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GoldWing riders, especially newcomers to GoldWings, often resort to paddling the bike around in tight or difficult circumstances because it feels safe. Both your feet are on the ground, so you feel you have more control than when they’re on the footpegs.
Lots of riders paddle thier GoldWing when they are slow manoeuvring and not many of them fall over doing it, or at least not a high proportion of them and not frequently, so clearly paddling can be done successfully.
On firm level ground paddling a GoldWing can be a safe way to manoeuvre, although at best it’s slow and laborious – and it doesn’t look very stylish either. So the sooner you learn the other, and generally speaking better, ways of manoeuvring a GoldWing at slow speed the better. These are described on separate pages in this Tight Turning” Section of the Rider Education Information on this Website.
Meanwhile paddling the bike around with both feet on the ground has its place and we all resort to it from time to time, so let’s educate ourselves about it’s safe limitations as a manoeuvring method rather than dismiss it altogether.
The principle risk in paddling a GoldWing around stems from the absence of safe braking except, to some extent, when the bike is rolling backwards. With both feet on the ground the rider is deprived of the use of the foot brake, which by virtue of a GoldWing’s linked braking system has the considerable advantage of acting simultaneously on both wheels. When you’re paddling the bike you can only use the front brake, which acts only on the front wheel. A GoldWing’s anti-dive feature also only works on the footbrake, so when you are paddling the bike the forks are at risk of dipping when you apply the brake too.
Using the front brake while you are paddling the bike, even when you are moving very slowly and with both feet on level firm ground, will tend to destabilise the riders balance and control of the bike, with the consquent risk of dropping it.
Touching the front brake while you’re paddling the bike won’t automatically drop the bike but it does present a threat. Unless the bike is truly vertical and the handlebars are straight ahead, grabbing the front brake will jerk the bike floorwards and you will need to be prepared to adjust your balance and apply strength to avoid dropping it. Ever time you use the front brake when you are moving forwards you need to be prepared to compensate for its destabilising effect.
If the bike is moving forwards, even very slowly, the front brake can have the effect of a giant magnet, pulling the bike downwards unstoppably, even on level and firm ground. The effect is less marked when the bike is moving backwards but applying the front brake will still tend to have a destabilising effect. At slow speeds, with feet down or otherwise, GoldWing riders need to be very cautious about using the front brake.
And on sloping or slippery ground, paddling the bike around is even riskier. It will only take one foot to lose its grip for the rider’s control to be seriously threatened. On loose or sloping ground the dangers of using the front brake are magnified considerably too.
On markedly sloping ground, the problem of judging when the bike is really vertical adds to the difficulties of paddling, the risks of paddling get even worse.
So, use the front brake with great care or not at all when you are paddling the bike forwards. Make yourself keep your fingers away from it when you are paddling forwards to reduce the risk of a snatch application which could take you down. Using the front wheel brake is of course safer when the bike is rolling backwards because the tendency to tip the bike over doesn’t apply.
Modern GoldWings are fitted with powered reversing which can be extremely useful for parking and other manoeuvring in tight spaces, especially for reversing up a slope. It uses the bike’s starter motor for power and movement is controlled by the starter button. There are limits to the steepness of a reverse slope which it can cope with and you shouldn’t reverse for longer than it says in the bike’s owner’s manual before giving the motor a rest to cool off – about 20 seconds is a sensible limit, less if you are reversing up much of a slope. Classic GoldWings and Interstate model GL1500′s, which don’t have powered reverse, are moved backwards against a slope by getting the passenger to get off and push!
Reversing down a steep slope presents special problems too. Releasing the starter button when reverse is engaged will normally stop the bike and hold it in position unless the bike is on a very steep slope, such as a trailer ramp, when you will need to apply the rear brake too.
The front brake doesn’t work reliably going backwards down a steep slope because the bike’s weight is transferred off the front wheel on to the rear one by the angle of slope, which deprives the front wheel of reliable tyre grip. Using the front brake will tend to lock up the front wheel which will then slide – and it may sideways as well as down the slope, so your control of the bike could be threatened Better to use the rear brake (which will hold reliably) and settle for keeping the bike leaning slightly to the left so you can manage with only your left foot on the ground. This will mean interrupting your progress down the slope to move your left foot backwards every so often, but overall this is a safest and most controlled way of reversing down a steep slope.
And if you are in tight or slippery or any other situation in which you fear you might drop the bike or hit something, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
One (or two in really dodgy situations) helpers stabilising the bike by walking alongside it with a hold on the passenger hand-grip could make the difference between completing the manoeuvre safely and damaging or dropping the bike.
Likewise if you are moving the bike on or off a trailer or bike lift when there is a steep slope or a potentially slippery surface to deal with, if there are helpers available don’t be too proud to use them.
Better safe than sorry.