (This is an indication of the worn bearings) I had the same problem and replacing the bearings solved the stiffness and the front end wobble completely, you will find a big difference in the end. its not an expensive job and suggest you take your bike in and have it done by the shop guys. Hope this helps.....Merv

lol, hello merv.

i just got an email about you posting this reply today from when i posted my question about it back in may. lol.

yes, i did eventually find out what the box is for and what was and STILL is causing the front wobble. havent had it fixed yet, but im going to at the end of this rideing season. you might want to know, since i bought this bike, ive put over 8,000 miles on it, and only had to replace the front and rear tires, spark plugs, oil and filter and just the other day, the battery died. this bike runs great
and is a nice interstate cruiser. i get alot of complements on it and its admired by every one every where i ride it.
ive had offers to buy it from me for as much as 3,000 dollars US, but im not
going to sell it.
i am going to go to a motorcycle school and learn everything there is to learn about this bike so i can do all my own work on it. after this season is finished, im going to take off the original farring, fenders, side box's, trunk and side covers and repaint them midnight black and replace the gold pin stripping. i took auto body in high school and worked in a few body shops back in my "youth", so painting it wont be a problem. i have all the equiptment i need to do it in my garage, and being a retired auto mec. learning about the workings of this bike should be a breeze. its a wonderful bike and im very happy with it.

thank you again for your reply, take care,

stuart.