Possible prototype pic of new F6B?

[BIGLRY]

I'm already plotting the purchase.

I keep telling myself I am so happy with mine. Which I really am, but I am lusting after these pics. If I get some info that there is 120 or more horses from the new power plant to the ground , I will be done.

[Jimmytee]

There were quite a few comments here about the F6B being discontinued.....I wasn't on that boat.
With the new Yamaha Transcontinental and the BMW K1600B, you gotta think Honda wanted to keep themselves in the bagger market.
With no 2017 F6B model on the US Honda Motorsports website, you knew it was only a matter of time for them to release something new.
The GoldWing has too long of a history walk away from, The F6B and F6C require little investment from Honda once the GoldWing is redone.

I'll hazard a guess that we'll see a new GL and F6B before the end of the year, and just maybe a Valkyrie as well?

I'd have a hard time imagining them doing another Valkyrie. They almost can't give them away.
The F6B , while slow to start out in sales, I think has done quite a bit better. And if Honda had put cruise and stuff on them from the beginning, think they would have done much better from the start.

I own one of the originals and have had 2 of them. I test rode the 2014 when it came out. It was a fun ride, but couldn't see getting one over an F6B for what I would want in one. Keeping tires on them has been a challenge too from some of my friends personal experience over on the VRCC.

[austin_tech]

I like the rims, would like to see a side shot to have a better look at the front suspension/etc.

If this is the real deal the engine looks like there hasn't been any changes, only cosmetic?

Deal killer: if they blow off adding that needed 6th gear. I have been looking for it every day for nearly four years commuting to work.
Also, like others have said, I don't think I'd want an automatic.

[F6Bster]

My bet is the 3018 Gold Wing has a removable trunk, thus it becomes F6B-like. As for the size of the engine, difficult to judge from the picture. I'd like the automatic with shifter paddles for manual control. It will be expensive, so I like my F6B even more for now.

[Jimmytee]

I like the rims, would like to see a side shot to have a better look at the front suspension/etc.

If this is the real deal the engine looks like there hasn't been any changes, only cosmetic?

Deal killer: if they blow off adding that needed 6th gear. I have been looking for it every day for nearly four years commuting to work.
Also, like others have said, I don't think I'd want an automatic.

As has been repeated. the rumor is that the F6B will have a 6 spd manual and the Gold Wing a 7 spd DCT transmission. The engine and transmissions are supposed all brand new with more power and larger displacement. No specs yet

[ShanghaiDan]

My bet is the 3018 Gold Wing has a removable trunk, thus it becomes F6B-like. As for the size of the engine, difficult to judge from the picture. I'd like the automatic with shifter paddles for manual control. It will be expensive, so I like my F6B even more for now.

That's what my CTX has - automatic with shifter toggles (both on the left side). You can leave it in "auto" mode and it will choose when to shift. Or you can click to manual and you decide. Yes, you can bang the rev limiter real easy! But it also has smarts - if you slow down without downshifting it will do so before you'd bog the engine. Still need to manually upshift though (if you're in manual mode).

Nothing like having a big click off 50 msec shifts at the touch of a toggle!

I am all over this if it's what it will be. And I agree, it looks like the F6B is the GW, just without the trunk. Hopefully it's a "pop on/off" or at most "bolt on/off" part for the rear, meaning I can get the full-boat GW but only put the rear trunk on the scoot when I have a long trip or the wife comes along!

[six2go]

Looks good, but I'm old school, and I won't buy a bike with out a clutch. JMO

Better get ready to write a check cuz the DCT has 2 of 'em.

I think if more people really understood the DCT they would stop calling it an "automatic". True, you can use the mode where you don't have to do anything but twist and go, but it's really a regular transmission that is electronically shifted. No slushbox with a torque converter. If you use the manual mode, you can shift at your pleasure just like the antiques, or if in sport mode it will shift for you and ya better be hanging on because it will go like hell and shift faster than a human can with a handlebar mounted lever and toe shifter.
My VW GTI has this same technology and I wouldn't want to regress to a stick or true auto. This is the performance transmission of the future. Formula 1 has been using it for awhile now.
Just offering another viewpoint. Enjoy the ride, no matter what.

[Deerkiller]

I don't know about all this DCT. I can upshift pretty damn fast with what I have now. Just don't use the clutch, preload the shifter, and blip the throttle down with the flick of a wrist. It all happens rather quickly

I'd rather not have it any other way. A quick shifter and an auto-blipper setup on a regular transmission would be the cats ass. Along with a slipper clutch. And more power of course.

First time I ever rode a bike with a quick shifter I went from being confused as to what just happened to having the biggest dumb grin on my face once I started using it. Pretty sure there's no faster way to go thru the gears.

[BIGLRY]

Better get ready to write a check cuz the DCT has 2 of 'em.

I think if more people really understood the DCT they would stop calling it an "automatic". True, you can use the mode where you don't have to do anything but twist and go, but it's really a regular transmission that is electronically shifted. No slushbox with a torque converter. If you use the manual mode, you can shift at your pleasure just like the antiques, or if in sport mode it will shift for you and ya better be hanging on because it will go like hell and shift faster than a human can with a handlebar mounted lever and toe shifter.
My VW GTI has this same technology and I wouldn't want to regress to a stick or true auto. This is the performance transmission of the future. Formula 1 has been using it for awhile now.
Just offering another viewpoint. Enjoy the ride, no matter what.

How does DCT work?
http://world.honda.com/motorcycle-pi...ail/index.html
and
http://world.honda.com/motorcycle-picturebook/DCT/
and
http://world.honda.com/motorcycle-pi...nge/index.html

Yea a lot of guys have no concept of how the DCT(Dual Clutch Transmission) really works and you are correct it can shift faster and at a better RPM that you or I ever could.
Yes, they are proven in F1 cages, a few street cages and some MC for a few years now.
There is no slip like something with a torque converter before it locks up. I think of the DCT trans as having an RPM induced, electronically activated, hydraulically operated clutch that will operate faster than me without missing a shift.
Do I want one?....... that is a debatable question, while on one hand I might get quicker 1/4 mile times, but I'm still old school and love the tactile feeling of controlling the power in my hands, but there again DCT is coming and I think we are going to see it on more steel steeds as the public gets used to it.




Here is another reason the DCT is becoming so popular too. you'll notice there is no big drop in the torque when shifting from first gear to second gear with a DCT system. A very smooth transition that keeps the engine's torque continuously applied.

[ShanghaiDan]

What the little guy right above said...

DCTs are used in F1, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris, and pretty much all high performance cars. They shift faster than you can (literally 20-30 milliseconds - faster than a person can react), perfectly match throttle each time, and with two clutches - it's nearly always ready for the next shift.

I have a buddy who has the same scoot as I do - a CTX700. Mine is the DCT, his is manual. He raced professionally early on, and also has a few other sports bikes (uses the CTX as a commuter). He KNOWS how to shift fast, and the CTX is a really slick shifter. He weighs 140, I'm north of 300. When we race, he pulls away every single gear - until we shift. Or rather, he shifts and my DCT does its thing. I catch and pass him every time. Then he pulls ahead a bike length, we shift, and I'm in front again until he slowly inches ahead (due to a 20% weight differential).

Out-shifting a DCT is like saying you can out-brake an ABS system. MAYBE one out of 50 times you can "beat the computer" but you're gonna lose 49 times out of 50. And seriously, the freedom from NOT having to clutch and shift (especially in traffic) is a truly amazing thing. The art of riding becomes about riding, not kicking a lever... Nothing better than not clutching 100 times every block in LA city traffic!

But if you don't want a DCT - looks like Honda will offer it both ways, like they do the rest of their DCT-enabled bikes!