Wing is always special. Review on Honda Gold Wing GL 1800

I was planning to take my wife to Snowdonia, North Wales on back of a motorbike and obviously my own Ninja 6r was out of context to eat 250 miles each way. After going through few rental websites I was left with two choices, a BMW K1600 GT or a Goldwing 1800. I knew K1600 was quicker and more agile but Goldwing came with a serious cult status and tonnes of comfort. Once the paperwork completed at Ruislip Honda in London I was ready to go. I jumped on the saddle and realised the bulky, heavy cruiser was not that intimated it was always potrayed. The ride from the dealer to home was a kind of induction I got impressed with the sheer size, the road presence, tonnes of torque and the attention. It was very comfortable and even after riding for 4 hours to Snowdonia I didn’t feel no backache etc. My wife equally enjoyed the ride. I loved the sound the flat six was making during take offs like a heavy diesel locomotive. The wing was never short of power in any gear, although equipped with 4+overdrive transmission the arrangement works very well. The wing never cared about gust of winds coming from oncoming lorries or side winds. It was incredibly stable and easy to ride on motorways.

The wing is equipped with more gazettes than a family car. You name it, IT has it. 5 ways adjustable heated seats for both rider and pillion, heated grips, knee heating vents, integrated satellite navigation, Air bag! yes that's right, an air bag on a motorcycle, four speakers with surround sound, reverse gear which is a clever use of starter motor and it comes handy to reverse such a half tonne lump,  adjustable windscreen etc. The storage is quite impressive with deep panniers and a good size top box that can swallow pretty much everything for a weekend getaway.  A carrier accessory can be fitted on the top box to tie a holdall or weekend bag thus further adds up the luggage capacity.

Cruiser are not made for handling but the wing does handle with some efforts, off course you won’t try your knee down and remember wing is a heavy cruiser weighs almost half a tonne so you must have strong legs to bear the lump. Fuel consumption is acceptable for such a juggernaut returning 35-40 miles a gallon.

It is a big luxury cruiser that comes with a hefty price tag. Brand new was £19000 even used ones are over £9k so bear in mind you need deep pockets. Build quality is top notch as you would expect from Honda and the engine is bomb proof. I found the gearshift very smooth again a Honda’s trademark.

If you really want to enjoy a wing take that for long trip because that’s what it made for. The wing is like Rolls Royce of motorcycling, matchless comfort and plenty of grunt to shame boy racers.