While both the manual transmission and the DCT version have the same final-drive ratio in top gear, the additional cog in the DCT allows the lower gears to be more tightly-spaced, resulting in less engine-speed drop when changing gears. However, both bikes are based on the exact same platform. The Gold Wing Tour comes with the more touring-oriented and passenger friendly trunk, it also received some model-specific extras. The standard Gold Wing comes without a trunk, offering more streamlined “bagger” styling. To cement that idea, two variants came out from under their covers at the early unveiling. They think the new Wing has the performance chops to entice younger enthusiasts, also. Honda says part of the reason for this is that they want to attract more than just the typical older touring rider. The team at Honda, while maintaining the Gold Wing’s touring roots, clearly has put higher performance front-and-center during the development process. The difference in size between the new and old Wings was astonishing. To say we were impressed at the first glance of the new bike would be an understatement. Yesterday, we jumped on a 2017 Gold Wing at Honda’s Torrance headquarters and took an afternoon blast up to Santa Barbara for a special meeting with Honda’s development team. With that modest head start, we could have a story – and video – ready in time to showcase the new model and its changes the moment our NDA with Honda expired. One might imagine how excited we MOrons were at the opportunity to see the new 2018 Gold Wing in the flesh a full day before it would be unveiled to the rest of the world.
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