Good balance or just a big heavy wing?

Hey folks, I have always thought I had good balance on the wing or any other bike... I can come to a complete stop then go without touching the ground and can run a strait line at near any speed or so I thought.
Today I was the lead in a funeral procession right behind the hearse and inside a cemetery. we were going at a brisk walking pace as far as speed goes, I didn't look down but I would guess there was little speedometer movement.
I kept a line as best I could but it was a struggle, even if I were to let out the clutch and idled it forward I would have closed in on the hearse so I just pumped the clutch and kept pace as best I could moving the bars back and forth to keep balance.
I was wondering if this was just the nature of the big heavy Goldwing(first one} and is there a limit to how slow you can go without touching the ground. I do not plan on entering a bike rodeo or anything but do my skills need work or is this about right?

Jeff, under 2 MPH and it becomes a bit heavy. When I am in stop and go traffic, I am able to stretch my legs out in front of me (I have a Standard with no faring) and let them rest on the crash bars with my feet dangling out in front. This seems to balance the bike right out and I can be almost at a stop before I need to drop my feet.

A lot of this depends on the road surface, too. If the road is groovy, or uneven, it makes it really hard to hold a straight line at slow speeds. Sometimes I can get to almost a complete stop, and not wiggle/waggle, or flop over. Other times, it's hard to keep it upright and straight at 5 mph....just depends on the road surface. :yes:

Mine's bad at real low speed.

+++ also don't grab the front break at slow speeds as the position of looking up is hrder to eexplane. Don't ask!!!

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=144281#p144281:23k804lq said:

AApple » Today, 8:57 pm[/url]":23k804lq]
A lot of this depends on the road surface, too. If the road is groovy, or uneven, it makes it really hard to hold a straight line at slow speeds. Sometimes I can get to almost a complete stop, and not wiggle/waggle, or flop over. Other times, it's hard to keep it upright and straight at 5 mph....just depends on the road surface. :yes:

Click to expand...

That's what I've found also :good:

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=144281#p144281:266ypzu8 said:

AApple » Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:57 pm[/url]":266ypzu8]
A lot of this depends on the road surface, too. If the road is groovy, or uneven, it makes it really hard to hold a straight line at slow speeds. Sometimes I can get to almost a complete stop, and not wiggle/waggle, or flop over. Other times, it's hard to keep it upright and straight at 5 mph....just depends on the road surface. :yes:

Click to expand...

If the front tire has some miles on it, it can be more difficult also.

I had no problem riding slow on my Intruder 800, but I thinks that was all because of the different wheel base, fork rake, low seat and forward pegs. I don't even give it much thought on the Wing. I wear out the soles of the boots rather than scrape up the sides of the bike.

Something I've found a bit off-puting about the low speed handling of my '82 is that the bars are wanting to flop to one side or the other. So small left/right corrections, like when trying to balance, are harder to control.

What I'm talking about is, if you you sit on the bike and turn the bars to straight ahead you are lifting the front end slightly. The bars want to "fall" to the left or right. I guess this is due to trail in the steering geometry. But it seems much more on the GW than other bikes I ride. This is also way more pronounced if the front tire is low of air.

Anyone else notice this?

When I rode your bike Jeff, I found that it was easier to ride in a straight line than mine. As if it would stay upright all on it's own, is how it felt.
I didn't try at walking speed but now I wish I had.

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=144301#p144301:17clft2g said:

canuckxxxx » Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:35 am[/url]":17clft2g]
Something I've found a bit off-puting about the low speed handling of my '82 is that the bars are wanting to flop to one side or the other. So small left/right corrections, like when trying to balance, are harder to control.

What I'm talking about is, if you you sit on the bike and turn the bars to straight ahead you are lifting the front end slightly. The bars want to "fall" to the left or right. I guess this is due to trail in the steering geometry. But it seems much more on the GW than other bikes I ride. This is also way more pronounced if the front tire is low of air.

Anyone else notice this?

Click to expand...

All bikes have that to some degree. Rake or angle of the front size of the tire and it's condition all have a part in it.

Well I have to admit the front tire(rear also) isn't in the best condition, maybe best to try low speeds after I change them out..Thanks for the responses and advice.

Yip rear tire will impact low speed wiggle or walk, never realized how much until I got this

It will follow a big crack like you wouldn't believe, also the front is raked & the bars will flop over if you let go (not advisable) :BigGrin: