Honda Gold Wing F6B

Ride the shit out of it Larryboy,and keep us posted.

If your in the LA basin like me, I think I know which dealer you are talking about.

I bought my little Tri Bonneville from a multi-line dealer, saw a row of Goldwings along the back wall. Some of the top-level Goldwings were marked 5K off MSRP.

I was told Goldwings have been a tough sell for a couple years now. He said it was time for Honda to update it beyond what they did in 2012.

Holy F man...got switches?

:huh

I was at the dealership the other day checking on recalls on my triple and I looked at the f6b and it started growing on me. I know the owners and they said I can take theirs for the day anytime I want. I went home thinking about it and then lack of cruise really bothered me and then it dawned on me that it also did not have abs, how foolish was honda on this one. If they had cruise and abs on that bike that probably would not be discounting them they would be selling them. Harley, Victory, Bmw, Ducati, the weestrom and many more have abs and harley, victory and bmw have cruise. What the heck was honda thinking. I can and probably will pick up a 2013 yamaha fjr, which has cruise, abs, traction control etc and will pay around 14k. easy decision.

They have that market covered with the standard Goldwing. The purpose of the F6b, is for those that want the stripped down version. The reason that the sales are slow, is that people that want a stripped down bagger, go for the HD Streetglide and those like yourself, that want more stuff, buy the bigger brother. It's not a bike for everyone and it fills an odd niche, but what bike is for everyone!

But they sure narrowed the market by the exclusion of abs and cruise. especially abs because that can be a deal breaker. At twenty grand the use of "stripped down bagger" isn't the most accurate of statements.

local dealer has a new one with $900 vance & hines exhaust discounted to $18.5k

rather have a '14 valkyrie. but wont be buying either.

Our local dealer has it discounted down to $17,000. I'm going to wait for the Valkyrie as well.
David

whats the deal with the paint ?

You have to track down all of the complaints floating around (e.g. soft paint/no clear coat); however, for a sample, see Honda response to paint issue

That would be tempting, although I don't have a spare 15k laying around anyways.

Visually I'm not a big fan, but it's hard to deny they're great bikes.

Perhaps in 5 years the used ones will be dirt cheap and I can get one then. I don't see myself paying 15K for one. I'd go 8 or 10 for a clean used one though.

I went by my dealership this past weekend and found out they had sold 2 F6B in one week! It's been a very good seller here in South Texas. I'm thinking it's a good seller for Honda. What do you all think?

The heavy discounts on leftovers, plus $1000 in accessories kind of indicates the bike isn't selling. If you really want to cry try getting a dealer to take one in on trade.

I own and dislike my F6B.

It's soulless?

It's a Honda. Aren't they all soulless?

How can you say the flat 6 is soulless? That engine is a gem.

The quote above your is what I said earlier and it still stands. I have about 8200 miles on it now. The motor is great and easily my favorite part of the bike. It also handles better than a bike that big should.

I think I've narrowed it down to what I would call the rider interface. As an example. The switch for the heated hand grips is below the throttle grip. It is a single button that gives you 6 settings. With the heat off if you press the button it goes to HI. You need to press the button 5 more times to turn the heated grips off. And the switch looks like something they bought from Radio Shack as an afterthought. You have to wait until you are in a position to remove your hand from the throttle to turn the heat off. I have tried using my left hand but that feels very weird. I'd rather have a simple dial that I could hit with my left hand of right hand thumb.

The radio switches on the handlebar only control volume and stations up and down. There is no way to jump from one preset station to another without pressing buttons that are below your sight lines near your left knee.

There appears to be no clear coat on the paint. I have some scuffs from a heated jacket outlet that has been rubbed into the paint. I didn't see that kind of scuffing on my DL650 with 30,000 miles.

There are two plastic covers that hide frame welds. Both are held on by one screw and some crappy silicone stuff. The silicone doesn't hold well and one hinged forward on the screw on the top and then broke when I kicked it.

I had the stuttering issue on this bike. Kind of a hesitation when starting from a stop. Other bikes have had the problem to varying degrees. Some never have it, some have it only when cold, some have it all the time. I switched out the six spark plugs and while it hasn't totally eliminated the issue it did lessen it. Shouldn't have to replace spark plugs on a $20,000 new motorcycle. Dealer said they couldn't find the problem. I have read of Goldwing and F6 owners having a reflash done on their ECU to solve the issue.

Well that turned out to be a longer answer than I anticipated. Lots of folks on the F6B forums are very happy with the bike. At this point I have it for sale on the F6B forum for about what I owe on it. Would just like to chalk it up and move on.

hence...it's soulless. LOL

Let me guess: you've never ridden a Gold Wing.