Who also rides a Goldwing?

[CBXRider]

Jus askin…How about the F6B? The one w/o a top box. I was in the big city today and stopped by to look at the bikes. This 2013 behemoth caught my eye with under 14K on the odo for an asking price of just $

7,995. Book values are from $8,400-12,400. Surprising they’re asking less than low book. Has a claimed wet weight of (moan) 842 pounds! Shaft, single sided swimgarm, heated grips, REVERSE, only a 5 speed?, 6.7g gas tank, only 12 valves?, center stand but how? lol. Shop labor here is a whopping $190 an hour. I wonder what it costs just to change a rear tire?

[MonkeyButtRides]

For long road trips, two up I bet it would be awesome.

[sixpack577]

I don't have one, but want one, and am going to buy one for 2up.
I have lifted a friend's old neighbor's GW
(mid 2000's model) off of 'fallen over' on each side(they basically just lean at 45°, no damage, lol), and I placed it on the center stand, which it goes on to very easily.
You then tip the bike front or back, to put either wheel in the air.
The rear wheel is on a single sided swingarm, held on like a like a car wheel with 5 lugnuts, a rear tire change is easy.
A front is too, no different than a sportbike.
All the GW gens were 5 speeds up until around 2017 or 2018??
I like the look of the GW with no top case or passenger backrest, with a low windshield, but I am probably going to buy an older model, like what
@TallTom has
I want the topcase so the gf can ride comfortably.

[LC4CARL]

Pretty cool.

[wellcraft]

Nice bike if you plan to do a lot of highway miles, multi-day trips or riding two up and probably a nice second bike to complement your Busa. Before I bought a GW as a two up bike I'd consider a used FJR1300 or Kawasaki C14 or if it's in your budget a BMW K16GT. All three are nice and would provide better performance and handling than the GW. I owned a BMW K16GT and it absolutely rocks, it's the closest you can get to sport bike performance and handling out of a heavy sport touring bike.

[CBXRider]

It’s so big though, like a whole nuther car! lol. Loaded for a tour with just me on it, it would weigh around eleven hundred pounds! That’s what, 300+ more than a loaded Busa? @ just 115 hp +or- too. Now @ just 11 years old with only 13K on it, if nothings wrong with it, it seems like a bargain. @ that mileage regardless of age and not counting tires, it could have just about OEM everything like fork oil, rubber brake lines, brake pads etc.

[CBXRider]

Ooooh, another six and not a bad price either. Under 30K on the clock, appears to be in great condition and under 11K asking price. I know Arch had a bad one but not all have been awful bikes. New they’re around 27K. I could remove that top box… Pretty bike huh? Wet weight is just under 800 pounds, about 50 pounds less than that F6B but with 50+ more ponies.

[Bumblebee]

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Ooooh, another six and not a bad price either. Under 30K on the clock, appears to be in great condition and under 11K asking price. I know Arch had a bad one but not all have been awful bikes. New they’re around 27K. I could remove that top box… Pretty bike huh? Wet weight is just under 800 pounds, about 50 pounds less than that F6B but with 50+ more ponies.

Just don't ask @fallenarch about his K16 experience as he might bite you....

[fallenarch]

Actually, they are all flawed bikes. Here's why:

1. Many K1600s have a drifting issue, mainly to the left. BMW says it's not a problem, but don't take your attention off the bars even for a second. Try that for a long trip!
2. The weight balance is too high. Now that I have a 1250 I realize what they were trying to do is make a heavy bike quick. But a touring bike needs to be stable, not so unstable that you have to watch it like a hawk.
3. Endless problems. Not nagging issues but big, park the bike for 6-months issues.
4. Throttle issues. My 2018 had so much throttle lag that I feared slow-speed running and avoided tight parking situations completely. It was fixed a little with the Bren Tune, but it just had a really bad throttle off the showroom floor. Note that the early versions of the bike were better on the throttle.
5. Feels really slow, especially coming from a Busa.
6. Because of the twitchy nature of the handling, there was a speed warning on the K1600 with the top cases. I think it was like 100 mph!
7. IMHO, Honda did the six right. The CBX was a 6-cylinder motorcycle engine, the BMW is a converted car engine and the character is just nothing special. The BMW even still has the long intake runners and a single throttle body. That is appropriate for car levels of torque, even a heavy bike doesn't need that sort of system.
8. I forgot, I used the reverse once, and then it broke. BMW never came up with a fix. No, they didn't refund the money I spent for it. This wasn't a lemon, it happened to a lot of them and was a known issue.

Maybe this is a later model than my experience, and some of this is fixed. But the people who like this bike usually come from the HD world and don't understand why a 100 MPH limit is a show-stopper. The joke is even the cops won't ride it; they ride the RT 1250's!

[sixpack577]

It’s so big though, like a whole nuther car! lol. Loaded for a tour with just me on it, it would weigh around eleven hundred pounds! That’s what, 300+ more than a loaded Busa? @ just 115 hp +or- too. Now @ just 11 years old with only 13K on it, if nothings wrong with it, it seems like a bargain. @ that mileage regardless of age and not counting tires, it could have just about OEM everything like fork oil, rubber brake lines, brake pads etc.

The torque rating on the GW is 115 or 120 though.
A good friend of mine inherited one a few years ago(early 2000's model), but traded it before I had a chance to ride it(he got it a few days after I had a hernia fixed, and I couldn't ride for a while).
He said it was suprisingly quick, and all it's weight disapeared as soon as it started moving.
It topped out at 115-120mph too.
I've sat on several, and wouldn't want it as a bike just for me, but for 2up, I think they would be hard to beat.
I'll take Honda reliability over a BMW any day too.

[Bumblebee]

The torque rating on the GW is 115 or 120 though.
A good friend of mine inherited one a few years ago(early 2000's model), but traded it before I had a chance to ride it(he got it a few days after I had a hernia fixed, and I couldn't ride for a while).
He said it was suprisingly quick, and all it's weight disapeared as soon as it started moving.
It topped out at 115-120mph too.
I've sat on several, and wouldn't want it as a bike just for me, but for 2up, I think they would be hard to beat.
I'll take Honda reliability over a BMW any day too.

One of my former colleagues has had a Gold Wing for as long as I've know him (since the '80s), he loves them......his first one had a Vetter fairing on it....

His latest one is a '22 model and he said it is the best one yet, it's lighter, handles better, gets better mileage and it's tech is much easier to use...

He won't ride anything else.

[4theride]

I have had 4 Goldwings and they are great for long rides. The comfort level is amazing (my wife would fall asleep on the back during long rides). There were two times that I had both a Goldwing and a Hayabusa, the Hayabusa was for in town and shorter rides, the Goldwing was for 5 or more hour rides.

[fallenarch]

Do the later GWs. I tried to trade the K1600 and a bucket of $100 bills, and the Honda guy said he couldn't give a used BMW away. I road a 22 (I think) GW and the bike puts the BMW to shame. Handles better, and I really liked the auto-shifter. The bike looks pretty decent too. The BMW looks like a bike with the bags hung on it. The GW looks like it was designed with the bags.

[CBXRider]

Do the later GWs. I tried to trade the K1600 and a bucket of $100 bills, and the Honda guy said he couldn't give a used BMW away. I road a 22 (I think) GW and the bike puts the BMW to shame. Handles better, and I really liked the auto-shifter. The bike looks pretty decent too. The BMW looks like a bike with the bags hung on it. The GW looks like it was designed with the bags.

You bought the 1600 with your eyes open right? Even had it painted? Did you ever like how it looked and ran?

Here’s another’s experience,

“l bought my first GTL in 2012 put 92,500 miles on it and currently ride a 2016 version with 88,000 miles. I have had very little issues with both bikes. My brother has a 2012 GT with over 160,000 miles and after an issue at around 30,000 miles his bike has been trouble free ever since.”

[Gen3lover]

Goldwings are known as an old man's bike. Sorry current Goldwing owners who read this but I've never seen anyone younger than 50 riding one. Usually on the highway in the slow lane doing about 55 MPH. Once the owner gets too old to hold the bike up he'll "trike" it as a last attempt to stay riding.
They are super comfy and great for long distance trips through multiple states. Very reliable and the maintenance intervals are very long.
Just not fit for the younger generation, or for those who fancy themselves younger.

[Bumblebee]

Goldwings are known as an old man's bike. Sorry current Goldwing owners who read this but I've never seen anyone younger than 50 riding one. Usually on the highway in the slow lane doing about 55 MPH. Once the owner gets too old to hold the bike up he'll "trike" it as a last attempt to stay riding.
They are super comfy and great for long distance trips through multiple states. Very reliable and the maintenance intervals are very long.
Just not fit for the younger generation, or for those who fancy themselves younger.

Take a look at the age of most of us Hayabusa riders on this forum....very few are younger than 45...

[fallenarch]

You bought the 1600 with your eyes open right? Even had it painted? Did you ever like how it looked and ran?

Here’s another’s experience,

“l bought my first GTL in 2012 put 92,500 miles on it and currently ride a 2016 version with 88,000 miles. I have had very little issues with both bikes. My brother has a 2012 GT with over 160,000 miles and after an issue at around 30,000 miles his bike has been trouble free ever since.”

As for how I got the K1600, my eyes weren't exactly open. I relied heavily on a friend's recommendation. I quickly learned that the K1600 riders can't bring themselves to admit it's a flawed bike. They love the prestige of owning an elite motorcycle. I'm not the type to front on a bike just I made a bad decision buying it. Also, a lot come from low-performance bikes like HDs. I did not paint mine it was the stock color. So you posted it, and I assume you were looking for opinions, so I offered mine. Maybe you'll like it. Knock yourself out...

[MonkeyButtRides]

GW's are big for sure. Here is a pic from 2020 when I rode my ZX10 out to the Bay Area and met up with a Husband/Wife pair that ride GW's. Their bike's made my ZX10 look like a scooter. They gave me a tour. They took me on a real sweet twisty road I have video of it I will see if I can dig up. GW's can get around a corner pretty good considering their size. They have a YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@BootsandJeansRiders

When they go on a road trip it's not like me, a few days or a week, they go out for months. I don't know anyone that puts more miles on their bikes then them, even more then @dadofthree. Nicest people you will ever meet.

[CBXRider]

They are huge. On tour ages ago I saw an old couple on one pulling a trailer in northern Idaho. The pillion had a cam corder she was holding tight to her shoulder and her husband was pointing out what she should record. They had to be in their 70s…like me! Ran across this pic some time back, a Honda pulling a trailered BMW.

[LC4CARL]

I want a R18 Transcontinental. I got to sit on one. It felt like 800 lbs.