HONDA GOLD WING TOUR VS. BMW K 1600 GTL
COMPARISON TEST
P98
expense of some extra cornering stability. The Dynamic
ESA will still vary suspension damping on the fly, but al-
lows you to set the parameters at which it works.
You sit much more upright on the BMW—it's a rid-
ing position people coming from adventure bikes, for
example, would find more accommodating compared to
the sit-in position of the Gold Wing.
Yet, there's an issue with the BMW in that it's far
from stable at sustained high speed compared to the
Gold Wing. The BMW's front-end can be flighty on the
freeway, making for a surprisingly tiring ride as
you're constantly trying to correct the bike's
trajectory, especially if you're in some form of
sidewind at 70+mph. There's a lot of bodywork
high up with the BMW, especially at the rear as
the top box is substantially taller than the Gold
Wing's, and this can also have a bearing on
high-speed stability.
The Gold Wing, on the other hand, sits lower
to the ground and its dual-wishbone front-end
The Honda's
flat six keeps
the center of
gravity ultra low
compared to
the taller inline
six-cylinder unit
of the BMW.
If your touring
is going to
involve more
twisty roads
than freeways,
the BMW is the
pic for you.
design is a marvel of stability.
The Gold Wing doesn't have
the same cornering agility
as the BMW—it's a far more
sedate riding experience—but
it's certainly more enjoyable
over a long ride. Honda has
designed the Gold Wing's
cockpit so you can watch
the suspension tie-rod ends
bouncing up and down as you
glide along. This is marketing,
pure and simple, to show the
rider how hard the suspension
is working and how little shock
is transmitted. It works, too,
and makes you realize Honda
has hit a home run with the
suspension on the Gold Wing.
It's not agile—after all, this
is a bike weighing over 840
pounds fully fueled—but the
suspension is near perfect for
