Gold wing or concours

gold wing or concours

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happycrappy

happycrappy

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Question for the oldsters on here...looking at older (84 and up) Gold wings or Kawai Concours. Which do you prefer and why? I'm a bigger guy, so seat height and legroom will be an issue for sure. Most longer rides, some commuting. I'm not remotely worried about the size or weight; plenty of experience riding, etc.
 
I have a 1200, but I've ridden a 1500 and 1800 and an older connie and they're all great bikes in their own way.

If you want comfort, the 1500 wing followed by the 1200 wing feels the best for me. The 1800 is is comfortable, but not quite in the same plush way. The connies felt more like sport bikes with panniers to me, and they also get less comfortable as they get newer. If you want performance, the connies are better but the 1800 wing is pretty close. The 1500 performance is not ideal as the 1200 feels a lot faster to accelerate.

Weight wise, the wing is a pig. It won't matter when you're moving (you don't even really feel it in corners), but pushing it around the garage can be exciting at times. The 1200 has no reverse and I don't remember many of the 1500's having it. Sounds insane to want reverse on a bike but... 800lbs is like 2 sport bikes :)
 
I'm a big fan of the original gen. concours. Sadly due to my short-ish inseam, my feet come down behind the pegs rather than in front of them and it feels like this would lead to a tip over situation for me simply because I couldn't get my legs out from behind them in time. If it weren't for that, I'd probably have bought one. They are bullet proof, every known problem/repair has been solved and debated to death on the concours forum. Lots of connie riders out there with 150,000 km+ still riding them cross country with no worries. Tons of aftermarket goodies to do just about whatever you want to the bike. 32litre fuel tank is amazing for touring! You need to stop long before you run out of gas. Shaft drive is a no-brainer, and it will handle/perform better than the old wing. Best part is that used concours are almost always fairly priced where goldwing owners seem to think their bikes are still worth half their weight in gold!
 
I just traded my 84 Aspencade last summer. It was a beauty.. Super comfortable with the adjustable air ride suspension.. I likened it to floating down a cotton candy highway while sitting on a marshmallow.
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A 1200 wing is pushing 30 years old. While the bones are usually solid the bike will have had numerous owners and various repairs of unknown quality. The 1200 series were known for their stator / regulator problems. After changing numerous stators and almost getting stranded in the boonies I sold my 1200 and bought a 1000 Connie.

The Connie was a solid bike but had a few minor negatives. I would have purchased a new 1800 Wing but I refused to let Honda Canada rape me on price. I eventually bought a 1500 out of the USA and love it except of the 900 pound weight at low speed. The 1500 has far more power than the 1200 so you don't end up shifting as much for general riding. Lots of storage, CB, cruise, high output alternator etc. PM me if you want more details.
 
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I had an 85 goldwing last year, 70k, still ran like new. The best mod ever done was the poor boy alternator conversion, no more stator issues and tons of extra juice for accessories. Steer clear of the 84, it is somewhat of a stand alone year, a lot of parts 85- on don't fit the 84. Overall a great bike, faster than you think, handles way better than my shadow 1100 did. Be sure to use moly lube on the rear splines or they get shredded.
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I had a '08 ZX-6R and traded for this - '13 Connie....pulls like a train and is fast. The Connie has emphasis on SPORT while the GW is Touring...I'm so happy with my bike.
 

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So I went a little tiny bit off course and got a Kawi voyager instead. Found a really low mileage one, so I'm hoping to get a lot of use out of it!
 
Quite a different bike...enjoy! Forgot to post the pic of my ^^new bike^^
happycrappy said:
So I went a little tiny bit off course and got a Kawi voyager instead. Found a really low mileage one, so I'm hoping to get a lot of use out of it!
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