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ikes are in very close proximity. But if that’sthe case, it’s quite normal.Stu’91 Gold Wing SEStu, there was an article in Wing World afew months back that talked about what to doto get the buttons on the handle bars to keepthem from sticking. For example, the cautionbutton, cruse button. What was your recommendationon that? Any particular spray/cleaner?Thanks.Via email, Russell DrollingerRussell, my recommendation is to lube thehandlebar switch buttons with aerosol siliconelube at each oil change. Buttons used frequentlyshouldn’t need this service, but thoseused infrequently such as the hazard lightswitch will definitely benefit.Stu2002 Gold Wing Won’t StartStu, I have a 2002 GL1800 with over250,000 miles on it. Recently, the followingproblem has been occurring: After it has satovernight, it doesn’t want to start. It will turnover and over but won’t start. Then it will startand do great for a few weeks, then it happensagain.It has always been at home, so I’ve beenlucky. Please tell us what to look for.ThanksBill NewtonGWRRA #178472Springfield, KentuckyBill, with only the information supplied, myfirst inclination would be to examine the battery.Considering that temperatures nationwidehave fallen recently, your recent discoveryof the problem points to a weak battery. Aweakened battery will spin the GL1800 overjust fine, but the voltage during cranking willdrop to a level insufficient to keep the fuelinjection relay closed. The symptom will worsenin cool weather due to a natural reductionin battery performance and thickened oil.StuTwo Issues...One a Nuisance,One Safety-RelatedHey Stu, I’ve learned a lot from reading yourcolumns over the years, but I’ve never seenthese two issues addressed. The first is what Iwould call a “nuisance issue”, and the secondis of a more serious, safety-related nature, as itaffects my tail lights and instruments. Both ofthese problems are on my ’93 Aspencade with85,000 miles.The “nuisance issue” is what started as abalky OD dash light when shifting into fifthgear. Sometimes it would come on. Othertimes it would come on after riding in fifth fora while then, finally, it stopped working altogether.I checked the resistance reading at the connectorbehind the right fairing, as per the shopmanual. I got an ohms reading for each gearbut, frankly, don’t remember what they were.(That was last winter, and I just enjoyed ridingit without the light.)I thought that it might be a stickingplunger-type switch that needed some WD-40until I read the manual. Any suggestions? Ifneed be, this winter I’ll remove the water pumpand front cover to get to the switch.The second problem is the main/tail relay.The original failed around 50,000 miles. Nobig deal. Back then the dealer had them instock.Everything worked fine for all of theseyears and miles then it failed again. They areno longer stocked so, after the two-week waitand $30 cost, I installed the new relay. It lastedabout two hours!I recently saw in print that the 1500s had“relay problems”. I had never heard this beforebut, clearly, I have a relay problem!Any ideas, comments, or suggestions?Have you run across anything like this?Dave CowgillGWRRA #132946Clayton, DelawareDave, I agree with your proposed actionregarding the gear selector switch. Regardingthe relay, your problem may not be with therelay but with the electrical load to which it’sbeing subjected. Addition of lights or otherelectrical accessories could overload the relayand reduce its service life. A short circuit couldrender it useless quite quickly, but that conditionshould cause a fuse to pop before damageoccurs. Insure that none of your bike’s fuseshave been replaced with ones of higher thanstandard capacity.StuWhich Gold Wing Seat?Stu I just purchased a Gold Wing andwanted to see what seat is most liked—stock,Ultimate seat, or Corbin?Via email, Ken CatesKen, there’s a butt for every seat. And itseems there’s a seat for every butt. Many wouldlike a motorcycle seat to provide the kind oflong-term comfort offered by the best car seats.But those things are much larger and thickerthan would be possible to mount on a motorcycle.Bear in mind, one couldn’t even sit inhis/her favorite easy chair for ten hours a daywithout experiencing some discomfort. Thingssuch as arm length, body weight and shape,inseam dimensions, the rider’s posture, and thebike’s ergonomics play a role in how comfortableany seat feels to a particular rider in thelong term. So what’s comfortable for me (or40 Wing World