A few months ago a friend of mine began hounding me to buy a Goldwing. He's wanted a Wing for years. Deal was, he'd buy one, if I did. I told him Wing's just aren't my "thing" but I offered to take a look at one at the dealership with him. I already own an '05 Busa and an '05 FJR, so the thought of owning a Wing didn't much appeal to me - although I have to admit, I'm a gadget-freak so I was curious about the beast.
In the dealership I sat on the mighty Wing. I hate to say it, but it didn't feel all that bad! If you ignored the giant bear of a rear end (keep your eyes glued forward), it felt fairly narrow, at least in the middle. The seat was amazingly comfortable! It's a frinkin' lazy-boy on wheels! And talk about bells and whistles! You could push buttons on this bike for 15 minutes and never push the same button twice!
I was "starting" to consider, or... uhhhh, or perhaps trying to justify the damn thing in my mind. Thinking, "Maybe for long, long, long trips when my wife wanted to ride along, perhaps?" At $21K, not cheap, but cost wasn't a main factor. Anyway, my buddy is standing there ready to buy (if I did). I decide to think about it awhile. Luckily I did.
About 2 weeks later my buddy shows up with a two year old "borrowed" Wing; a used one he's considering purchasing. He pulls into my driveway with it with a weird look on his face. He hopped off and said, "I'm not sure about this thing." The first thing I noticed... it was nearly as big as my wife's Toyota Prius!
Him: "Take this thing for a ride and tell me what you think."
Me: "Uh.... no."
Him: "Come on."
Me: "I don't think so. It's a tank."
Him: "No, seriously. Try it and tell me what you think."
Me: "Well ok. I just need to get my darkest shield on my helmet so no one recongizes me."
After playing with the 'reverse' a bit (a must on this machine), off I go on the 2-wheel Civic. My first thought... this bike should come standard with "WIDE LOAD" stickers forward and aft. On the plus side, it was seriously comfortable, but that's the only good thing I can say about it. The handling was terrible, almost to the point where it was scary. With all those cc's and 6 cylinders I had to open it up to see what it had. Can you say "Gutless?" The power was depressing! It could probably do 140, but it would take a pretty good long time. Many times I'd be on my Busa and I look down at the speed-o and see I was going faster than I thought I was. It was just the opposite on the Wing. Looking down at the speed-o I was surprised to find it was going 10-15 mph "slower" than I thought I was. Yet even when cornering slow it still didn't feel sure-footed. Could I get used to it? Perhaps, but I think I'd rather go to the dentist.
I managed to get the beast back to my driveway without incident and was very happy to dismount it. My buddy asked me, "Does it handle as poorly as I think it does?" Me: "Yep! Three words for ya my friend... RUN FOREST RUN!"
Obviously the Wing is not in the same category as any Sport Bike, but I was hoping for just a little bit of decent handling. (My FJR is a bit on the tank'ish side too, but it handles fairly well.)
Bottom line. It was great to be able to test drive a Wing, without having to buy one. I realize now I never want to own one. And neither does my buddy. Ah... I'm back on my Busa and happy!
In the dealership I sat on the mighty Wing. I hate to say it, but it didn't feel all that bad! If you ignored the giant bear of a rear end (keep your eyes glued forward), it felt fairly narrow, at least in the middle. The seat was amazingly comfortable! It's a frinkin' lazy-boy on wheels! And talk about bells and whistles! You could push buttons on this bike for 15 minutes and never push the same button twice!
I was "starting" to consider, or... uhhhh, or perhaps trying to justify the damn thing in my mind. Thinking, "Maybe for long, long, long trips when my wife wanted to ride along, perhaps?" At $21K, not cheap, but cost wasn't a main factor. Anyway, my buddy is standing there ready to buy (if I did). I decide to think about it awhile. Luckily I did.
About 2 weeks later my buddy shows up with a two year old "borrowed" Wing; a used one he's considering purchasing. He pulls into my driveway with it with a weird look on his face. He hopped off and said, "I'm not sure about this thing." The first thing I noticed... it was nearly as big as my wife's Toyota Prius!
Him: "Take this thing for a ride and tell me what you think."
Me: "Uh.... no."
Him: "Come on."
Me: "I don't think so. It's a tank."
Him: "No, seriously. Try it and tell me what you think."
Me: "Well ok. I just need to get my darkest shield on my helmet so no one recongizes me."
After playing with the 'reverse' a bit (a must on this machine), off I go on the 2-wheel Civic. My first thought... this bike should come standard with "WIDE LOAD" stickers forward and aft. On the plus side, it was seriously comfortable, but that's the only good thing I can say about it. The handling was terrible, almost to the point where it was scary. With all those cc's and 6 cylinders I had to open it up to see what it had. Can you say "Gutless?" The power was depressing! It could probably do 140, but it would take a pretty good long time. Many times I'd be on my Busa and I look down at the speed-o and see I was going faster than I thought I was. It was just the opposite on the Wing. Looking down at the speed-o I was surprised to find it was going 10-15 mph "slower" than I thought I was. Yet even when cornering slow it still didn't feel sure-footed. Could I get used to it? Perhaps, but I think I'd rather go to the dentist.
I managed to get the beast back to my driveway without incident and was very happy to dismount it. My buddy asked me, "Does it handle as poorly as I think it does?" Me: "Yep! Three words for ya my friend... RUN FOREST RUN!"
Obviously the Wing is not in the same category as any Sport Bike, but I was hoping for just a little bit of decent handling. (My FJR is a bit on the tank'ish side too, but it handles fairly well.)
Bottom line. It was great to be able to test drive a Wing, without having to buy one. I realize now I never want to own one. And neither does my buddy. Ah... I'm back on my Busa and happy!