Nearly 40 years ago I rode with a group of Goldwing riders from Denver. Some of these guys had been riding since the 40s, on Harleys, then BMWs, and finally that fancy new Honda Goldwing. I had the only non-Wing, the sport-tourer of the bunch, a 1981 Suzuki GS1100E with a Vetter fairing and German Krauser saddlebags. Everyone built their own custom touring bikes back then, adding a fairing and saddlebags and maybe a trunk from a wide variety of suppliers. Up until then Goldwings had only been sold as 'naked' bikes.
For sound Vetter made an accessory which fit right under the windshield that contained 2 speakers, and let you add the car radio of your choice. I think they called it Cycle Sound. If you wanted to talk with your group you had to get creative. Most of these guys took an automotive CB radio and mounted it on the handlebars or somewhere in the fairing. For audio some kind of marine grade speaker was mounted wherever it fit. The CB microphone usually had a bracket on the handlebars, and the rider would grab it and 'press to talk'. It all actually worked fairly well.
These guys scheduled several long rides around Colorado and the surrounding states every year. The most unique was their 'all night ride'. It was held on the weekend closest to the solstice, to take advantage of maximum daylight. They left Denver at 7 PM and had dinner in Fairplay, Colorado. Through the night they rode through some of central Colorado, usually getting to Pueblo for breakfast around daylight. I remember riding down a mountain pass in the middle of the night, when a sheriff's deputy heard some of the group talking on channel 19. He broke in to say 'you fellas sure look pretty riding down that pass'. You can't do that with a Sena.
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Originally Posted by willtill
