He traded in his 2005 Anniversary 'Wing for a 2022 Metallic Black GoldWing Tour. I couldn't talk him into a DCT. Buying one was a bit of an adventure. He wanted a White 'Wing but that wasn't an option. He called all over trying to find a Wing but all anybody had were DCTs and they were all spoken for. He found on in FL but while he was talking to the shop owner he was told "Oops sorry it was just sold.
There were three shops locally where he had some history with the owners so he focused on them. On Monday 26 DEC he called all three shops trying to find a 'Wing. All three said "The truck just left — we got three". Of those nine eight were DCT and all spoken for. The one manual was the black metallic in Hollister CA. He put a deposit on it and figured that's the best he's going to do. He other option was Blue but apparently that meant getting an airbag and he didn't want to pay for that.
So off to Hollister to pick the bike up. While he was there he saw a brand new 2021 manual shift in Red. He was about to ask but the owner said "Sold". It went to the owner of the same bike but DCT equipped. That guy is keeping the two bikes. He likes the DCT but he likes to shift too. Go figure.
All three shops said the chip shortage is affecting the quantity of bikes in general. Another fun fact – to of them told hem that 75% of the 'Wings coming in are DCT. And all of the shops said they can't keep a 'Wing on the floor. They all have waiting lists and everyone gets scooped up as soon as they come in. No more days of a 'Wing sitting on the floor for a few weeks.
So I went to his place today (Friday actually) to check it out. It.Is.Gorgeous. LOVE the Black Metallic which looks a little gray it bright light. Lots of the bike is matte black though and it's a nice contrast.
There are some neat features and some of them are new for 2021 and 2022 I believe. Feel free to dot my is and ts. One of my favorite features is both meter needles got to full swing on IGN. Very cool. It has a for-real Flash to Pass lever. VERY nice.
The LED headlights are quite trick. The low beams are always in with IGN. Selecting high beams adds light from a row of LEDs under the low beams.
Starting the bike is also very cool. The RUN/STOP switch is spring loaded to maintain an OFF position. Tapping it to Start fires the bike up instantly. It's as though it started in less than a revolution of the crank. It sounded instant. The idle didn't sound particularly fast but it was rock steady. It sounded like a car idle. It reminded me of my 750-4. Instant start (but I did have to apply some choke and remove it once the bike was warm).
I thought the first of the new 'Wings had a "fool proof" RUN/STOP switch in that the STOP position was spring loaded and it always returned to the RUN position so that you never made that embarrassing Won't Start post. Am I miss-remembering? This 2022 didn't have that.
The gas cap is under a panel on the tank similar I think to that of the ST1100. But to open that panel you have to open a panel on the STBD side of the bike then press a button to open the cover. It's not a push open/push close deal.
To open the saddle bags there's a small button on the bag that opens it. But according to him there is no actual locking of the bags. Just push the button and you're in. Can any 2022 or other Wing owners verify this? That seems really odd.
It has an electric windshield just like our STs. Well some of our STs. It stows when powered off and returns to last position under IGN.
The keyless starting fob can be locked out with a turn of a knob when desired. No worries of popping into the shops and someone rides off with it.
There's an optional tail light/brake light that spans the lowers back of the trunk bridging the tail lights. I'm hoping he gets it 'cuz it looks sharp.
He said it's not only the smoothest riding bike he's every ridden but that it's also an incredibly smooth bike. My suggestion to buy all white body parts was taken very seriously.
(I don't know there are white body parts for it). He's ok with the color and he really loves the bike.
If I had room for one I'd own one. A big bike but I'd be OK with that even if I had to work on my quads. And that would be for the cool meter needle startup. Everything else would be icing.
There were three shops locally where he had some history with the owners so he focused on them. On Monday 26 DEC he called all three shops trying to find a 'Wing. All three said "The truck just left — we got three". Of those nine eight were DCT and all spoken for. The one manual was the black metallic in Hollister CA. He put a deposit on it and figured that's the best he's going to do. He other option was Blue but apparently that meant getting an airbag and he didn't want to pay for that.
So off to Hollister to pick the bike up. While he was there he saw a brand new 2021 manual shift in Red. He was about to ask but the owner said "Sold". It went to the owner of the same bike but DCT equipped. That guy is keeping the two bikes. He likes the DCT but he likes to shift too. Go figure.
All three shops said the chip shortage is affecting the quantity of bikes in general. Another fun fact – to of them told hem that 75% of the 'Wings coming in are DCT. And all of the shops said they can't keep a 'Wing on the floor. They all have waiting lists and everyone gets scooped up as soon as they come in. No more days of a 'Wing sitting on the floor for a few weeks.
So I went to his place today (Friday actually) to check it out. It.Is.Gorgeous. LOVE the Black Metallic which looks a little gray it bright light. Lots of the bike is matte black though and it's a nice contrast.
There are some neat features and some of them are new for 2021 and 2022 I believe. Feel free to dot my is and ts. One of my favorite features is both meter needles got to full swing on IGN. Very cool. It has a for-real Flash to Pass lever. VERY nice.
The LED headlights are quite trick. The low beams are always in with IGN. Selecting high beams adds light from a row of LEDs under the low beams.
Starting the bike is also very cool. The RUN/STOP switch is spring loaded to maintain an OFF position. Tapping it to Start fires the bike up instantly. It's as though it started in less than a revolution of the crank. It sounded instant. The idle didn't sound particularly fast but it was rock steady. It sounded like a car idle. It reminded me of my 750-4. Instant start (but I did have to apply some choke and remove it once the bike was warm).
I thought the first of the new 'Wings had a "fool proof" RUN/STOP switch in that the STOP position was spring loaded and it always returned to the RUN position so that you never made that embarrassing Won't Start post. Am I miss-remembering? This 2022 didn't have that.
The gas cap is under a panel on the tank similar I think to that of the ST1100. But to open that panel you have to open a panel on the STBD side of the bike then press a button to open the cover. It's not a push open/push close deal.
To open the saddle bags there's a small button on the bag that opens it. But according to him there is no actual locking of the bags. Just push the button and you're in. Can any 2022 or other Wing owners verify this? That seems really odd.
It has an electric windshield just like our STs. Well some of our STs. It stows when powered off and returns to last position under IGN.
The keyless starting fob can be locked out with a turn of a knob when desired. No worries of popping into the shops and someone rides off with it.
There's an optional tail light/brake light that spans the lowers back of the trunk bridging the tail lights. I'm hoping he gets it 'cuz it looks sharp.
He said it's not only the smoothest riding bike he's every ridden but that it's also an incredibly smooth bike. My suggestion to buy all white body parts was taken very seriously.
(I don't know there are white body parts for it). He's ok with the color and he really loves the bike.If I had room for one I'd own one. A big bike but I'd be OK with that even if I had to work on my quads. And that would be for the cool meter needle startup. Everything else would be icing.
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