e l y t S FIRST RIDE
2013 HONDA GOLD WING F6B
A WING WITH
The all-new Honda Gold Wing F6B in action in La Jolla, California.
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THE NEW HONDA F6B IS NOT YOUR DADDY’S GOLD WING
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2013 HONDA GOLD WING F6B BY PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN WING
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hink of the new Gold Wing F6B this way: It’s almost like a makeover on grandpa. You dye his gray hair black, you take him to the gym every day to get him back in shape, and then you take him on a shopping spree to Urban Outfitters. It’s the grandpa you’ve loved for all the right reasons for what’s on the inside, but now he’s extremely hip on the outside. He’s Grandpa F6B. That’s basically what Honda has done in creating the new, made-for-Gen X Gold Wing F6B. They’ve taken the tried, tested and much-loved Gold Wing and they’ve given it a fresh look. They’ve spruced it up, they’ve modernized it… and they’ve added a coolness factor that could very well turn younger cruiser lovers into younger Gold Wing owners. It’s a touring bike, it’s a bagger, it’s a performance cruiser. It’s one hell of a motorcycle. Although the looks say otherwise, the F6B is still a Gold Wing. And that’s a good thing. After all, there’s plenty of reasons why Honda has sold 550,000 Gold Wings since first introducing the ultimate touring motorcycle back in 1975. As Honda’s flagship motorcycle, the Gold Wings are the real deal. But the F6B was designed with a new rider in mind. If the thought of a Gold Wing screams your typical Gold Wing Riders
The F6B is completely redesigned in appearance, but it’s still built on the successful Gold Wing platform. It weighs 62 pounds less than the GL 1800.
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Association (of which there are 72,000-some members) member, the F6B likely won’t. It’s the Gold Wing for the non-vest wearers and it likely won’t appear in a Wing Ding Parade anytime soon.
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This one is definitely different and it’s like none of the 550,000 sold before it. For starters, it’s lower, sleeker and lighter. And the big trunk on the back and the big windscreen
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1. The dash gives you all the info you need. 2. The side bags offer over 150 liters of storage space. 3. A 45mm fork and 296mm front disc brakes reside up front. 4. There’s more storage on the tank. 5. The F6B gets the horizontally opposed Honda six.
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up front are nowhere to be found. Not on this one. The F6B is all hipped up and blacked out – wheels, frame, engine – with a gunfighter seat and a stubby windshield. It’s much more bag-
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ger than Gold Wing. In fact, it may just be the ultimate touring cruiser. Honda invited journalists to La Jolla in Southern California last week to sample the bike for the
first time and we were greeted with near-spring-like conditions as weather the Chamber of Commerce would be proud of moved into the area for our ride. Our one-day jaunt took us south from the starting point at La Jolla’s Mt. Soledad on a 150-mile tour of East San Diego, from El Cajon to Jamul to Pine Valley and back. We put the Wing through the wringers on every sort of road known to man – from Interstate 8 to the twisty back roads and the city streets of the communities east of San Diego. And along the way we found out that there’s really not a whole lot not to like about the F6B. If you were going to design a brand-new touring motorcycle, starting with a Gold Wing would be the perfect scenario. And Honda was able to do just that. Anyone who has ridden a Wing knows that they work and work well, so start with a Wing and spruce it up and you should have a winner. That was Honda’s take on it and it’s worked. It may be different to look at, but the new F6B is pure Gold Wing on the inside. It’s still powered by Honda’s iconic horizontally opposed six-cylinder 1832cc engine, it still features the twin-spar
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2013 HONDA GOLD WING F6B
The F6B likes the twisties.
aluminum frame and suspension system that makes the bike perform unlike any 842 pound motorcycle should perform. In other words, it has all the Gold Wing goodies. Now it just looks a hell of a lot better. And it’s lighter. Much lighter. Try 62 pounds lighter. But we can hear you snickering and we know what you’re thinking: Taking 62 pounds off a Gold Wing is like taking eight ounces off a fat man. But it makes a big difference. Especially if you re-arrange the weight a little bit and put it in the right places – like down low. This Wing definitely has a lower center of gravity than its predecessors.
And you can feel the difference. It’s got an almost nimble feeling about it. Again, the snickers. Yes, a Gold Wing can feel nimble. How’s this for example: One of the things that blew us away when we were hammering through the twisties on the F6B was that we found ourselves turning in too much – and almost running across the double yellow line or the inside of the corner – on a motorcycle with a wheelbase of 66.5 inches. Since the Gold Wing was reinvented in 2001 with more sportbike-like handling and power, it’s been a motorcycle that made you scratch your head after riding it.
That hasn’t changed. It’s still hard to believe how sporty a motorcycle of this size can actually be and you’ve all heard the stories of Gold Wingers running down and passing sportbikes in the twisties. Well make no mistake about it: The F6B will continue that tradition of dishing out sportbike ass whuppins.’ The basis of the F6B’s handling characteristics is its twin-spar aluminum frame, 45mm front fork with its anti-dive system and 4.8 inches of travel, the single-sided aluminum swingarm, and a ProLink rear suspension (with a new shock dialed in specifically for the F6B and with 4.1 inches of travel).
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Where’s the trunk? The F6B is the first Gold Wing without the big truck on the back.
The rear shock also has a dial-type remote adjuster that makes changing the settings quick and easy. Stopping a motorcycle of this size takes good brakes and the Honda has those – and they’re linked. The F6B, like the GL1800, gets dual front 260mm rotors and threepiston calipers and a rear 316mm disc. The system works. On most massive motorcycles, you find yourself squeezing the front brake as hard as you can while stomping on the rear brake just to try and get it stopped. Not so on the F6B. You ride it like a sportbike and that’s how it performs. As for power, the Gold Wing has gobs of it. The ultra-smooth six-cylinder engine is without peer. Rolling along at 65 mph in overdrive (fifth gear), it’s almost like the F6B doesn’t even have a pulse as it barely pushes 3000 rpm. Give it some stick and it comes to life. In a hurry, taking your breath away with acceleration that shouldn’t be the norm on a motorcycle nearing 850 pounds. Like the GL, the newest Gold Wing is fuel-injected (two 40mm throttle bodies and six high-pressure injectors) and you won’t find a hiccup in the system. You can idle along at 10 mph in first gear
and never even think about having to touch the clutch. The truly amazing thing about the F6B is really how easy of a motorcycle it is to ride. You’d think something weighing nearly 850 pounds and with an 1832cc six-cylinder powerplant under the seat would be a bit intimidating, but it’s far from it. As previously mentioned, riding it at low speeds in traffic is easy and riding it fast is even easier. Until you’re actually stopped, you don’t feel the weight of the motorcycle. And it’s so well balanced, even moving it around to park, etc. isn’t a chore. Naturally, the F6B gets all the creature comforts we’ve come to expect from Gold Wings. All the goodies that makes long rides not just bearable, but a top-notch audio system with direct MP3/ iPod connectivity (that’s controllable via knobs on the fairing and with flick levers on the left han-
dlebar); lockable and waterproof hard cases that provide some 150 liters of storage; a decent sized glove box (2.8 liters) for smaller items; and a dash that gives you all the information you need. The F6B holds 6.6 gallons of fuel and Honda claims you’ll get an average of 34 miles per gallon. See, it’s still a touring bike. It just looks better now. And it is those looks that really set it apart from any Gold Wing you’ve ever seen. It starts with a long, low appearance – from the shorty windscreen (the wind hits you in the helmet now, instead of the full coverage from wind blast that the GL windshield provides), to mirrors that actually work (believe it or not, they are the same as on the GL only flipped upside down), to the new and more stylish rear section that doesn’t have the up-high rear truck of previous models. In between there’s
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2013 HONDA GOLD WING F6B plenty of black – even on the red model – with only the long chrome pipes exiting the rear on both sides of the F6B interrupting that bad-assed blacked-out look. In between the front and the back, it’s all about the seat. Gunfighter in design, the seat is half an inch lower at 28.5 inches than The F6B comes in black and red.
the standard Wing and configured differently than what Gold Wing owners are used to. For one, the low back support is less pronounced on the new model and sits farther back. And when seated on the F6B it feels like you’re a lot lower than you actually are - like you’re in the bike rather than on it.
The F6B comes in two versions – standard and deluxe. The deluxe version gets heated grips, a centerstand, self-canceling turn signals and a passenger backrest with pad. Both are available in black or red. And all the items featured on the deluxe version (and more) will be readily available via Honda Genuine
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Accessories, which for the first time has contracted with industry leaders to produce the accessory line for the F6B. The standard model will sell for $19,999 with the deluxe version carrying an MSRP of $20,999. It will be interesting to see how current Gold Wing owners view the F6B. If you nit-pick the F6B
enough to find something you don’t like about it, then you’re probably not a Gold Wing fan. But then again if you’re a longtime Gold Wing fan you may not like the look of the new one. But either way, there’s no reason to fret: Honda’s classic Gold Wing GL1800 is still in the company’s lineup for 2013. CN
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SPECIFICATIONS
HONDA GOLD WING F6B Engine: ......Liquid-cooled horizontally opposed six-cylinder Displacement: .......................... 1832cc Bore x Stroke: ............. 74.0 x 71.0mm Compression Ratio: ......................9.8:1 Transmission: ........5 speed, including overdrive Final Drive: ...................................Shaft Front Suspension: ............. 45mm fork Rear Suspension: ....................Pro-Link single shock with hydraulic pre-load adjustment Front Brakes: .Dual 296mm disc with three-piston calipers Rear Brake: ......... Single 316mm disc with three-piston caliper Wheelbase: ....................... 66.5 inches Seat Height: ...................... 28.5 inches Rake/Trail: ....................29.15/109mm Fuel Capacity: ................... 6.6 gallons MSRP: ................$19,999 (standard)/ $20,999 (deluxe)