Luxury started out as something that made you feel good by providing you with things that were unnecessary, but undoubtedly made your experience better. It was something that was excessive but within reason for the most part. Today, though, luxury has almost become a caricature of itself because brands are tripping over themselves to outdo each other.
It is understandable that they’re doing this because the prestige and exclusivity that a luxury product offers is very much in demand, so profit margins are thick. But when luxury gets in the way of usability, it defeats the purpose somewhat. This has been happening with luxury motorcycles; they have been getting so many new features that are awesome, but they are not always reliable, and they are definitely not usable all the time.
In fact, a large, powerful engine might just dissuade you from taking your luxury motorcycle out in the city because of the heat it generates. And a spacious, comfortable seat on a large motorcycle means that it will be unwieldy in traffic. Honda refuses to fall into this trap with its most luxurious tourer, which is why it is the Honda that packs luxury touring and daily practicality into one bike.
The Honda Gold Wing Is Your Answer
The Gold Wing competes with the best of the best, but while it is the pinnacle of Japanese two-wheeled luxury, it keeps its feet (should that be ‘tires’?) firmly on the ground at the same time. This is genuinely a motorcycle that can be used daily despite its bulk, and equipped with the automatic gearbox, it can be a great companion in the city as well. The feature set only helps things along, so you get a great mix of luxury and daily practicality all in the same place.
Honda Gold Wing Price: $25,500
The Gold Wing’s practicality extends to its price as well. It doesn’t seem like a very good price when you look at the competition, being sat in the middle of all of them, but look closer and you’ll realize that the Gold Wing is a complete luxury product without needing any options or accessories, which the competition invariably requires. In that sense, it is great value for money, and it has proven reliability, so everything will work for a very long time indeed.
Honda Gold Wing Engine
The Only One Of Its Kind Today
The flat-six engine in the Gold Wing is unique in more ways than one. The configuration – a longitudinal flat six – is unique in itself, but there are so many other features exclusive to it. Honda has used its patented Unicam SOHC head while shifting to a four-valve head to keep the width down. There is no variable valve timing yet, it meets emission norms just fine. The figures from the 1,833 cc engine are 124.7 horsepower at 5,500 RPM and 125.3 pound-feet at 4,500 RPM. A by-wire throttle and six-axis IMU offer ride modes, cornering traction control, and cruise control.
Honda Gold Wing Transmission And Final Drive
This is worth its own section, because the Gold Wing has the option of either a six-speed manual or a unique seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. In both cases, the output shaft counter-rotates to the input shaft to reduce the side-to-side rocking motion that one usually gets with a longitudinal engine. The automatic changes its shift points depending on the situation, which is nice. It also offers manual control over shifts via paddles on the handlebar. A driveshaft makes it one of only three Honda motorcycles using this tech today.
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Honda Gold Wing Chassis
Unconventional Layout For An Unconventional Driveline
There is not much that is conventional with the Gold Wing – tourers generally use a cradle frame for its longevity and ability to carry load, but Honda has given its flagship tourer a sport bike-type twin spar aluminum chassis that uses the engine as a stressed member. This no doubt helps to reduce weight. The front suspension is a double wishbone setup, which has allowed the engine to be placed more towards the front of the Gold Wing, improving weight distribution and reducing reach to the handlebar.
The rear suspension consists of a single-sided swingarm and a Pro-link monoshock. There is electronic damping control, and the rear preload can be changed electronically as well. The front brakes have twin 320 mm discs paired with massive six-piston fixed calipers, and at the rear, there is a 316 mm disc with a three-piston floating caliper. Cornering ABS and linked brakes are standard features on the Gold Wing. It uses a small-ish for a tourer 18/16 inch alloy wheel combination with tubeless tires.
Honda Gold Wing Dimensions
This is quite a large bike, with a length of 104 inches. The wheelbase is 67 inches long, so it won’t be as maneuverable as a naked bike, but for what it is, it is very usable. That’s thanks in no small part to the low 29-inch seat height. A 5.5-gallon fuel tank is large enough for long rides, and curb weight stands at 806 pounds for the manual gearbox and 847 pounds for the automatic.
Honda Gold Wing Features
Luxurious, But Within Reason
The Gold Wing has all that you’ll need on a tourer, but it doesn’t go over the top. The instrument cluster is a case in point – everyone is obsessed with providing larger and larger screens, while Honda has stood pat with the Gold Wing’s layout. It might sound like it’s cluttered, with a central seven-inch TFT screen flanked by twin analog pods for the speedo and tacho. These pods house the warning lamps, and the tacho has a small reverse LCD screen within it that displays more information like gear selected, ride mode, and auto start/stop engagement.
Flanking these two pods in turn are two reverse LCD screens with the rest of the information you’d expect, like fuel level, coolant temperature, the odometer, tripmeter, and the clock. It all sounds very cluttered, but once you get used to it, you’ll realize that where you’d have to choose what information to prioritize in a single large TFT screen, the Gold Wing provides all at the same time in the various sections of its instrument cluster. The TFT screen has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – and the navigation will keep working even if you’re in a tunnel!
The automatic gearbox adds just $1,000 to the Gold Wing’s price – and both the auto and the manual allow you to maneuver this big, heavy bike in a parking lot with ease. The automatic gearbox has a ‘walk’ mode and a reverse gear that allows you to, well, walk it. The manual gearbox uses the starter motor to help back the bike up when you press the right combination of buttons on the handlebar. Heated grips and a manually adjustable windshield are also standard equipment.
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Honda Gold Wing Competition
There are quite a few very strong competitors for the Gold Wing. If you don’t want to pay as much as the Gold Wing but still want a large tourer, the BMW R 18 B ($21,770) will serve the purpose. However, this is an enormous motorcycle, even by full-size bagger standards, so it isn’t very practical. Harley-Davidson’s baggers, the Road Glide ($27,999) and especially the Street Glide ($24,999) are contenders. The Street Glide, in particular, has that new pricing to compete directly with the Honda. In combination with the new features and the almost-television TFT screen, they are real threats. There is also the Indian Challenger ($27,999) with its liquid-cooled PowerPlus engine and frame-mounted fairing that has great performance and features befitting a premium tourer.
Honda Gold Wing Vs BMW K 1600 B
|
Model |
Honda Gold Wing |
BMW K 1600 B |
|
Price |
$25,500 |
$23,395 |
|
Engine |
Longitudinal flat six |
I6 |
|
Displacement |
1,833 cc |
1,649 cc |
|
Power |
124.7 HP @ 5,500 RPM |
160 HP @ 6,750 RPM |
|
Torque |
125.3 LB-FT @ 4,500 RPM |
132.7 LB-FT @ 5,250 RPM |
|
Curb Weight |
806 pounds (wet) |
758.4 pounds (wet) |
However, the Gold Wing’s true nemesis is the BMW K 1600 B, another bagger that is also powered by a six-cylinder engine. BMW has opted for a transverse inline six, which means the power figure is a massive one. It still retains shaft drive, electronic suspension, sports a massive TFT screen, and has a sporty bent of mind that the Honda could only dream of. Another similarity with the Honda is the aluminum twin-spar frame. It has a manual gearbox with an optional two-way quickshifter – and therein lies its Achilles heel: it, like the Harley-Davidsons, needs to dip into the options list to compete with the Honda, while the Gold Wing provides everything at its listed price.
Source: Honda Powersports