A Sneak Peek Into The 2018 The Honda Gold Wing

Two weeks ago Honda Motorcycles released a teaser suggesting the 2018 Gold Wing’s unveil on October 24. However, leaked press shots have revealed some details of the bike a month earlier. The pictures suggest some noteworthy upgrades.
It seems that Honda has decided to continue to carry over its flat-six 1832cc engine from the previous version. The earlier motor delivered 120PS of power and  167Nm of torque. We expect revisions to the new motor and more performance to keep up with the competition.

The 2018 Gold Wing ditches telescopic forks and has moved on to a new chassis, adopting a duo-lever suspension system similar to the BMW K1600GTL. We can expect the semi-active suspension system that Honda has been experimenting with for the Gold Wing. The new system is expected to make the bike a lot lighter and offer a smoother ride.

It looks like there will be a sportier F6B variant, going by the grey bike in the pictures. These images show the grey bike without a clutch or a gear lever, but the red bike has both, suggesting that an optional automatic version will be available along with the standard one, which could be the older one’s five-speed manual or a new six-speed box. The new automatic could be a revised DCT unit like the one on the CRF 1000L Africa Twin. We hope the new one carries over the reverse gear as well.

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Appearance-wise, the gargantuan motorcycle doesn’t look bulky. The new Gold Wing’s bodywork looks sleek and futuristic. It also sports a huge LED headlamp assembly and new fairing.

The Gold Wing is known for its state of the art tech features and a look at the console in the leaked images reaffirms the same.The dashboard is huge and is mostly digital (could also be a touchscreen) with two analogue dials on each of its sides. There are several switches on the handlebars and a rotary jog dial inside a control unit above the tank.

Considering that Honda already sells the older Gold Wing in India, it would be a fair assumption to expect the new one in our markets too, probably by late 2018 to early 2019. Expect Honda’s flagship tourer to cost more than the older version (which currently costs around Rs 30 lakhs at ex-showrooms).
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