I was in the same boat as you about a year ago whenI started my reserch into my next ride. I bought the EGC and I do no live in an isolated area such as you do. First, I road tested several of each and in the Harley line up I rode the 01 GW, an 08 GW a couple of EGC and a Street glide. Second, I am 5'11" and 180# with a 32 inseam. I could no get comfortable on the GW. Dam pancake cylenders were always over my toes and I hated it.Three, The wife did not like the GW as she thought that it looked like a space ship. Now I have a Harley dealer and a Honda dealer both with in three miles of the house. Look at it this way, from what you said you are out in the middle of Nevada or something. Air filters on the Honda are a 3 hr job. Service is very costly and the HD is much simpler to work on. Hydrolic lifter and such. simple maitaince is a snap. Four, There is a very good envolpe of protection on the GW with out much air getting to the rider. ARE you sure you want to ride in the desert with no air flow you your body? Just a thought. Oh and don't forge t resale..........

 

If you have to ask others whether you want a gaywing or an Ultra, you probably better stick to the honda.......


nogood o~`o

 

best bike, is pretty darn subjective.... if all your friends ride brand X, and you want to fit in.... buy brand X.... but if you want the "best" you'll have to be more specific.... BMW's are with out a doubt very fine motorcycles.... but will they meet your needs? Same thing with a wing, or an ultra... or a rg...

I bought the rg used, because it would cost me the same as a new nomad...and it only needed a cb to be a complete long distance tourer.... A nice "normal" summers day ride for me is 500 miles... and THAT was riding a honda spirit 1100.... I'm guessing by summer's end, my "day trips" will exceed 800 miles. I average 20,000 miles a year.
in my first 2 months with the rg (January, and Febuary) I rode over 2500 miles, and it's been wet and cold.

Sit on as many bikes as you can... learn what features come with the bike.... what add-ons you'll want, and their costs... then buy what YOU want.... if your friends on brand X or brand Y don't want to ride with you because of your choice?? a) they're not your friends, b) they ain't REAL motorcyclists... there's mu 2cents... spend it well...
peace
Frank

 

I have owned both including a Valk I/S. The flat six engine is by far the best most durable and dependable engine ever put in a motorcycle. When I was able to put 30K plus miles a year on a motorcycle that is what I rode but I had to cut back my riding to 12k or so a year. Since doing so the Ultra fits be better. I like the looks more and the ergonomics of the Ultra. I know it wont last as long or be as dependable as the GW though. You can get a comparable equipped Ultra cheaper also but the cost of upkeep will be more. So it is a trade off.I would let the styling and the number of miles you ride determine the choice. JMTCW

 

Like you said, it was a stupid question. This is called HDForum. What a surprise that its 52 for Ultra and 7 GW.

 

1. A couple of mentions on this already, but look closely at driver seating on the GW. There's not a lot of room, no floorboards, the cylinders in your way. That was a dealbreaker for me.

2. Look at GW's cargo space. There's a reason you see so many GWs pulling trailers. I don't know how you build a bike this big and come out with this little usable trunk and bag space.

 

Im not trying to bash the Goldwing but it looks like a big scooter to me.Too plastic space age looking.

 

The Goldwing is a great bike. Although I haven't ridden one since I owned a 1977 I am sure they are fine.

I have a road glide now and just finished a 1400 mile 3.5 day fly and ride in Las Vegas where I rented an Ultra Classic. I think I can give you a pretty good and less biased review. I like my Road Glide better.

However, I thought the ultra was a very capable mount. Good wind protection (not as good as my Glide with lowers) great luggage, stereo and controls. Good seating postion (my road glide is roomier). and ran flawlessly. As far as speed is concerned I have to disagree with many here. With the new motor and 6 speed 80-85mph is a piece of cake. Bike running around 3000-3200 rpm and is barely working. Incredibly smooth too despite what you might think, rubber mountingworks great and I never considered vibration a problem at all.

However, the real wild card is the HD dealer network. If you plan on travelling is is a benefit Honda cannot match.

John

 

Okay....ah'm gonna try an' be objective here - but it ain't gonna be easy for reason(s) that'll be obvious.

Ah've owned 4 Wings, clockin' purty close ta 200k on 'em since '96. Mah '07 UC has 'bout 14k on it right now - so ah figger ah kin give ya a purty objective review of things. The #1 thing to remember is that for me I figure that the biggest challenge is safety of the machine - I'm already out there with a target on my back, so I don't want the bike to add any more than it has to!<G>

The GL1800 has (as mentioned) a 2.5-3 hour access cycle to get to the air filter. During this evolution, you remove the CC module AND the ECM - plus a ton of wirin' harness. If you fail to properly reconnect 'em, you'll find out after it's back together.....and be taking it apart again. During that process, you gaze in amazement as you discover that rather than use the same style/size of fastener, for some reason the designers used 4 or 5 DIFFERENT ones - and it's up to YOU to figure out how ta remember what went where!

Have you ever seen a modern engine without a fuel filter? Apparently Honda has massive faith in the fuel companies around the world - because the GL1800 has no gas filter!! Sure, it's got the sock on the pickup tube...but that's not small enough to preclude damage to the engine. Oh....and if you DO damage the engine because of Honda's decision not to provide for filtration....it is NOT covered by ANY warranty. That is a fact - stupid as it sounds. There were 2 folks on another forum that discovered that li'l factoid the hard way.

The 1500 had some interesting and well thought-out substructures/braces. The GL1800 relies on a host of plastic push-pins, t-clips, etc. to hold plastic to plastic...with the expected breakages of various components - also not covered by warranty. I never broke a single component on either of the 1500's I owned during assembly or tear-down - but broke 3 or 4 on the 1800, and I'm a pretty careful and "take your time" kinda guy, so it wasn't because I tried to force or rush something - and I know many others that had it even worse.

Okay...now that's just a couple of the little problems - I mean, thousand-dollar plastics that break tabs are just an inconvenience, as are replacing engines.....compared to the freakin' frame breaking. Yeah...breaking. There is no known accurate statistical data outside of a very close-lipped Honda Corporation regarding the frame failing and breaking. We know it's happened, because several folks have actively pursued the reports in a number of different forums and compiled it back through a single source, who's collated it and is working hard w/the Feds to force a recall on the entire GL1800 line, because the metallurgy itself (in a number of minds) is of issue. Honda has told the US Safety agencies (in writing) that a broken frame is not a safety issue. Sorry, dude - but in my mind, it is - big time. THAT is what finally drove me away from Honda - and why I no longer trust them. At one time, Honda had the corporate mindset that if there was ONE of their products on the road, you could get parts for it. No longer. At one time, Honda stood behind their product and design. I don't think THAT is true any longer, either - because how in the blazes can you stand there with a straight face and deny warranty on engine damage caused by contaminated fuel that a fuel filter would have prevented, KNOWING that you opted not to design one into the machine?!??

Oh - the breaks I'm describing are NOT the weld failures seen in a few of the manufacturing years, when some genius at the factory decided to modify the weld procedure without the proper engineering review.

 

PLEASE!!!!! What kind of poll results do you think you are going to get here[sm=WTFsgign.gif]