Getting this bike to test was not easy. There were many colleagues who wanted to ride a motorcycle in comfort and with music for a week and a half, which is already familiar as flaky. Nevertheless, I did not deny myself such pleasure. The temptation of owning an almost two-liter engine, an easy chair and music, especially after it was great! In its current form, the motorcycle has been produced for 14 years, and I will not hide the fact that I already had a chance to ride this model pretty much in the past years both in Russia and in Europe. Since then, the model has not changed much. Nevertheless, this year the Golden Wing is celebrating its fortieth anniversary, and this is an excellent opportunity to talk about it again.
Let's explain "on matches"
14 years is more than a fair amount of time for the modern auto and motorcycle industry. By modern standards, the current "gold" should be considered something purely archaic. Indeed, over so many years, evolution and technology have gone so far that simple restyling and modernization cannot catch up with them. But, damn it, the bike still today, after 14 years in production, after just one minor facelift, does not look like a stranger from the past. What's the secret?
It's just that some things age much more slowly than others. And it's not only and not so much about design, but also about content. Can matches, for example, become obsolete? The design is absolutely subservient to functionality. Variants are possible, they can be shorter or longer, thicker or thinner, painted or not, wooden or paper, but still this instrument does not become obsolete, having practically not changed in more than two hundred years. Of course, more complex and technologically advanced lighters have already been invented, fire can be produced with the help of light or chemistry, but matches do not disappear from our lives anywhere.
The same thing happens with our motorcycles. The big “tourist”, invented many, many years ago, does not change, primarily because its form and content are subject to quite simple requirements: the maximum possible comfort for the pilot and passenger, plus power and torque reserves.
Birth of a legend
The very first Gold Wing didn't come out of nowhere. In the early seventies, a real war was going on in the motorcycle industry. More recently, in 1968, the Honda CB750 hyperbike appeared, which determined the development vector of motor vehicles, according to which it is still developing. There was a real arms race among manufacturers: capacities and working volumes. Honda decided not to waste time on trifles and immediately find the actual reasonable limit.
A working group was created in the Honda Motor Design Bureau under the leadership of an experienced engineer Shoichiro Irimajiri, who had already managed to create the famous CBX1000 (1977) equipped with a six-cylinder in-line air-cooled engine by that time, and work in the automotive division of the company.
Soichiro Irimajiri and his Honda CBX1000
Irimajiri created a prototype called "Project M1" that is admired even today. The motorcycle had a six-cylinder boxer engine with a displacement of 1470 cm3! This is twice as much as the volume of the very first CB750! More than some car engines! The cardan shaft acted as the main gear, the engine was liquid-cooled, the upper camshafts in each head were made according to the OHV scheme and were driven by belts, and the generator rotated in the direction opposite to the crankshaft to balance the torsional vibrations! One would think that we are talking about the GL1500, but this bike will appear only many years later.
Project "M1"
The guys were clearly ahead of their time. Soichiro Honda himself was afraid that buyers would simply be afraid of the cubic capacity of the 750, to say nothing of large volumes. Nevertheless, the dynasty was born in 1975, when the first Goldwing, the GL1000, saw the light of day.
Although he was still far from the modern idea of an absolutely comfortable motorcycle, the vector was set.
Reference
Finally, the concept of an ultra-comfortable “tourist” takes shape five years later, when the Goldwing Interstate modification comes out. This Goldwing already has all the hallmarks of a luxury tourer: a huge plastic fairing with tall glass, a luxurious driver's seat with lumbar support, an equally luxurious passenger throne, three fixed luggage cases and an audio system.
Pictured: 1980 Honda Goldwing 1000 Interstate
Further development had only a modernization character. First, the engine volume increased to 1100, 1200, and then to 1500 "cubes", while adding two more cylinders. To date, evolution has stopped at the same six cylinders and the “1832” mark in the “displacement” column. Audio systems, starting with playing audio cassettes, came to a CD changer in a wardrobe trunk, and then just to a USB connector for flash drives. There was a reverse gear driven by an electric starter, a CB radio station for American versions of motorcycles (to communicate with truckers and colleagues on a long journey). The motorcycle got an ABS system, and instead of a “battery” of carburetors, fuel injection appeared. The navigation system and even the world's first airbag also appeared on it, but the general meaning, layout and concept of the motorcycle have not changed since that same 1980.
Honda GL1100 Gold Wing Aspencade 1982
Honda GL1200 Gold Wing 1984
Honda GL1500 Gold Wing 1988. Six cylinders instead of four. The bike that killed all competitors.
This whole digression into history was started precisely in order to illustrate that such a motorcycle, even after almost 15 years from the start of production, is unlikely to become obsolete even after another 15 years. It is no longer possible to invent a cardinally new thing in the battle for comfort, except to attach a roof, but it will no longer be a motorcycle.
Radically increasing power is pointless. After all, it is not for nothing that the Americans (for whom they created the motorcycle) say: “No replacement for displacement” - nothing will replace the working volume. And they continue to drive multi-liter monstrous pickups, not because it helps to compensate for some kind of inferiority complex, but because nothing can be more useful than a bottomless, inexhaustible supply of torque.
Gold Wing is the same American pickup truck, only two-wheeled. 1800 "cubes", no, by the standards of modern motorcycles, the degree of forcing (only slightly higher than that of a Zhiguli-"penny": 65 "horses" per liter of volume), a "long" five-speed gearbox, a huge mass. Few people will drive headlong on this motorbike, but to accelerate sharply, in which case, the “locomotive” traction will always allow. And at any speed and at any speed.
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The operating range of the engine is somewhere between one and a half and three thousand revolutions per minute. There is simply no need to unroll it anymore. There is enough traction here, and it is not even necessary to open the gas all the way. The motor is simply bottomless! It is here that you realize that “one and six”, standing in your credit car, are the machinations of misanthropes and agents of a worldwide conspiracy. After all, the lack of traction is an artificially invented reality created by enemies to make you feel like nothing!
With all this wealth, the engine's appetite is more than modest. The city ragged mode, with constant “shots” from traffic lights (just not to interfere with anyone, don’t think), lightens the tank by about 8 liters every hundred kilometers. Some 600 cc sportbike eats even more with pleasure, because the “gold” engine only slightly goes beyond idle, and the “six hundred” must be constantly unscrewed “in ringing” in order for it to somehow ride.
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Usually in such cases they say that the Americans came up with large low-powered motors, because they have straight and even roads, but the Europeans, with their mountain serpentines and narrow streets, traditionally drive small high-boosted motors. All this is nonsense. Europeans are just greedier than Americans. They do not have such a broad soul, hence the scarcity of working volumes. In the work of an almost two-liter six-cylinder boxer, you feel the freedom of the prairie and the road resting on the horizon. And power over this dormant power and space.
To tell the truth, waking up this lazy monster is quite difficult. Torque on the “bottoms” completely eliminates the high power output on the “tops”. The heavy crankshaft spins very reluctantly, and it is simply impossible to get the “explosion” of power familiar to us from modern motorcycles. So after an almost half-ton motorcycle brazenly shoots from a place, leaving even “sports” behind the stern, you can calm down. There will be no continuation. Ride with pleasure, calmly, sedately and not very fast.
Three whales
Talking about the comfort of the modern "Golden Wing" is even somehow inconvenient. Despite 14 years on the assembly line (or forty?), nothing more imposing, convenient and comfortable has been invented. Only the “Electric Train” – Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, the second “whale”, on which the world of luxury tourers stands, can compete with “Golda”. There is, of course, the ultra-modern BMW K1600GTL, but does its passenger patch compare to the Gold Wing seat?
Harley-Davidson Electra Glide and BMW K1600GTL are Gold Wing's only opponents
The only thing that the modern Gold Wing lacks to be truly modern is the electronic stuffing. Not a motor, not options, not design, but electronics. Yes, he was once the first to have electrically adjustable rear shock spring preload (there is now), but when was that?
Now a comfortable motorcycle should have a semi-active suspension with automatic stiffness adjustment in all parameters and several preset modes. There is a lot to learn from BMW with their ESA system. Let "gold" was one of the first where cruise control was installed. But now it is even on tourist enduros of far from the largest caliber! It's time to get an electronic throttle, and a stabilization system with different engine operating modes, traction control and a system for deactivating some of the cylinders to save fuel.
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I would like to start with my motorcycle biography)
I bought my first motorcycle in 2004, a 1970 Jawa 360/00, followed by a 1982 Jawa 350/634.8, a 1991 Jawa 350/638, a 1990 Yamaha xj 400 special, a 1998 Yamaha Drag Star 400, a Yamaha V-Star 650. 2000, Yamaha V-Star 1100. 2002, Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic 2008.
In the spring of 2015, finally making sure that Harley suits me less and less, I decided to try Golda. For the first time, Goldwing surfaced in my head when I was returning to the Drag Star 1100 from the next long-distance trip, having already blasted for half a day and about 1000 km, I was overtaken along the highway by a group of Goldavodov, as if standing, I was struck by the fact that they were driving almost in T-shirts, at ease) white envy crept in, but since I loved cruiser-class motorcycles (what would be a sea of chrome and all that) at that moment I decided for myself that Golda is a slightly larger Paneuropan, plastic, maxi-scooter and all that) And I firmly decided on next season to take such a beautiful electric train. A sea of chrome, iron, heavy, honest Harley how it looked and rode)
On long journeys, the Harley proved to be of course better than anything I had ridden before, but just like on the Yamaha, fatigue manifested itself quite clearly by 1000 km of travel. Harley felt no better in the city either, heavy control (on the train everything hangs on the steering wheel: batwing, speakers, speedometer, tachometer, headlight, chandelier, radio tape recorder) all this economy of confidence at low speed, does not add maneuvering in traffic jams. Plus, Harley eventually began to act up, the “childhood sores” of the model began to appear, I’ll tell you about a couple of cases. On a motorcycle with a mileage of 19,000 miles, the speedometer failed, or rather, at first it worked, then it fell to zero, then it completely passed out, after 40 minutes the check light came on, the bike died out. I started it - the speedometer does not work, the check is on, but the motor does not stall, after an hour everything repeats. I am 1000 km from Moscow, I thought - it’s good that it’s going at all. The motorcycle is standing overnight - in the morning everything is fine until an hour has passed, everything is the same again. The case turned out to be in the Map Sensor, the magnetic speed sensor is at the checkpoint, it is located in such a hard-to-reach place, the mechanic in the service “worn out” while crawling up to it. Usually this sensor is covered from the fact that the chips from the gears are magnetized to it and thereby create interference. My sensor was clean, which is why it failed - no one answered me. Situation two, because of the rear brake sensor (which also doesn’t understand why it stopped working), all the brake fluid leaked out of the tank, and as a fact, I got 300 km home on the front brakes. It was on Sunday evening, I was driving towards Moscow, traffic jams started about 70 kilometers from home, in general, I had fun, for “complete happiness” that day there was not enough heavy rain in traffic jam)) And in the spring of this year I finally I decided to try myself as a “Goldovod”. Initially, my thoughts were about a used motorcycle up to a million, but after a trip, I looked at a couple of options, and realized that with my requests, only a new one was needed. And for the season I drove almost 25,000 km. But first things first.
The first thing that struck me was the color. After restyling in 2012, Goldwing began to look more modern in appearance. A very pleasant combination of light blue and light gray, brought me into absolute delight. 
The motorcycle stands out for its color, but the color is only the “clothes” for which they meet. My gold is stuffed to the fullest, (HISS immobilizer, ABS, navigation, airbag, heated handles, priests) Navigation is still in English, but it can be completely Russified. At dealers, this manipulation costs more than 30 thousand wooden ones. But rummaging through the forums, you can find a specialist who, for 200 US rubles, will do the same job, also remotely)
ABS coupled with Honda's brake force distribution system makes this colossus stop at the moment, I'm just delighted with the brakes, several times this year they have saved me from unexpected troubles. Airbag - I hope I will never know for myself, according to friends, a guy on Gold with a pillow flew into a bus at a crossroads, a motorcycle for cancellation, he got off with a broken little finger. As for the practicality of servicing with a pillow, there are no differences from the model without it, the air filter changes the same amount in time, but no difference in price (Replacing the air filter on Goldwing from 5000 rubles, in time from 1.5 to 3 hours) What before maintenance in general, it’s natural that apart from maintenance and replacing the rubber, he didn’t do anything, maintenance according to the regulations every 5000 km, although the oil after 5 thousand is drained light-light, it seems to me that it can be changed after 10 thousand, but the manual is a manual. The rear cylinder changed after a run of 16,000 km, changed with a margin, since he left for the south (serpentines and all that) The front cylinder passed 23 thousand. The original tires from the factory were Bridgestone, it seemed a little harsh to me, and therefore I decided to put Metzelder ME 888, for me it holds the road a little better. Handling is generally surprising, the motorcycle enters the turns perfectly, it is a pleasure to open the gas at the exit of them, I was generally struck by how much it can be “put” in the turns, something at the level of a sports bike. The dynamics are on top, it is worth unscrewing the gas handle and the motorcycle easily leaves the traffic flow, a huge torque makes itself felt and cruising speed can be any, it all depends on the road surface, this motorcycle loves good straight sections, 180, 190 something , 210 - no problem, the fuel arrow, however, with such a ride goes down very rapidly)) In general, fuel consumption in the average mode is 7-8 liters, the tank is 25 liters, you don’t need to go to gas stations so often. In city traffic jams, Honda certainly does not feel as confident as on the highway, but comparing the handling in a traffic jam with an electric train, Golda “seems like a feather.” close to the meeting trucks. You often experience this effect while driving a car in a similar situation. The sound of the engine, or rather the absence of it at speed, has a great effect on music, 4 speakers and two tweeters go around the state, turn on the surround sound system - and enjoy your favorite tunes, loud and high-quality sound) Music plays from a flash drive via a USB connector in a wardrobe trunk. There is also an outlet in the glove compartment for an iPhone, iPod. If you turn off the music and turn off the engine to 4-5 thousand, you will hear a pleasant rumble of speed, no, it’s not that very loud, it just sounds noble, 6 cylinders make themselves felt. After long trips with Vince & Hince cocurrent, when you walk shell-shocked after a trip for a couple of hours, the absence of vibrations and loud exhaust sounds becomes a huge plus. The Goldwing engine is reliability squared. The motor has been proven over the years, it probably makes no sense to write about it.
The box turns on softly, neutral is very easy to catch. There are rumors about her reliability that there are problems with 2nd and 5th gears, they advise changing gears at intervals of 3.5 thousand, they say Golda loves when she is “untwisted”
Reverse gear, a nice bonus. Very easy to use, turned on, press the start button and quietly drive into the garage, very convenient in one word.
The suspension generally copes with our roads, but on a broken road it will not do well, the front fork is criticized by everyone. I haven't had any problems with her yet. Due to unevenness, at low speed, the locks inside the rear case rattle, you can joke that it’s like in 9-ke)) The rear air suspension is very convenient to raise and lower by pressing the appropriate button. The color monitor very nicely shows the position of the suspension, the adjustment of the headlights, the temperature overboard, and indicates that the case is not closed. There are a lot of buttons on the sides near the knees, some are not always needed, unfortunately or fortunately, I never used the CB station, did not listen to the radio. The buttons are illuminated with white light at night.
The standard light with halogen lamps is generally good. But I would advise you to definitely install LED fog lights, with them the roadway is even better illuminated. At night, other road users get the impression that a UFO is rushing along the road. For beauty, there are thoughts to put angel eyes and lenses. But this is still in the future.
seat. It is truly huge, the only thing at first was not very comfortable to ride without a back for a long time, but having bought this device from Kuryakyn, and setting it up for yourself, you almost never get tired on a trip. As an example, we went with friends to the city of Tikhoretsk, about 1300 km from Moscow, when I arrived at my destination, I felt that I could easily drive the same amount. Heating is a very necessary thing, on a cold, rainy May day, a trip of 11 degrees across the entire Tver and Novgorod region, seemed to me an interesting journey, which can not be said about my friends on ordinary cruisers, frozen, dissatisfied, warmed up for a long time at each gas station with hot tea and coffee ) The heating of the legs is also interesting, but it is relevant when you ride, let’s say, in sneakers, and not in motorcycle boots, but it is worth noting that the flow of warm air reaches the helmet, creating a pleasant microclimate)) Landing on Gold - as they say, “you sit on the toilet ”but it’s more convenient for long trips. Windshield, adjustable in height, manual drive, not as cool as on a BMW)) In heavy rain, if you maintain one speed of 80-100 km, you can get out of the water "dry out of the water" Golda's aerodynamics are at a height, but from this edge of the windshield, spray rain begins to seep and drops fly on the torso.
The wardrobe trunks are large and roomy, after the 12th year there was a little more free space in them, due to the reduction and change in the shape of the rear lights. I put LED lighting on all wardrobe trunks, they work from limit switches - I opened the wardrobe trunk - the backlight lit up, it is very practical and looks decent.
As a result, we can say that for long trips - I can’t think of an ideal motorcycle, it’s a pleasure to drive it, I want to drive this Honda and not stop. Golda is respected on the road, she attracts the eye, she can match the mood and character of her owner by 100%.
Well, gold is, of course, external tuning, there are no “chromes”, “margaloks”, “whites”, as they say, there are no two identical Goldwings) Thank you for your attention. Good luck on the roads.
Shadow of the Golden Wing
text: Vladimir Zdorov, photo: Dmitry Ivaikin
Honda GL 1800 Gold Wing: 2005, 1832 cc, 118 hp, 210 km/h, $30,490
BMW K 1200 LT: 2005, 1171 cm3, 116 hp, 200 km/h, € 27,800
These hypertourists are carriers of the most advanced technologies and achievements of manufacturers. Their curb weight has been sacrificed in an unprecedented pursuit of comfort, but are they still motorcycles, or are they more like two-wheelers?
The rich also cry
It just so happened that I managed to have a fleeting, by human, but quite decent by motorcycle standards, acquaintance with the “eltecha” for a week even before this test. Therefore, it would be quite logical to start with BMW. I picked it up from the dealer's parking lot, and the latter was so densely stuffed with cars that even getting out of there on an ordinary motorcycle seemed, perhaps, not an impossible, but rather difficult task. What can I say about the mastodon that I got. Namely, this motorcycle seemed to be so in the first half hour of our close acquaintance. I was afraid of almost everything - with an awkward movement to fill it up at low speed, peel off the beautiful sides of a well-fed Teuton, spoil the varnish of the mirrors sticking out at the car's width ... Suffice it to say that from that very parking lot I had to seep indecently long seven minutes by motorcycle standards!
But a person is such a beast that he gets used to everything very quickly. Half an hour later, I was quite cheerfully maneuvering on the flagship of the Bavarian concern, surprised to find that, despite all its gigantic size and weight, it has much more motorcycle spirit than I could imagine!The degree of development of the plastic attire is such that in this case it would be more correct to speak of a body rather than a separate fairing. Indeed, in their pursuit of endless comfort, modern tourers have long crossed all conceivable and unimaginable boundaries of common sense, having acquired entire systems of plastic cut integrated into the overall scheme of the motorcycle, which can be called fairings only with a very large degree of conventionality.
And everything would be fine, but the very first small cluster of cars made me take a completely different look at the overall dimensions, which are only slightly inferior to modern small cars. It’s banal that you can’t squeeze between the rows of cars - first of all, the side cases interfere, but in the end you have to stand along with everyone else! Drivers are happy to look at the expensive device, forced to spend time with them in a traffic jam. At the same time, you feel like an outlandish fish in an aquarium under the gaze of thousands of visitors. However, such an unhealthy hype is always a mandatory component of a trip to the BMW K 1200 LT.The only way to get out of such a situation with honor and dignity will be the immediate creation of an absolutely impenetrable physiognomy (something like: “Who is here, in fact, somewhere in a hurry?”). You can also enjoy good regular music, while making such an expression on your face (this is a must!), As if there is no one else on the road except you! By the way, about the audio system: on this kind of motorcycles, the criteria for the convenience of working with its controls, as well as the sound quality, are sometimes by no means less important than, say, braking dynamics or handling. Sometimes even they prevail over the latter. After spending the first 20 minutes on an intuitive understanding of how to set up the radio and CD, I found the algorithm for working with numerous buttons responsible for turning on the audio system logical and convenient, but the sound itself did not quite suit me. On a car of this class, I would like to have a better sound. In general, landing on the LT is so relaxed that at some point you realize that the main danger may be Morpheus, who unexpectedly crept up right during the trip, lustfully clasping you in his arms ... Ergonomics, in a typical BMW manner, is designed for tall people, however , this does not mean at all that low here will be inconvenient.
Since there are only two cars of this class on the market at the moment, the requirements and evaluation conditions will be much more serious than during a regular test. Indeed, in fact, this is not so much any specific tourist models of companies as a demonstration of the capabilities and technologies of the manufacturer, an illustration of the latest technical solutions and capabilities of companies. And here BMW has a very interesting feature that none of the motorcycles currently produced can boast of. This is a hydraulic central stand controlled by an electric motor. Which, given the curb weight of the motorcycle, I would not attribute to the elements of optional luxury.
In practice, this tricky "stray" works as follows. You put in neutral, press the button with the appropriate symbols and just wait for the bike to “drag” itself onto the center stand. There is, however, one nuance here, which at first scared me a lot. The fact is that if this great sacrament takes place on an uneven platform, then the “elteha” begins to fall menacingly towards the slope! Here, the main thing is not to try to do the impossible, that is, not to pretend to be Hercules returning the motorcycle to a vertical position, but to continue to press the button with composure. At some point, the second “leg” of the center stand will also feel the surface, and the BMW will nest heavily on the center stand. Another not very pleasant nuance is that exactly half of the mirrors are occupied by your own gloves, and nothing can be done about this decisively.
Is it necessary to say that the windshield is equipped with an electric drive, the handlebars have multi-mode heating, and the brake system is equipped with ABS? Probably, it was not even worth listing these things for granted ...
Continuing the theme of the motorcycle elements working primarily for the comfort of the pilot and passenger, it is worth going through the luggage system in a separate line, because in terms of importance this option is no less relevant here than, for example, the same ABC! The total volume of luggage can reach 100 liters, and this is not counting the platform on the top case. A CD changer "lives" in one of the side cases... By the way, I would ruthlessly fire the person who was responsible for fine-tuning his work on this motorcycle without severance pay! Even on Moscow’s bumps, the “twist” periodically shuts up, seriously annoying and unnerving, to say nothing of ordinary Russian directions, where it is completely problematic to use it.I also can’t praise the reverse gear engagement algorithm - in order to make the K 1200 LT move backward, you need to move the lever responsible for this to the R position ... And everything would be fine, only this device is located somewhere in the area of \u200b\u200bthe gearshift pad. Not only does it make you take a rather undignified pose in order to reach him, but there is also a very real possibility of losing your balance. After all, a serious mass in static does not disappear anywhere, and at such moments it is better to keep the motorcycle in a strictly vertical position. By and large, one could accuse me of catching fleas, looking for minor flaws, but you can trust me that the owners of such motorcycles meticulously pay attention to precisely such nuances and trifles! After all, I can fully understand the dissatisfaction of the buyer of a Bavarian motorcycle, watching how the owner of the Honda GL 1800, without removing his hands from the steering wheel, engages reverse gear.
Do not believe the Danes who bring gifts
Don't let the heavy exterior of the BMW K 1200 LT fool you! In acceleration to 100 km / h, it is quite capable of competing with any modern neoclassic or even a sport bike, especially if the pilot of the latter “blundered” a little at the start. The main thing is not to be shy about turning the 1200cc inline-four, which, despite its impressive torque at medium revs, shows healthy aggression at high revs.As soon as the opportunity arose to properly “cheer up”, no, not my body, but the motorcycle, I immediately unscrewed (no, you’re all about the same thing, not the lid!) To the limit of the accelerator in order to understand everything that a small farm with 116 horses on the farm. Of course, it would be an exaggeration to write about dynamics indistinguishable from a sportbike, but up to 160 km / h the process proceeds very, very badly, forcing especially shy car owners to cowardly cling to the side of the road at the sight of a two-wheeled hulk so aggressively and quickly picking up speed. Further advancement of the speedometer needle occurs gradually and smoothly. Still, with such a frontal area! Nevertheless, for the most persistent and purposeful, the speedometer will eventually show a slightly overestimated 210 km / h, which, apparently, will just correspond to the “real” 200 km / h declared by the plant. Here it is necessary to note an interesting point - the process of accelerating strongly depends on the position of the windshield. For example, in the maximum upper position and, accordingly, the maximum lowered, the difference in acceleration dynamics is felt even without measuring instruments. It is also characteristic that even when the glass is extremely low, I could not look over it. In our mud conditions, this will only mean that you have to, whether you like it or not, constantly monitor its cleanliness. But in the highest position, the degree of isolation of the pilot from the pressure of the air flow is so high that many LT owners allow themselves to cut through their caps without fear of losing them. Another question is that such an approach is wrong in principle, but maybe they have succeeded so much in this life that they have a spare head? ..
I was more or less mentally prepared for such atypical comfort for a motorcycle, but the possibilities of its handling were a real revelation for me. The fact that BMW allowed to create on the tracks of the karting track did not fit into any framework! A few minutes later, I rather categorically began to tumble him in corners almost to sportbike corners, and the only limiter was the lingering, tear-jerking “get this crazy man out!” driver's footboards. But to get me to pity (and not even on my device, oops, didn’t write anything extra?) Is absolutely not realistic. Therefore, he continued to torment the experimental subject, eventually managing to perform a hang off on him! Naturally, such exercises are given on this heffalump by means of serious physical exertion, but the very fact that, with a certain desire, the motorcycle easily demonstrates the controllability of a good neoclassic, arouses well-deserved respect ...
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So the time has come for the zero point of reference, the time of the "tourist of all times and peoples", the idol of thousands of fans, the dreams of ardent fans of the largest and heaviest mass-produced "tourist" - the Honda GL 1800 Gold Wing, which has long become a cult.
How everything in this world is relative! In the very first minutes of acquaintance with Honda, you begin to evaluate the BMW that seemed to be just a gigantic one in a different way. I’ll make a reservation right away that the tested “gold” was provided by a private person (such a curious fact for reflection - there are almost never “free” motorcycles of this model in showrooms, they are usually sold out even before they arrive in Russia ...), which is why it underwent quite serious tuning . In general, such a fate, as a rule, befalls not only almost all sold GL 1800, but also K 1200 LT, which is explained, not least, not so much by the desire to improve something in the motorcycle (although this aspect is also present), but give the appearance of a mastodon personality traits ...However, the tuning carried out by the owner did not affect either the chassis or the engine, but was mainly aimed at improving the sound quality of music, which, in principle, gave a slight head start for BMW. After all, even in stock, Honda is a little heavier than its opponent. And in our particular case, taking into account the subwoofer and additional amplifiers, tens of meters of special wires and numerous other musical ingredients, it turned out to be no less than the “extra” 30–40 kg of weight!
But not the point. Starting with the ergonomics of the driver's seat, you immediately feel the difference. Landing on the "gold" is noticeably lower, and the handlebars are slightly higher than on the BMW, which ultimately leads to a completely corrupting position of the pilot, where the degree of comfort and concern for God forbid not to disturb His Majesty the Owner is elevated to the absolute. Complements the picture of such a comprehensive "corruption" installed by the owner of the "burdock" of the windshield, which covered your far from the shortest servant with his head! The running six-cylinder boxer, which exceeds the working volume of the BMW engine by a whole “six hundred” sportbike, is so tightly “isolated” in terms of noise from the outside world that it evokes direct associations with executive class cars. Turning on the reverse gear, unlike a competitor, here does not require ritual diving under the belly of the motorcycle, the mirrors give an absolutely “clean” picture, and you can feel the vibrations, even in the most damped form, here only from your own mobile phone ...
In its latest version, Golda finally got ABS, so the LT has only two trump cards left, however, one of them is already a bit of the 2006 GL 1800. I mean regular heated handlebars. And Honda responded to the electro-hydraulic center stand of a competitor ... with the world's first airbag serially installed on a motorcycle! I don't even know if I should even comment on this...
And the GL 1800 also has a stock heater, a feature you won't see on any production bike! If desired, hot air can be directed from the deflectors opposite the pilot's knees, and on the 2006 model, the efficiency of this system has also been improved.
Given the class of motorcycles, I will have to resort to some assessments of my automotive colleagues and study the amenities and benefits of civilization provided to passengers. It is noticeable to the naked eye that the developed passenger seat of the GL 1800 would look quite harmoniously in a BMW, only in a car, moreover, the seventh series! As for the seat of the K 1200 LT, it's a sin to blame it for inferiority or insufficient comfort ... until you see the Gold Wing seat!
Long distance romance
If we go back to the origins and try to trace and understand how and why the Honda Gold Wing was created, then first of all we must thank the Americans, with their love of travel and the vast distances between the States. After all, this market has been a priority for all Japanese manufacturers (though not only for them) for more than 30 years, and their slightest moods and wishes are instantly listened to and immediately reacted to ...
At one time I traveled on the GL1500 and, to be honest, I was far from delighted with its handling. Therefore, in this nomination, it seemed to me that BMW would be the undisputed leader. But in 2004, Honda radically changed the design of its flagship running gear, equipping it with the most powerful aluminum duplex and introducing new standards of handling ...
But I perceived all this rather theoretically, after all, when you look at this motorcycle live, somehow you hardly believe that it is able to steer so easily. But he is really capable! The only limit was the numerous details on the bottom, steps, plastic spoilers, mufflers, saddlebags ... True, the designers cannot be blamed for this in any way, I don’t think that the latter seriously considered the possibility of riding the Gold Wing in a hang off, but how incredible it is no matter what, this is a possibility! But in addition to manic inclinations, a pilot with the appropriate skills needs to be able to pay for this kind of entertainment. After all, even if we assume that by some miracle you manage not to overwhelm the device, then the price of cut parts may well exceed $ 1000! In my particular case, the owner of the GL 1800, who was watching me from the side, with a condescending smile, gave the go-ahead for such “feats”, even finding a certain plus in this. Firstly, he was still going to change the mufflers for tuning ones, and secondly, he always wanted to look at the ultimate capabilities of his motorcycle. Eh, if he knew me better at that time, he would hardly have given me such an indulgence ...I guess in the end I got a little carried away, trying to find those lines beyond which it would be unambiguously given to me to understand that there are much more suitable motorcycles for the karting track. However, the scuffed developed underbelly of the megatourist did not go to waste. The value of the resulting experience and photos is not so much in the very fact of riding on the knee on the Gold Wing (which, however, cannot but rejoice), but in demonstrating how the company's engineers worked out the chassis of their flagship. If you try to analyze and compare who is still better at driving, BMW or Honda, then I would say that in this exercise of the observer, there is complete parity.
Now the most important thing remains - checking on the highways. But the highways are abroad, but here we have directions that are much more suitable for enduro than for refined tourists. And here Honda surprised me again. It would seem that after BMW, with its smooth ride and ability to “digest” even the most disgusting road surface, one can hardly expect even more comfort. But it turned out that I was wrong. Honda, in its indulgence of sybarites and champions of all the very best, has surpassed not only the most comfortable motorcycles, but, perhaps, some cars! For example, for the first time I had to deal with such a situation when, starting from 20 km / h and up to the maximum speed, the sound of a running engine is not audible at all!
As a result, I myself did not notice how I began to approach comfort assessments already with automotive requirements, noting that, they say, aerodynamic noise is somewhat too big ... Still, dissatisfaction with even the most perfect product or object among individual representatives of Homo sapiens knows no bounds, sometimes accepting just disgusting shapes. At least I can more or less tolerably hide behind the work of an expert ...
But not the point. Let's get back to the GL 1800. I did not compare the degree of wind protection with BMW because it would be incorrect, since a great many different tuning mules were installed on the motorcycle - wind killers. But I remember very well the size of the standard windshield, which obviously does not suffer from minimalism, so I don’t think that BMW would have the slightest advantage in this discipline on the side of BMW.
You can write about these two modern leviathans, stuffed with the latest technological delights and achievements of manufacturers in demonstrating the eternally masculine “who ... has a larger corresponding organ,” you can forever ... The magazine, as you understand, is not rubber.However, a common denominator can be summed up quite easily. Without a doubt, the BMW K 1200 LT is a very comfortable and modern tourist, simply striking in its dynamics and level of comfort. However, the difference of 600 cm3 and two cylinders still makes itself felt. First of all, this is expressed in a slightly worse dynamics compared to the opponent, but is it really that important for this type of motorcycle? In the end, if you try to approach them with such yardsticks, then the BMW asset can be written that it allows a little more lean in corners, not so much because of better handling (as I noted earlier, there is complete parity here), but because of the higher ground clearance. But all this for the owners of such devices, although important, but by no means fundamental differences. Perhaps, only two criteria can be called fundamental - comfort and prestige. And no matter how hard the owners of Honda try to deny it and not notice it, having a “German” is still more prestigious than a “Japanese”.
And if the BMW K 1200 LT were the undisputed leader in the class of megatourists, but objectivity is above all, the Germans really managed to get very close to the "icon", but even Leonardo himself could not create another "Mona Lisa" ...
parameters Honda GL 1800A Gold Wing: 2005, 1832 cm3, 118 hp, 210 km/h, $ 30490
BMW K1200LT Honda GL 1800 Year of debut / year of release 1998/2005 1985/2005 Dry weight 343 kg 369 kg Curb weight 387 kg 402 kg Length Width Height 2502/1080/1395 mm 2635/945/1455 Base 1627 mm 1690 mm seat height 770/790 mm 740 mm Ground clearance 120 mm 125 mm Gas tank volume 23.4 l 25 l Angle of inclination / reach of the front fork N. d. / 63.2 ° N. d./61° Engine 1171 cm3, 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, in-line type, DOHC, liquid cooling 1832 cm3, 4-stroke, 6-cylinder, opposed, DOHC, liquid cooling
Bore/Stroke 70.5/75 mm 74/71 mm Supply system fuel injection fuel injection Compression ratio 10,8 9,8 Power 116 HP at 8000 rpm 118.3 HP at 5500 rpm Torque 120 Nm at 5300 rpm 167 Nm at 4000 rpm Transmission 5-speed gearbox, single plate dry clutch, cardan 5-speed gearbox, oil-bath multi-plate clutch, universal joint Frame diagonal, aluminum alloy Front suspension Telelever, travel - 130 mm, adjustments - compression, preload telescopic, Ø45 mm, stroke - 140 mm, adjustments - compression, preload Rear suspension Paralever, travel - 130 mm, adjustments - rebound, compression, preload pendulum, monoshock, stroke - 105 mm, adjustments - rebound, compression, (electronically controlled) preload front brake 2 discs Ø320 mm, 4-piston calipers 2 discs Ø296 mm, 3-piston calipers Rear brake disc Ø285 mm, 2-piston caliper disc Ø316 mm, 3-piston caliper Front wheel 120/70–17 130/70–17 Rear wheel 160/70–17 180/60–16 Max Speed 200 km/h 210 km/h Acceleration time to 100 km/h 4.8 s 4.1 s Average fuel consumption 5.9 l 6.8 l
Honda Gold Wing… What is the miracle of technology behind this name? After all, it is not for nothing that it is familiar to almost every motorcycle lover. Golden wing - this is how the name of this bike is translated into Russian. And it does not deceive this is truly the "golden" model in the arsenal of Honda. This is a real giant, unparalleled in convenience and quality, the ideal touring motorcycle for long and long journeys. He has thousands of fans, admirers, many bikers dream of him - in general, a living legend and a truly iconic motorcycle.
So, what is this bike famous for and what is special about it? A touring motorcycle, what do we expect from it in the first place? That's right - a large carrying capacity (after all, you will have to take a lot of things on a long trip) and maximum comfort on a suburban highway. And with both Honda Gold Wing 1800 full order. A powerful six-cylinder engine with electronic fuel injection and an aluminum chassis with a good margin of safety provide a large carrying capacity for the motorcycle. The engine complies with all modern environmental standards and, despite the larger volume, it has less weight than the old 1500 cc from the Honda Gold Wing 1500 (this is another model of the Honda Gold Wing). Many cars can envy such a motor, still - 118 horsepower and a working volume of 1800 cm3. If compared with a car, then this is the middle class, but then a car, but this is still a motorcycle ... However, its weight is about 400 kilograms and at the same time excellent dynamics. Judge for yourself: it gains a hundred kilometers per hour in 4.4 seconds, it passes 400 meters (a quarter of a mile) in just 13 seconds and a top speed of 225 kilometers per hour. Moreover, do not forget that this is not some kind of high-tech sport bike, but a heavy touring motorcycle. Just imagine, a colossus of 400 kilograms rushes under 200 kilometers along a suburban highway ... And with all this, the engine sound is very quiet, starting at a speed of 20 km.h. and up to the maximum it is almost inaudible!
The chassis is also an example of great technical solutions. It would seem that with such dimensions of the machine it is difficult to expect good maneuverability from it. But no - the new aluminum alloy chassis allows for good cornering. Good handling is achieved through proper mass distribution. With such dimensions and weight, the Honda Gold Wing 1800 can be called quite an agile motorcycle. True, once again, when entering a turn, one should not forget that the angle of inclination is limited by numerous details at the bottom of the motorcycle: mufflers, footpegs, plastic spoilers. Replacing damaged parts can cost you a fortune. This is of course a minus, but spare parts for the Honda Gold Wing 1800 are quite expensive (however, like the motorcycle itself). To stop this projectile, the designers have developed powerful disc brakes with an ABS system that provides full control over the motorcycle and will not let you down even in the most difficult situations.
Comfort and again comfort, such thoughts come with a more detailed acquaintance with this machine. When you first sit behind the wheel of the Honda Gold Wing 1800, the impression is that this is not a motorcycle saddle, but a luxurious sofa in a five-star hotel. The driving position is just perfect for long trips, the seat back supports the back and the location of the footrests and handlebars are as comfortable as possible. The dashboard is a separate conversation, you just have to see it. It can only be compared with the panel of a light aircraft. On the way, you can enjoy your favorite music - speakers are installed in front and behind, optionally you can install a CD changer, a satellite navigation system. The bike is equipped with cruise control, heated handles, automatic opening trunks, headlight adjustment and much, much more. Say, you can write a book about the Honda Gold Wing 1800, and more than one, but to understand what kind of motorcycle this is not enough. There is only one way out - you just need to drive on it!
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Specifications |
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| Engine | Four-stroke, six-cylinder |
| Cylinder displacement | 1832 cm3 |
| Cooling | Liquid |
| Torque | 167 Nm at 4000 rpm |
| Cylinder diameter | 74 mm |
| piston stroke | 71 mm |
| Max Power | 118 HP at 5500 |
| Number of valves | Two valves per cylinder |
| Weight | 369 kg; |
| Gas tank capacity | 25 l. |
| Top speed | 225 km.h. |
| Number of gears | Five plus reverse gear |
| Rear wheel wire | Cardan |
| Saddle height | 740 mm. |
| Length | 2635 mm. |
| Width | 945 mm. |
| Tires: front | 130/70 R18 |
| Rear | 180/60R16 |
