About Honda Goldwing
Book your first-class ticket to everywhere aboard the legendary Honda Goldwing. With smooth six-cylinder power, superb handling, luxury touring features galore, and stunning colors like all-new White or Candy Black Cherry, the time has never been better for hitting the open road.
Thirty years. That's how long the Goldwing has reigned atop the touring class, and it's no surprise why, with its powerful 1832cc flat-six engine and sportbike-derived chassis wrapped in the most luxurious long-distance package the industry has ever known. To celebrate, Honda developed a special Honda VTX 30th Anniversary commemorative edition. For astonishing performance and optimal luxury, nothing else comes close to the Honda Goldwing.
Honda began selling the Honda Goldwing motorcycle internationally in 1958. In 1975, Honda introduced the Honda Goldwing. It has continued in production ever since.
See what others are saying about the Honda Goldwing
Source: Rider Magazine
Imagine riding your motorcycle the equivalent of 77 miles every day, weekends included, for 14 months. That’s essentially what we’ve been doing with one of Honda’s all-new GL1800 Goldwings since we first tested the bike (Rider, February 2001). In addition to piloting it back to California from its introduction in Ohio, our GL1800 test bike—affectionately known as the Yellow Submarine—has done long stints under just about every member of the Rider staff, in nine western states in all kinds of weather. Our goal was to live with it through all four seasons and rack up 32,000 miles, the point at which its first valve inspection is due. By the time I pried it away from the last rider, however (contributor Andy MacDonald, in Arizona), the odometer had turned over 33,000, no surprise since he has a 240-mile daily commute.
Since our last progress report on the Honda Goldwing GL1800 at 15,000 miles (June 2001), we’ve put two more sets of the stock Bridgestone radial tires on it, one at 16,000 miles and the other at 25,500. That’s a total of four sets. The last pair look as though they’ve got a few miles left on ‘em, so let’s say we averaged about 8,500 miles per set. In addition to the ’Stones, we just learned that Metzeler has radial tires for the Honda Goldwing GL1800, and Dunlop should have its radials ready by the time you’re reading this. The latter has hinted that it took extra time to develop a tire that would deliver the kind of mileage and performance to which earlier Goldwing riders are accustomed—we’ll see.
For the most part the big Honda Goldwing has performed extremely well the entire time. It continues to deliver average fuel economy in the high 30s and low 40s with nary a burble, miss or hesitation from its liquid-cooled flat six, and oil consumption has never been more than about one-third quart between changes (we didn’t break the bike in). At 33K the original brake pads still have some life in them, and the bike accelerates, stops and corners like new. We noticed that the suspension is starting to soften up a little (Progressive Suspension offers both fork springs and a heavier rear shock spring), and that the handling deteriorates slightly as the back tire wears, but not more so than any other motorcycle, really—the new Wing definitely wears the miles well.
As well as it fared, the Yellow Submarine was not glitch free. In addition to an intermittent false warning from the LCD display that the luggage was open, our six-disc CD changer bit the dust at 16,500 miles and had to be repaired under warranty. We also had the engine stop switch and ignition trigger-wheel recall services performed at this time, minor ignition parts replacements that only affected the first run of 2001 models (for more info see your dealer).
At 31,000 miles the Honda Goldwing’s windscreen was raised into the highest position and stuck there until a broken adjuster mechanism was replaced (also under warranty), and near the end of its stay with us the speedometer needle would occasionally stick in one position. This was also swapped out under warranty.
Contributor Jerry Smith spent some quality time with the Honda Goldwing GL1800 in his home state of Oregon, and had a few Hondaline accessories installed to make the bike even easier to live with. The luggage rack is useful for light, bulky items and saves precious luggage space, and the carpet set for the trunk and saddlebags adds some luxury and vibration protection. For organizing smaller items we added a cargo net inside the trunk, and finding those items is much easier at night with the trunk light. The front mask helps protect the finish from bugs and rocks, though you should remove it when it rains.
At the Honda Goldwing’s GL1800’s intro in Ohio a rumor was going around that you can customize the greeting that comes up on the bike’s LCD display when the ignition is turned on, so naturally I spent some of the downtime on the ride home figuring out how to do it. American Honda has since made the procedure public in its dealer tech publication The Wrench, so we’ve reprinted it here for your edification. It’s just one more nice thing about the Goldwing GL1800, a great bike at 3,300 or 33,000 miles. From what we’ve learned in that time, we expect the Honda Goldwing to go many times that without disappointment.
Links to Honda Goldwing pages on our website:
Honda Goldwing Apparel, Honda Goldwing Body, Honda Goldwing Build-a-Bike, Honda Goldwing Chassis, Honda Goldwing Chrome Covers, Honda Goldwing Cleaners and Polishes, Honda Goldwing Electrical, Honda Goldwing Engine, Honda Goldwing Featured Products, Honda Goldwing Gift Ideas, Honda Goldwing Hot Buys, Honda Goldwing Shop Tools, Honda Goldwing Tires, Honda Goldwing Clearance Center, Honda Goldwing Bike Covers, Honda Goldwing Luggage, Honda Goldwing Radiator Covers, Honda Goldwing Sidecovers, Honda Goldwing Windshields & Fairings, Honda Goldwing Fenders, Honda Goldwing Factory Matching Paint, Honda Goldwing Seats, Honda Goldwing Dress Up Goodies, Honda Goldwing Air Filters, Honda Goldwing Exhaust, Honda Goldwing Oils and Lubricants, Honda Goldwing Performance, Honda Goldwing Backrest, Sissy Bars, Racks, Honda Goldwing Brakes & Clutches, Honda Goldwing Cables and Lines, Honda Goldwing Footpegs/Floorboards, Honda Goldwing Grips, Honda Goldwing Handlebars and Controls, Honda Goldwing Levers, Honda Goldwing License Plate, Honda Goldwing Mirrors, Honda Goldwing Suspension, Honda Goldwing Wheels, Tires, Frames, Honda Goldwing Front End, Honda Goldwing Master Cylinder, Honda Goldwing Misc Covers, Honda Goldwing Headlights / Lightbars, Honda Goldwing Instrumentation, Honda Goldwing LED Lights and Supplies, Honda Goldwing Misc. Electrical, Honda Goldwing Taillights, Honda Goldwing Turn and Bullet Lights, Honda Goldwing Hats & Sunglasses, Honda Goldwing Riding Suits, Honda Goldwing Street Apparel, Honda Goldwing VTX Gambler, Honda Goldwing VTX Grave Digger, Honda Goldwing VTX Red Sled, Honda Goldwing Over $100.00, Honda Goldwing Under $100.00, Honda Goldwing Under $50.00
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