5 Things You Need To Know About the Honda Gold Wing Tour

Recently, the Motorcycle.com staff had the chance to tour the beautiful Ontario countryside to experience the fall colors and to get a taste of what Northern Ontario has to offer. It’s a stunning place, and we thank our friends at Destination Ontario for making it all possible. Watch the feature video about our trip here or you can read about our trip here.

When it came to picking out bikes for our Canadian tour, our natural first choice was the Honda Gold Wing (technically, the Gold Wing Tour Airbag Automatic DCT in our case). The Gold Wing has earned legendary status as a fantastic touring motorcycle, and after putting a thousand miles on a DCT version, we came back with plenty to say about it.

Here are five things you need to know about the Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT: 

It’s ultra comfortable for both rider and passenger

The Gold Wing isn’t called the couch on wheels for nothing. You sit in as much of a neutral position as possible, with a cushy seat and a natural reach to the controls for both your hands and feet. And as comfy as that is, the passenger accommodations are arguably even more comfortable! The pillion has a back rest and armrests to cruise down the road with you in total comfort. In addition to the heated grips for you, both front and back seats are heated.

Super smooth 6-banger engine

Effortless acceleration. That’s the best way to sum up the 1833cc, horizontally-opposed flat-six engine. It’s not a power hungry engine, with only about 100 horses and 100 lb-ft at the wheel, but the torque is available seemingly at idle and the power curve is flat across the board. It’s so smooth, too, making it a nice engine to tour on.

The Seven-Speed DCT Makes Sense In This Application

Touring is a great application for Honda’s dual clutch transmission, and that’s proven here with the Gold Wing. Sure, you have the option to change your own gears with the paddles, but we eventually found ourselves letting the bike do all the shifting for us. When you’re just cruising the ‘Wing searches for a high gear quickly, but if you’re trying to get on it, the revs will climb all the way up before changing over. It does take longer than we’d like for the DCT to downshift for an overtake, but again, the paddles are there if you want to use them.

The Instruments Look Dated

The epitome of utilitarian, the dash display on the Gold Wing is anything but modern. There’s a combination of analog dials and LCD screens with a colored navigation screen in the middle. They all work, but they remind me of the gauges on the Honda Accord I passed my driving test with when I was 16. 

Suspension is a mixed nag and the saddlebags are kinda small

Yes this is a twofer, but we couldn’t leave it out. The Gold Wing’s twin A-arm, Hossack-style front suspension provides a really relaxing ride that’s able to absorb bumps without passing any of those vibes on to you, but what it provides in comfort it absolutely takes away in terms of front end feel. The sensation feels more like you’re floating above the road than actually taking it all in. This numbness doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence when you’re trying to feel what the front end is doing in the corners.

And it’s a good thing our Wing had a top case, because the sidecases really aren’t that big – in fact the previous generation Gold Wing had bigger bags.

Still a legend

All in all, we enjoyed our time with the Honda Gold Wing. There’s a reason why it’s been around for so long and has enjoyed the reputation that it has. It is simply one of the best ways to go touring on two wheels.

By Troy Siahaan