Yea... this is NOT good.
Printable View
You might be right JM. I've got a 2015 B.....14 years after coming out.....I'll wait for the 2032 Wing. All should be good by then.
Will, I would ride more if I could, but with my wife having major surgery on her back last year and the lousy weather lately, I don't get much chance to ride...Hopefully the new year will be better...BTW, what do you mean by "better function" with a $3,000 suspension upgrade??...Just curious and ride safe
That $3,000 is a variable; it would be the full upgrade. I only did the front end...
This has been discussed ad nauseam... The F6B's front forks in OEM form are of poor design with only half the dampening ability that could be afforded by two functional shocks. Traxxion solves that issue.
Watch all three video's. They explain it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCIO7uGziS8
I don't understand how the reports of great ride quality from the front end are co-existing with the reports from Traxxion about having 1" of shock travel and the shock bottoming bumper coming into play frequently.
Looked the rubber bumper is part of the shock dampening system!!. The top of the shock hits the damper and gives it that "rubberized road feel". Honda should come out with a rubber bumper like a Superbrace that comes in 2 pieces. Just screw a new one on every 500 miles or so, then hit the next rest area. Parts Dept. will sell 'em with 500 to the case.
OR.....Max says the travel of the shock is 53mm and the bumper takes up 60% of that travel. Maybe the bumper compresses to about 59% of that amount. I'd get the 4 year extended warranty on that bumper......OR.....Honda is going to get real pissed if they have to pay to replace that sucker every so often under warranty if it wears out prematurely. If what I saw had 300 miles on it, that piece might not last too long.
It appears the front bumper is acting as an anti-dive valve and coil spring. If so, it will wear quickly.
TD said new shocks won't be expensive, but the labor will because both shocks are buried and require a lot of time to get at them and cover them back up again. That means replacing a worn bumper frequently will rack up the shop labor $$$.
Since I am a neophyte when it comes to suspensions, I have neophyte thoughts about them, such as: given that the bumper is noticeably different in size and proportion to other bumpers, is it possible that Honda designed the new one to function in a slightly different way? From the description in the video, you would think there would be a very regular feeling of "bottoming out" the front end, given the tiny amount of available travel on the shock. That is the opposite of what I felt from the front end on my test ride. It was never harsh, actually most comfortable front end I've ever felt on a bike. Maybe I didn't push it hard enough in the corners to experience the limitation?
Jason
It's all about ratios and lever arms. My CTX700 has "only" 1.5 inches of shock travel, but because of the 2.5:1 ratio of the shock to swing arm, it gives me a little over 4 inches of travel before bottoming. So having a shock move just 1 inch is really not an issue, and doesn't mean anything without knowing the lever arm ratio to determine what that 1 inch of travel actual means.
Here's the steering head rattle issue from Max.................
https://youtu.be/cHcTiEQDIjY
Not necessarily something a person wants to see or hear but good to know.:yikes:
After demo riding the 2018 Gold Wing Tour I could feel the front end slop you are talking about. Not all the time, but it was noticeable.
Amen....perfect explanation why to leave stock suspension behind. Honda has inferior suspension from the factory...the worst of any major brand, why cheap. Loading one fork only is the worst possible scenario you can have on a two leg fork system. The forks never act the same in turning or stopping, as they are unbalanced and then throw in an anti-dive piece of crap and it only gets worse.
Those of us who have gone with the Traxxion upgrade never say, boy I wish I had my stock suspension back...LOL
Our B's rear shock has too much pre load and it looks like the new Wing's front has too little. :confused: Someone needs to check on the guys in the suspension dept.
I am beginning to think that some of you constant complainers about the Honda suspension issues should perhaps start looking for another ride...Nothing is perfect and no one will ever find the ultimate bike that satisfies all...Enjoy the ride, be thankful you can and do it and move on!!!!....Regards and ride safe
At this point in motorcycle evolution you'd think the suspension would be a non issue. If what's being shown about the new Wings front suspension is true (which it appears to be) then it's kinda hard not to talk about.
Could be "fake news" as they say, but I agree that only time will tell as the newer generation bikes get thousands of miles on them...At this point most of this suspension talk, is in my opinion, just talk!!!!....Regards
I am not suggesting that there may, or may not, be room for improvement, but it just appears to me that some are just "rushing to judgment" way to early on the 2018 suspension without any real world issues as yet..Maybe the Traxxion people are a little anxious to sell upgrades already that may not be necessary or needed....I am not looking for negative arguments and I am well aware that some things can be made better and many after-market companies sell great products to improve on OEM parts....but merely saying, lets wait and see first for a while....In any event, I probably should "shut-up" on this issue as I have no plans to purchase a 2018 model in the near or distant future.....Regards and ride safe
As I read this thread one thing clearly comes to mind: Winter results in too much time on the web and not enough time riding. Come on warm weather!!!!
Note: the above definitely applies to me.
I still hold that this isn't from design, it's from dealer prep/setup. When I got my CTX700 (the 3rd my dealer had ever had), the rear was WAY too soft - they left it from the factory, which was essentially zero preload. As a big-boy, I cranked it all the way to full preload and it's been great ever since. Was that a design flaw? Nope! Dealer prep flaw, and if it was a 150 pound "idealized" Honda rider, it would have been great. Being over twice that, though, I needed a LOT of preload.
Dan...
The issue here is not about dealer set up as to the front steering head bearing and the races. Honda apparently did a crappy job installing those races, according to the Max video. I'll agree with you about dealer prep being sloppy at times, but I don't think that most dealers would have shaken a new customers front suspension and then tell the service dept. to take it apart and check those races. Mama Honda screwed up on the one that Max got hold of and I think he did new Wing owners a "pay if forward" by pointing it out. I'll agree with opas that Max will soon have a new Traxxion shock out for the new Wing. That's the business he's in and I applaud him for attempting to improve upon something he feels is inferior. No one HAS to buy it, and can opt to if they have the cash. It also looks like Mama Honda had plenty of leftover rear shocks from 2017 to stick on the 2018. Seems cheesy to me for a $28,000 bike.
Max and his new video on the tie rods and their purpose...................
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY6OvsuZj3w
I sat on two Goldwing Tour bikes at a dealer. One had a lot of tie rod play and the other had much less.
I would speculate there are multiple reasons such as:
1) Pride of Ownership/Denial after spending $30K on a first year bike.
2) Variances in bikes first off the line.
3) Variances in riders perceptions and riding styles. Some people notice things, others don't, just like with anything else.
Wart reports are popping up around the internet for multiple issues (paint, fit & finish, mechanical, software) from early adopters and not just from vendors. Not unexpected for an initial production run.
Max's video from today about more tie rod slop................
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZNgTz3rut0
and another short one from Max...........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtRJ1XZLOD8