2018 Goldwing vs 2018 Yamaha Star Venture

[STRaider]

Has anyone on here ridden both machines? If so, how do they compare?

[opas ride]

Not ridden each as yet, but sat on both of them as they were sitting side-by-side on the dealers showroom floor..The Yamaha was very difficult for me to upright as the damn thing weighs almost 1000 lbs...The seat is much lower than the one on the Goldwing and the overall bike appears to much larger, bigger bags, trunk, tank, etc. I am told the Yamaha is much slower in the quarter than than the Wing, if that is an issue....If I were a much larger person, and much younger, interested in long range touring, I would give the Yama a look see.....But for my money and riding style the Goldwing is a much better fit.....Hope someone soon gets to compare them on the road.....Ride safe

[STRaider]

I've yet to see the Yamaha in person. It sure is nice looking, but as you describe, sounds like a monster size wise. However, At 6'3", that might work for me. That's one reason I love the f6b, it fits me better than any other bike I've ridden even slightly better than my 1998 Valkyrie I once owned.

[53driver]

I rode the Eluder (I know not a Venture) right after I rode the Gl1800 DCT.
Prolly not fair to the Eluder going in that order, but hey, life isn't fair either.
Quite frankly, I wasn't impressed with the Eluder's power and amenities.
I'm pretty sure the Venture would have suffered the same fate.

[jm21ddd15]

The new Yamaha is nice looking, and will appeal to those F6B riders that may have come from a "V-Twin" past, and miss the noise and vibration. It looks HUGE, and as stated above, is a heavy bike. It does have more storage, than the new Gold Wing. Personally, I will stick to the F6B. Faster, sleeker, lighter, and quieter!

[VStarRider]

I have not ridden a Star Venture, but did sit on one. It is a very large bike, feels noticeably larger than even a last generation full Wing.

Reviews have been in general agreement that it feels lighter than it looks once rolling.

I am 6'1" with a 33" inseam and I felt the tank was too wide. Not necessarily uncomfortable, just noticeable.

The two bikes ... its kinda strange ... they are similar in their purpose, but vastly different in their methods to get to that purpose. I think the Wing lineup has always been distinguishable from the V-twin "full dressers" and their carbon copies with better handling, more performance, liquid cooling, seating position, etc.

The Venture and Wing of today continue to maintain that separation.

The sound of a twin is appealing, as is the legroom they afford, but the performance is a turn-off and so is the handling (or lack thereof). Those swept-back bars and extended leg seating position does not inspire my confidence when out on the mean and nasty roads.

That being said, I would still take the Venture or Eluder out for a test ride to see if all these things I said are wrong.

[Drgsin]

I purchased my 2018, sight unseen from Texas, I live in Indiana. I had my buddy do the break in for me, so I can fly down there, and we could head out on a trip that day. He raved about his 7 month old Venture from the day he bought it. He picked up my GW on a friday and by monday he was trading his fork tuner in for his own DCT GW. What converted him over were the nimbleness and speed of the GW and the DCT. he liked the yamaha stereo and the bigger luggage.

[tenxxx]

I sat on a new Venture. It was HUGE! It was a tug to get it off the kick stand.
I felt like I was sitting inside of it.
I rode a 89 Venture for a few years and liked it. It was pretty quick but not like the B.

[olegoat345]

I've owned at least a dozen bikes, rode dozens more. No real sport bikes / crotch rockets. Only 1, BMW K-1000, never a "R".
"To me," to compare any V-twin the a GW is apple & oranges. The big V-twins weight about the same but that's about it. I find all V-twins top heavy, some more so than others.. The GW has the lowest CG of any bike I've ever ridden, it handles & rides great & fairly quick. "I feel" it's in a class of it's own, there's not another bike like it.

[VStarRider]

I am glad this thread continues to get updated. I like what the Yamaha offers, but I just do not think I would be happy long term in that seating position, with the weight, and mostly, the handling. When I went from two V-twin Yamahas over to the F6B, my riding confidence increased dramatically and made me feel safer and less vulnerable on the road. At this point, those things not only make the F6B safer in my eyes, even without ABS, but also make up for the lack of storage and amenities offered on the Venture.

[Cali261]

Has anyone on here ridden both machines? If so, how do they compare?

As much as I love my 2013, I would love to ride both of these bikes to make my own comparison. Has anyone here had the good fortune of riding both of these? Thoughts?

https://www.cycleworld.com/2018-honda-gold-wing-tour-vs-bmw-k1600b-grand-america

6467



Ride Safe,

[JGF6B]

I test rode a k1600gtl (2018).
Top heavy compared to f6b. F6b has more torque immediately available at low rpm. F6b is much quieter (2013).
I found k1600 more comfortable. K1600 wind management fantastic. I loved the flip out wings which provided 10x more wind on rider than baker wings.
K1600 twisty handling awesome but affected by vehicle wind on hiway. F6b much more stable on hiway.
Wasn't bothered by k1600 weight at all.
Was bothered by engine noise which really surprised me. Still considering a swap to a k1600.
Trying to find something between my f6b and ninja 1000. May try 2018 wing. Won't consider Eluder or any large vtwin.

[VStarRider]

I test rode a k1600gtl (2018).
Top heavy compared to f6b. F6b has more torque immediately available at low rpm. F6b is much quieter (2013).
I found k1600 more comfortable. K1600 wind management fantastic. I loved the flip out wings which provided 10x more wind on rider than baker wings.
K1600 twisty handling awesome but affected by vehicle wind on hiway. F6b much more stable on hiway.
Wasn't bothered by k1600 weight at all.
Was bothered by engine noise which really surprised me. Still considering a swap to a k1600.
Trying to find something between my f6b and ninja 1000. May try 2018 wing. Won't consider Eluder or any large vtwin.

There are two and a half things that appeal to me with a V-twin ...

1. The legroom / footspace available.
2. The "shove" of low end torque and resulting push of acceleration that gives you without revving the motor much (able to short shift)
.5 The sound of the V-twin ... I only give it.5 because I like it in short bursts, but it gets annoying over the longer term

[VStarRider]

I test rode a k1600gtl (2018).
Top heavy compared to f6b. F6b has more torque immediately available at low rpm. F6b is much quieter (2013).
I found k1600 more comfortable. K1600 wind management fantastic. I loved the flip out wings which provided 10x more wind on rider than baker wings.
K1600 twisty handling awesome but affected by vehicle wind on hiway. F6b much more stable on hiway.
Wasn't bothered by k1600 weight at all.
Was bothered by engine noise which really surprised me. Still considering a swap to a k1600.
Trying to find something between my f6b and ninja 1000. May try 2018 wing. Won't consider Eluder or any large vtwin.


Do you have a BMW dealer nearby? I like th 1200 flat-twin motor that they use in a variety of bikes, but the local BMW bike dealer closed down a couple of years ago and there has no been a replacement since (which shocks me, because there are more BMW bikes around here than Wings). Nearest dealer is in Troy, 200 miles away.

FJR? Concours?

[JGF6B]

Do you have a BMW dealer nearby? I like th 1200 flat-twin motor that they use in a variety of bikes, but the local BMW bike dealer closed down a couple of years ago and there has no been a replacement since (which shocks me, because there are more BMW bikes around here than Wings). Nearest dealer is in Troy, 200 miles away.

FJR? Concours?

Had a 2013 FJR for a year, couldn't get comfortable. I think the pegs needed to be higher and further back for the bar position.
Also test rode the RT1250R which I loved except for the engine. It felt and sounded like I was riding an old lawn tractor. Too used to GL1800 and inline 4s I guess. Comfort and suspension were amazing. With out the flipout wings that the K16 has, i worry the R1250RT will be hot in the summer.

Rode the f6b for the past two days, will ride the n1k for the next 2. Tough problems I have:)

[VStarRider]

Just back from a pit stop at the local Yamaha dealer.

I have wanted to test ride a Star Venture TC, and they, again, do not have one. The owner told me they can only get one if they order through a pre-sale. Also, another thing I did not know, is that there was not a 2019 model for this bike. Apparently, it was such a poor seller as a 2018, that they stopped production until they could clear out 2018 inventory. It will be back as a 2020 model.

The owner did a dealer search for me across New York State. There are three 2018 TCs for sale - one in Buffalo, one in Syracuse, one in Elmira. She suggested I go to Americade in Lake George to do a demo ride next week.

She said that Yamaha is very disappointed and surprised with the response to this bike. I am not sure how many of us are; the V-twin bagger/touring market is only so big, and its primary consumers get a year older every year, and 75% percent of their business is already owned by HD and Indian.

[Joflewbyu2]

Surprise it it is a poor seller. Let’s see, it is overweight and under powered to begin with. No shaft drive, no liquid cooling. Plus it is over priced. Very similar to a Harley but without the following and the comradely. I will take a HD Touring bike any day of the week over the Star if I wanted a big V Twin. I guess Yamaha was not thinking when the other metric manufacturers stop producing large V Twins due to poor sales. No Kawasaki Vulcan 2000, no Suzuki C109, no Honda 1800 V Twin. These bikes were too big for the average market buyer.



Just back from a pit stop at the local Yamaha dealer.

I have wanted to test ride a Star Venture TC, and they, again, do not have one. The owner told me they can only get one if they order through a pre-sale. Also, another thing I did not know, is that there was not a 2019 model for this bike. Apparently, it was such a poor seller as a 2018, that they stopped production until they could clear out 2018 inventory. It will be back as a 2020 model.

The owner did a dealer search for me across New York State. There are three 2018 TCs for sale - one in Buffalo, one in Syracuse, one in Elmira. She suggested I go to Americade in Lake George to do a demo ride next week.

She said that Yamaha is very disappointed and surprised with the response to this bike. I am not sure how many of us are; the V-twin bagger/touring market is only so big, and its primary consumers get a year older every year, and 75% percent of their business is already owned by HD and Indian.

[VStarRider]

Surprise it it is a poor seller. Let’s see, it is overweight and under powered to begin with. No shaft drive, no liquid cooling. Plus it is over priced. Very similar to a Harley but without the following and the comradely. I will take a HD Touring bike any day of the week over the Star if I wanted a big V Twin. I guess Yamaha was not thinking when the other metric manufacturers stop producing large V Twins due to poor sales. No Kawasaki Vulcan 2000, no Suzuki C109, no Honda 1800 V Twin. These bikes were too big for the average market buyer.

Yep, I think that is what is going on. The bike has a lot of attributes ... tons of storage, great infotainment, top notch build quality and hardware ... but ... its a dying segment of the market that they all of a sudden decided to compete in. It's similar to Toyota or Nissan trying to make a big splash in personal luxury cars in 2019 when that market died out in the early 90s.

If the Star had a liquid cooled V4 or even a liquid cooled twin, it would at least partially tap into the BMW and Wing markets, arguably ... though I do not profess to be a marketing guru on bikes.

--------

Meanwhile, I sat on a new Wing and once again feel like it fits me like a glove. It will likely be my next bike. Drives me nuts that it makes that much sense. :rolleyes:

[tenxxx]

When I first laid eyes on the New Venture I walked right past it without giving it a good look. Thought it was gaudy looking.
The next time I climbed up on it for a minuet. Couldn't get it off the kick stand with the force I thought was appropriate.
The salesman watching me came over and the first thing out of his mouth was how much it weighted.
I have seen one here in the Youngstown, Akron, Canton area. The guy had to really give it a good tug to get it up.

[VStarRider]

When I first laid eyes on the New Venture I walked right past it without giving it a good look. Thought it was gaudy looking.
The next time I climbed up on it for a minuet. Couldn't get it off the kick stand with the force I thought was appropriate.
The salesman watching me came over and the first thing out of his mouth was how much it weighted.
I have seen one here in the Youngstown, Akron, Canton area. The guy had to really give it a good tug to get it up.

What about the bike? :cool:

[tenxxx]

What about the bike? :cool:
I was too embarrassed to watch.