Touring motorcycles can cost as much as a small performance sedan. So it’s a conscious choice to get one of these palaces on two wheels over a more comfortable car. They’re luxury products, so manufacturers like them too – the profit margins on luxury products are so much better than those on ordinary ones. Add the optional features, and you can easily end up doubling the base price of a tourer just by adding official accessories to it.
With this in mind, a lot of the touring motorcycles’ base price, the one they advertise, feels disingenuous. But there is one touring motorcycle that justifies its premium price, because it gives you pretty much everything you’d want and need at that base price, and with only a few accessories that will make sense to a select few.
Why Premium Touring Bikes Cost A Lot Of Money
Before we dive into things, you should know why these land yachts cost as much as they do. For starters, they cost a lot of money to make. These are usually niche products with limited sales in a year (Harley-Davidson sold just 15,000 bikes in North America in the last quarter, including its cruisers). Likewise, the materials used are usually top-tier. We’re talking exotic speakers, premium suspension, and high-quality mechanicals. The engines are the same way. These are either exclusive to the premium tourer or in their most exotic trim.
The Honda Gold Wing Is The Touring Motorcycle That Justifies Its Premium Price
The Gold Wing is not just ‘a’ touring motorcycle; it is ‘the’ touring motorcycle as far as Japan is concerned. It has been crossing continents for over half a century now, and the way things are going, it looks likely to continue doing it for another 50 years. It isn’t unusual for Gold Wings to cover the magical 100,000-mile mark – and they do it with grace and zero drama.
Premium Price, But Also Top-Tier Value
The Gold Wing has a price that sits among its peers, at $25,500. If you want the six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, it will cost you another $1,000, bringing the total to $26,500. What you get for that money is a hand-built motorcycle built to the highest quality in Japan, with parts that aren’t shared with any other motorcycle, even in Honda. The best bit is that for the price, Honda gives you everything you’d want or need in its flagship tourer. It doesn’t play any games, asking for a few thousand dollars here and there for chrome, paint schemes, or a pillion seat. And that is why it justifies its premium price.
Powered By A Unique Flat Six-Cylinder Engine
We usually want a large-displacement V-twin throbbing away beneath us if we’re going to cover large distances. But Honda, in typical Honda fashion, wanted something that was ultra smooth. And it wanted it to have equal parts power and torque. The result after many years of evolution is a 1,833 cc flat six that puts out 124.7 horsepower at 5,500 RPM and 125.3 pound-feet at 4,500 RPM. It is placed longitudinally in the chassis, so Honda tried to keep its width down as well by giving it its Unicam SOHC head with four valves per cylinder.
The longitudinal layout also lends itself very well to shaft drive, so that is what the Gold Wing uses. The gearbox shaft counterrotates to the crank to eliminate the side-to-side rocking motion one gets on any motorcycle with a north-south engine. There is a choice of a six-speed manual gearbox or the world’s only seven-speed dual clutch automatic. This is a smart automatic that changes the shift points depending on how hard you ride, but you can also grab manual control via paddles on the handlebars.
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Aluminum Twin Spar Chassis Helps Cut Weight
The Gold Wing isn’t a sporty tourer, but it still uses a twin-spar aluminum frame like a sport bike (or a sport tourer) does, and it uses the engine as a stressed member. The reason is simple: weight. Honda wanted to keep the weight down, and there aren’t too many people trying to put in a bigger engine into a Gold Wing, so there was no need for an easy-to-customize cradle frame.
Honda has switched to a double wishbone front suspension with the current generation of Gold Wing. This allows the engine to be placed further in the chassis. The benefits? Better weight distribution, a shorter wheelbase, and overall length make it easier to ride in most places, and you don’t need really long arms to be comfortable reaching the handlebars anymore. The rear has a single-sided swingarm and a Pro-link single shock. There is electronic damping at both ends, and the rear preload is electronically adjustable.
The brakes on the Gold Wing are absolutely enormous: twin 320 mm discs have six-piston fixed calipers, and at the rear, there is a 316 mm disc with a three-piston floating caliper. These are linked brakes, as is common for the segment. Honda has chosen an 18/16 inch alloy wheel rim combination here.
Larger Than Life Dimensions
The Gold Wing is a full-size tourer, so it isn’t a surprise when you learn that it is 104 inches long. That longitudinal engine and gearbox do have a surprise: the wheelbase is just 67 inches, because the gearbox is placed under the engine to shorten the bike as much as possible. The seat is just 29 inches off the floor, and the fuel tank can hold 5.5 gallons. That is a little small compared to the others in its segment, but this is a Honda, so it is efficient for its class. The weight stands at 806 pounds for the manual and 847 pounds for the automatic.
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Full Of Modern Day Electronic Comforts
Honda has kept it sane with the Gold Wing’s feature list. There is a 7-inch TFT screen for navigation, Bluetooth, and whatever else you might want via wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It is flanked by two easy-to-read analog dials for the speed and revs, and flanking these in turn are two reverse LCD screens. These display the rest of the information that you’d want on a long ride, like the gear selected, clock, fuel level, coolant temperature, ride mode, traction control, trip meters, and odometer.
There is a by-wire throttle and six-axis IMU, so this flagship Honda has a full electronics suite, encompassing ride modes, cornering traction control, cornering ABS (with the linked brakes), and, of course, cruise control. Both the manual and automatic gearboxes have a provision to help you back the bike up: the manual uses the integrated starter generator in reverse, while the DCT has an actual reverse gear. The automatic also has a ‘walk’ mode to help you move it in a parking lot.
Honda Gold Wing Competition
This segment has some very strong brands from established manufacturers. There are the obvious ones: the Harley-Davidson Street Glide ($24,999) and Road Glide ($27,999). The 2026 Street Glide’s price is quite attractive because it undercuts the Gold Wing, but you’ll have to shell out more if you want pillion accommodations. Colors cost more, too. For example, the one in the picture above retails for nearly $30,000, for example. There is also the Indian Challenger, with its liquid-cooled V-twin.
However, the Gold Wing’s only true option is the BMW K 1600 B. Like the Honda, it offers good features like a 10.25 inch TFT display and there isn’t anything like that inline six cylinder. It is also quite a bit sportier than anything else in the segment, including the Challenger. There is a fair bit of kit as standard, including TPMS, cornering headlamps, electronic suspension that auto-levels, and hill hold assist. However, you will need to add the two-way quickshifter via the options list.
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) |
Source: Honda Powersports