Honda Gold Wing: Is it worth the price?

Honda Gold Wing has always been a go-to motorcycle for privileged people who wanted to enjoy touring in luxury. Honda did everything right with this motorcycle and was so confident about it that no update was given to the bike since 2001. But now things have changed. More and more people are getting involved in long-distance touring resulting in manufacturers coming up with better products. Thanks to that we finally have an updated Gold Wing and boy, oh boy, Honda has done it again.

The new Gold Wing has yet again set the standards in its segment. Honda has worked so hard on this one to compensate for all those years that the Gold Wing led without any changes. This is a proper and comprehensive update. Everything on this motorcycle has been redone to make it a better and complete package. And all that development come at a cost, Php 1.88 million to be precise. But is it worth it? In short, yes!

Of course, there are other options in that price range, a Harley-Davidson Road King for example. But the kind of equipment and features the Gold Wing has to offer, make it worth everything.

Honda Gold Wing isn’t a conventional motorcycle that you should ride daily to work. Although it would happily be able to do it, it isn’t meant for that. There are only a handful of people who would buy this machine and they know exactly what they are buying it for. It’s the open highways and long-distance tours where the Gold Wing spreads its wings and fly.

Its gigantic 1,833 cc 6-cylinder engine has 125 horses and 171 Nm of torque to keep the bike going all day long. And with the 7-speed Automatic gearbox, all that power and torque is brilliantly distributed throughout the rev band. You can switch into the manual mode and change gears via switches located on the handlebars. There is even a reverse gear and a walking mode.

And it is not just the engine of this motorcycle that makes it such a capable tourer, there are other exciting features as well. To begin with, the comfort level on this bike is super, not just for the rider but for the pillion too. The seating posture is upright and the position of the footpegs is spot on. Honda went ahead and used a double-wishbone suspension at the front which is just fantastic. It soaks up all the undulations brilliantly and provides an extremely plush and comfortable ride. The rear suspension is a Pro Arm single-side swingarm with a pro-link single shock that is 4-way electronically adjustable for preload.

Honda has revamped the dash and included a new 7-in TFT LCS screen that is packed with a plethora of information. For entertainment, you have an entire music setup with speakers. You can control all the functions either by using the buttons provided at the centre console or by the ones on the handlebar.

Unlike in the previous model in which you had to manually adjust the windshield, the new Gold Wing can do it electronically. All you need to do is just push a button and the windshield will change its position. This helps in high-speed touring as it reduces the wind blast.

In terms of aesthetics, the silhouette of the new Gold Wing is similar to the old model but it looks very modern and attractive. Even though Honda has reduced the dimensions of the new bike, by no way it is a compact machine. You will have to keep an eye out in traffic. But with less weight and real estate to deal with, the Gold Wing now is a better machine even in the twisties, just don’t go overboard. However, because of the reduced dimensions, the luggage carrying capacity has taken a slight hit.

There is so much to talk about the Gold Wing that we just can’t finish everything in a single story. It is an amazing motorcycle, an engineering masterpiece. With all the new features and equipment onboard, Honda should now be relaxed as it doesn’t need to worry about updating the bike for the next few years. Perhaps, just like the case with the previous model. The Gold Wing is for people who do a lot of touring. It will keep them happy. And for them, it is worth every penny.