The Updated Gold Wing Completes Honda’s 2021 EU Lineup

(UPDATE: the 2021 Honda Gold Wing has been launched in India. For availability, pricing and other details, read the main story here.)

In the world of mahoosive touring bikes, very few can match the legacy of the Honda GL1800 Gold Wing. This mammoth of a motorcycle has been awe-inspiring since 1974, with the fifth-generation upping the ante in 2018. For 2021, the Gold Wing receives minor updates as well as a Harley-Davidson CVO-rivalling variant, blandly named ‘Tour.’

Honda hasn’t fiddled around with the Gold Wing formula much. What the 2021 bike receives is a new set of speakers that are lighter and produce a crisper sound when you are blasting down the highway. It also gets a new sinister-looking grey colour with subtle contrasting elements.

Also Read: Here Are All The Honda Two-wheelers Coming In 2021

On the Tour, you get the same new speakers as well as better pillion ergonomics. The large backrest comes replete with cushioned armrests for almost a couch-like experience. Plus, you get extra luggage space thanks to the integrated top-box. It also gets new colours with blacked-out mechanicals.

What remains constant is the feature set on the Gold Wing. The tourer continues to get a 7-inch colour TFT dash with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functionality built into the system. To connect to the dash though, you need a USB Type-C cable. LED lighting panels all around was a given with self-cancelling turn indicators coming in as standard.

No changes have been made to the 1,833cc flat-six engine either, aside from the mandatory emission updates. 126.44PS and 170Nm are respectably high figures for a touring motorcycle. One can opt for a six-speed manual or a seven-speed DCT on the Gold Wing. Electronic rider aids include ride-by-wire, traction control, hill start assist, and idle stop-start (on the DCT model).

A diecast aluminium twin-spar frame is suspended by a front double wishbone suspension and single-sided swingarm. Its 320mm front rotors are anchored by six-piston floating calipers with a similarly large disc and a three-piston caliper on the rear wheel.

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In BS4 times, the Gold Wing was brought to India in its DCT avatar at Rs 26.85 lakh (ex-showroom). Considering the updates are minimal, the price hike could be around just a lakh more. We guess it will continue to arrive only with the DCT option but what remains to be seen is whether we will get the Tour variant as well.