Honda has opened bookings for the 2019 Gold Wing Tour DCT, priced at Rs 27.79 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Only the Tour variant is available in India and it features the dual-clutch transmission as standard.
For 2019, the Gold Wing comes with two SmartKeys instead of one and it also gets some navigation software updates. For one, the daylight-savings date-change (an issue in countries that use the daylight savings time format) has been corrected. With the update, the points of interest as well as voice route guidance will not go away when you turn the ignition off and back on again (like it did on the 2018 Gold Wing). Honda is also updating the software on the 2018 motorcycles to resolve this problem.
The 2019 Gold Wing is feature-rich and debuts Apple CarPlay on a motorcycle. The windscreen on the bike can also be electrically adjusted while on the move. Other features include a 7.0-inch TFT colour screen and full-LED lighting. The aforementioned DCT also has a low-speed reverse, which essentially allows one to reverse the 379kg motorcycle. The tourer features hill-start assist and cruise control, as well. The motorcycle has four riding modes – Tour, Sport, Econ and Rain.
This generation of the Gold Wing uses a new chassis that is lighter and stiffer than the one on its predecessor. However, the highlight is the motorcycle’s unique double-wishbone front suspension. The Honda uses a preload-adjustable pro-link monoshock at the rear. Brakes have been upgraded via radially mounted front calipers and larger, 320mm rotors. These brakes use electronically controlled combined ABS that works to distribute braking force to the front and rear wheels. All of this has been carried forward from the 2018 model without change.
Powering the behemoth is a 1,833cc, horizontally-opposed, six-cylinder engine that makes 126hp at 5,500rpm and 170Nm of torque at 4,500rpm. This new engine uses a four-valve-per-cylinder layout, unlike the two-valve-per-cylinder set-up on the previous-generation bike.
In terms of competition, the Gold Wing Tour goes up against the BMW K 1600 GTL Pro which is priced at Rs 28.65 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Ved Janve
Dinshaw Magol
