Need help, wife wants a Gold Wing

DaveH

DaveH

Joined
Dec 2, 1999
Messages
12,249
We have thought about getting a Honda Gold Wing for years, now we're ready for the next step, gathering more specific info.

I proposed to her that we initially consider buying a less expensive well used bike to begin with just to see if we actually use it like we think we will. Then move up if we need to. So here are my questions:

- How much should we consider spending for the first one? I'm thinking $4K or less.

- Anything we should avoid or seek?

- Any insurance tips?

- Any special maintenance issues?

- We don't have storage can we store it at a dealer in the winter?

- What do I need to know that I don't know?

Thanks
 
My boss has a Gold Wing, and I have heard him talk/complain about the tires. Since the bike is so heavy, it aparently goes through tires pretty quickly, and the rear tire is partially enclosed, so it takes a lot of work to change out. All the work, plus new tires makes this pretty expensive I guess.

Thats the extent of my knowlege of the Gold Wing.
 
i have a friend who has one and the only thing bad he has to say is
eats tires due to weight
brakes seem to wear fairly quickly
somewhat hard to work on due to extensive fairing, things are hard to get to.
the only thing bad about getting a high mileage bike is it may have a lot of problems and give you a bad impression of a good bike
actually i'm a harley guy so at this point i must point out that gold wings are evil and most likely tools of the devil. but barring that they seem to be real road warriors which perform very well. make sure and get good helmets, shop around for insurance you'll be amazed at how much the price will vary. just make sure and change the oil at the correct interval. you may also want to pick up a honda manual it will be a big help in small fixes. good luck and be careful, ahgar
 
Not to hijack this thread, but from the questions you are asking I’m guessing this is your 1st bike.

PLEASE take the MSF course and get ALL your gear. Studies show that people who take the MSF course are less likely to encounter problems. Also, insurance will be lower and depending on where you live will make getting your "M" endorsement on your license much easier to get.

Now the gear portion will probably cost nearly as much as your bike if you plan on getting something used. Please do not let this deter you as gear saves lives, hospital bills, and general deformations from impacting the road at any speed.

Once again sorry to hijack, but safety on a motorcycle is one of my pet peeves and I tend to preach about it when I can.

Billyp
 
If this is your first bike, the Gold Wing is a seriously big bike. You might want to look at something a little smaller (and less expensive). A 750 or even 550 tourer will have enough size and power to let you get a hang of biking. My BIL is 6'3" 325 and his suzuki 550 is enough for him to cruise around on although certainly not the get up and go of something like a Gold Wing 1100.
 
I did have a motocyle many many years ago, but that was a previous life. So I have no problem "starting from scratch".

Yeah, we fully intend to get a full set of safety gear as well as either attend a safety course or rideing instruction as appropriate.

That'sa very good point on a smaller bike, the wife wants to ride 2 up on the same bike.
 
yeah, the Gold Wing is a BIG motorcycle.

A few months ago I bought a new Kawasaki KLR 650, the wife loves riding on the back! (Which means I don't get out by myself much :grumpy: ) Still plenty of pep, even with the both of us on it. Not great on the highway, but handles great in the twisties, but basically we just use it to go up and down the coast, looking at the beaches. A blast to ride.

Got my KLR new for $4999, of course there's tax and other charges.

65041896.jpg


60726907.jpg
 
Ditto on the good gear and MSF course. Aside from that you need to decide if you are going to work on the bike yourself or have a shop do it.

Also, any reason you want a Gold Wing specifically? It is an awesome bike, don't get me wrong, but there are many options for a touring bike. If you aren't planning on going cross country with it, your options are even broader. My V-Star 1100 Silverado could do two up touring with a couple cheap mods.
 
Depending on how long it takes to "refresh" your riding skills, you might not carry a passenger the first year or more. So I wouldn't use 2-up capability as a criteria when shopping for a first bike.

Goldwings are very nice though, and are quite manueverable and nimble when ridden by an expert motorcyclist. My uncle has ridden one for years, an older 1500cc model, and he loves it.

I suggest buying a smaller, lighter weight, less expensive bike, ride it a few thousand miles, and move up to a larger bike when you feel ready. Using that method, the Goldwing might work as a third or fourth bike, IMO.

Ditto what others said - ATGATT for me.

And ditto what Steven said about not really needing a Goldwing to tour two-up. Even an 800cc Suzuki Volusia (now renamed "C50") can be fit with a very comfortable rear seat and large saddlebags for two-up riding. Not two-up, but I rode my Volusia on a two-week trip last year and had plenty of room even considering the tiny saddle bags I use. The best part, after the trip the bags come off, unlike a GoldWing or other full-time tourer.

Good Luck,
-Bob
 
Thanks for the help.

Wife wants a goldwing as that's what she's ridden on. She likes it because it was smooth and quiet. I think she may go for a smaller touring bike. That makes sense to me.

Godd point on getting experience before the two up riding.
 
I have a friend with a Gold Wing. He and his wife ride. If you have any specific questions I'll approach him. I do know they have some fancy headsets where they can listen to music and talk to other.

Perhaps this is standard stuff?.?
 
you can't go wrong with a suzuki volusia{c50 800 cc} and a mustang seat. not much money and from what i hear an outstanding scoot. if you haven't ridden in a while you'll be shocked by how inattentive the cagers are. it was bad before cellphones and now it's much worse. on a scoot you're basically invisible to anything with 4 wheels. and i would second the comment mentioned above, you'll want to ride solo for a while to get your skills back. good luck, ahgar
 
If the wife likes smooth and quiet, about the only other way to go would be BMW. but in my opinion (yes, I've ridden both) the Wing has it over the big BMW in low speed handling and in looks.
Unless you're not easily intimidated by a BIG bike I'd advise something smaller for at least a year. This'll give you time to get used to 2 wheels again and all the safety issues and then when you get comfortable and decide to move up I think you'll be surprised at how your attitude will have changed.
FWIW I've had 1 Triumph, 2 smaller Hondas (90 & 750), 5 Harleys (883-1340), and bought my current ride, a 1800 Goldwing in 2002 (2001 model).
I should've bought the Wing after about the first or second Harley, but that's another matter all together.:D
Feel free to email me if you like.:cool:
 
I'll tell my one Goldwing story just because I love to tell it.

When I worked at Boeing in Witchita, KS, one of the other engineers in my group rode a rare and distinctive 25th Aniversary Edition Goldwing. He liked to just sort of disappear for weeks at a time off riding his bike. And he was such a genious that Frank (our boss) put up with it and covered for him.

Anyway, years later, when I was living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I went to an auto parts store to get something and, as I walked up, there, parked by the door, was a very distinctive Goldwing. Even though I'm not a motorcyclist myself, I knew even from a distance that that was a 25th Aniversary Goldwing and a rare bike. But, as I got closer, I noticed the license plate: Kansas. Wow!

As I walked into the store, there, in the checkout line, I saw my old friend. He ended up spending the night at my appartment thankful for a shower and a sofa pull-out bed.

This taught me anew not to judge a person by his appearance. Had I not known this guy, I would have from his appearance thought of him as just another gruff motorcycle dude. But I knew that underneath the riding gear and the week's accumulation of road grime was a true genious.

His comments about the Goldwing -- which he loved with a passion -- was that it is an extremely heavy bike and unlike riding any other motorcycle. So, take some time and get used to it.

Myself? I've always said that I'll consider riding a motorcycle when they invent one with power windows and a sun roof.

Seriously, the only motorcycle I've ever riden on my own, actually drove, was a vintange Triumph and I don't want to lessen that experience.
 
My '01 is just under 800 lbs. dry, but it feels 150-200 lighter due to the low center of gravity.....that is until it gets so far from vertical and then......well you just try to let it down easy!:o
 
My MSF instructor rode a Wing and said that it performed well in the twisties. He took it on the Dragon and was scraping peg the whole way, he said.

In fact, there's a guy named Yellow Wolf who seems to make a living following people down Deal's Gap, recording their rides. He rides a Wing (all the equipment for the recording is in the top trunk) and has no trouble at all keeping up with just about anyone.

That's all to say that it's as much the rider as the bike, if not more.

A Wing is a big bike and will take some getting used to. And there's a lots of expensive plastic to replace if you drop it.

I'd definitely recommend getting something smaller to start.
 
IIRC Yellow Wolf rides an 1800 (2001 and up). These are totally different from earlier Wings; same general engine layout and all, but a different animal altogether in the performance department! When Honda decided to revamp the Wing, they put the project manager from their 600 cc crotchrocket in charge and he did them proud!:cool: The only things carried over from the previous models were fasteners, reportedly. Trouble is, on the used market, you can expect to pay 10 G's & up!
Engine and saddlebag guards protect the tupperware unless you go down really hard.
 
billyp said:
Not to hijack this thread, but from the questions you are asking I’m guessing this is your 1st bike.

PLEASE take the MSF course and get ALL your gear. Studies show that people who take the MSF course are less likely to encounter problems. Also, insurance will be lower and depending on where you live will make getting your "M" endorsement on your license much easier to get.

Now the gear portion will probably cost nearly as much as your bike if you plan on getting something used. Please do not let this deter you as gear saves lives, hospital bills, and general deformations from impacting the road at any speed.

Once again sorry to hijack, but safety on a motorcycle is one of my pet peeves and I tend to preach about it when I can.

Billyp
Click to expand...


This man knows what he is talking about.

I would NOT recommend something like a Gold Wing if neither of you have any motorcycling experience. This is only the impression I got from your post, please disregard if I'm mistaken.

You should BOTH take the MSF course, buy full gear then each get a cheap bike. Both of you should know how to ride, and how to ride well. A couple Honda Rebel's or Kawasaki 250's would be about $4k total. Suzuki makes a very nice cruiser that is extremely comfy and cheap, with a 250cc engine.

Once you both have a couple years of experience I would worry about getting a bike as big and heavy as some small cars.

I started on a Ninja 250 after my MSF course, I now ride a Yamaha YZF600R (sportbike) and I use the things I learned in MSF and from riding the 250 every second I'm on the road. Most local colleges offer the MSF cheap, mine was only $25.

Honda Rebel:
Rebel_large_02.jpg


Ninja 250:
4Ninja250F_SILVER.jpg
 
Also started on a klr 650. Very good choice in my opinion. I would stick with the KLR for a year or two, then think about a more similarly stanced bike. If you want a touring bike and would like to stay in the same class I recommend the aprilla pegaso 650(my second bike) or a BMW GS650. If you would like to go up in power (very un needed for tooling around with wifey on the back) I would recommend a triumph tiger or sprint st if you want something more sporting, bmw also make a GS1200 or the older 1150 witch are great bikes. This may be a big jump in power (not saying you cant handle it) so I recommend you ride by yourself before putting some one on the back. I put 3k miles on my Daytona 675 before I allowed my girl on the back, even though she rode on the back of 3 of my previous bikes and despite the fact this bike had 30 less hp. I don’t like the gold wing but that has no basis any where other than what I like. The goldwing feels WAY lighter than it actually is and is definitely a capable machine if that’s what you’re looking for. I myself like Triumph 3 cylinder motorcycles because of the way they deliver power, but I also still own the KLR and am in the process of looking for a SV650 track/race bike for next season. The sv650, it is a more than capable sport/ tour bike and an excellent track bike which dominates several amature race classes. forgot to add that any thing but a full faced helmet is a wast of time/money. I watched a man die on the highway(on the way to exchange my girlfriends hemet for a smaller one) and he was wearing a 3/4 faced hemet. there was blood coming from every exposed surface of his face and his chest. he did nothing wrong, some dumb kid in a suv hit him. that does not change the fact that a helmet and jacket probably would have saved his life. gloves and good boots dont hurt either.
 
Just for two cents

You could look for a nice SilverWing. Smaller than a GoldWing, yet still has a good amount of storage/space.
 
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