2008 Honda Goldwing rider review

This is a rider review of a 2008 Honda Goldwing. A friend offered the use of his Goldwing for this review. I rode Mike's Goldwing over the course of 3 days getting the feel of the bike and learning its strengths and weaknesses. Overall it's a great bike, well-designed and built. It's very comfortable to ride. I think for big open highways there's no better bike. Goldwings are known for their long distant rideability And, their long-distance with little or no maintenance issues.

[squid]

I remember the first time that I road a Gold Wing. It was a test ride at the Motogp in Austin. The first corner that I took knocked my foot off the peg! Besides the lack of cornering clearance, it’s an incredible machine and will definitely go down as one of the best, if not the best long distance touring bikes.

[darrell]

2007 Goldwing here. Absolutely zero mechanical issues in two years - zero. 9802 miles on it right now. I bought it two years ago with 1900 miles on it because the owner worked overseas and stored the Goldwing here in the US. I am loving it!!!

[Eric-kvip]

Old geezer here who rode a 200cc street bike briefly back in the 70s. My only “rides” now are through YouTube. Your narration and video are both excellent. Thanks for posting.

[wingandhog]

I love my 08 Wing. Best open road machine I have owned

[JamesFrost]

Hoy, good review. I'm buying my first Goldwing Saturday ! It's a 2007 and I'm really looking forward to it. I currently ride a 2005 Harley Electra Glide. It gets on average 32 miles per gal, hwy miles with premium gas. I've been riding Harleys since 1979 so this it s going to be very intresting.

[MrBfish]

Great review! Only thing I'd disagree with is that I rarely touch down on cornering. I think it's all about how you are used to riding. I ride on both country roads and highways all the time and find it fits both rides just fine. I get 41-42 mpg almost all the time.

[roadglide]

Excellent commentary. Agree about the virtues of the Gold Wing. This case the Generation 5. 01-17. It’s smooth and comfortable. A joy to ride. You make of it what you want. There are videos as you showed one, of riders taking this bike to it’s limits. The Gen 6 got a little leaner and lighter and is a bit more spirited in Sport mode. Add to this a DCT and it becomes a game changer at every stop light. You can’t out-shift the DCT. Good stuff.

[vacavillebill]

2008 owner here.
I have no issues 10 to 20 over in curves.
Not sure why he’s scraping so much.
I love my 07 Fatboy but Man this GW is made for the road, I can ride it all day and have plenty of fun on the way.

[DireTribble]

As a guy who rode a Harley with a lean angle of 28 degrees for years, I have no issues with the lean angle on my 2013 Gold Wing. It's like night and day in comparison and more than enough for me. If I wanted to drag a knee in a corner I'd get a sport bike.

[OkieProductions]

I turned my 12 wing into a monster. Installed racetech fork kit, and progressive rear spring, and now she corners like electricity. Gained about 1.5 inches of ground clearance. and it handles the road so much better. wish it would have come from the factory like i have it now.

[davidchampagne]

Great video man. I have a 08 GL1800. I love it been up and down the Alcan to Alaska twice so far. Vary smooth running bike.

[stephenraemisch]

The CB comments were priceless ... hilarious! And SPOT ON!! Who needs this beastly CB anyway? Great Video - well done!!

[Lachesisms]

Nice review, I'm a Tiger 1200 Explorer rider and thinking of switching to Goldwing. Just sitting here at my desk watching videos frozen on a decision.

[h.wayneb]

Helpful review lots of useful information shared, I believe dry weight is 820 lbs add 60 lbs fluids roughly 890 lbs total for my 05 GW and the H D Ultra Limited now roughly 920 lbs fyi with no reverse which is nice in that time of need. Thank you

[kimhorton]

I had a ‘77 GL1000 back in the day with a Vetter Windjammer on with their bags and trunk. I rode that all over Louisiana, Teslas and Arkansas daily. Made a trip to ElPaso and back to Shreveport one weekend. Another trip to Keokuk, Iowa and on to the Calvary Stampede. That bike had long legs for sure.
At 70 my 2009 ST1300 got a little too heavy so I moved to a new 2015 Goldwing 40th Anniversary edition. Crazy cool paint job. I don’t do long distances much any more but at this point the bike is 8 yrs old and has 89k on it. Outstanding bike and decent mileage with very low maintenance. Tires and fluids are about it.

[jameshine]

I have a 2019 Gold Wing DCT Tour. First of all you don’t have an airplane cockpit of buttons, very friendly user. Secondly you don’t hit pegs on corners, it still weighs 800 plus pounds, but it’s so nimble to throw around. Thirdly with the DCT transmission in the sport mode you become a rocket ship, very fast. The brakes on these newer Hondas are integrated and stops the bike very well. If you haven’t rode a newer version of the Gold Wing you owe it to yourself. The one complaint that people talk about is storage, on my 2019 the luggage is smaller which is okay for me. The newest versions increased the rear trunk storage. Get out and ride the new Gold Wings, you’ll love it! 😊

[rjeepster]

These bikes are built to let you enjoy the journey. It’s not how fast you get there it’s how relaxing the ride is and taking in the view if you want something fast and nimble, you’re on the wrong bike.

[Fraiyia]

Goldwings have a cowl flap lever too - it’s on the left, just under the speaker . I have had 5 goldwings and it’s all I will ride . Usually I have my rock out going on, (no ear plugs ) I hot my thin l Izzy, led zep, def lep, cars, doors, zz, … The bike is not loud but the 4 speaker sound makes up for that .

[Nkogneetoe]

Great video! Just bought a 2009 Gold Wing and this video was very informative! Thank you!!

[blackswanodysseys]

Hello James, Yes I've heard the new Goldwings have a better cornering clearance, and with the advent of electronics, there are not so many buttons. I've heard storage has been cut back too. I'm planning to ride a 2020 model, with DCT, this summer. 🙂