F6B where's the weight?

[Rufus]

Hello, just thinking, with no real point, where's the weight in the F6B?
I mean it's all plastic even the gas tank with an aluminum frame.
The forks, wheels and tyres are common in size/weight to a lot of bikes. When I had the rear wheel off recently it didn't seem particularly heavy.
So where are all those lbs hiding? Is it all in the engine.

[shortleg0521]

Ever try to lift a goldwing motor?
That and all other parts add up brothers her.

[Rufus]

Yep, searched around and there are figures of 274 lbs for the engine. No scope for any weight loss that I can see.

[F6Dave]

The rest of the drive train isn't light, either. The massive forks and stout swingarm and final drive assemblies have to add some serious weight. But for all the weight, with such a low C.G. it handles very well for a large motorcycle. And the mileage isn't bad either. Last month at the Valkyrie rally in Taos I routinely got over 50 MPG with all the low speed sightseeing. I even got 64 MPG on one tank. That was a high point for any motorcycle I've ever owned.

[Cooter]

I've gotten that 50+ mileage a few times. When I ride with the OFC. Old Farts Club.

[olegoat345]

The best thing about the GW / F6B's weight is that it's low, really low, compared to say a V-twin. The engine, tranny, rear drive, fuel tank are almost even with the axles. Makes handling great. Smart move Honda!

[OlyF6B]

I wouldn't mind the 875+ lbs... and would accept a few more lbs IF they had put a Reverse on the scoot!

[F6Joe]

OlyF6B, I agree. Use the reverse on my Wing a few times a week, there are times it would be handy on the B/ But with so few comforts compared to Wings, I'm just happy for cruise and heated grips, use them a lot.

[F6Dave]

The best thing about the GW / F6B's weight is that it's low, really low, compared to say a V-twin. The engine, tranny, rear drive, fuel tank are almost even with the axles. Makes handling great. Smart move Honda!

Agreed, an opposed cylinder layout works great in a motorcycle. They're smooth, easy to maintain, and have a very low C.G. And the old airhead BMWs were cooled very well with the cylinders sticking out in the wind. I'm surprised flat engine layouts aren't more popular. I think the only motorcycle companies using it are Honda, BMW, and Ural. Porsche and Subaru are the only cars. Am I missing any?

[Verismo]

Agreed, an opposed cylinder layout works great in a motorcycle. They're smooth, easy to maintain, and have a very low C.G. And the old airhead BMWs were cooled very well with the cylinders sticking out in the wind. I'm surprised flat engine layouts aren't more popular. I think the only motorcycle companies using it are Honda, BMW, and Ural. Porsche and Subaru are the only cars. Am I missing any?

Harley came out with one during WW2 to compete with z Germans, but only made a thousand of them and scrapped it after the American military went with the Jeep. It ran a hundred degrees cooler than their twins. It's a bummer to think about what might've been had they continued the ingenuity, instead of banking on brand loyalty.

Jason

[olegoat345]

Curb Weight:
842 pounds (GL1800B) / 849 pounds (GL1800BD) == search bar type in "honda f6b curb weight"

[jmdaniel]

Probably on top of the driver's seat, ifyouknowwhatImean... :rolleyes:

[SeaSteve]

The best thing about the GW / F6B's weight is that it's low, really low, compared to say a V-twin. The engine, tranny, rear drive, fuel tank are almost even with the axles. Makes handling great. Smart move Honda!

I just traded in a VTX1800S which is 50lbs lighter but the F6B FEELS 100lbs lighter.

[Coondawg07]

My 1600 RoadStar Silverado was pretty close in weight, but it felt sooooo much heavier.

[SeaSteve]

Just realized, 840 curb weight (fluids installed) also includes saddlebags and faring in the total. My VTX extras where 40 to 50 lbs on top of curb weight.

Just yesterday I straddled and walked the F6B in my "slightly" sloped garage to face it the other way. It was MUCH easier to walk up the slope than the VTX was. It could also be due to 12 years and 45K miles of difference.:D

[Heatnbeat]

It's funny, for the lower cg and all my, F6B still feels more awkward to me than my old 90 Ultra. The Ultra has some stuff missing so it's not quite as heavy, but closee. I'm much better it slow tight places with the HD.

[53driver]

It's funny, for the lower cg and all my, F6B still feels more awkward to me than my old 90 Ultra. The Ultra has some stuff missing so it's not quite as heavy, but closee. I'm much better it slow tight places with the HD.

Slow, tight maneuvering requires more weight to be forward on the front tire - and HDs have a significant edge there.
The motor and gas tank are pretty much forward of the frame midpoint - hence why all the motocop cone drills are done on Harleys. Look at their seat too - pushed over the gas tank in most cases.

For the F6B - next time you are in a close quarters scenario - try leaning forward at the waist without putting extra pressure on the handgrips. I think you'll like what you feel.
Cheers,
Steve

[jm21ddd15]

Always great "rider" info, from you, Steve! thanks! Ever think about starting a new thread titled, "Riding Tip of the Week". Share some more of your riding and instructing knowledge, with the rest of us!

[Verismo]

It's funny, for the lower cg and all my, F6B still feels more awkward to me than my old 90 Ultra. The Ultra has some stuff missing so it's not quite as heavy, but closee. I'm much better it slow tight places with the HD.

I also wonder if the slightly unorthodox throttle response just off idle has something to do with that. Most of the time, warming the bike up solves the issue, but it still feels a tiny bit jumpy or disconnected sometimes.

Jason

[53driver]

Always great "rider" info, from you, Steve! thanks! Ever think about starting a new thread titled, "Riding Tip of the Week". Share some more of your riding and instructing knowledge, with the rest of us!

Thank you sir!
I never want to 'force' anything on anyone, but when the situation warrants, I can come up with a few tidbits here and there....
Lol.

[Sorcerer]

I also wonder if the slightly unorthodox throttle response just off idle has something to do with that. Most of the time, warming the bike up solves the issue, but it still feels a tiny bit jumpy or disconnected sometimes.

Jason
Second gear is your friend on the F6B or any 1800 Wing. I short shift first gear into second for tight or close quarters maneuvers. A whole lot less jumpy.

[Verismo]

Second gear is your friend on the F6B or any 1800 Wing. I short shift first gear into second for tight or close quarters maneuvers. A whole lot less jumpy.

Depending on the day/situation, I do that, too. I had a '14 Valk before the B, and with the weight loss and the same transmission, its 1st gear was good for about 3 feet. I used second a lot, but wasn't crazy about it. The B feels far more natural to me, but still feels a little twitchy just off idle sometimes.

Jason

[53driver]

Depending on the day/situation, I do that, too. I had a '14 Valk before the B, and with the weight loss and the same transmission, its 1st gear was good for about 3 feet. I used second a lot, but wasn't crazy about it. The B feels far more natural to me, but still feels a little twitchy just off idle sometimes.

Jason

These motors are so powerful....I've found that any slack in the throttle cabling is an issue for me. So? I remove 99.9996% of it.
Cheers,
Steve

[BIGLRY]

These motors are so powerful....I've found that any slack in the throttle cabling is an issue for me. So? I remove 99.9996% of it.
Cheers,
Steve
Absolutely 100% correct...That is one of my first responses when I hear a complaint about how "twitchy" the throttle is just off idle. I know what Honda sayes the throttle free play spec is, But I don't agree. I have found on almost all EFI engines you need to remove all the throttle cable slack to get a smooth throttle response as well as stopping another bad habit a lot of us have..... blipping the throttle on downshifting which just confuses the ECU. Just think about it, here you are slowing down and you blip the throttle which in effect is telling the ECU that you are accelerating...do you blip the throttle when you downshift a manual shift cage?......No and neither should you blip throttle when downshifting a EFI MC.

[DarkKnt]

Absolutely 100% correct...That is one of my first responses when I hear a complaint about how "twitchy" the throttle is just off idle. I know what Honda sayes the throttle free play spec is, But I don't agree. I have found on almost all EFI engines you need to remove all the throttle cable slack to get a smooth throttle response as well as stopping another bad habit a lot of us have..... blipping the throttle on downshifting which just confuses the ECU. Just think about it, here you are slowing down and you blip the throttle which in effect is telling the ECU that you are accelerating...do you blip the throttle when you downshift a manual shift cage?......No and neither should you blip throttle when downshifting a EFI MC.
Interesting concept. I always match rpm to road speed when downshifting, car or bike. I don't understand why it would make a difference that the engine is fuel injected? Why is the ECU "confused"? You need to raise the rpm, so you use the throttle (the "blip").

[BIGLRY]

Interesting concept. I always match rpm to road speed when downshifting, car or bike. I don't understand why it would make a difference that the engine is fuel injected? Why is the ECU "confused"? You need to raise the rpm, so you use the throttle (the "blip").
The ECU reads the data from various sensors to determine how much fuel the injectors get(injector pulse width) like the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) or where the ing. timing should be for the load on the engine, as well as the MAP and KNOCK sensors, all which tell the ECU what is going on and what the engine needs at that time. By blipping the throttle the data sent to the ECU is wrong for what is going to happen next...slow down or stop, so the ECU thinks you are accelerating and gives more fuel than needed, changes timing agin thinking it is going to accelerate. If you are running open or more free flowing exhaust pipes you will more than likely hear decel popping which blipping the throttle exacerbates.
Now on a carbed engine decell blipping was to clear the engine as the vacuum will suck in more fuel and can cause a stumble if you were to suddenly accelerate. There is no need to blip a EFI engine, but old habits are sometime hard to change.

As to matching the engine RPM to the trans gear speeds.... Do you let the engine come to an idle before each down shift? Of course not, the engine is turning enough RPM under normal riding conditions for a nice downshift, try downshifting without blipping the throttle and you will see the F6B as well as all Goldwings will downshift perfectly.

[tenxxx]

These motors are so powerful....I've found that any slack in the throttle cabling is an issue for me. So? I remove 99.9996% of it.
Cheers,
Steve
+1 on tight cable, very little slack.
Annoy's the hell out of me riding someone else's bike with a lot of slack.

[jm21ddd15]

The ECU reads the data from various sensors to determine how much fuel the injectors get(injector pulse width) like the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) or where the ing. timing should be for the load on the engine, as well as the MAP and KNOCK sensors, all which tell the ECU what is going on and what the engine needs at that time. By blipping the throttle the data sent to the ECU is wrong for what is going to happen next...slow down or stop, so the ECU thinks you are accelerating and gives more fuel than needed, changes timing agin thinking it is going to accelerate. If you are running open or more free flowing exhaust pipes you will more than likely hear decel popping which blipping the throttle exacerbates.
Now on a carbed engine decell blipping was to clear the engine as the vacuum will suck in more fuel and can cause a stumble if you were to suddenly accelerate. There is no need to blip a EFI engine, but old habits are sometime hard to change.

As to matching the engine RPM to the trans gear speeds.... Do you let the engine come to an idle before each down shift? Of course not, the engine is turning enough RPM under normal riding conditions for a nice downshift, try downshifting without blipping the throttle and you will see the F6B as well as all Goldwings will downshift perfectly.

Yes, interesting about confusing the ECU. So, does the ECU also get confused when up-shifting? Most people have the throttle twisted for acceleration, then as they pull in the clutch to up shift, they back off the gas for a fraction of a second, then right back on the throttle. Seems like the "blip" process, almost in reverse. Any thoughts?

[DarkKnt]

The ECU reads the data from various sensors to determine how much fuel the injectors get(injector pulse width) like the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) or where the ing. timing should be for the load on the engine, as well as the MAP and KNOCK sensors, all which tell the ECU what is going on and what the engine needs at that time. By blipping the throttle the data sent to the ECU is wrong for what is going to happen next...slow down or stop, so the ECU thinks you are accelerating and gives more fuel than needed, changes timing agin thinking it is going to accelerate. If you are running open or more free flowing exhaust pipes you will more than likely hear decel popping which blipping the throttle exacerbates.
Now on a carbed engine decell blipping was to clear the engine as the vacuum will suck in more fuel and can cause a stumble if you were to suddenly accelerate. There is no need to blip a EFI engine, but old habits are sometime hard to change.

As to matching the engine RPM to the trans gear speeds.... Do you let the engine come to an idle before each down shift? Of course not, the engine is turning enough RPM under normal riding conditions for a nice downshift, try downshifting without blipping the throttle and you will see the F6B as well as all Goldwings will downshift perfectly.

I think we're talking about different circumstances. If I'm anticipating a stop, I simply roll off the gas and start braking. As the bike slows and rpm drops, I pull in the clutch and tap down through the gears to arrive in neutral as I pull up to the stop. I'm not downshifting technically, as I'm not releasing the clutch to engage the gears as I slow. This is not my most used technique, because generally, I'm trying not to come to a complete stop. I'm selecting a lower gear in anticipation of accelerating again. So generally, I'm braking, then selecting a lower gear and releasing the clutch. This typically requires raising the rpm to match engine to road speed in the lower gear. To do this I use the throttle to raise the rpm (the blip), and then let out the clutch. I'm now in a lower gear, at a higher rpm, and ready to accelerate - out of the corner, or away from the light, or past the car - whatever...

[tenxxx]

I think we're talking about different circumstances. If I'm anticipating a stop, I simply roll off the gas and start braking. As the bike slows and rpm drops, I pull in the clutch and tap down through the gears to arrive in neutral as I pull up to the stop. I'm not downshifting technically, as I'm not releasing the clutch to engage the gears as I slow. This is not my most used technique, because generally, I'm trying not to come to a complete stop. I'm selecting a lower gear in anticipation of accelerating again. So generally, I'm braking, then selecting a lower gear and releasing the clutch. This typically requires raising the rpm to match engine to road speed in the lower gear. To do this I use the throttle to raise the rpm (the blip), and then let out the clutch. I'm now in a lower gear, at a higher rpm, and ready to accelerate - out of the corner, or away from the light, or past the car - whatever...
Old coots with arthritic hands don't do all that down shifting either.
Just pull the clutch in shift down to neutral let the clutch out till its time to leave.
No throttle blipping, clutch slipping, or any of that funny stuff.