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First Ride Report 2018 Goldwing

dduelin

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The first ride report in this month's issue of Rider magazine is long on technical details of the new GW with some new pictures of components but the actual ride portion itself is short. Honda did not release the bike outside of a controlled setting (Twin Ring Motegi Japan race track venue) but the author and reportedly other invited journalists were quite impressed with their short rides of a few laps around the Motegi track. Honda not doubt ensured each invitee left with a large press release stuffed with many new details that we will see in print and digitally over the next couple of months until the bikes are in dealers in February 2018. I expect ride reports shortly on digital outlets from well known motojournalists similar to those in the three months preceeding the Africa Twin release. Let demand begin to ramp up!

It appears that no offhanded comment from a Honda engineer has stuck to the new Wing unlike the infamous "we started with half a Jazz (Fit) motor" that has dogged the NC700X since it's utterance in a room full of journalists during it's release.
 
I look forward to reviews from actual owners of the new 2018 Goldwing, preferably from those that came from the 1832 platform. And along with that, the opinions from their passengers. That’s when we’ll get the real story.
 
I'm not sure the 1832 owner group is the sole or even main target demographic for the new GW and IMHO probably least objective about the new platform. It is a subset of course but any redo of a current bike is going to be judged somewhat differently from current owners compared to non owners. For instance there are people hanging onto ST1100s and ST1300s in wait for the ST redo that never came that see a lighter quicker faster more tech morphed ST/GW. There are BMW 12LT and K1600 owners that moved off GWs to their current rides that might come back to Honda, etc. I have a friend with a super clean 99 GW that never saw the need for a 1832 but he also has a ST1300.

Anyway, the point of a new thread is that after weeks of endless speculation actual bikes are getting ridden by actual riders.
 
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It appears that no offhanded comment from a Honda engineer has stuck to the new Wing unlike the infamous "we started with half a Jazz (Fit) motor" that has dogged the NC700X since it's utterance in a room full of journalists during it's release.

That of course is one of the most infuriating remarks that I still hear occasionally leveled at me with regard to the NC motor. I always respond by saying "Take a good look at the motor. Since when did a car engine ever look like that ? "

I then go on to patiently explain that the only connection with the Jazz was the cylinder dimensions being undersquare rather than the opposite which is the norm in modern motorcycle motors. At least that is my understanding.
 
It appears that no offhanded comment from a Honda engineer has stuck to the new Wing unlike the infamous "we started with half a Jazz (Fit) motor" that has dogged the NC700X since it's utterance in a room full of journalists during it's release.

That of course is one of the most infuriating remarks that I still hear occasionally leveled at me with regard to the NC motor. I always respond by saying "Take a good look at the motor. Since when did a car engine ever look like that ? "

I then go on to patiently explain that the only connection with the Jazz was the cylinder dimensions being undersquare rather than the opposite which is the norm in modern motorcycle motors. At least that is my understanding.

It just occurred to me that many automobile engines, having variable valve timing, direct injection, cylinder management, and very long maintenance intervals, have surpassed motorcycle engines in sophistication. Saying that a motorcycle engine is based on a car engine could be viewed as a compliment.
 
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