First ride on our new F6B

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

The wife got a Thursday vacation day so we drove to the Portage Indiana area Wednesday after work, stayed at a motel and picked up the F6B Thursday.

I had a nice 183 mile ride home on her (the F6B, not Melody dammit). While there were still a few piles of snow to be seen the roads were ice free and temps were in the mid 40’s. Have to say, I’m really impressed with the bike in spite of it not having the classic motorcycle looks of the Valk.
 
The heated grips and electronic cruise control are both great. I got by with leather gloves and a thin liner with no problems. Heated pegs would have been nice though.   Brakes are still new and a little touchy but seem excellent and were smoother by the time I got home. When shutting off the CC by braking, deceleration can be abrupt due to engine braking when the throttle is chopped and the brakes being applied at once. It stays smooth if you feather the throttle instead of letting it drop on its own.
 
The handling & suspension seemed better than the Valk’s, but not hugely. Surprising though since I’ve got progressives at both ends of the Valk. The wind protection is superb with the optional vented screen I had the dealer install. I kept the shorty for warm weather. She’s an inch or two closer to the ground at the seat but I think she’ll still have enough cornering clearance to keep me smiling. Admittedly, I don’t ride as hard as I used to though. The roads were really snotty so I didn’t press it in this department. She turns in nicely without feeling like she’s falling into corners.

For 2016 the F6Bs had a freer exhaust and were bumped up to 118 HP and 123flbs of torque which was one of the main selling points for me. I had promised myself I would not trade down in performance and I don’t believe I did. First gear is lower than the Valk's, 5th is an overdrive which puts her at about 3000 RPMs at 70 MPH. There is an OD indicator but no indicators for the lower gears. The exhaust sounds good although way more subdued than my Mark T’s. I’ll miss that sound for sure when I sell the Valk.

This bike feels a little stronger at all speeds, but acceleration from 70 to 100 mph amazed me. I also noticed there is very little difference in feel as the speed climbs.

Valves are mechanical but don’t require checking/adjustment until 32,000 miles. They are the shim type though. I’ve never adjusted those but I assume it’s a PIA. Cams are chain driven so there is no cam belt to replace at 100,000 miles.

We’ll probably install Ultimate seats eventually but I will say the roominess of the OEM seat is amazing. In a third world country this bike would carry 9 people, two goats and a small flock of chickens, easy!!!

[shortleg]

   You should get an OD light on the dash when in 5th gear.[img ]http://[/img]

[Sorcerer]

I to had Progressive front and rear on my Valk. The night I picked up my F6B I made a hard left to get onto an freeway entrance ramp and promptly wiped my left foot off the peg and nearly under the saddle bag. Note to self: ouch. I picked up my F6B the first week of October of 2013. April 15 2014 I left Mn for a week of riding in NE AR. I had 2,000 on the bike when I got to AR. First day ride on Push Mountain RD I scraped up the right front crash bar. By the end of the week I had both left and right exhaust heat shields scraped up. The only thing I ever scraped on Push Mountain RD on the Valk was foot pegs. I’ve learned that when it’s fun time on the F6B I to move around on the seat. You’ll enjoy your new ride. Just a quick note, the rear shock is set at its lowest setting from the factory and needs to be set to the half way mark as your starting point to fine tune it to your liking. Enjoy.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

   You should get an OD light on the dash when in 5th gear.[img ]http://[/img]

I do.

[Wizzard]

The wife got a Thursday vacation day so we drove to the Portage Indiana area Wednesday after work, stayed at a motel and picked up the F6B Thursday.

I had a nice 183 mile ride home on her (the F6B, not Melody dammit). While there were still a few piles of snow to be seen the roads were ice free and temps were in the mid 40’s. Have to say, I’m really impressed with the bike in spite of it not having the classic motorcycle looks of the Valk.
 
The heated grips and electronic cruise control are both great. I got by with leather gloves and a thin liner with no problems. Heated pegs would have been nice though.   Brakes are still new and a little touchy but seem excellent and were smoother by the time I got home. When shutting off the CC by braking, deceleration can be abrupt due to engine braking when the throttle is chopped and the brakes being applied at once. It stays smooth if you feather the throttle instead of letting it drop on its own.
 
The handling & suspension seemed better than the Valk’s, but not hugely. Surprising though since I’ve got progressives at both ends of the Valk. The wind protection is superb with the optional vented screen I had the dealer install. I kept the shorty for warm weather. She’s an inch or two closer to the ground at the seat but I think she’ll still have enough cornering clearance to keep me smiling. Admittedly, I don’t ride as hard as I used to though. The roads were really snotty so I didn’t press it in this department. She turns in nicely without feeling like she’s falling into corners.

For 2016 the F6Bs had a freer exhaust and were bumped up to 118 HP and 123flbs of torque which was one of the main selling points for me. I had promised myself I would not trade down in performance and I don’t believe I did. First gear is lower than the Valk's, 5th is an overdrive which puts her at about 3000 RPMs at 70 MPH. There is an OD indicator but no indicators for the lower gears. The exhaust sounds good although way more subdued than my Mark T’s. I’ll miss that sound for sure when I sell the Valk.

This bike feels a little stronger at all speeds, but acceleration from 70 to 100 mph amazed me. I also noticed there is very little difference in feel as the speed climbs.

Valves are mechanical but don’t require checking/adjustment until 32,000 miles. They are the shim type though. I’ve never adjusted those but I assume it’s a PIA. Cams are chain driven so there is no cam belt to replace at 100,000 miles.

We’ll probably install Ultimate seats eventually but I will say the roominess of the OEM seat is amazing. In a third world country this bike would carry 9 people, two goats and a small flock of chickens, easy!!!

Wow,, you were only about a half hour from me. What dealer were you at? Or was this a private sale?
Should have let me know and I would have took you out to dinner. Glad you like the bike.
 

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

The wife got a Thursday vacation day so we drove to the Portage Indiana area Wednesday after work, stayed at a motel and picked up the F6B Thursday.

I had a nice 183 mile ride home on her (the F6B, not Melody dammit). While there were still a few piles of snow to be seen the roads were ice free and temps were in the mid 40’s. Have to say, I’m really impressed with the bike in spite of it not having the classic motorcycle looks of the Valk.
 
The heated grips and electronic cruise control are both great. I got by with leather gloves and a thin liner with no problems. Heated pegs would have been nice though.   Brakes are still new and a little touchy but seem excellent and were smoother by the time I got home. When shutting off the CC by braking, deceleration can be abrupt due to engine braking when the throttle is chopped and the brakes being applied at once. It stays smooth if you feather the throttle instead of letting it drop on its own.
 
The handling & suspension seemed better than the Valk’s, but not hugely. Surprising though since I’ve got progressives at both ends of the Valk. The wind protection is superb with the optional vented screen I had the dealer install. I kept the shorty for warm weather. She’s an inch or two closer to the ground at the seat but I think she’ll still have enough cornering clearance to keep me smiling. Admittedly, I don’t ride as hard as I used to though. The roads were really snotty so I didn’t press it in this department. She turns in nicely without feeling like she’s falling into corners.

For 2016 the F6Bs had a freer exhaust and were bumped up to 118 HP and 123flbs of torque which was one of the main selling points for me. I had promised myself I would not trade down in performance and I don’t believe I did. First gear is lower than the Valk's, 5th is an overdrive which puts her at about 3000 RPMs at 70 MPH. There is an OD indicator but no indicators for the lower gears. The exhaust sounds good although way more subdued than my Mark T’s. I’ll miss that sound for sure when I sell the Valk.

This bike feels a little stronger at all speeds, but acceleration from 70 to 100 mph amazed me. I also noticed there is very little difference in feel as the speed climbs.

Valves are mechanical but don’t require checking/adjustment until 32,000 miles. They are the shim type though. I’ve never adjusted those but I assume it’s a PIA. Cams are chain driven so there is no cam belt to replace at 100,000 miles.

We’ll probably install Ultimate seats eventually but I will say the roominess of the OEM seat is amazing. In a third world country this bike would carry 9 people, two goats and a small flock of chickens, easy!!!

Wow,, you were only about a half hour from me. What dealer were you at? Or was this a private sale?
Should have let me know and I would have took you out to dinner. Glad you like the bike.
 

This is the dealer and the add for the bike we bought. The owners seem to be good people and I got them to meet a price I found in Texas on the same bike. https://thomaspowersports.com/Motorcycles-Honda-Gold-Wing-F6B-Deluxe-2016-Valparaiso-IN-74142169-163f-4453-a92f-a74a014e76ab
 
Wish we'd had some spare time while there, would have been great to break bread with you.

Mel didn't know for sure she could get off work Thursday off until just before she left work Wednesday. A co-workers daughter is having medical problems and one of them always has to be at the plant. Since I'm the lone electrician/mechanic at my plant I didn't know for sure about Thursday myself until I left work Wednesday with nothing critical broken in the plant.

By the time we got off work, cleaned up, packed and checked in at the motel it was around 10PM Wednesday night. We let the weather warm up till 10AM the next morning, did the paperwork and got home just before dark Thursday night. Then Mel was back up at 4AM to head to work this morning. Doing stuff through the week can be tough sometimes. I thought I'd be less busy when I semi-retired but that hasn't really happened.