2018 Honda Gold Wing Tour | Favorites & Fails
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 เม.ย. 2018
- When you ride as many different motorcycles as we do it gives you good perspective on a given bike’s strengths and weaknesses. And whether you’re shopping for your next bike or just want to be in the know, it’s helpful to get an experienced rider’s opinion. So as a quick way to convey the highs and lows of the bikes we’ve been riding we came up with this new video series. Favorites & Fails is exactly what the name suggests, a concise list of the good and bad of the bikes we’re riding.
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My riding preferences lean heavily toward smaller, lighter, more lively naked bikes like the Suzuki SV650 and Yamaha FZ-07 or Aprilia's fire-breathing Tuono V4 1100, but even as a diehard performance guy there are still aspects of the 2018 Gold Wing Tour that I appreciate. After all, I spent six months and 20,000 miles touring the US as an alternative to college, so I know what matters when you're on the road. With all that in mind, here are my favorite and least-favorite features on the new G-Wing based on my first-ride experience in Texas.
FAVES
That adjustable windscreen and the bike's awesome aerodynamics.
If you’ve never maneuvered the sail of a windscreen on the previous-generation Goldy, let me outline the process. First, ya gotta pull over. Then flip the levers on either side of the dash, grasp the top of the screen, and either shimmy that giant sheet of polycarbonate up or down, depending on what you’re after. Thank goodness all that manual manipulation is in the past! The 2018 bike has an electrically adjustable screen that’s controlled by a rocker switch near the left grip. And no matter where you position the new, narrower windscreen, the airflow over you and your passenger is going to be smoother and cleaner than on the outgoing bike. We've got wind-tunnel testing to thank for that. Back-to-back rides confirm the new Gold Wing has better aero, and now that you can adjust the windscreen with the push of a button while in motion, the convenience and comfort factors are through the roof.
Next-gen linked brakes.
The crude functionality of early linked-braking systems left plenty of us with a bad taste in our mouths (I'm thinking of the setup that Kawasaki put on the Concours 14 a number of years ago), but the combined brakes on the Gold Wing are totally transparent and help slow the big rig down quickly while keeping the chassis perfectly level. Pressing the rear-brake pedal squeezes the rear disc and seamlessly feeds some pressure to the front calipers (specifically the center two pistons on each of the new radially mounted six-piston calipers) to ensure smooth, strong deceleration. It works so effectively that I rarely used the front-brake lever while riding around the back roads of Texas.
That new dash.
There’s no way to put it subtly-the outgoing bike’s instrumentation was a disaster. So. Many. Buttons. Over the years Honda kept adding features to the Wing until the entire cockpit was carpeted in buttons, knobs, and switches. The gauge faces and LCD screen were also looking pretty dated, so I was happy to see that Honda totally overhauled the dash on the 2018 bike. It’s not only functional, it’s attractive and thoroughly modern and really helps distance the new bike from the old one. A new menu system (that you navigate via the new 7-inch TFT display) eliminates dozens of buttons, and overall the cockpit appears more streamlined and sophisticated.
As always, that flat-six engine!
There’s something special about the way six cylinders turn gas into forward motion. The smoothness is unparalleled, the sound is inspiring, and the torque is phenomenal. The King Wing’s 1,833cc produce more than 100 pound-feet of torque right off idle, so there’s never a shortage of thrust, at least in the first few gears. Speaking of gears, there are now six (instead of five), and you can even get the Wing in a seven-speed DCT version. Ride-by-wire throttle, a slipper clutch, and four valves per cylinder are all new features for the reworked engine and only serve to make it more adaptable and better than ever.
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2018 Honda Gold Wing Tour by the numbers:
Base Price: $26,700
Displacement: 1833cc
Claimed Wet Weight: 838 lbs. (380.11 kg)
Fuel Capacity: 5.55 gal. (21.09L)
Measured Horsepower: 97.85 @ 5,550 rpm
Measured Torque: 108.4 lb.-ft. @ 1,210 rpm
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Wife doesn't ride (thank the lord), so storage is plenty for me. I usually stop every 100-125 miles, so fuel is fine. Not like I am crossing the Austrailian outback in the beast. Hate carplay, so that's not an issue. Test driving one next week.
Best thing about the new GW for me? So many 3-5 year old GWs showing up on Craigs.
Regardless of some of the fail the bike still looks gorgeous 😍😍
Priced competitively with a Honda Accord.
Re Storage, Did a trip in Europe for 2 weeks on a rented ST1300, My wife and I had already learned the lesson that locking 2 full face helmets in the top case and or side cases robbed too much storage. so we opted lock helmets with a locking cable when we walked away from the bike and did not want to carry our helmets. for me, I think the storage is great on the new GW. (no don't own one). Also, the linked brake system was fantastic on my 2007 ST1300abs so I am pretty sure Honda does it well on that bike as well. Sold my ST because i miled it up and in market for new bike, love the GW but over 30k in Canada, Great video, Great Dance lol . Thanks
Really enjoying this series guys. Keep it up!
I really like this favorites and fails platform!
Wow. The dance. Sadly, better than me. Great quick reviews.
Nice review, I agree completely. One fail I would like to add...and this goes for all motorcycles. Add "Non-glare glass" for all instrumentation! The larger the instrumentation screen the more its needed.
Excellent. Good work, guys !
nice review....I stop about every 200 miles in my truck, so big deal on the size of the tank. it still has more storage than my VTX 1300 and will go farther! love the looks and can't wait to test ride.
I was looking forward to this bike coming out but I agree with the video on alot of the fails. Only adding about 6 HP total output, cargo capacity And as you mentioned, the K1600, won't get off the line as fast as the new GW, but my guess is that once you hit 2nd gear and above on the K, the goldwing will be a small spec in the mirror in 30 seconds.
Great review man!
Favorite: Zach sliding this white whale through the parking lot on MC Commute.
Spenser with another good episode 🙌
Nice Review. I have never understood complaints about bikes that can only go about 200 miles on a tank of gas. I don`t care how comfortable the bike is, I will need to get off at least once before then. Putting gas in gives a little time to stretch.
That’s a little less than what I paid for my Honda Accord haha, as others have said great vid, love this series. Keep ‘em coming.
As a Goldwing ownerfor many years this Goldwing is a super Pan European in many ways
This thing looks like a Gold Wing from the future--so fancy!
Awesome review and awesome motorcycle