There’s a lot of hubbub around Honda’s new-for-2018 Gold Wing. It was redesigned, stem to stern, and has made an impact on the motorcycle touring world. As we learned in our first ride review in Texas, the new G-Wing is as smooth, stable, and friendly to use as any touring bike we’ve ever tested. The whole staff agrees, it’s a treat to ride.
In planning a multi-day, 1,100-mile road trip to really get to know the Gold Wing, it got us wondering what could face off against this touring titan. An American V-twin from Harley-Davidson or Indian might do the trick, or a big metric touring bike like Yamaha’s new Star Venture—they’re high-tech, sure, but conventional forks and lumbering twins don’t quite align with the G-Wing’s ethos. After some arguing and scoping website specs, we found just the machine.
A good way to see how much smaller the Gold Wing has gotten is to pose it next to acres of black BMW bodywork. Even still, the K1600 weighs 810 pounds—28 less than the Gold Wing’s 838 pounds.
Bike Nation 
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