I never thought I'd see the day when the Goldwing would remain virtually unchanged for 17 years. Back in the late 60s through the 90s, every few years Honda would stun the motorcycle world with a radical new design. They redefined segments of the market with the CB750, the original naked Wing and then the Interstate, the 6 cylinder CBX, the 650 Turbo, the V-4 Interceptor, and the Valkyrie, just to name a few.

Sadly Honda became a different company after the death of Soichiro Honda in 1991. They still build great bikes. The F6B's incredible balance of performance and comfort prove it was an outstanding design back in 2000. But if you look at the competition it's clear Honda isn't the innovator it once was.

What amazes me is that we have such a large selection of great road bikes to choose from. In addition to the Wing you have excellent choices from BMW and Triumph, not to mention countless V Twins from a long list of companies. This surprises me because we're a pretty old bunch of riders. I read a few years ago that the AVERAGE age of Sturgis attendees was 58! I've been to a few Valkyrie rallies and the youngest rider trophy usually goes to a guy well into his 30s. Those seem like good demographics for trike builders, but not for motorcycle companies. Maybe that's part of the reason Honda is in no hurry to build a new Wing.