2012 BMW K1600GTL vs. 2012 Honda Gold Wing Shootout [Video]
in the red corner, weighing 903 pounds wet, boasting 1832cc, spanning 66.5 inches between contact patches, the Wing of Welfare, the Velvet Glove of Two-Wheel Touring the 2012 Honda Gold Wing. In the blue corner, tipping the scales at a lithe 767 pounds with fluids, displacing 1649cc and with a similar 66.1-inch wheelbase, the Barcalounger Beemer, the German Winnebago, the 2012 BMW K1600GTL.
Returning under cover of darkness early on a Sunday morning in the first week of July, all three participants were tired and sore from two very long days in the saddle. If, hypothetically, you were in their position and forced to continue, which would be your bike of choice? The answer to that question depends on what kind of rider you are and the topography between you and your destination.
The aging Gold Wing has its hands full. The BMW is the younger, lighter and more powerful contender. Not that Honda hasn’t kept the Gold Wing in top condition by revising its suspension for 2012, updating the Wing’s look with a restyled fairing as well as tweaking its Satellite Linked Navigation and its surround sound stereo systems and enlarging and restyling its saddlebags.
2012 Luxury-Touring Shootout
The ultimate BMW Tourer now equals the Honda in number of cylinders, but has surpassed the Wing in electronic gadgetry.
The BMW definitely has the advantage of being the all-new model while the Honda is largely unchanged since 2001 when improvements and upgrades were heaped upon the original design of the 1800 format. But the old adage, "Why fix what isn’t broken?", definitely applies to the Gold Wing because, until now, there hasn’t been any significant competition besides other BMW models. With the introduction of this exciting six-cylinder Beemer, though, Honda must be sweating its new adversary.
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