Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI) has announced opening bookings for its all-new Gold Wing in India with prices starting at Rs 26.85 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). India gets two versions of the Gold Wing – including the Gold Wing Tour – and both models come with a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission as standard. Interestingly, the pricing is at par with the outgoing Gold Wing and puts the new Honda in the same price bracket as BMW’s own heavyweight tourer, the GTL. Harley Davidson’s Street Glide Special is about Rs 8 lakh pricier, still. The Gold Wing can be booked only at Honda’s dedicated big bike Wing-World outlets in Delhi and Mumbai.
The Gold Wing – which made its debut at the 2017 Tokyo motor show – remains true to its lineage with massive dimensions and an imposing look. As always, the Gold Wing comes with a host of comforts. It also debuts Apple CarPlay on a motorcycle. The ensemble also includes a windscreen that is electrically adjustable for height and angle, a smart key control, a 7.0-inch TFT colour display and full LED lamps.
Powering this motorcycle is an 1,833cc, horizontally-opposed, six-cylinder engine that makes 127hp at 5,500rpm and 170Nm of peak torque at 4,500rpm. Importantly, the new engine uses a 4-valve per cylinder layout, unlike the 2-valve per cylinder setup on the outgoing Gold Wing. As mentioned, the Gold Wing for India will only be offered with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and will also be missing the six-speed manual option, as abroad. The transmission offers a special low-speed ‘Walking’ mode in addition to a reverse gear to ease manoeuvring the bulky motorcycle in and out of parking spaces. Honda has packed in Hill Start Assist, as well; and riders also get cruise control and four ride modes – Tour, Sport, Econ and Rain.
The third-generation Gold Wing is built around a new chassis. The die-cast aluminium twin-beam frame is stiffer and lighter than the older model’s by 2kg. However, the real highlight on the new Gold Wing is its unique double-wishbone front suspension. There are four preloaded settings for the rear springs which can be monitored via the 7.0-inch TFT screen. The Gold Wing comes equipped with ABS and Dual-Combined Braking System (D-CBS), as standard.
Also see: 2018 Honda Gold Wing debuts at Tokyo