Honda GL 1800 GOLDWING Tour DCT/Airbag 2020 — Specifications

Who can boast of having crossed five decades without showing a wrinkle, or nearly so? The 2020 Honda GL 1800 Gold Wing Tour DCT Airbag plays that card with disarming confidence. After years of piling on kilos and cubic centimeters, the great Japanese tourer reversed course during its redesign. Less massive, sharper, packed with electronics. And for this model year, Honda pushes the comfort sliders even further with recalibrated suspension, reworked fuel injection, and a DCT gearbox smoothed out at urban speeds. The passenger inherits more generous grab handles, and LED fog lights become standard. They refine, they polish, they chisel. At 36,699 euros, the bill remains steep, but we're talking about the pinnacle of the worldwide touring range.

The heart of this Gold Wing remains its 1,833 cc flat-six, a boxer engine whose sound signature resembles nothing else on two wheels. With 126 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and, more importantly, 170 Nm of torque available from just 4,500 rpm, the engine doesn't chase outright performance. It favors smoothness, availability, and mechanical refinement. The square bore and stroke of 73 x 73 mm confirm this philosophy. Four valves per cylinder and a 10.5:1 compression ratio ensure modern efficiency without sacrificing the legendary flexibility of the Honda six-cylinder. Against a BMW K 1600 GTL that banks on its spirited inline-six or an Indian Roadmaster that plays the generous V-twin card, the Gold Wing offers a third way — more hushed, more mechanical at its core.

The seven-speed dual-clutch DCT transmission is the real selling point of this version. Honda designed this automated gearbox as a natural extension of the machine's GT character. Three main riding modes — Tour, Sport, Econ, and Rain — simultaneously alter throttle response, suspension firmness, brake distribution, and shift strategy. Sport mode even breaks down into three levels of aggressiveness. You can take back control at any time via the handlebar switches, with the gearbox reverting to automatic after a few seconds. The ISG system, which merges the alternator and starter motor, enables a stop-and-start function of remarkable discretion. At a red light, the six-cylinder shuts off then comes back to life with the smoothness of a luxury sedan. This level of refinement on a motorcycle remains unmatched.

Then there's the elephant in the room, and it weighs exactly 383 kg wet. Despite shedding 22 kg compared to the previous generation, maneuvering this mass at a standstill demands experience. Honda planned ahead with a "walking" mode that moves the machine at 1.8 km/h forward or 1.2 km/h in reverse, without touching the gearbox. A sloped parking spot no longer causes a sweat. The double-wishbone front suspension, a legacy of the redesign, delivers stability and steering precision that the machine's sheer size would never suggest. The low 745 mm seat height reassures riders of all statures. The aluminum twin-spar frame, 320 mm front discs with six-piston calipers, and the 316 mm rear brake handle deceleration of this ocean liner without flinching.

This Gold Wing Tour DCT Airbag is aimed at long-distance riders — those who devour continents in thousand-kilometer stretches and want to arrive fresh. A 7-inch TFT display, Apple CarPlay, cruise control, heated grips, integrated audio system, GPS, electric windshield, electronically adjustable suspension, and an airbag. The equipment list would put some sedans to shame. One may lament the reduced cargo capacity — only 110 liters — and a 21.1-liter fuel tank that limits range for a machine of this size. Wind protection, though effective, falls a notch short of the previous generation. These are the only serious criticisms. Beyond that, the 2020 Gold Wing confirms its status as the absolute benchmark in motorcycle grand touring. Its American and German rivals each offer their own vision of travel, but none delivers this combination of mechanical sophistication and onboard serenity.