Moto Poll: Vote for About.com's Long-Term Test Motorcycle!
Honda has graciously agreed to provide About.com with a long-term test motorcycle, and they've allowed us to choose between two options: the VTX1300T and the Gold Wing.
I thought it would be natural to put the choice in your hands, so here's a brief rundown on each motorcycle followed by a poll. The winning bike will receive regular editorial updates on how it's performing and what it's like to live with. And the choices are:
2008 Honda VTX1300T
Introduced as the latest variant of the popular VTX series, this long-distance tourer wears leather saddlebags with 6.3 gallons of storage, a tall windscreen, and a 1,312cc liquid-cooled V-twin. Its retro-style wheels are in line with its valanced front and rear fenders, semi-swept handlebar and floorboards with a heel-and-toe shifter, and it offers old school cruiser looks with touring comfort.
2008 Honda Gold Wing (GL1800)
Entering its 33rd year of production, the latest Gold Wing is powered by an 1,832cc liquid-cooled 6-cylinder powerplant. Available with everything from a six-speaker stereo system to navigation and satellite radio, the Gold Wing is decked out for serious long distance riding.
This poll is now closed, but you can click here to view poll results.
Photos © Honda
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Comments
A few hours on a GL is all it takes to see why it’s the absolute standard for touring bikes…there’s nothing else even close….never has been.
Blvd cruisers aren’t my thing, but the VTX’s are actually pretty nice. The 1800 has an astounding motor, but the 1300 is a nicer bike all round.
Pete,
I agree. The GL is impressive (and possibly my wife’s favorite bike to ride pillion; it’s hard to beat that rear passenger seat.)
I’ve tested the VTX1800, and it’s A LOT of bike– definitely fits squarely into the power cruiser category along with the Suzuki M109R, Harley V-Rod, etc… I have a feeling the 1300’s more balanced overall.
How’s the winter thaw going, by the way?
Basem
Winter Thaw?? It’s absolutely gorgeous…for the middle of bloody January!
Let’s see…it’s minus 8 Celsius this morning…what’s that…about 20 degrees F?
Environment Canada, the ones who predicted correctly I might add, the worst winter in Central / Eastern Canada in 15 years, have said we’re in for another month of this !@#$%^&*&!!…at last this side of the Rockies. Normally, the weatherman can’t his a** with both hands a map - why’d they have to get it right this time?
I’d kill to go for a ride! Scottie…I bet NY isn’t doing a whole lot better…you fed up yet?
Other than Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?
I vote for the GL. To do a cruiser correctly I think you need a single pin, air-cooled motor and belt drive, Something that H-D, Victory and Star seem to understand and Honda does not.
I think the GL defined its own class of bike.
Upstate this weekend and the weather isn’t bad. Sunny, windy, 40. I’d probably be riding, but I have to pay for a new kitchen in the city before I can justify a new bike. Of course, paying to park an F150 Supercrew doesn’t really help that equation, but it is an escape from manhattan and a way to get cheap provisions back.
I don’t think its case of ‘Honda doesn’t get it’…I think Honda has it nailed and it was a very conscious decision to do it as they did. Don’t forget… it was early ~ mid 90’s with the 1st VT1100 that prompted H-D to start their “OK Japan…your next prototype is ready” ads. The name is still around too…”ACE” is American Classic Edition”
Honda started the non H-D cruiser segment, and they’re still the first and final word in it.
The others chose a far more blatant - almost plagiarism - copy of H-D.
But then, I’m kinda biased to…I work for Honda.
Pete,
After two trips to Canada this past winter, I feel for ya… I narrowly averted snowstorms each time, but even in between storms it was inhospitable, to put it politely.
Scottie,
F150 Supercrew, huh? Ever haul your bike with it?
-Basem
If you’re going to delete my decent comments, i’m going to have to start posting comments worth deleting.
“bing”,
If all your comments were decent, I wouldn’t have to delete any… but frankly, most of your comments are way out of line– regardless of which handle you use.
Basem
Basem…it is indeed inhospitable in winter…no argument from me! You get used to it (that is not the same as liking it) What is getting old is how long it’s lasting this year. The last 5 or 6 years, we’d already been riding for 2 weeks!
Honda crews from a number of countries get together almost every year for a month in northern Manitoba (Churchill, Thompson) to cold weather test cars & ATV’s…I guess if they’ll start and run properly at -50, they’ll survive anywhere in the world. I’ve never had the pleasure….it would be something you’d never forget though to see Polar Bears outside the hotel! Some of the photos they bring back belong in National Geographic.
Come and see us May ~ Sept ….you’ll notice a bit of a difference.
Cheers
Lemme guess….’Bing’ is ‘James’ and ‘Carol’ as well?
I think that’s a treatable condition….
Pete,
Bing-o! HA… if it was an obnoxious comment, chances are it was this character. He’s a repeat offender, and he wonders why his comments magically disappear?
On another (more important) note, I’m wondering what kind of summer we’ll be heading into; if that winter came on the heels of global warming projections, one can only imagine what the next few seasons have in store for us…
Did I mention I went to the ice races in Sherbrooke? Wasn’t quite polar bear country, but it was fun to watch bikes and cars slide around with studded tires.
Basem
I vote Gold Wing all the way — first of all, I want to ride one myself; and second of all, I’m very eager to see how a sportbike guy like you takes to the great big tourer.
Basem,
Didn’t I tell you while ago French Canadians are nuts?! Can you imagine falling off an ice racer and getting run over by the guy behind you? “On Any Sunday” - without a doubt the best movie ever made - has some great footage of ice racing….in of all places, Quebec.
The weather is definitely getting weirder and weirder every year - but
Global Warming? I ain’t buyin’ it….
GW was created by politicians and car makers to make nice with the tree huggers, get votes and sell expensive Hybrids. It’s the greatest scam since the cost of gas!
Before someone else says it - If you look up ‘cynical’ in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of me!
My vote’s in for the ‘Wing, like most people here, but for a couple of reasons. First, I just didn’t care for the VTX1300. Too heavy, power was down on its competition, the seat was rediculously uncomfortable, and I don’t like the fenders on the T (I prefer the fenders on the 1300C). The V-Star 1300 Tourer was a much more comfortable and involved ride, and the power delivery was perfect. So on a side note, Basem, why not try a comparo between the VTX1300T, V-Star 1300 Tourer, a Vulcan Nomad, and a Boulevard C90T? Might get good results, probably the Nomad on top followed by the V-Star.
The second reason is that I think the GoldWing has become the stuff of legend. It is almost like the pinnacle or mecca of motorcycling, that you’re expected to reach at the end of your biking career. While it is in the class of super luxury touring motorcycles (consisting of the GL and the BMW K1200LT only), the price isn’t stratospheric. It’s got to be the best there is, having a bigger, more powerful motor than the K1200, and the Venture, Electra-Glide, and new Vision don’t even come close (bring back the Voyager!!!).
As a side note for Pete, only since you brought up the Shadow A.C.E., your bias shows. Honda was the one sued by Harley for blatantly copying (you would call it ‘plagiarism’) the coveted potato-potato 45 degree cam design with their A.C.E. model. The judges let it go, but Honda was never really forgiven. After years of flak, that’s why the A.C.E. is no longer sold in America. A proud Honda employee should know better.
Very close ScooterB, you’re on the right track about the A.C.E. vs. H-D, but you need some added info. For example, even though H-D applied for the sound patent in 1994, they never got it, and by 2000 they recanted the bid for the patent. They did seek litigation against others, primarily Honda over the A.C.E, but because the patent hadn’t gone through, the judges saw no case. So you were spot on about Honda’s copycat procedures (for shame, Pete!), and about why the A.C.E. isn’t sold here anymore.
But one thing’s for sure, the GoldWing is in a class of its own…its got my vote! I want one in hunter green…
After all the ACE talk, I went and did a search and found a 1995 review. The premise was that maybe the ACE was an alternative to H-D. In the end their H-D bias pretty much wrote it off as a poser. However they reminded me that in 1995 H-D had up two year waiting list and dealers were gouging by the thousands. Times change.
Fair enough…the ACE is dated….I think I mentioned I’m not a Cruiser guy and I really don’t pay attention to them (in case you hadn’t noticed) Certainly wasn’t my intention to mislead anyone.
And that asinine law suit over “potato potato”….please - It was if nothing else hysterically funny… I can just see the judge sitting in court listening to tapes of Sonny Barger’s bike with a tape of a Shadow…they should have sold tickets! Unfortunately however, law suits get media & corporate attention, thus a certain amount of perceived validity.
After they badgered the Gov’t into the embargo in 1984 on anything over 700cc, the lawsuit and attempt to patent a sound was a pathetic desperation tactic that didn’t work.
And Honda hasn’t been forgiven by whom?? Is it anyone who matters? If it’s H-D who still who has their nose outta joint, who the hell cares??
I think you should test the VTX1300T. I have seen enough test on the Goldwing to know it is an exceptional bike. I have ridden one myself but it just wasn’t comfortable for my riding position. The 1300 is built more for the masses and we need to know a lot more about them. Not everyone has $20,000 plus to plop down on a bike.
I vote the VTX. I ride a Harley. When a “vehicle” needs a reverse, its no longer a motorcycle. The GL may as well put on the third wheel.
It has to be the GL, since this is a touring long term test, and the GL is much more of a tourer than the VTX.
Since some are commenting about the “lawsuit”, several things need to be said.
1. HD did NOT sue Honda over the 45 degree single throw ACE.
2. HD did NOT try to get a patent on the “sound”
3. HD DID try to get a copyright or trademark on the “sound”, which is quite a bit different thing than a patent. In fact, one of the reasons they couldn’t get the copyright on the “sound”, is because it’s based on a mechanical design (45 degree V with a single throw crankshaft) and a patent would have been more appropriate. Of course the stubborn HD people didn’t want that, cause the patent runs out, and a copyright basically never does. The courts pointed out that HD had opportunities to try for a patent when the design weas first introduced in the early 1900’s, and choose not to.
4. HD DID get a favorable ruling after it filed an unfair trade practices complaint against “Japan, Incorporated”, claiming that the Big 4 Japanese had “dumped” motorcycles on the American market.
5. HD, however, got nothing out of that ruling because it could not establish that the dumping hurt HD, since the people who bought the dumped Japanese motorcycles would not have bought HDs even if the Japanese motorcycles had been sold for a higher price.
6. The courts imposed restrictions on the Japanese motorcycles larger than 700CC, which meant that they just resized the 750s to 699, and they made more power than they had before, and they still kept selling them like hotcakes.
7. The reason Honda did away with the single throw crank 45 degree V’s, is that it caused vibration problems (of course it did, if you know anything about HDs) and Honda simply didn’t want to deal with a vibration “fix” at that time.
If you don’t believe me concerning any of the above, do your homework like I have, and you’ll see I’m right.
Also, I firmly believe that the problems HD is having right now are based on HD’s stibborness, and they have no one to blame from themselves.
Also, I currently own a HD AND a Gold Wing, and may buy another HD in the near future, so all you HD fanatics just keep quiet and don’t call me a “Harley” basher” or some such.
I truly like HD’s, its just that the company is so stubborn its product quality suffers, and it charges too much for the product, then it wants to blame someone else when it has problems. or at least a lot of HD owners want to.
Hey Dave, EASY. I don’t care WHAT you ride, as long as you ride, so having said that, be advised…………………no one has the right to tell another to keep quiet. Not even you with all your knowledge. You may be right, but we all have the right to express our opinions, just as you did.
I vote for the Gl1800 Wing. It is a super bike and out performs any thing on the road. I just sold my Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe and bought a new wing. Great bike and should easily get 200k miles on it as I plan on keeping it. Honda makes and engineers fine touring bike, which the VTX and Royal Star were similar, but not even in the same class as the wing.
The Gold Wing isn’t in a class by itself. Mazda makes the Miata.
Byron, sounds like you might ride a HD and understand why you can’t understand quality and a fine ride!
I’d go with the VTX. Everyone knows all the good stuff about the Wing, and there really isn’t mcuh debate there. So why not shed some light on something less well known, and more affordable?
I chose the VTX1300 because the Gold Wing is pretty tried and true over the years, but the VTX is a newer model. Also it’s smaller, so it would be interesting to check out the comfort over a long haul.
I have an Spirit 1100 very similar to the 1300 and I also have a GL1800. You want to test the GL1800 and be warned, everyone who rides it will buy one. I am not kidding. It is a sport bike on steroids, nothing else compares.
By the way, Honda did copy HD with the ACE and when HD sued them, they made a etter version of the same cruiser. It is still true today, dual pin crank and water cooled, enough said.
I have driven a 1800 Goldwing and it is a comfortable ride for sure. I mainly am a cruiser type guy so I would be interested in seeing the 1300T testing done.
I was honestly surprised. I threw my vote for the GL but expected to be shouted down by the “cruiser crowd”. Long term test, to me, means long miles and I can think of no better way to go the distance than on a new GL.
Never the GL! Who can afford such things other than rich guys? Do the 1300 as it is a workin man’s machine and that is what I am. And proud of it! I need a bike that’s $1000s less than those “top o’ tha line” monsters.
I want to see the test on the Wing. I own a VTX 1300 and have put over 40,000miles on it. I needed to change the stock seat, but other than that it is just a stock VTX. I take a lot of long trips. 4 to 500 miles a day is not uncommon and the bike does very well, but I know the wing would be more comfortable.
I’d like to know the brand and name of the saddlebags shown on the VTX1300T in the photo. Thanks!
If available a third option, I’d opt for my HD-FLHTC Electric Glide Classic 2007, which I runned with my wife as passenger over 4 countries in S.A. last jan 09, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay over 9,000 kilometers, over deserts and snow mountains of Andes Cordillera so beautifull, you must one day ride it. I had just one oil change. Machines I met on the way BMW ’s , Harleys, no GW. GW also is a big machine to be respected…..