First Ride: Honda Gold Wing 1800

Your big white buddy.

Honda Gold Wing 1800 - First Ride

“You want to do what?”

That’s the response I got from other Cycle World editors when I told them I was going to pick up a Honda Gold Wing at the Honda Hoot in Knoxville, Tennessee, and ride it 2500 miles back to the CW compound in three days. They thought I was meshugga, but I’ve never had a chance to do a really long ride on a purpose-built heavyweight tourer. If you take a sportbike to the racetrack to evaluate its qualities, then an extended tour on Ike’s Interstate is the only way to put a Gold Wing through its paces. After all, most bikes are comfortable and fun for a day, right?

Basically unchanged since 2001, the Gold Wing—winner of countlessCW10 Best awards since 1976—uses a sohc flat-Six engine that made 103.9 creamy-smooth horsepower and 111.5 ft.-lbs. of torque when we last dynoed it. It's bolted into a sporty twin-spar aluminum frame that puts 66.4 inches in between the axles. Linked brakes (ABS is optional) slow things down and air-adjustable rear suspension (with non-adjustable fork) holds everything up. For 2006, Honda added optional packages, like GPS and cold-weather comfort for select models, and for 2008, it offers four new colors, including the disco-fabulous Pearl White I tested.

First impressions are lasting ones, and the 'Wing doesn't disappoint. The seat is supportive and spacious (and it stays that way for a long time—I didn't get sore for 1500 miles). The reach to the ground is reasonable, even for my 5-foot-6 frame, and the pegs are low. It's like an Aeron chair with 110-mph casters. The motor spools up quickly and the controls, although having an aircraft-cockpit-like appearance, are intuitively designed and easy to figure out, even without reading the 272-page manual (the GPS manual is another 156 pages).

It's also easy-handling. The steering is pleasantly neutral, and the whole bike feels light until you're railing along in a turn and the bike starts to wallow. "What a pig!" was my first reaction, and then I looked down at the speedo and saw a number well beyond the legal limit. The bike's handling prowess is not surprising: Honda's goal was to build a giant sportbike. Judging by the way the bike handles turns, flicks from side to side—yes, flicks—and lunges out of turns in top gear, I'd say big H did it.

But Honda also wanted a supreme tourer with ultimate wind protection, comfort and storage capacity. The adjustable screen and jumbo fairing create a quiet pocket of air for a wide range of riders, while great ergonomics make 800-mile days less torturous. Add to this the fact that there is 33-plus gallons of storage space that lets you take all your stuff with you. The sound system is very good—six speakers boomed out my favorite podcasts, letting me listen to 40 hours of Neil Conan and Terry Gross distortion-free even through a full-face helmet and earplugs. I also made good use of the weather band to avoid some gnarly summer thunderstorms.

Although close to ideal, the ride wasn't a perfect experience. The nav system needs updating: It would be nice to have weather and traffic info, and why not program it to display the nearest gas stations when the fuel runs low? Because with a 6.6-gallon tank and an observed 36-mpg fuel economy, the range is about 200 miles to reserve, which is a little disappointing for a touring bike that is so easy to eat miles on.

But after four days and 2500 miles on the road with my big white buddy, I wanted to ride it forever, which is the mark of an excellent grand tourer.

Titanium

And now, some colors. This is black...

Metallic Red

Dark Red Metallic

Pearl White (wasn't she a character on "Hee Haw?")

The fully loaded, $24,349 "Airbag" package gives the rider the nav system, premium audio, heated seats and grips, ABS and the airbag, which has saved at least one life so far.

The view from the driver's seat is intimidating at first, but most of the switches and knobs on the dash are for radio preset or redundant functions.

Right-hand controls include a reverse setting, a handy feature when backing 1000 pounds of man and machine out of a parking space.

It's not really that big a bike...just knee-high to a calf...

At a rustic general store in Arkansas on the first day of the trip.

At a restored Phillips station in McLean, Texas.

Left-hand controls offer volume and tuning settings for the radio and (optional) CD changer and even zoom in and out on the map if the bike has the nav system. There is also an auxiliary cable for an MP3 player or anything else with a 3.5mm output jack.

Along Route 66 in Texas.

In New Mexico on the third day of the trek to the coast.

Thirty-three gallons sounds like a lot of space, but a first look into the three main compartments is disappointing. But there is enough room for two people's luggage for a 3-5 day trip, depending on how light they can pack.

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