Honda Gold Wing GL18HPN reviews

Having had my '08 Wing for a little over a year and 22,000 miles, I have pretty much gotten comfortable enough with the bike to comment on both the positives as well as the negatives. (The positives dramatically outweigh the negatives... but they're still worth mentioning) First of all after 22k, I have the original tires, which based on what I've read is pretty impressive miles for the OEM's. The only maintenance I've done so far is oil changes, and as others have stated, this bike is easily good for hundreds of thousands of miles. 95% of my riding is done on the interstate and there is nothing even close to the Wing as a highway tourer, aside from maybe the BMW K1200lt. After a 900 mile day recently, I felt relatively fresh and I could have probably continued to ride. It really is that good of a touring bike. Power is impressive, handling is terrific for a bike of it's size and I get 40+ mpg with regular fuel. Plus, being a big motorcycle, it's much easier to be seen. Now the negatives, and again they are far outweighed by the positives. 1) No electronic windshield 2) The cruise control is horrible, particularly when resuming your previously set speed. It drops about 5 mph less than it was and then comes back up....very annoying 3) It probably could use a 6th speed, although truth be told once you get used to the 5 speed you don't notice all that much. All in all though, it's the best bike I've ever owned of the 17 bikes I've had in my life, and I suspect I'll be riding this one for a long long time. Will be anxious to see the new replacment Goldwing, probably a 2011 model. I hear they're going to possibly combine the Wing and the ST1300 with an automatic tranny. There may be a market for that, but I doubt if I'd ever be interested in an automatic. This may very well be my last bike. I just can't imagine anything else that's so suitable for my type of riding. Show less

This is exactly what I've been looking for! A scooter with an attitude of a 600cc bike. Many people like the option of a bike with the twist and go like myself. It has the look and feel of a touring motorcyle and a comfortable ride for the passanger. The extra space for storage is such a plus. I'm thinking of a back trunk for a little more storage with the added back rest for the passanger. Thank you Honda for making this great bike. Show less

MY SILVERWING HAD 4,000 MILES ON IT WHEN I PURCHASED IT IN 2004. IT NOW HAS 26,500. I HAVE RODE IT SOUTH TO KEY LARGO,FL NORTH TO GREENBURG, PA. AND WEST TO BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI. PLANNING ON MAKING IT TO ST LOUIS, MO NEXT SUMMER. IT STILL RIDES COMFORTABLY AND SMOOTHLY. LIKE ANOTHER REVIEWER MENTIONED THE RIGHT SIDE GLOVE BOX ON MINE DOES NOT CLOSE PROPERLY AND THERE IS SOME RATTLING FROM THE FRONT END. EVERTHING ELSE IS FINE. I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR A MOTORCYLE IF GIVEN THE CHANCE. I LOVE IT. Show less

I have ridden many bikes in my 30 years, sports bike, curisers, and dirt bikes, but this is by far the most comfortable bike that I have ridden. It has enough power to keep up with any 600 cc sports bike with a novice rider and out perform any cruiser. This is my last bike unless Honda makes a 750 cc Honda Silverwing, then I will get that to keep up with the sports bike coming out of a curves. Show less

I bought my Silver wing in March of 2007. It had 16000 miles on it at time. It came with the driver's back rest, Monokey luggage box, strobe brake light and chrome mirrors. I added the taller Givi windshield. I am 62 years old and find this bike to be very comfortable, smooth riding and surprisingly fast. It is very quiet. I go to work at 3:30am without waking the neighbors. I would recommed the Silver Wing to anyone. Show less

I purchased the Goldwing Airbag in April of 2009. It had 2,900 miles on it at that time. I have taken several short rides both solo and two up. (500 miles or less) and one longer 1,600 miles 3 day ride from Denver to the Grand Canyon through the Colorado mountains. We rode 10+ hours every day on the long ride and never became fatiqued or sore. The cruise control worked flawlessly and my 51 year old hands appreciated how well it worked. The power of the 6 cylinder engine made the mountain passes a piece of cake. I wish the bike had factory installed highway pegs and something to make the passenger from getting blown away at highway speeds. It would also be nice to have a sixth gear since the motor is turning 3,200 RPMS at 75 MPH. This bike is so smooth and powerful, not to mention the reliability of Honda. I get between 40 to 50 MPG depending how much power I apply to the rear wheel. On the 1,600 miles Grand Canyon ride, I got 50 MPG overall. Show less

Just bought a Goldwing Lehman trike. Between war wounds, old age and my wife's equilibrium problems we thought our riding days may be coming to an end. I stop in at the dealership at least once a month and saw where they had become a Lehman trike dealer. So we sold a Yamaha Venture and got the trike and it solves a lot of problems. My wife says she feels safer than ever before, no more grinding off kickstands and other parts. The bike is great, I put over 1000 miles on the first weekend I got it. Show less

This gl1800 is the greatest bike I have ever rode. I have not had a chance to take it on a road trip but have been riding to work and around town for the past 10 days with limited highway riding. All I can say is each time I ride it, the more I like it. I am the second owner and the bike has just over 23K miles and is in perfect condition. I have ridden road kings & road glides, I had 2 aprilia scarabeo 150 & 500, I loved the 500 but crashed it at around 60mph in Nov 08 and broke my hand, that is a whole nother story about how it happened. I had been looking at gl1800 before the accident but had not found what I was looking for at the price I wanted to pay. I bought a 2006 suzuki M109R and started riding it in May 09, it is super fast but has real loud cobra pipes so was not what I wanted to ride everyday. The M109 to me is like a corvette, great fun to drive, just would not want to ride it everyday. I bought a 2003 Honda silverwing for to and from work and it is great for in town or the highway, it is so easy to ride and you can be a 70-80 mph before you know it. I thought I was happy with the 2 bikes one for my daily rider and one for crusing and then my son bought the 2005 gl1800, I rode it home the day he brought it in and have been riding it everyday since. It is a dream to ride. The radio is great, you can hear it going 70-80 mph through the speakers with my helmet on. The cruise is also great. I can not wait for my first road trip. At this point I would like to keep the other 2 bikes and the gl1800 but am not sure I need 3 bikes, but for sure I a keeping the gl1800. As I have read before if you ride motorcycles, do not ride the gl1800 unless you are willing to buy it. I was asked by a friend today if I ever wanted to buy a harley someday and I said no, I want to ride for the ride and you just can not beat the gl1800, it is top of the class. Show less

After having the great experience of the 06 Kawasaki Concourse I upgraded to Gold Wing! The Connie took some time to get use to her top heavy feel, but once use to that she was a fun bike to drive. The next frontier: Gold Wing is front heavy relatively speaking and a little longer base than Concours. This too will take time to get use to. That is the only challenge though with this - the nicest bike I've ever owned. She is quiet, smooth, powerful, comfortable, great highway control, human engineered, safety concience and wow what a fantastic bang for the buck. Notice I haven't even mentioned the garnish yet. The GPS, stereo, the heated seat and grips, cruise control, anti-lock breaks two auto preloadands on and on. What a fantastic ride, what a fantastic bike! I'll miss the sport aspects of Connie, but not the wrist fatigue from the handle bar buzz, the lack of conveniences for long hauls. I can assure you the passenger, (wife) noticed a big difference too! Show less

I had never driven a Goldwing before and was concerned about the weight and balance of this near 1,000 lb. machine. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The low center of gravity made the balance superb. I'm able to make turns in a smaller radius than on my previous bike, which was considerably smaller. I'm also very pleased with the powerful engine that is so smooth that sounds like it is powered by electricity, not gasoline. It is that smooth! What a beautiful machine! Show less