The touring motorcycle that justifies its premium price

Touring motorcycles can cost as much as a small sedan. So it’s a conscious decision to get one of these palaces on two wheels over a more comfortable car. They are luxury products, so manufacturers love them too. The profit margins on luxury products are so much better than those on regular products. Add in the optional features and you can easily double the base price of a touring car just by adding official accessories.

With this in mind, much of the base price of touring bikes, the ones they advertise, feels unfair. But there’s one touring motorcycle that justifies its premium price because it gives you pretty much everything you want and need for that base price, and with only a few accessories that will make sense to a select few.

Why premium touring bikes cost a lot of money

Before we get into it, you need to know why these land yachts cost as much as they do. For starters, they cost a lot of money to make. These tend to be niche products with limited sales in a year (Harley-Davidson sold just 15,000 bikes in North America last quarter, including its cruisers). The materials used are also usually of the highest standard. We’re talking exotic speakers, top-notch suspension and high-end mechanicals. The engines are the same way. These are exclusive to the premium tourer or in their most exotic version.

The Honda Gold Wing is the touring motorcycle that justifies its premium price

The Gold Wing is not just ‘a’ touring motorcycle; it is ‘the’ touring motorcycle as far as Japan is concerned. It has been crossing the continents for more than half a century now, and as things stand it seems likely that it will continue to do so for another fifty years. It’s not unusual for Gold Wings to cross the magical 100,000-mile mark – and they do it with grace and without drama.

Premium price, but also top value

The Gold Wing is priced below its peers at $25,500. If you want the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, that will cost another $1,000, bringing the total to $26,500. What you get for that money is a hand-built motorcycle, built to the highest quality in Japan, with parts not shared with any other motorcycle, not even Honda. The best part is that for the price, Honda gives you everything you want or need in its flagship tourer. No games are played and a few thousand dollars are asked here and there for chrome, color schemes or a pillion seat. And that’s why it justifies its premium price.

Powered by a unique flat six-cylinder engine

Normally we want a V-twin with a large displacement to beat beneath us when we want to cover large distances. But Honda, in typical Honda fashion, wanted something ultra-smooth. And he wanted it to have equal parts power and torque. The result after many years of evolution is a 1,833cc flat-six that produces 124.7 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 125.3 pound-feet at 4,500 rpm. It’s mounted lengthwise in the chassis, so Honda tried to keep the width down too by giving it its Unicam SOHC head with four valves per cylinder.

The length division is also ideal for cardan drive, so the Gold Wing makes use of that. The gearbox shaft rotates opposite to the crankshaft to eliminate the sideways rocking motion found on any motorcycle with a north-south engine. There is a choice of a six-speed manual transmission or the world’s only seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. This is a smart automatic that changes the shift points depending on how fast you drive, but you can also use manual control via paddles on the steering wheel.

Aluminum Twin Spar chassis helps save weight

The Gold Wing is not a sports tourer, but it still uses a double-spar aluminum frame, like a sports bike (or a sports tourer), and uses the engine as a load-bearing component. The reason is simple: weight. Honda wanted to keep the weight down, and not many people try to put a bigger engine in a Gold Wing, so there was no need for an easily modified cradle frame.

Honda has switched to a double wishbone front suspension for the current generation Gold Wing. This allows the engine to be placed further into the chassis. The benefits? Better weight distribution, a shorter wheelbase and overall length make it easier to ride in most places, and you don’t need really long arms to comfortably reach the handlebars. The rear has a single-sided swingarm and a Pro-link single shock. There is electronic damping at both ends and rear preload is electronically adjustable.

The Gold Wing’s brakes are absolutely massive: twin 320mm discs have six-piston fixed calipers, and at the rear there’s a 316mm disc with a three-piston floating caliper. These are linked brakes, as is common in the segment. Honda has opted for an 18/16 inch alloy wheel combination.

Larger than life dimensions

The Gold Wing is a full-size tourer, so it’s no surprise to hear that it’s 104 inches long. That longitudinal engine and gearbox do have a surprise: the wheelbase is only 67 inches, because the gearbox is placed under the engine to shorten the bike as much as possible. The seat is just 29 centimeters from the floor and the fuel tank holds 5.5 liters. That’s a bit small compared to the others in its segment, but this is a Honda, so it’s efficient for its class. Weights are 806 pounds for the manual and 847 pounds for the automatic.

Full of modern electronic conveniences

Honda has kept it healthy with the Gold Wing’s features list. There’s a 7-inch TFT screen for navigation, Bluetooth and whatever else you want via wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It’s flanked by two easy-to-read analogue dials for speed and revs, and on either side of these are two inverted LCD screens. These display the rest of the information you need on a long ride, such as the gear selected, the clock, fuel level, coolant temperature, riding mode, traction control, trip meters and odometer.

There’s a by-wire throttle and a six-axis IMU, so this Honda flagship has a full electronics package, including riding modes, cornering traction control, cornering ABS (with the linked brakes) and of course cruise control. Both the manual and automatic gearboxes have a feature to help you reverse the engine: the manual gearbox uses the integrated starter generator in reverse, while the DCT has a true reverse gear. The machine also has a ‘walking’ mode so you can move it around a parking lot.

Honda Gold Wing Competition

This segment has a number of very strong brands from established manufacturers. There are the obvious ones: the Harley-Davidson Street Glide ($24,999) and Road Glide ($27,999). The price of the 2026 Street Glide is quite attractive as it is lower than the Gold Wing, but you will have to spend more if you want passenger accommodations. Colors also cost more. For example, the one in the image above retails for almost $30,000. There is also the Indian Challenger, with its liquid-cooled V-twin.

However, the only real option for the Gold Wing is the BMW K 1600 B. Like the Honda, it offers good features, such as a 10.25-inch TFT screen, and there is no such thing as a six-cylinder in-line engine. It’s also a lot sportier than anything else in the segment, including the Challenger. There’s a fair amount of equipment as standard, including TPMS, cornering headlights, auto-levelling electronic suspension and hill hold assist. However, you will have to add the two-way quickshifter via the options list.

Honda Gold Wing vs BMW K 1600 B

Source: Honda Powersports