A Fuel Stabiliser Additive

My GoldWing, a GL1800, is usually laid up for most of the winter these days and I also have two other, older GoldWings which get stored far more than they get used.

One of the issues when storing a bike for extended periods is whether to empty the fuel tank (and maybe even the fuel system, or at least the carburetors) or leave it full.

Is there a clear “best practice” approach to this or is it down to whatever takes your fancy?  And if there is a clear best practice, is it the same for all models and ages of GoldWings?

And does the type of fuel in the tank make a difference?  I decided to try to find out.

The potential fuel system problems from long term storage are that:

• the fuel goes “stale” over time so the engine will not start or run satisfactorily
• corrosion or blockages might occur either in the tank or elsewhere  in the fuel system
• ethanol fuels have additional corrosive potential.

Fuel Stability

Petroleum (otherwise known as petrol or gasoline) is refined from crude oil and it contains the “higher” alcohols and other volatile chemicals – hence it’s tendency to give of fumes (i.e.vapour) readily.  These chemicals are also highly flammable, so if you mix petrol vapour with air and apply a spark you get an explosion.  Contain the explosion inside a cylinder which has a piston in it and you get motion and that, in essence, is how a GoldWing’s engine works.

Although petrol is mostly the product of selectively distilling crude oil, the manufacturing process also includes adding special chemicals (called additives) to enhance its performance.  Once upon a time organic lead compounds (which are highly toxic) were added to petrol as an anti-knocking agent but no longer of course and we now use unleaded petrol – but it still contains a selection of additives to enhance its suitability as automotive fuel and the various manufacturers like to claim that their petrol is better than their competitors (and especially better than cheaper supermarket petrol) because of the value of their particular choice of additives.

Because petrol is a complex mixture of chemicals, some of which vaporise more actively than others, some of the livelier chemicals evaporate in storage and the fuel goes “stale” and will no longer start or run an engine satisfactorily.  Manufacturers add some stabilising additives during manufacture but you cannot buy petrol at the pumps which will last more than two or three months in storage without risk of “going stale” and becoming unusable.  If you try to use it you will find the engine becoming difficult to start or run properly and you will also risk gumming up of parts in the fuel system.  Running your GoldWing on old petrol is not a good idea.

Fortunately it is possible to buy additional stabilising additive for petrol which will extend its storage life considerably – to as much as two years.  These additives will not rejuvenate old stale patrol so you have to put the stuff in while the petrol is fresh to get the benefit but providing you do that, a purpose-made fuel stabiliser will allow you to store your GoldWing with fuel in it safely for up to two years.

Supermarket petrol is sometimes said to store less well than the stuff supplied by Shell, BP etc and therefore to last less than two or three months in storage – and therefore only to be suitable in vehicles which are in continuing use.  I’m not aware that this has been proven and the supermarkets might dispute the implied allegation that their fuel is in some way inferior – but if you do normally use supermarket fuel in your GoldWing during the riding season (as I do) then it could be worth buying the last tankful of the season from Shell or BP etc, even if it does cost a bit more.

If the bike is to be laid up for winter without draining the fuel system, stabilising the remaining fuel with a fuel stabiliser becomes highly desireable.  A selection of these additives are available and you may be able to buy some locally but you can also buy them easily on line from Amazon by searching for “fuel stabilizer”.  (Sadly even the UK Amazon website insists on spelling stabiliser the American way with a “z”.)

These additives are by the way also useful for stabilising the petrol in your lawnmower over winter and its not a bad idea to use it routinely in the fuel tanks of generators which are used only occasionally or as standby power sources.

Fuel syphoning pump - useful for draining a tank

It’s important to appreciate that fuel stabilising additives cannot revive old, stale petrol so if you have neglected to add them at the start of this winter storage period you have probably missed the boat.  If you laid up your bike in September you almost certainly have, especially if you won’t be running it again until March, which would make a six month storage period.  You will therefore need to drain off and the stale fuel and replace it with fresh before you put the bike back on the road.

Drained-off fuel needs disposing of carefully because it is still highly flammable and toxic stuff – whatever you do don’t dump it down a street drain or use it to liven up your garden waste fire.  Petrol contains carcinogenic chemicals like benzine so don’t use it to de-grease motorcycle or car parts in the garage either; these chemicals can get through your skin and cause serious health problems if you are exposed to them repeatedly.

Since it’s only usually a couple of gallons or less which get syphoned out of the bike’s tank, I usually pour into the family car’s fuel tank, where it will be mixed adequately with fresher fuel and can therefore be used up safely.

Keeping a bottle of fuel stabiliser in the garage and remembering to dose the fuel tank with it as you put the bike away for the winter saves all this faffing about and is by far the better and easier way.

Note that there are other considerations for safe long term storage of a GoldWing (such as avoiding allowing the timing belts to rest in one place for long periods) so running the engine periodically becomes highly desirable and if you end up storing your bike longer than one winter, a maintenance schedule incorporating this sort of thing will preserve the bike better and safe expensive replacements.  If you end up storing your bike for more than two years you should plan to replace the fuel in the tank with fresh peterol (to which fuel stabiliser is thenadded) as part of the maintenance schedule.

Better, of course, to keep your GoldWing in use than to resort to long term storage, especially by just leaving the bike in the garage and neglecting to do anything at all.

Fill the tank or not?

Conventional wisdom is that it better to keep a steel fuel tank (as in Classic GoldWings) full of petrol during winter storage, to discourage corrosion by the water vapour in the air.  With a plastic tank, as in a GL1800, it doesn’t matter as long as you remember to add the fuel stabiliser.

Filling up a steel tank might not be necessary if your bike is kept in a genuinely dry garage, or of course if you can persuade your wife to let you store your precious bike inside your centrally heated home for the winter so the family can continue to droll over it together.

There are uncertainties about plastic tanks and long term storage of ethanol fuels (especially high concentrations of ethanol such as flex-fuel) but for petroleum fuel it probably makes no difference how much is in a plastic tank as long as the fuel has been stabilised.

Fuel system blockages

Evaporation of fuel during storage can increase the risk of blockages in the fuel system due to the formation of “gummy” deposits (especially in carburettors) and other debris which has mobilised and or settled during storage.

For this reason even with fuel stabiliser added to the tank, it makes sense to ensure that carburettors are emptied of fuel before your bike is stored for long periods.  You can do this by running the engine with the fuel tap off until it stops although a better and more reliable way is to physically drain each carburettor by removing the drain plug on each float chamber.

GoldWings which have fuel injection systems, i.e. all the GL1800s and the 1985 GL1200 Ltd and 1986 Aspencade SEi models, fuel stabiliser should be added to the tank and run through the system by running the engine before storage rather than trying to empty the system by running the engine until the fuel is exhausted.  For long term storage these bikes should have their engines run periodically and the fuel in the tank replaced with fresh (and freshly stabilised) fuel at least every two years.

Fuel system corrosion

Another problem which can be caused or aggravated by long periods of storage is corrosion of the fuel tank or fuel lines.  Water is a common contaminant of automotive fuel, especially diesel but also sometimes petrol, and this water can be contaminated by micro-organisms which can produce acidic and other corrosive contaminants.  Fortunately with petrol fuel supplied in UK and Western Europe, chemical or microbial contamination is not a big or common problem at all.

Water-absorbing sachets and bags

I have already mentioned that conventional wisdom is to keep the steel petrol tanks of classic GoldWings full during winter storage to discourage corrosion of the unlined interior of the tank by exposure to water vapour in the air.  A full tank (of stabilised petrol) will help to prevent corrosion for prolonged storage (i.e. over two years) but you would than have to drain and discard the fuel before putting the bike back into service, even if stabiliser had been added.

If an unlined steel fuel tank is to be stored empty for prolonged periods, especially in an unheated garage, placing a suitable desiccant (i.e. a water-absorbing chemical) inside the tank and scheduling periodic replacement or drying of the desiccant would be worth considering.  Desiccants, usually silica gel materials, are available in bags which you could hang inside the filler neck of a GoldWing fuel tank.

Ethanol fuels (petrol to which up to 10 % ethanol has been added) are being introduced in UK and since ethanol is more corrosive than petroleum, an increased risk of corrosion might therefore arise.  Ethanol fuels may also be capable of dissolving or dislodging materials which have previously stuck to the sides of old fuel tanks and lines and this could conceivably lead to blockages, including of fuel filters.

With E5 and E10 fuels (i.e. up to 10% ethanol in otherwise neat petroleum) these risks are probably very small and are perhaps nothing more than theoretical.  There may have been instances of even these low-concentration ethanol fuels causing damage to some motorcycle plastic fuel tanks but I have heard nothing about GoldWing plastic tanks being damaged and 10% ethanol fuel has been in widespread  use in the USA for some time.

The specialist sealing materials which are used to repair (i.e. to resurface internally) old, corroded steel motorcycle fuel tanks may be vulnerable to damge by ethanol fuels but hard information is difficult to come by.    Hopefully if these sealing compound are at risk from ethanol, the manufacturers will be modifying them to cope with ethanol in future anyway so even with tanks which have been treated with older sealants, re-treatment with newer and more stable materials will be possible.

If you run an old bike irregularly an find yourself starting to use ethanol-containing fuels it could be well worth installing an in-line fuel filter if there isnlt one, or changing the filter after you’ve being running on ethanol fuel after a few engine running hours, to safeguard against anything which has been dislodged and blocking carburettor jets.

Summary

I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject but from what I’ve been able to discover, some fairly simple precautions should see GoldWing owners safely through winter or even more prolonged storage.  As with many things in life, prevention is much easier and better than cure.

• Adding fuel stabiliser to your tank before winter storage is the basic requirement and if you haven’t done it yet, it will still be worth giving your bike a dose now to see the bike through this winter.
• Adding fuel stabliser after the fuel has been stored for a while doesn’t revive the fuel and doesn’t restart the two-year clock.
• Filling the tank up if your bike has a steel fuel tank is also a basic and important requirement – also not to late to remedy thi winter if you haven’t already done it.
• The final fill-up of the season could usefully be of non-supermarket petrol because it might have better storage and other properties, but this won’t remove the vital need for a fuel stabilising additive.
• Ethanol fuels which are being sold in UK these days probably don’t present much of an additional problem but if you can avoid it for the final fill-ups of the season there might be some value in doing so.

There is an EU Directive which requires than all petrol sold in Europe contains 5 – 10 % ethanol by 2013.

But what does this mean for our precious GoldWings, including our classic bikes, built when four-star leaded petrol was still the norm – how ill they cope?

The move towards ethanol-containing fuels is happening gradually in UK and 5% ethanol has been added to some fuel (without necessarily announcing it) for some time.  But 10% ethanol (E10 fuel) is likely to come into wide use in UK over time and it’s already fairly common elsewhere, especially in France and the US.

The good news is that either of these fuels, E5 or E10, can be used in any model of UK or US-spec GoldWing.

With pre-GL1800 GoldWings (mostly carburetors but including the 1985 GL1200 Ltd and the GL1200 Aspencade SEi) models there may be some loss of performance because ethanol has about one third less energy content, volume for volume, than petrol.  But the bikes should come to no harm running on this fuel.  And because the GL1800 has a clever sort of fuel injection, there should be no noticeable performance loss.  When using E10 fuel a 3% decrease in fuel economy compared with petroleum is likely to be noticed with all GoldWing models.

So for E5 and E10 fuel no modification of the GoldWing is necessary and you can simply start using it when it becomes available in your area if you wish.

Brazil is already using E25, so 25% ethanol, nationwide.  GoldWings are sold by Honda in Brazil so presumably those bikes have to be able to run on E25 and it would be interesting to know if Honda modifies GL1800s specially for that market.  I did look at Honda’s Brazilian Website but there was nothing obvious to suggest that the GoldWings are different and my Portuguese isn’t wonderful so I gave up.  If you are planning to take your UK GoldWing on tour to Brazil it might pay to make further enquiries before you go!

Not currently in prospect in UK

There are also over half a million “flex-fuel” motorcycles in Brazil which can run on 100% ethanol (E100) and Honda manufactures some of these.  Alcohol has a higher octane rating than petroleum so flex-fuel engines are designed with higher compression ratios and they have also usually needed a small auxiliary fuel tank filled with petroleum (or a low concentration ethanol/petroleum mix) for cold starting.  Even with specially designed flex-fuel engines, problems occur with cold starting at alcohol concentrations above 70% and seasonal reductions in alcohol concentration are made in some countries because of this.  These are changing times.

Ethanol for fuel is made by fermenting sugars with yeast, as for drinks production, but an additional five-stage water-removal process is then necessary to achieve the high purity from water to allow ethanol to mix and stay mixed with petroleum properly.  Some of you will remember from school chemistry that ethanol is hygroscopic, i.e. it absorbs water from the air around it and this happens even when it is mixed with petroleum.  Ethanol can also be subject to contamination and is more corrosive than petrol, so introducing it is not straightforward.

High concentration ethanol fuels (above 10%) therefore present increasing problems and would do so for GoldWing owners, including if E25 fuel became mandatory (Brazil style) in Europe.  There would be substantial performance and economy disadvantages, even for the GL1800.  Steel fuel tanks, which older GoldWings have, would be at risk of accelerated corrosion and other fuel system and fuel filtering problems.

Fortunately higher concentrations of ethanol fuel are not currently on the EU agenda and given the typical age of a UK GoldWing owner, we can even hope that they won’t be a problem during our motorcycling lifetime.

In summary therefore running on E5 or E10 fuels should not be a problem for GoldWing owners in UK, even classic GoldWings, just don’t expect quite such good fuel consumption.

This was my first attempt to use the Blog to conduct an opinion survey and so it was something of an experiment.  Hopefully the results will stimulate some discussion.

I asked Blog Readers to assume they are about to buy their next GoldWing, have two equally suitable bikes, one being sold by a Honda Dealer, the other one by a non-Honda dealer.  There are no differences in part exchange or guarantee and it didn’t even matter whether the bikes are new or used, the only difference was the price – the Honda Dealer was asking more because he feels he’s offering a better, quality-assured service.

The question you Readers were invited to answer was:  How valuable is it to you to buy a GoldWing from a franchised Honda Dealer, in other words how much extra would you pay for your next GoldWing for the benefits of buying from an official Honda Dealer, compared with any other motorcycle dealer?

The response rate was low in relation to the Blog’s readership numbers and this certainly needs to be taken into account when interpreting this result.  Respondents could very easily be a biased sample, for example because only those who hold strong feelings (for example of personal disappointment) about Honda bothered to take the survey.

Having said that there is at least a suggestion from this Survey that a surprisingly large proportion of GoldWing owners attach little or no value to buying from a franchised Honda Dealer.  Why could that be?

My theories

One possibility it that everyone is so accustomed to buying on price these days that they will shop around for the lowest price for a GoldWing in the same way they would for any other goods.  If the GoldWing comes with a Honda guarantee they will be able to take the bike to their nearest Honda dealer anyway if something goes wrong.  Honda products are very reliable anyway so why not simply buy on price?

I know one Winger who bought a new GoldWing from a different dealer than the one where he had spent all his time showroom browsing and asking questions (and where he would go for his accessories and servicing) simply because he could get the bike for £500 less somewhere else.  The relationship he still hoped to have with the dealer whose showroom and sales staff he had made use of didn’t stop him from buying as cheaply as possible.

Another Winger has just ordered a new GoldWing shopped around for the best price and when he ended up with two at the same bottom price he then chose on other factors and dealing directly with a Honda franchised dealer wasn’t important to him.

Another possibility is that franchised Honda Dealers in UK, with only one remaining exception, HGB Motorcycles, are not regarded by knowledgable Wingers as having sufficient specialist knowledge about GoldWings nor experience of working on them to make using them worthwhile.   In the North of England lots of Wingers would much prefer to take their bike to Appleyards, the non-franchised GoldWing specialist, than any of the Honda dealers.  To a lesser extent that’s probably still true of Knutsford Motorcycles too.

What about using a Honda dealer for servicing?

Some buyers of new GoldWings will take their bikes to their local Honda Dealer automatically for all their requirements, just as they would do if they bought a new Honda car.  But Wingers who become part of the GoldWing Community in UK, even if they haven’t bothered to join a club, will be much more likely take their bikes to a franchised dealer only for a safety recall (because it’s free) but otherwise steer clear.  They will either do the servicing themselves, even if its a new bike, or get someone whom they regard as genuinely expert to do it – which is much more likely to be another Winger or an independent specialist service-provider like AwingAway, Winginit or of course Appleyards and Knutsford Motorcycles.

Why is there only one specialist GoldWing Honda Dealer?

When I interviewed Steve Martindale General Manager (Motorcycles) of HondaUK a while ago, he expressed a very firm view that Honda’s robust system of technician training and support to its franchised dealer network ensures that a GoldWing owners can take his bike to any Honda dealership anywhere in the Country and get reliably expert service and repairs.

Not surprisingly neither I nor Bob Summers, who was with me at the time, were at all convinced of this and I doubt that many other UK Wingers of any experience will be either.  I’m not convinced that Honda UK are remotely serious about selling GoldWings at all any more.

Why are there no demonstrator 2012 Model GoldWings?

There are 90+ franchised Honda Motorcycle Dealers in UK but HondaUK are reported to be importing only 80 2012 Model GL1800s in total this year, so not even one per Dealer.  Unless you happen to live near HGB, the chances of locating a 2012 Model GoldWing as a demonstrator in UK will be pretty low, maybe none existent.

If you want to prove this for yourself either ring HondaUK’s Contact Centre on 0845 200 8008 or request a callback on HondaUK’s Motorcycle sales website by clicking here.   Tell them where you live ask the call taker to help you arrange a test ride on a 2012 Model GoldWing.  Make it clear that it is the new 2012 Model you want to test ride.   If they give you the number of your nearest dealer and suggest you call them explain that you doubt they have a demonstrator available and rather than you having to ring round to find one, you are hoping they will do so for you.  Some time later you might well get a call from a Honda Motorcycle Salesman in a dealership somewhere near you and maybe offering you a ride on a GoldWing.

I did this yesterday and was told that Blackpool Honda (only 15 miles away) have a 2012 Model and I could arrange a test ride with them.  It turned out when I rang this dealer that they had indeed just taken delivery of a 2012 Model GoldWing but that it would be going into the showroom and would not be registered as a demonstrator – but that if I was serious about buying it after seeing it in the showroom they wouldn’t deny me a ride on it using trade plates.  Not quite the same thing as a conventional opportunity to have a demonstration test ride then.

When I rang Honda’s Contact Centre again to repeat my request for them to find me a demonstrator bike, as I had made clear originally, they were a bit reluctant (because, I suspect, their computer system clearly does not facilitate that) but agreed to make enquiries and ring me back by 5pm the following day.  That’s the last I heard and I suspect that they drew a blank.

I doubt that HondaUK actively manages the availability of GoldWing demonstrators and that as a result of that, as things stand today, no Honda dealer has or is planning to put a demonstrator 2012 Model GL1800 on the road with the exception of HGB, who already have one of each colour in the showroom and will be putting a demostrator on the road shortly.

Not even trying these days?

Less than 10 years ago HondaUK were selling well over 300 or so GoldWings per year in UK .  A substantial number of new parallel import GoldWings were sold too, including by franchised Honda Dealers.  The lion’s share of the total of close to 400 bikes per year were sold by only two Dealers, Appleyards and HGB,   A handful of other dealers would sell a few GoldWings as well but the great majority of Honda Dealers would never sell or even see a GoldWing, even in those days.  These days sales of new GoldWings in UK are handled by HGB and a small handful of other Honda dealers.  Other Honda dealers might take a GoldWing from HondaUK for purposes of meeting a bonus target but they will be extremely unlikely to sell it directly to a customer and much more likely to offload it through the trade.

From my viewpoint it seems that HondaUK are not making a serious effort to sell GoldWings at all.  It feels much more like they are content to sell bikes only to bikers who will buy one anyway – those who know what they want and will seek it out for themselves.  I think that if Honda are selling GoldWings in UK for £24,000 each they should at least be willing to ensure that demonstrators are available around UK and that their Contact Centre call tell people who ring up where they are.

What do you think?

Some bikers tour in winter

Motorcycling is primarily a recreational means of transport in UK, although of course lots of people use bikes to get to and from work, including Wingers.  A couple of bikers I know preferred for many years to use their GoldWing to ride long distances in the course of self-employed work right through the winter.

During  summer the travelling would sometimes be a joy, although of course even during summer the practicalities and time pressures would often force them to be making predominantly motorway or dual carriageway journeys rather than using more attractive but much slower good riding routes.

These two guys travelled big distances throughout the year because they needed to go where the work was, sometimes moving between far-flung locations and sometimes staying away from home on their travels.  In winter this lifestyle was often very hard going and not a little risky.

And indeed both of these riders have since taken up different employment at least partly to escape from the burden of this travelling, one by becoming a minister of religion, possibly to give thanks for his survival through years of winter riding.

Three wheels easier than two?

Some other Wingers of my acquaintance continue to use their bikes to commute substantial distances each day in more or less all weathers, relying on their GoldWing’s capacity to provide the necessary shelter, comfort and warmth.  A GoldWing offers good wind and weather protection and even if you haven’t got the latest model with heated everything fitted on to the bike, at least a GoldWing’s alternator can deliver the necessary power for heated garments etc.

So if you have to travel a lot in winter and you want to do it on two wheels, being able to do your winter riding on a GoldWing has considerable attractions.    And except when there’s snow or ice around, and perhaps also in very high winds, a GoldWing is as good a motorcycle as any to be trying to handle in winter too.

And with the heated seats, heated grips and foot warming flaps which are fitted to the latest GoldWings, you can be reasonably comfortable in cold weather even without resorting to heated clothing too.

Modern materials allow for the construction of clothing in layers which provide very high levels or water repellence and heat retention.  Likewise the availability of Gortex and similar materials for gloves can make a big difference to their suitability for long journeys, although most seasoned winter riders will carry a spare set of good winter riding gloves, in case the primary pair does get damp and let in the cold.

The right clothing helps

Wearing a neck tube, pre-warming your riding gear on a radiator and keeping your fingers off the brake and clutch levers when you are stopped are among the winter riding tips in an excellent set of winter riding tips in this week’s Motorcycle News.  I know I keep plugging this weekly newspaper but it really is worth reading throughout the year, not just in the biking season.

Winter riding does of course take its toll on the condition of the bike and the MCN tips include how to do some preventative maintenance on your bike to reduce the risks of exposing it to road salt.

Taking a GoldWing out for a spin on a nice winter’s day with a coffee break half way and the opportunity to clean and dry the bike thoroughly before putting it away afterwards is one thing but doing a commuting ride every day in winter is likely to force you to settle for not even cleaning the bike after every salty ride and maybe cleaning it less thoroughly too.  And a GoldWing has all sorts of inaccessible crooks and nannies where the salt dust and spray from our winter roads in UK will lodge and threaten corrosion.

The economic argument for using a GoldWing to travel extensively in winter time is also pretty weak.  When you take into account things like the higher cost per mile of motorcycle tyres if you are doing high mileages, the need to change tyres earlier if you want to stay genuinely safe for winter riding and the depreciating effect of high mileages and rough usage on the bike’s value, the economics swing strongly in favour of using an economical car rather than a motorcycle, even though it also means having to sacrifice being able to filter through traffic jams.

Even if using the bike for work in winter saves the cost of a second family car and thereby helps to justify owning a GoldWing in the first place, it probably won’t stack up as economically attractive if you actually do the sums properly.  Better to keep a “rat car” for such journeys if necessary, and keep your GoldWing tucked up protectively in the garage – or of course commandeer the newer, more economical  (and more comfortable) family car for your daily commutes and leave the second car for the shorter ,local runs which your wife makes, if you can get away with it.

Only for the really compulsive biker does using a GoldWing for extensive winter travel make any sense to me and even then only because at least it offers a tolerable level of comfort and safety for long winter journeys compared with lesser bikes.

Some have to ride all year

Even a GoldWing can’t make riding in all winter weathers viable of course; riding a GoldWing in snow and ice strikes me as out of the question.  So even if your GoldWing can provide for most of your winter travel needs if you want it to, you will need an alternative means of getting to work for the days when it can’t.

Sadly then, I see riding a GoldWing in UK during winter as something of a wasteful and abusive act, akin to wearing your best suit to walk the dog.  I’m retired nowadays so I don’t have to make a daily journey to work at all and maybe that also allows me to be picky and not to ride in winter unless it really is a nice riding day when there is also unlikely to be any salt still on the road.

But on a nice winter day, when the bike is unlikely to get contaminated with salt, dressing up in the right clothing, complete with winter liners, donning Gortex winter riding gloves and my trusty, genuinely waterproof Daytona boots, on my 2008 GL1800, with heated seat and grips and foot warmer flaps, I can be comfortable for as long a ride as I’m likely to want to take.

And since it saves a mere £22 or so by surrendering the tax disc and taking the bike off the road for the winter, I consider having the option to go for a ride during winter well worth sacrificing that saving, even though last year, during the exceptionally cold, icy and salty winter we endured, the bike stayed in the garage anyway.

Phone Contacts viewable on Garmin SatNav screen in order to make a call

Relatively few riders want to use their phone while riding – apart from anything else linking a mobile phone into a GoldWing’s intercom system is not straightforward and nor is it cheap.

As well as technical obstacles there are also important road safety issues – is it sensible to be using a phone at all while riding, even completely hands-free?

I first looked at hooking up my mobile phone to my GoldWing system six or seven years ago after a friend had done it successfully on his bike, which he used for a lot of business travel and since he was self-employed he needed to be able to take calls while making a journey to avoid losing work.

By connecting a car-type Bluetooth hands-free unit to the bike’s intercom via a purpose-made interface unit and then relying on a Bluetooth connection to the phone, which could therefore stay in his pocket, he had succeeded in establishing a reliable, working system.  This approach was possible because unlike most such hand-held devices, he had found one which had external microphone and speaker sockets, to which he was able to connect the interface unit which would then connect to the bike.

I went as far as buying one of these hands-free devices to follow suit but never quite got around to getting the necessary interface unit made; the car hands-free unit is still around somewhere, still in its packaging.  I suppose at the time I didn’t have a pressing reason to have the phone available while riding and another friend, with whom I discussed the idea, felt very strongly that phones and motorcycling didn’t mix.  Much better, said he, to leave the phone switched off in your pocket so you can concentrate entirely on your riding.

I more or less agreed with this view at the time but later decided there could be one exception to this otherwise very sensible safety rule.  By this time I was getting involved in leading European tours and I figured that as the tour leader, being contactable while on the move could be very valuable – for example to help re-grouping after a separation, if someone took a wrong turning and got lost or had broken down.

All making it on to the ferry

There are other ways of catering for these eventualities of course but none are foolproof, not even mobile phone communications, which have coverage dead spots.   But I had been on tours when some riders had got separated and ended up havimg to find their own way to the next overnight stop because they got separated soon after the day’s riding began and being able to contact the  tour leader before the next planned stop would have been helpful.  That particular tour leader took the view that everyone had been provided with a route card and most of them also had satnav with the route pre-loaded onto it, so it wasn’t necesary for the group to stick together all day every day.

But I was planning to include riders who had never been abroad before and the primary aim would be to stick together as a group at least on the longer transit rides.  I remembered my own nervousness about losing contact with the group and especially the leader when I was new to it – and the pressure it puts you under to tryto keep up, threatening to sacrifice safety, so I didn’t want my touring group to be under that sort of pressure if it could be avoided.

So when an option to hook up my mobile phone became available by adding an extra cable and interface when I was upgrading my sat nav anyway, I decided to take the plunge.  Many sat nav devices incorporate Bluetooth connectivity nowadays but this was novel at the time.  My new satnav was a Garmin Street Pilot 2820 and the hook-up kit came fom Kennedy Technologies (who sadly are no longer manufacturing) and once they were installed everything worked perfectly first time and has never let me down.

Cardo Scala Bluetooth headset

Nowadays there are much simpler ways of hooking up a mobile phone, for example by using a Bluetooth helmet head set and there are probably lots of ways of hooking everything on the bike up to a Bluetooth helmet headest too if you want to.  Nevertheless my system worked and still does; I can hear and be heard if I take a call while riding (I have the option not to take the call) and it can also be useful to make a call without taking my helmet off, although I would always pull over to do this.

I would usually pull over as soon as I can when I take a call too but if necessary I can take a call while continuing to ride at least for a short time.  If someone happens to speak up on the CB and/or the satnav pipes up with a navigational instruction as the call comes in it can get a bit confusing to both you and the caller (which happened to me once) but that’s not insurmountable either.

I did once make a test call on the move, wearing riding gloves too, so it can be done.  I picked a quiet time on the motorway for this experiment but even so it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t really safe.  I haven’t repeated that exercise and I don’t recommend making outgoing calls from a motorcycle in any circumstances while still on the move.

There is however convenience in being able to make a call quickly and easily, without  having to take either helmet or even gloves off, simply by pulling over to do so and I do use it very occasionally.  It could for example make it possible to pull over to make a call to the emergency services (about a serious collision you’ve just passed on the motorway) while still keeping the option open to move off again quickly.

Getting back to the value of a phone hook-up while touring, it wasn’t of course necessary (or desireable) for everyone to be able to talk to each other by phone while on the move or indeed for anyone except me to be abe to take calls.  But by ensuring that everyone had my mobile phone number from the outset and knew that I could take calls on the move, they could have confidence that I was contactable fairly quickly if they did get lost or break down, which I felt was useful.

CB range is rarely more than a mile

As well as helping with their confidence as newcomers to European touring it would also allow me to make tour leader decisions (like whether to wait, turn back or ride on) as soon as possible after something went wrong, thereby making the problems easier to nip in the bud.

CB radio has its value in group riding too but range is limited and often too limited to be any use in these separation/breakdown circumstances – although I do remember one group ride when so riders too the wrong motorway exit and it was possible to use the CB to tell them where to aim for to regroup once they got back on route.  Mostly however CB range was too short and being able to receive a phone call while I was riding seemed to meet the requirement very well.  It would save me having to halt the rest of the group to wait for a telephone call from someone who had got separated – a call which he might not even bother to make if he was contently making his own way.

My theory was therefore that if a breakdown or a separation occurred behind me so that other riders in the group had to stop and arrangements were needed to re-group or to get help of some sort, they would at least be able to ring me straight away, and before I got too much further down route.  I could then decide whether to halt the rest of the group or not and take whatever further action might be required.

See this and you might want to make a quick phone call

I must confess that I’ve never taken a call  while leading a group in the circumstances which I envisaged.  It cost quite a lot to buy the special interface to connect the bike for both hearing and speech to the sat nav – and this type of sat nav is itself now becoming obsolete, so if I replace it I would have to get a new interface as well.

So in theory the facility to take phone calls while riding (and make them while still togged up) has value but in practice I’ve hardly ever used it used it and except for its contingency value it has certainly been poor value for money.

And the strict line my Winger friend takes about leaving the phone switched off while you’re riding still seems to me to make a lot of sense so if the time comes when I have to change my satnav (or in the now unlikely event that I change my bike) I might not bother trying to hook up the phone to the bike next time.

But then again I might.  Being able to make a quick call could be extremely valuable.

Passenger Floorboards, Part No 7005

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a safety recall alert for aftermarket passenger floorboards sold by Kuryakyn since September 2008 as accessories for 2001-2011 GoldWing GL1800s.

The recall affects a total of 21,600 sets of floorboards and the problem is that the mounting bracket may crack and break off, causing the floorboard to detach from the motorcycle,  possibly injuring riders or cause collisions.  Only about 50 sets of these floorboards have been sold in UK since September 2008 and there have been no reported failures at all.

The Kuryakyn Part Number quoted on the US Recall Notice is 607005 but this doesn’t compute because Kuryakyn usually allocates four digit part numbers to accessories.  I have however been able to get confirmation from Kuryakyn that it is the Passenger Floorboard, Part Number 7005, which is affected.  The rider’s footboard kit, Part Number 4038, is not subject to this recall.

You can view the official US recall notice by Clicking Here.

It may be some time before the UK’s vehicle safety authority, VOSA, issue their own recall notice and because there have been no reported incidents in UK indeed they they may not even do so.  However Kuryakyn’s UK & European distributors, MAG (Europe) Ltd, have already confirmed to me that they will be arranging to have replacements fitted.  This work will be done free of charge.

The UK inspections will be carried out by their three principle UK Stockists and any UK Winger who has Kuryakyn passenger floorboards fitted to his GL1800 should contact one of these Stockists directly for service.  They are:

Knutsford Motorcycles on 01925 752600

Colin Appleyard Motorcycles, Keighley on 01535 606311

HGB Motorcycles, Ruislip on 01895 632234

Any concerned UK Winger is also welcome to contact Simon Vernon, who is handling this matter for MAG (Europe) on  0161 337 4390.

To repeat, there have been no reported incidents of failure of these floorboards in UK and only floorboards supplied after September 2008 are at risk.  Although it would be sensible for UK Wingers who have these accessories fitted to their bikes to inspect the mounting plates for cracks before they next go riding, I don’t think there is any reason to take the bike off the road on this account.  This recall might just provide a plausible excuse for leaving the wife at home doing the dishes while you test ride the bike on Boxing Day but that’s about it.

Concerned US Wingers may call Kuryakyn directly on 715-247-5008

GL1800 - 2001 Model Year

Honda (UK) has recently been informed by Honda Motor Europe of a safety recall for the 2001 to 2012 year model Goldwing (GL1800) although in Europe, only 2001- 2010 year models are affected.

The exact fault is that the secondary master cylinder compensator port may become blocked, resulting in potential rear wheel brake drag, and a temperature increase on the rear brake, exceeding specifications.

What has caused this? A combination of small free play of the secondary master cylinder piston and large push rod angle, coupled with primary seal swelling, may block the compensator port of the secondary master cylinder.

The ‘fix’ for this problem will be that the dealer will inspect the secondary master cylinder with an inspection tool and if brake drag potential is detected, the secondary master cylinder will be replaced with an improved one which has a slightly different angle.

A total of just over 160,000 machines globally are potentially affected (with approximately 20,000 of these being in Europe), although, a total of 26 cases have been reported as showing symptoms in the US market but there have been no incidents at all reported in Europe.

Approximately 1,800 UK specification registered machines are affected, although until Honda (UK) receives further information from the DVLA, we do not know the total number of machines that may be affected in the UK as this will also include some US specification machines. Any US specification machines in the UK would be included in the recall and be attended to by the Honda (UK) dealer network.

In terms of the process, VOSA have recently approved the recall and provided authority to DVLA to release customer information to Honda (UK) of owners whose machines may be affected and we hope to receive this information in the coming weeks. During this time, Honda (UK) will be sending a recall notification to our dealer network early next week and so at present, our dealer network would not be fully aware of the situation, which is something some of your blog followers have experienced during their visits to some dealerships. Once Honda (UK) receives this information from DVLA, letters will then be sent out to all relevant customers notifying them of the recall and the action for them to take. We anticipate customers will receive this letter from Honda (UK) early in the new year.

In the meantime, Honda can confirm that the motorcycles are safe to ride as the symptoms only manifest themselves under very specific conditions.

However if customers do have any concerns they should contact Honda (UK) on:

0845 200 8000

Fiona Cole, Corporate Affairs,  Honda (UK)

Note that the following details are from the American declaration and the inspection and repair procedure which HondaUK adopt may vary from this, depending on the view of the UK Authorities.  As far as safety recalls are concerned, the manufacturer has to secure the approval of the national safety authorities for the inspection and repair action.

Owners will be sent a letter inviting them to make an appointment with a Honda Dealer to have their bike checked and/or fixed.  Because this is a safety recall, i.e. the fault could affect the bike’s safety,HondaUK  will apply it to all affected GL1800s registered in UK, including parallel imports.  HondaUK  are allowed to get the names and addresses of the owners from DVLA in these circumstances, although having used them to issue the recall letters they are not allowed to keep them.

Nature of the potential fault:

The compensating port hole inside the secondary master cylinder (part of the combined-braking system) can become blocked due to either stacking of tolerances in manufacturing and/or sufficient swelling of the primary pressure cup inside the master cylinder.

If the compensating port hole becomes completely blocked, the rear wheel brake caliper can drag after the rider releases the brake input. If this occurs, the rear brake temperature and pressure progressively increase. Unexpected braking increases the risk of a crash and continued riding with the brake engaged can generate enough heat to cause the rear brake to catch fire.

This doesn’t mean that there is a high risk of unexpected severe braking or a fire, just that there is enough of a potential risk for Honda to have to do something about it.

Inspection and Repair

Honda Motorcycle Dealers will inspect the secondary master cylinder of all affected motorcycles.  If an inspection indicates that the compensator port hole can become blocked due to this problem, the Dealer will replace the secondary master cylinder.   These inspections and repairs (if needed) will be carried out free of charge.

Target dates for all American GoldWing owners to have received their letter is the end of January 2012.  Honda America has apologised for any inconvenience this creates, but feels the safety of our customers is the highest priority and encourages every customer to contact their dealer to schedule an appointment upon receiving the SAFETY RECALL letter.

HondaUK is expected to do something similar without unnecessary delay although their timescale might be determined by how quickly they can secure the approval of the relevant UK Authorities.

HondaUK have a very good track record when it comes to handling this sort of thing – as good as if not better than Honda America.  There is no indication as far as I can see that anyone needs to stop riding their bike until the inspection has been carried out although any rider does notice dragging of the rear brake it would obviously make sense to investigate rather than ignore it.

You can contact HondaUK’s Motorcycle Customer Relations Team on 01753 590510.

Honda C90

A new month, winter should be here by now but isn’t really –I’m in Lancashire and, incredibly, it’s not raining, although it did rain yesterday.  The reservoirs are low and the media are running a story about the likelihood of hosepipe bans as soon as Spring appears.  And the economic forecast are still very gloomy.

Climate change, global economy out of control, these are peculiar and unpredictable times.  How can anyone predict which motorcycles will sell best in five or more years time, in order to start designing and building them?

But the Honda Motor Company, in spite of the Japanese tsunami and consequential cash flow problems, might once again be in the process of pulling off a very clever stroke indeed.    At least that’s what Kevin Ash is saying in this week’s Motorcycle News, and he strikes me as the sort of motorcyclist who has a brain as well as horny kneecaps.  I should point you towards the MCN rather than steal his thunder by re-writing his article for my own Blog so I’ll suggest that to youbuy copy straight away, before they run out.

MCN’s circulation drops off markedly, indeed I’m told by the retailers that its sales in shops halves it the off season but I was given a subscription as a Christmas present last year so my copy arrives by post every Wednesday morning throughout the year.  And a very good read it mostly is – much better than getting another round of socks and hankies.  I suggest you start dropping hints.

Anyway back to Honda’s clever idea.  Partly it’s getting three different sorts of two-wheelers out of one engine and frame, but mostly it’s about moving away from a high-revving motorcycle engine designs to a more fuel efficient, low-revving derivative of car engine design, to yield a two wheel utility vehicle which is optimised for use as everyday transport and at speeds within legal limits and which traffic density will allow, rather than using partly tamed motorcycle racing engines.

Crosstourer

Not quite back to making Honda C90s but moving away from Fireblade-type crutch rockets distinctly towards more usuable and economical everyday bikes.  Thta doesn’t mean cheap and nasty bikes of course, nor slow coach motorcycles either I hasten to add because the three variations of NC700X commuter/NC700S light-tourer/Integra scooter no sluggards, even if they lack “excitement”.

Will these bikes appeal to UK riders, who mostly buy motorcycles for recreational purposes?  Kevin Ash doesn’t think so, but he thinks they will appeal to every day riders in countries like Italy and Spain, so they will have a big impact on Honda’s European sales and perhaps worldwide too.  So he thinks that Honda have done it again by creating a completely new class of two wheeler.  As they did in 1975 when they launched the first GoldWing.  By the way the underlying reason that these new car-derived engines are more fuel efficient is that they only rev up to about 6,000, similar of course to the GoldWing’s rev range.

Integra

Honda has also introduced the Crossrunner and now the Crosstourer, both of which are based on the new VFR1200 V4 engine, but they are more like attempts to get on the bandwagon by competing with other manufacturer’s successful innovations – such as BMW’s R1200GS.

It’s taken Honda quite a while to compete in this class; the R80G/S launched BMW’s adventure series a long time ago so maybe Honda weren’t convinced it would work.  And the Fireblade is celebrating its 20^th birthday with some new features and there are innovations and changes to the scooter range too.  So Honda has been busy – including of course introducing the restyled 2012 Model GoldWing.

Deauville

The conspicuous gap in the Honda range of modern, up-to-date bikes is however the lack of proper touring bikes, still represented the ageing Deauville, Pan European and GoldWing models.  You could of course count the re-styling of the GoldWing as the 2012 Model as modernisation but as Steve Martindale acknowledged when I interviewed hima few months ago that the 2012 GoldWing is only a re-styling of an existing (ten year old) model with some feature improvements.

It is not a new GoldWing model – of which there seems to be no foreseeable prospect at all, at least not as far as Steve, the General Manager (Motorcycles) of HondaUK is concerned.  And presumably he’s in the know.

And in another revelation by my favourite motorcycle journal a few weeks ago, a Honda source was reported to have confirmed that the replacement for the Pan European, within two years of release because the ST1300 has been going since 2003, has now been canned.

Pan European

This decision was forced on Honda because BMW have priced their new big tourers, the K1600 series, more competitively than expected so that Honda couldn’t realistically compete with them using their V4 1200cc engine, which was to be the basis of the new Pan and would have been sold for similar money to the six cylinder BMWs.  No contest then.

This same Honda insider confided to MCN that Honda knows that it needs to replace both the Pan European and the GoldWing with new models but can only afford to do one of them.

NC700S

With the Pan re-design canned and therefore needing to go back to the drawing board and start again, it might at first seem hopeful that there will be a new, or at least more substantially revised, GoldWing.  But I can’t see that happening for a few years yet if at all.

The best which I think we can hope for in GoldWing development for the foreseeable future is that they finish off the restyling with a replacement trunk which looks as if it belongs with the new saddlebags.  On that basis and with some further electronic system refinements, but nothing fancy in the way of genuinely new features like electronic ABS, the GoldWing might at least stay in production for another five years or so.

Why else would they have bothered to shift all the tooling to transfer production to Japan?  And the Kumamoto factory has the merit of being designed so that its production lines can be fairly easily switched to manufacture different motorcycles and therefore cater for smaller annual production volumes as necessary.

NC700X

The Marysville Factory was a one trick pony which needed to make 10,000 or so GoldWings each year to stay in business.  It also needed to build bikes properly to Honda standards to stay in business too but that’s another story.  Kumamoto can cater for the production of much smaller GoldWing volumes and Honda might now be aiming for only half of what they once sold each year.  HondaUK are certainly playing things very conservatively by bringing in only 80 2012 Model GoldWings, which is less than one per dealership.  It’s not that many years since they were selling over 300 per year and indeed Appleyards were selling 80 or so per year all on their own.

There might still be a possibility of a variant on the V4 1200cc shaft-drive Crosstourer theme which will serve as a proper touring bike, i.e. a revised “proper tourer” replacement for the Pan European, built down to a price to allow it to compete with the BMW tourers successfully.  Honda having to start building down to price instead of up to Honda build quality?  Times are a changing but I doubt if that is going to happen.

Crossrunner

And where does that leave the future of the GoldWing?  As I see it in some considerable uncertainty.

Steve Martindale seemed to me to put huge, foreboding emphasis on the contraction of the big bike market in America and across Europe.  He gave no hope at all that there might be something on the Honda drawing board in way of a genuinely new GoldWing model.  Quite the opposite he made it very clear that as far as he knew there definitely wasn’t.

2012 Model GoldWing

As the economic forecasts seem to get gloomier and the worldwide recession is being predicted to take 6 or more years to start to show real recovery and growth, it doesn’t seem at all likely to me that Honda will see a big enough GoldWing market to justify developing a genuinely new model.

And although the GL1800 is still an extremely good touring bike which has some features which knock spots off a BMW K1600GTL, in another five years or so it will be too long in the tooth to survive without further substantial revision and therefore investment, and I doubt that this will happen.  The return on investment will favour smaller bikes.

Regrettably therefore my money is currently on GoldWing production stopping altogether in about five years time.   The GoldWing model series will probably make its 40^th anniversary in 2015, hopefully with a matching trunk again by then, but the chances of a 50^th anniversary GoldWing model being sold in 2025 are currently looking pretty slim.  Hopefully I will be proved wrong.

Victoria of HondaUK viewing this Blog on her IPad. Brains and beauty, poor Bob was completely outclassed

I made it to the NEC after all this year, my troublesome hip having responded well to an injection and a jolly good day out it was too, in the Company of Federation Chairman Bob Summers and GoldWings North West Chairman Ian Duxbury, who kindly substituted for Frank Goodman as male model for my photos of the lycra-clad ladies.  Since Ian’s wife was stuck at home with no transport and serious toothache I thought this was very brave of him.

HondaUK had very kindly offered me some free tickets and so we were met by the lovely Hannah at the gate who handed them over.  Straight to the Honda Stand we then went of course, pausing only briefly to collect a coffee from their splendid Honda Cafe before making a beeline for the 2012 Model GL1800.  A white pre-production model was displayed as one of an arc of bikes behind rails around the back of the Stand but I was nevertheless able to get around the back and do a bit of sniffing about as well as take some photos.

Then the delightful Victoria accosted us with an offer of a prize drawn for one of everything from the Honda range – i.e. one car, one motorcycle, one generator, one lawnmower etc etc for the prize winner and no entry fee.  I’d been wondering what to get Management for Christmas so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the lawnmower will be small enough for her to handle.

We had to register our personal details to enter of course but handing these over to a pretty and personable young lady is never much of a chore so all three of us meekly complied, indeed I would have happily stayed there for ages doing it repeatedly.

Honda's My First Licence was popular with the children

The Honda Stand was a happy sort of place and we spent quite a while there before venturing elsewhere.  Prominence was given to the Crosstourer, Honda’s new VFR1200-based competitor to the BMW1200GS and, of course the Fireblade and the trio of scooter/motorcycle variants which share a common engine and frame.  Honda had also made room on their Stand for a display by a volunter group who deliver blood samples out of hours for NHS hospitals which they are sponsoring, which was noble.

The Show was bigger this year and occupied three Halls plus another one where a spectacular display of skilled motocross riding was laid on.  It was simply awesome to watch as six riders did all sorts of aerobatic manouvres, including in formation, using huge ramped-up mounds of earth built for the occasion.   One of them was only 13 years old!  The admission price, had we paid it, would have been worth it for this display alone.

Triumph Explorer

The new Triumph Explorer was attracting a lot of attention and the Norton Stand was popular too.  Indeed because it was Saturday when we went to the Show it was pretty busy all over and there was plenty of footfall even in the further reaches among the smaller stands.  We were however able to find a table to sit and eat our sandwiches – or in Bob’s case, because he’s on a diet, a tupperware box of salad and chicken.  Quite how most of a buxom chicken constitutes a weight reducing diet I’m not sure but he didn’t eat all the couscous, so maybe that made up for it.

Click on the image to see where Ian's hands were

And talking of buxom, or rather nubile wenches, we did of course notice the odd one or two around the Halls, some of whomwere a bit reticent about wrapping themselves around ian in response to my request.  The Kawasaki Girls were however most cooperative and made Ian’s day; I was asked to be sure to send him a copy of his picture with them so he could take it to work today to claim bragging rights.

The NEC Show is worth spending two or three days wandering around because there is an awful lot to see and there’s only so much you can take in at once and before your feet start to get sore.  None of us bought anything in the way of riding gear despite some incredible bargains.  Ian spent ages trying to find a souvenir Show Badge but failed, so he eventually settled for a wheel brush costing £2 as his take-home momento.

The Federation invades the GWOCG Stand

We bumped into a familiar face on the GWOCGB Stand in the form of Barry Walton, who was every bit as dynamic (and garralous) as usual and as well as giving us his guided tour of the 2012 Model GL1800, which he’d by then spent a full week crawling all over and playing with, was very informative.  Tony Perkins had imported a US Spec 2012 Model in blue and loaned it to the Club for display on their Stand.  It was more prominent and far more accesible that the white one on the Honda Stand so we spent quite a while looking it over.

New snout is attractive

Barry demonstrated some of his discoveries including the awkwardness of removing and replacing the redesigned side covers (i.e the battery cover and its opposite number) but on the brighter side he is convinced that these Japanese-built GoldWings have taken a quantum leap back up the scale of build quality, which was surprising.  Little things like the quality of finish on the polished bolts holding the front mudguard in place and the thicker, better quality rubber washers under some of them.  The plastic material of the redesigned cover strip for the joint between the front fairing and the top shelter is also more flexible and resilient.

The redesign of the seat seems to have moved the butt-rest backwards, allowing a little more room for the rider, which will help taller riders for whom earlier GL1800s were a tight if not untenable fit in this respect.  There might be noticeably less room for passengers as a result of this change so unless you are brave enough to trade the large wife in for a smaller one or alternatively leave her at home, you might get some additional earache when you ride one of these restyled GoldWings.

Bigger saddlebag, same sized access hole

And restyling there certainly has been and this is noticeable when you see the bike in the flesh.  The one thing everybody seems to like is the revised windscreen garnish with it’s twin angles slits instead of a single horizonatal “scoop”.  The rest of the restyling is a matter for the eye of the beholder and those who have seen plenty of the new 2012 Model, including Barry, all says its growing on them.

Bigger lids more vulnerable to damage if you drop it?

So far it hasn’t grown on me but this was the first time I’d seen it.  I quite liked the new bulging sides for the front fairing on the photos but in the flesh, or rather the plastic, I like them less.  There is now almost no chromed plastic anywhere on the bike and instead the panels which were chromed are now either matt black or grey.  I suppose it’s important to think back to the time when the new GL1800 looked like a plastic bath tub and more like a PC800 that a proper GoldWing, compared to the stately and magnificent GL1500 which it replaced.  But we certainly got used to the Gl1800 and few if any Wingers will now think of it anything othet than a proper GoldWing, even if they do still prefer the overall style and presence of its predecessor.

New cover strip, lots more matt black

In the flesh, or rather the plastic, the restyled saddlebags have their merits but I still see then as profoundly discordant with the unchanged trunk, as if Honda ran out of budget to finish off the restyling by changing the shape of that too.   Compare it for example with the stylish back end of the Victory, which whether you like it’s appearnace or not does at least look as though the trunk and the saddlebags are a matching set.

Less chromed plastic, new shaped fog light hole

Whether you like the re-styling or not the 2012 Model is an audible step forward for those of us who to play music as you ride because as well as providing for connection of your music player in the trunk, the new Model has a powerful new sound system and the UK Specification includes rear speakers, which is a first.  Listening to Barry’s IPod playing on Tony Perkins new bike was genuinely very impressive.  It’s certainly a conspicuous improvement on previous UK-spec models and if you want to enteratin the whole community with your musical taste as you pass through villages – or even large towns – this sound system will do the job.

New Sound System where the obsolete CD Changer used to go

The Navi system has taken a leap into the 21st Century too, with 3D mapping and the option to search for a desitination using a Post Codes – although probably only on UK-spec models, personally imported US-spec bikes like Tony’s can’t be converted to operate in this way, or at least not yet.  The really useful improvement in the Navi system for UK and European riders is however the option to load pre-planned riding routes intot he bike’s system, which earlier the Navi system wouldn’t accept.  The Navi system on 2012 Model bikes has two SD card slots, the second one being usable for this purpose.  Routes created using Garmin’s Mapsource on the PC at home have been successfully downloaded on to an imported 2012 Model to which European maps have also been successfully installed.

Victory rear end - styled as a matching set

Honda also claims handling and wind-sheltering improvements for the 2012 Model but until UK riders have reported their experiences of riding the new bike we should perhaps avoid high expectations in these areeas.  The lower air vents in the front fairing (blowing on to yoru shins) have now gone as well so the vent in the windscreen is all you get.  Fitting extra wind deflectors to the side of the fairing might be problematic too because the new fairing bulge wraps around the back of the fairing, covering the fastenning points which were used on earlier models – but doubtless the accessory models will think of something and fitments for the 2012 Model will appear in due course.

Stylish touch in way of rear lighting

The restyled 2012 Model seems to have taken a quatum step away from being the sort of GoldWing that you can look forward to fitting extra shiny bits to in that with this one there is almost no chrome at all to start with, except for the name badges  on the side covers, the valve cover strip and on the snout.  Manuafacturing the exhaust system in matt black or grey plastic might one day be possible but fortunately not yet so thankfully that’s still chromed metal.

Adaptive headlights on the owlish BMW K1600 series

I suppose it might be a reflection of my own age that I like chrome on a GoldWing and I resent the idea that there is now even less chrome on the GL1800 you buy from the manufacturer and it looks even more like a clip-together plastic kit bike.  But for £24,000 I expect something with a bit of class about it for my money rather than something which looks like it’s been redesigned in a cheaper, all plastic finish.

Anyway, on we went to the BMW stand where they had a line up of four K1600 models, three of which you could sit on and play with.  Compared with  HondaUK sticking their new big tourer at the back of the Stand as one of a row of bikes providing the backdrop to the Stand, BMW looked to be taking touring motorcycles seriously.

An impressive and accessible line up of K1600 BMWs

But then Victoria was a very nice young lady, more of a thinking man’s crumpet than the dolly birds on the Kawasaki stand, and HondaUK were serving remarkably good coffee.

Thanks for showing us the 2012 Model GoldWing ahead of UK deliveries in March 2012 Honda, but please start taking the marketing and selling of touring bikes more seriously.

I suppose it might be force majeure because of the Japanese tsunami but if not then bringing only 80 of these 2012 Model GoldWings into UK isn’t really trying to sell them in any active way – it’s not even one bike per Honda Dealership.