RIDE REVIEW I 2021 HONDA GOLD WING TOUR AUTOMATIC DCT
P98
If you have never ridden a Gold
Wing, you would probably be
surprised at just how sporty they
can be for such a big bike. There
are some fantastic twisty roads in
Northern Arizona, and during my
ride from California, I happened
to have a guy riding BMW K 1600
pass me on the open highway
before we got into a particularly
great section of highway 89 head-
ing up into the mountains towards
Prescott. The two of us upped the
pace for an hour-long stretch and
gave some air-high fives as we
rolled into town.
As for the upgraded speakers
for 2021, this is not something I
can comment on as I use a Cardo
headset, which sounds way bet-
ter than any external speakers. I
found it relatively easy to pair up
the Cardo headset but not so much
with pairing up the Apple CarPlay.
I love Apple CarPlay in a car, but
the need to pair up the phone-
bike-headset seemed not always to
work, and I heard similar feedback
from other riders. It works great
when it works, but it did not always
work for me.
One other cool feature is the
Smart Key; the bike and trunks will
work with the key in your pocket,
but neither works when you walk
away with the key. This is nice with
a car but even better when you
are wearing riding gear, especially
gloves, making it challenging to find
and use a key.
S P O R T I E R T H A N Y O U T H I N K
When it comes to
comfort for both pilot
and co-pilot, the Gold
Wing rules.
