Got the New Wing Today

[Tony C.]

Picked up the 2018 Gold Wing today. After a run down of the basics and the dealership pushing an extended warranty and a maintenance contract (bought neither) was on the bike a little after 10 AM.

As one would expect, it's a much different ride than the Valkyrie. The similarity to the Valkyrie is the exhaust note when you get on it. Sounds sweet. This is not a whisper quiet Gold Wing.

The bike is geared different than the Valkyrie and is read for overdrive at about 55 mph. I did 176 miles, mostly on back roads and often in 6th gear.

As advertised the front suspension is amazing. I could see the tie rod ends moving, but couldn't feel any bumps in the handle bars. But what surprised me the most was the ease of the clutch pull and shifting. It was like a hot knife through butter.

The bike handled and was geared like a big sport tourer. It reminded me a little of the FJR 1300 that I rented years ago. I road in Tour mode the whole time and found it plenty sporty.

I had the dealership install the fog lights. I just wasn't up to the task. I did install the passenger armrest when I got home. Had to search for and download the instructions, because Honda did not send them with the parts. A little tricky, but they're on and I didn't break/scratch anything during the install.

I think I've got the electronics all figured out. Honda may have built a wonderful motorcycle, but they wrote a terrible owners manual. Took me a long time to figure out how to set up radio station presets. Don't know if it was worth it because the antenna, which is along the top of the right saddlebag, did a crappy job of pulling in signals. Anyway, they're set for where I live and I figured out the scan/search function while I was in NH.

Primarily the negative comments on the bike were about reduced fuel and storage capacity. My average mileage over 176 miles of back road riding at speeds up to 65 mph was 48.8 mpg. I'm in the break in period, so I was not throttle heavy. But assuming an average back road  mpg of 45, yields a range of 247 miles. I can live with that. Especially without highway pegs to stretch my short legs.

I didn't own a Wing until now, so I'm not aware of pre-2018 storage capacity. That said, I could see the storage on the 2018 is not generous. I think the saddle bags on the Valkyrie have more capacity.

Couple of other notables. The bike is very streamlined. I've search for spots to hang the Bell Bernie gave me to ward-off road gremlins. It took a while but I think I found a place for it. I don't think there's an OFF button for the audio. If there is, I haven't found it yet on the bike or in the crappy manual. Decided to just switch the source to AUX when I don't want to listen.

The bike handles and shifts so easily that I found myself riding at higher speeds than I typically did on the Valkyrie. Looked at the speedo and was doing 65 in a 45 mph zone. Caught myself and slowed it down. The bike is definitely ready to get up and go.

Looking forward to showing it to you guys and gals on the road this season.

[GaryC]

Tony,

Congrats on that beautiful bike. Glad you got the bike today I just told Deb it's not going to be a good day Saturday for Tony to get his new bike.

Two questions:

How do you find the height of the windshield? I know you can adjust it, do you look over it in the lowest setting?

How is the seat height? Can you flat foot it? 

When I do get one, I leaning towards the DCT but I want to test ride it first and see how slow speed maneuvers are. Without a friction zone seems like it will take some relearning.

Good luck with the bike.  Oh good decision on the extended warranty.
Looking forward to seeing it in person soon.
Gary

[idaida98]

Nice very nice indeed,good luck with the new bike.

[oldsmokey]

Very nice.  Hope you get much enjoyment  and many safe miles with it.
Hope the weather pattern  changes soon for you.

[Tony C.]

Two questions:

How do you find the height of the windshield? I know you can adjust it, do you look over it in the lowest setting?

How is the seat height? Can you flat foot it? 

Yes I definitely look over it in the lowest setting. I raised it above it's lowest setting because it was cool this morning but still kept it below my eyes. When raised all the way up there was no wind, but my preference is to look over not through it. I forgot to mention in my original post that the heated grips and seat felt great on a cool day. 

Honda states the seat height as 29.3 inches. I did expect to be able to flat foot it, but I could not quite do it. Close enough though.

Hope this helps.

[Tony C.]

Nice very nice indeed,good luck with the new bike.

Thanks Al! 

[Tony C.]

Very nice.  Hope you get much enjoyment  and many safe miles with it.
Hope the weather pattern  changes soon for you.

Thank you!

[Karen]

Congrats, Tony, glad you were able to learn and enjoy! Ride it in the best of health and sanity!.

[Tony C.]

Congrats, Tony, glad you were able to learn and enjoy! Ride it in the best of health and sanity!.

Thanks Karen. I'll definitely be seeing you on the road this summer! 

[RonBou]

Good luck Tony. You should have many years of enjoyment.

[holmes]

Ohhhh me likey!!

[Bernie S]

 Congratulations Tony enjoy !!!!

[Ed Norton]

Congrats Tony...now you need some good weather

[Wall]

This may sway me that way. What a nice looking bike. Now if it has room for a large American,,,,,

[idaida98]

Forgot to ask,did you sell the Valk yet?

[Tony C.]

Good luck Tony. You should have many years of enjoyment.

Thanks Ron! 

[Tony C.]

Ohhhh me likey!!

Me, too! 

[Tony C.]

Congratulations Tony enjoy !!!!

Thanks Bernie! Looking forward to riding with  you soon.

[Tony C.]

Congrats Tony...now you need some good weather

Thanks Ed!

[Tony C.]

This may sway me that way. What a nice looking bike. Now if it has room for a large American,,,,,

The bike really isn't smaller than the Victory you're riding now. The 2018 Wing would be great for you and Kathy. Believe me, you'd love it. You'd be flinging it back and forth better than I ever could.

[Tony C.]

Forgot to ask,did you sell the Valk yet?

Hey Al,

A buyer and I have agreed on a price. The transaction will take place next week.

[holmes]

Forgot to ask,did you sell the Valk yet?

Hey Al,

A buyer and I have agreed on a price. The transaction will take place next week.

Is your buyer Rich??   

[dalai-lama]

The new bike looks fantastic Tony!  Very good for you and Sherri!

[Tony C.]

Is your buyer Rich??   

See above. 

[Tony C.]

The new bike looks fantastic Tony!  Very good for you and Sherri!

Thanks Brett! 

[ybnorml]

Congratulations Tony....looking forward to your ride reports, what's good and what's not so good with your new wing !!

[RickT2004]

very nice ride Tony. There is a white one with the 7 speed DCT at MTR. I'm still looking for a used Interstate. Good luck

[Tony C.]

Congratulations Tony....looking forward to your ride reports, what's good and what's not so good with your new wing !!

Thanks Terry. So far so good. Can't wait to get back on it! 

[Tony C.]

very nice ride Tony. There is a white one with the 7 speed DCT at MTR. I'm still looking for a used Interstate. Good luck

Thanks Rick. Do you want a second Interstate or are you buying to replace the one you have?

During the short time my Valk was on Craigslist, I did see a few Interstates for sale. I just checked now and only found one in the greater Boston area. It's a 1999 green and silver with 33,000 miles priced at $5,500 in Norton, MA, which is close to RI. Link below.

https://southcoast.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1999-honda-valkyrie-interstate/6560752340.html

[RickT2004]

Replace mine. Well over 100,000 miles and it overheated once. I saw that one on Craig's list and check daily.

[Buddruffin]

After reading your post, it has taken a lot of the questions away that I had concerning the 2018 wing. Thank you for sharing   

[Tony C.]

After reading your post, it has taken a lot of the questions away that I had concerning the 2018 wing. Thank you for sharing   

Glad you found the post useful. 

[Andy Cote]

Tony - great looking machine.  Pretty sure you're going to like it.

Rick - Central Maine Powersports in Lewiston has a fine looking black Interstate for a decent price ($4500 and 20,000 miles).  I have not straddled it myself, just walked by it a few times.  https://centralmainepowersports.com/Motorcycles-Honda-Valkyrie-Interstate-1999-Lewiston-ME-8bde6bdb-f40d-40ea-9979-a77c00e6c872

[Matt-D]

Beautiful Bike Tony. Looking forward to seeing it. Good luck with it.

[Tourus]

   Congratulation on the new wing. A friend of mine bought one a few months ago and had it lowered 2 inches by a Honda dealer. He has lowered the last 3 bikes he's owned by purchashing lowering kits but decided to let a dealer do it just incase it affected the warranty, cost him $200. Just thought I'd pass that on.

[Tony C.]

Beautiful Bike Tony. Looking forward to seeing it. Good luck with it.

Thanks Matt! I just got back from a 45 mile loop. I love it! 

[Tony C.]

  Congratulation on the new wing. A friend of mine bought one a few months ago and had it lowered 2 inches by a Honda dealer. He has lowered the last 3 bikes he's owned by purchashing lowering kits but decided to let a dealer do it just incase it affected the warranty, cost him $200. Just thought I'd pass that on.

Thanks for the info. I think I'm fine with it out of the box. 

[holmes]

  Congratulation on the new wing. A friend of mine bought one a few months ago and had it lowered 2 inches by a Honda dealer. He has lowered the last 3 bikes he's owned by purchashing lowering kits but decided to let a dealer do it just incase it affected the warranty, cost him $200. Just thought I'd pass that on.

Thanks for the info. I think I'm fine with it out of the box. 

Can ya scrape the pegs yet?

[Tony C.]

Can ya scrape the pegs yet?

Haven't tried. I'm not really a peg scraper.

[Valkrocket]

Road Trip!

Congatrs Tony......She's a beauty.
Nice roads down here and 2-maidens is still running strong.