Stuart’s GoldWing Blog

Ian astride a 2001 GL1800 shod with early Bridgestones

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE FOR AN ENLARGED VIEW

To put my experiences and views into context, I’ve ridden Goldwings continuously and exclusively since 1998 and I am now on my seventh. The first Wing was a GL1500SE but the rest have all been GL1800s, all US models and all with ABS – as of course do all UK model GL1800s.

I’ve ridden upwards of 160,000miles on a Wing, some of it in straight lines but as much as possible on non-motorway roads.  I enjoy exploiting the excellent handling of a GL1800 and I ride to make progress more often than I dawdle along.  So my tyres are sometimes working hard for their living.

I have used tyres from four different manufacturers including two different designs of tyre from two of them, so continues………

Correct size marking for a GL1800 front tyre. Click on the picture for a larger image

A GL1800 was fitted with Avon Venoms recently because there was a temporary stock shortage of Avon Cobras, which are now the preferred fit for a GL1800.

The owner noticed a significant deterioration in handling compared with his previous tyres, which had been Cobras.  This led to discovery that a cross ply (official terminology “bias belted”) front tyre had inadvertently been fitted while the rear one was a radial.  The tyre suppler replaced both tyres with Cobras as soon as the error was discovered.

Avon Venoms used to be made in both cross ply (for the GL1500) and radial (for the GL1800) versions.  Confusion can arise because although the rear wheels are different sizes, both bikes have the same size front tyre.

Cross ply Venoms are still made for the GL1500 but production of the radial versions stopped when the Avon Cobra was launched for the GL1800.  Any radial Venom continues………

On the right is a 2008 Pearl White US model, with chrome extras, and on the left an absolutely unique colour called "Last Week's Papal Robes"

A white GL1800 is to be sold officially in UK for the first time – but not just yet.

As I forecast in an earlier article on this Blog, included in HondaUK’s stockpile of GL1800s there are colours not previously seen in UK except personally imported US-spec bikes.  It now appears there were two such colours – and at long last this includes white.

White has always been a very popular colour for GoldWings and many have been imported from the US.  With a bit of extra chrome here and there it looks really good.  Indeed so committed was my friend Bill to having a white bike that when he replaced his white GL1500 and couldn’t buy a white one, he bought a blue one, stripped it of all painted parts before it turned a wheel and had them resprayed in pearlescent white.  The colour he chose has a golden sheen to it.  (Don’t tell him I said so but it’s really stunning.)

So at last, and it’s official, HondaUK will be selling a white GL1800.  Officially the new colour will be called continues………