Honda GL1800B Gold Wing
Six pistons, reverse, a place to store your shooter. It’s everything you never knew you needed…
THIS MIGHT BE the ‘stripped back’ version of Honda’s range-topping showboat, but the new GL1800B ‘bagger’ Gold Wing still weighs a huge 365kg. That’s more than the BMW and KTM combined. Add its low seat height, enormous length and vast dimensions, and it needs an electric reverse gear to help you paddle it around. The engine has six cylinders and is 200cc larger than the average UK car’s, yet has 10% less power-per-cc than a Super Cub step-thru’. And it's over twenty-two grand. Bloody heavy, flippin’ massive, not very powerful, expensive… why would anyone want one? Well, that’s easy. There’s never been anything quite like riding a Gold Wing, and this version is the greatest yet.
Making car references when talking about the Honda’s engine might be predictable, but it’s impossible not to draw comparisons. First there’s the sound. Fire it up and the 1833cc flat-six motor gargles and bubbles like an old Porsche 911 as it warms at a high 2000rpm tickover, before dropping to an idle of just a few hundred revs and taking the subtle whirr of an old Jag. Then there’s the output. Maximum torque of 125 lb.ft at a dawdling 4500rpm is near as damn it identical to the 128 lb.ft at 4300rpm from my wife’s 1.8-litre Honda Civic. None of these four wheelers offer the sensations of the Wing’s six, though. You don’t seem to rev the Honda, nor does it ever strike as being fast. Not in the normal way, that is. With literally car-like grunt and a 125bhp peak arriving at just 5500rpm, the GL1800 builds pace and pushes with a subtleyet-insistent force. This fluid, super-smooth, muscular-yet-lazy performance just sort of happens in the background; you arrive at the horizon and wonder quite how you get there so effortlessly. ‘I love riding Wings,’ smiles Hugo. ‘All this syrupy six-cylinder power, sense of refinement and waftability. But why’s it got a clutch lever? Surely DCT is the way to go.’ I have to agree, as the Wing is perhaps the most fitting application for Honda’s clever Dual Clutch Transmission. Unfortunately, only the Gold Wing Tour (full size screen, top box, shiny bits, glitzy paint and £27,499) is available with DCT – and taking the option pushes the cost to over thirty grand (it has an airbag as well, presumably to soften the blow). This ‘base’ model Wing has a regular six-speed ’box with an action I’ll politely call positive, with a clutch lever that has a bit too much Harley about its thickness.
Hugo reckons a ‘real’ Wing should be cherry red metalflake. I feel less self-conscious with this bike’s gaudy-lite image, however, and like that it side-steps all that deep-button seating, aerial and thing; it helps it feel more like a motorcycle. Which is handy, as this is the most engaging Wing for yonks. Though still chuffing heavy it's 11kg lighter than the already eye-opening Tour, and the chassis flows brilliantly down fast, rolling A-roads. The ride is supple and comfortable, without being squidgy. Double-wishbone front suspension separates the forces of suspension, braking and steering, keeping you isolated from crappy roads while permitting silly front brake use, without affecting the bike’s poise or ability to turn, regardless of the surface. Obviously the BMW’S handling is in another universe, but swinging around on this sumptuous chassis, surfing on the flat six, is a unique and rewarding experience. When you really want to surprise folk just swap from Tour mode into Sport to put the electronic suspension into a firmer set-up. The way the stiffened-up Honda can be hustled is hilarious… though you’ll get through a few footpegs.
Best of all, this B-model’s slightly reduced equipment level doesn't mean spit and sawdust. This is still a Wing, so it’s got an electric screen, a flight deck on top of the tank, touch-button 30-litre panniers, built-in satnav and stereo, storage in the righthand fairing, cruise control, keyless ignition, tyre monitoring, and tank-top stashing space the right size and shape for a Smith & Wesson. The screen’s about two thirds of the size of the Tour’s, yet still has enough protection when fully raised for visor-up sauntering. Comfort is not in question – the deep, broad seat makes the KTM feel like perching on particularly pointy stone wall. The 200-mile range slides by without fuss. The Honda might not have tassels and chrome-plated chrome, but it doesn’t need them. This latest version of the Gold Wing is impressive enough without needing to get all fairground. ‘Whooshing around, eating miles or riding slowly with Classic FM blaring out is all amazingly intuitive,’ remarks Hugo. ‘Like I said earlier, I love riding a Wing.’
‘Syrupy six-cylinder power, refinement and waftability’