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The second day provided us clear skies, but we had stiff cross winds and 40-degree temps in the morning, which allowed us an opportunity to test the heated seats and grips. The Texas roads we were on were super slick since it never rained hard enough to clean them off. Our ride started out in the cold and wet, with a constant mist/light rain that seemed to follow us most of the first day. These two gentlemen, (Large Project leader - Yutaka Nakanishi (right) and Sub Large Project Leader Kazuho Nakai (left), were extremely friendly and very knowledgeable about all aspects of the bike. They also held a technical briefing and allowed us to speak directly with the development team leaders from Japan who are responsible for the Gold Wing design team and ask them questions.

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Honda invited my wife and I to attend the Gold Wing press launch event held in Austin Texas, and allowed us to ride the new bike through the Texas Hill Country for two full days. This review will be based on my knowledge and experience on the older generation bike and how it compares to the new one. Having owned three of them, I have around a quarter million miles on the previous generation Gold Wing, and my wife probably has about half of that as a passenger. It will not be possible to cover all of them in this article, because it would end up being a book if I tried, but I’ll do my best to hit all the high points.

The amount of changes made to this new model are massive, both in terms of mechanicals, and the electronics. Since the Gold Wing is their flagship motorcycle, they spent nearly 4 years redesigning it, filed for over 90 new patents, and produced over 100 different prototypes for the new front suspension alone before they were finished. Obviously, some compromises would have to be made. Making a bike that can appeal to both these groups is no small task, and is a bit of a balancing act.

Their goal in the redesign effort was challenging as they needed to not only capture the interest of new buyers, but also needed to offer something that would appeal to current Gold Wing owners. Honda has seen a decline in sales in recent years of the bike and it was evident that this was partly because of the age of the design. The current version of the Honda Gold Wing was first released in late 2000, so after nearly 18 years it was long overdue for a total makeover. Photography by Kevin Wing 2018 Honda Gold Wing Bike We want to give a big thanks to Fred for working so hard to provide our Wing community with a wealth of information and for allowing us to share his review on WingStuff!

At the conclusion of his review there is also a video of Fred riding the new Wing, offering his insights and a second video where he packs the 2018 Wing with all the normal gear he and his wife normally take with them on a trip. The following is his in-depth review of his experience riding the new 2018 Gold Wing. Our good friend, Fred Harmon, was invited to Austin, Texas to take part in the Gold Wing press event last week.

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