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2001 Honda Goldwing GL1800 |
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Friday, 07 September 2001 |
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Page 1 of 3
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Tall Story by Mike Emery - Photos by Nikon Cool Beans 990
The Honda Goldwing... Hmmm
It doesn't conjure up the thought of hard core sport touring or whipping through twisties with wild abandon, but looks can be deceiving my friend. The same fella that designed the CBR-F3 and a Japanese only CBR400-RR designed this bike - A youngster I tell ya'. Now, don't go part exchanging your 750 crotch-rocket yet, but this latest reincarnation of Honda's Gran tourismo certainly scratches a sporting itch...
It's even got sticky tires too!
| Sportiness aside, having a bike like this deserved the planning of a long distance trip. Eyeing up that big his and hers bucket seats that wouldn't go amiss in your living room, it was obvious that some serious time could be spent in relative comfort. After a little family discussion, it was decided that we should attempt a trip to New Smyrna Beach. This was a decision that was not to be taken lightly, after all, it was nearly 60 miles away. We'd have to pack judiciously, but after careful planning we set off, New Smyrna or bust. |
That's a pretty beefy slab of Aluminum...
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Packing the bike was pretty interesting. Never have I seen so many nooks and crannies. The rear trunk has a voluminous 60 odd liter's of storage space.Enough to pack in two helmet's side to side, complete with spare visors, sun creams, lip balm and more sun cream.
The two side panniers were right handy for beach towels, evening clothes, shoes, hair products and more sun cream. They both have groovy hydraulic dampers that slowly open the "doors", very regal. Closing them was a task though, apparently it takes a while for the seals to soften up. A couple of times we were greeted with an open saddlebag warning on the main LCD readout. A judicious whack in the right place cured all. There were also pockets fore and aft for keys, wallets maps and of course, more sun cream. The front windscreen is fully adjustable with about 4.5 inches of movement. At 6'1" I could easily see under the top of the screen and Honda offers both smaller and larger screens to suit your size. The screen was reasonably optically correct, albeit a little distortion on the lower left and right hand corners. The windscreen is also aerodynamically efficient and aids fuel economy. We do have 6.6 gallons of "go juice" available, but every little bit helps with our long, long journey of 60 miles. |
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