Goldwing replaces the ST1300??

I vaciliate wildly between keeping my ST and adding cruise, to getting an 07 Wing with an airbag for $10,000+-, or getting a leftover new one in a year or two for $25,000+-. My hesitation arises from the way I ride. I trailer to group rides. I have a minivan I can sleep in, and an older motorhome I could take if I wanted. I have a Versys 300 that is perfect for day rides once I'm at the ride. It is easy to take on and off my Rampfree trailer. Locally, we never ride more than 5-6 hours and don't generally ride on the interstate. I've lovingly modified the ST by lowering it with a Works shock and a front suspension rebuild. I have a heated RDL seat, helibars, Clearview windshield and MCL foot pegs. It has 50,000 miles on it. For some reason I WANT a Wing (partially because of the airbag), but I doubt it really suits the way I ride. I will have a full season with the Versys with a Russell Sport seat this summer. I'm guessing it will be my go to. If there is an interstate long distance ride someplace the ST will suffice, especially with cruise. And Dianese is coming out with a new D-Air.

Damn logic.
 
Logically you don't need a GW.
Your Versys and ST seem to fit the bill really well.
However, emotionally it seems that the GW is the cat's meow for you.
As you post...Damn logic.
You only live once, if the GW is in your budget-go for it.
Let us know how you like the little Versys with the Russell Sport seat.
 
The Russell Sport isn't quite as comfortable as a regular RDL, but it is very close. With Moto-Skeevies, it is the same as the RDL. I think it will work well for me.
 
jspringator said:
I vaciliate wildly between keeping my ST and adding cruise, to getting an 07 Wing with an airbag for $10,000+-, or getting a leftover new one in a year or two for $25,000+-. My hesitation arises from the way I ride. I trailer to group rides. I have a minivan I can sleep in, and an older motorhome I could take if I wanted. I have a Versys 300 that is perfect for day rides once I'm at the ride. It is easy to take on and off my Rampfree trailer. Locally, we never ride more than 5-6 hours and don't generally ride on the interstate. I've lovingly modified the ST by lowering it with a Works shock and a front suspension rebuild. I have a heated RDL seat, helibars, Clearview windshield and MCL foot pegs. It has 50,000 miles on it. For some reason I WANT a Wing (partially because of the airbag), but I doubt it really suits the way I ride. I will have a full season with the Versys with a Russell Sport seat this summer. I'm guessing it will be my go to. If there is an interstate long distance ride someplace the ST will suffice, especially with cruise. And Dianese is coming out with a new D-Air.

Damn logic.
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Coming off a ST1300 onto an older Wing (or new one) it's amazing........ I said where does the weight disappear to? Though the Wing easily weighs 250 lbs more than the ST the combination of a lower seat height and snake's belly low center of gravity make it easier to handle paddle around and maneuver at slow speeds. It even comes up on the centerstand without issue. And it isn't a cumbersome behemoth when moving either and shares the light neutral steering that STs have. It loves to roll into a corner. A demo ride on the 2018 got me thinking about a Wing when it wasn't even on my radar screen prior. I think most of us don't really need a motorcycle at all, it's a luxury toy, a plaything for me. Discard the rational and try one for the heck of it.
 
You could sense I don’t need much of a push! That is why I want to try a Wing. Although I will say the ST is a lot easier to handle since I’ve lowered it front and rear. The prices of the older generation airbag models are hovering in the 9 to 10 thousand dollar range. Not bad for what you get, but still incredibly low depreciation for a 12 year year old motorcycle. Lets see where they are this summer. If the little Versys does everything, I may not want it. I better hold off on the McCruise!
 
dduelin said:
Discard the rational and try one for the heck of it.
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Words to live by! And I wish I could. NObody around here wants to let anybody try one. They all talk about liability. More than that I don't think they want to have a demo bike as that's one less 'new' bike they can sell. For better or worse I just have room for the ST and couldn't shoehorn an ST1800 in it's place. My 'Wing buddy and I went to the Long Beach show when the GL1800 was introduced and both love everything about the bike though he's not keen on the DCT.
 
ibike2havefun said:
When I retire (760 days from today, not that I am counting or anything) I'll be considering swapping my ST1300 for a 2019 or 2020 model Goldwing Tour that someone else bought and failed to bond with, or that somehow got left on the dealer's floor (though I doubt there will be many of those). Until then, though, it doesn't replace my ST.
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I would not worry about them not having many on the floor. Several dealers have 2018's and 4 to 5 Thousand dollars discounts off MSRP! If the state of the motorcycle world doesn't improve expect this trend to keep going.
 
ST Gui said:
Words to live by! And I wish I could. NObody around here wants to let anybody try one. They all talk about liability. More than that I don't think they want to have a demo bike as that's one less 'new' bike they can sell. For better or worse I just have room for the ST and couldn't shoehorn an ST1800 in it's place. My 'Wing buddy and I went to the Long Beach show when the GL1800 was introduced and both love everything about the bike though he's not keen on the DCT.
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When I was getting my ST1100 serviced at the dealer they practically "begged" me to ride those Goldwing demo's they had. 2 salesmen and the salesmanger keep pestering me. I finally said ok what the heck. Took a copy of my license and insurance signed their liability waver and I was gone.
 
Gug said:
I had an ST1300 for 14 years. A friend of mine once asked me if I was ever going to buy another bike, I told him maybe, when another bike comes out that is better. Last year I had just shy of 130K on the ST and in Oct. 17' Honda did the unveiling of the new GW. Then in Feb they brought over 50 of them to Austin, TX and MC Journalists from around the world showed up, rode and started reviews in journals and video. I pretty much read and watched every one of them to get others perspectives of this new MC. At this point I decided I was going to buy this new GW, but which one?
...
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Thanks for that great review. If I may ask, what was the overriding reason for choosing the manual trans instead of the DCT?
 
red one said:
When I was getting my ST1100 serviced at the dealer they practically "begged" me to ride those Goldwing demo's they had. 2 salesmen and the salesmanger keep pestering me. I finally said ok what the heck. Took a copy of my license and insurance signed their liability waver and I was gone.
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They will come looking for you one day. ;)
 
ddemair said:
Thanks for that great review. If I may ask, what was the overriding reason for choosing the manual trans instead of the DCT?

If you are truly interested in the Goldwing, just take one for a ride and develop your own opinion. That's the best advice I can give you.
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ibike2havefun said:
When I retire (760 days from today, not that I am counting or anything) I'll be considering swapping my ST1300 for a 2019 or 2020 model Goldwing Tour that someone else bought and failed to bond with, or that somehow got left on the dealer's floor (though I doubt there will be many of those). Until then, though, it doesn't replace my ST.
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There are plenty of 18' Gold Wings out there to be had for great prices. Check Cycle Trader.
 
red one said:
Several dealers have 2018's and 4 to 5 Thousand dollars discounts off MSRP! If the state of the motorcycle world doesn't improve expect this trend to keep going.
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Gug said:
There are plenty of 18' Gold Wings out there to be had for great prices.
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I never buy the first model year of a new or heavily redesigned vehicle. I prefer to let the pioneers find all the problems, and give the manufacturer time to fix them.

Honda autos go through a four year cycle. Year 1 is the basic design and its various trim lines. Year 2 is tweaks and fixes. Year 4 introduces new bells and whistles. Year 4 is much the same as year 3, plus the Limited or SE edition.

They have Civic and Accord models on alternating cycles: Year 1 of one is Year 3 of the other. Not sure whether they do that in their bike manufacturing division.

But it'll be a 2019 or 2020 Wing for me, if any.
 
Saw an 08 Airbag model on Cycle Trader today with 6,000 miles for $9,500 asking. Only ridden by a little old man to the bar.....
 
Gug said:
If you are truly interested in the Goldwing, just take one for a ride and develop your own opinion. That's the best advice I can give you.
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I am very interested, but it may be a year or 2 before I can swing it. I've heard a lot of great things about the automatic, but I'm perfectly comfortable with a clutch because that's all I've ever used. I'm not sure a test ride would be long enough to convince me to give up the level of control that I'm accustomed to so it's not going to be an easy decision for me.

A possible criteria could be that the 6 speed manual is cheaper.
 
I did a group ride in PA. back in '17 and one of the guys ( and his wife ) in our group was invited to ride the " new " Goldwing, his impression of the new wing was mostly positive. another guy in our group was a honda rep, he showed up on the new wing, he rode over from NY. so he had a few miles under his belt. he lit up when he saw the Mighty ST 1300 I was riding and said " the new wing is nice but it isn't an ST1300 " and he said he was looking to get another ST 1300. as for me I think my 1500 wing will be my last wing cause I don't want another 800+ pound bike
 
I'm thinking DCT simply because it appears that manually-shifted bikes are going the way of manual transmissions in cars. It may be marginally easier to re-sell a DCT bike when I'm done with it.

Based on what some of the members here who have DCT bikes have said, you don't give up much and you still get plenty of Yee-Haw! in Sport mode.
 
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