2018 Goldwing DCT vs The Dragon
In February I sold my 2013 F6B and began my search for her replacement and although there are some good deals on F6Bs I really had my eye on the 2018 Goldwing. I’ll be honest, I love the F6B but hated the fact that the technology was antiquated and that is what was peaking my interest in the new design. Of course the upgraded front end was good but I had concerns about the engine because the 1832cc engine used prior was tried and true.
You can read the reviews and test drive them but you won’t know how she really feels until you step up and jump in and I jumped in. I found a 2018 standard with the DCT transmission and it had 4k miles with remaining warranty, some goodies added and a chance to save several thousand denarii from an individual that decided he’d go back to BMWs and I made her mine. Flew out and drove back and thought what in the world have I done.
It felt good but it didn’t feel the same and here is what I’ll share with you, if you’re are expecting the 2018 to be a newer version of what you have with new technology then you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a motorcycle that is intuitive, responsive and full of 21st century bells and whistles then you will be very pleased. I am still working through how to use some of the features and I’m ok with that. I use my bike as a daily driver and take a couple trips a year to the mountains. I quickly got used to not shifting gears, using the nav system and at a glance see what gear I was in, outside temp, fuel mileage and miles to empty. So far so good but the test will be in the mountains.
This past weekend I went to the mountains with RuneRider, T-Bone56 and 6 others. To say I was anxious to see what she would do is an understatement since I wasn’t sure how the DCT would do against the Tail of the Dragon, Moonshiner 28 and the Cherohala Skyway. You need to know that I drive hard and I go to the mountains for the adrenalin rush that comes with pushing the bike and myself as hard as I can as well as the comradery with the group of guys that I go with.
The previous owner had gone to the same areas with the bike and told me that he left it in Tour mode because he didn’t see much difference in tour and sport. I say that he and I drive very differently. In sport mode the transmission stays in a lower gear keeping the rpms up in a more aggressive power band and allows you to use the engine to slow you down as you decelerate going into turns. I was concerned that the transmission would upshift but it didn’t until you leveled out and if I wanted to go back to a lower gear a quick click from the paddle shifter with my left thumb puts me right back in it. The bike felt and handled much lighter than the F6B and was very responsive; on top of that I was getting about 48+ MPG as I was driving the pants off of it.
At one-point RuneRider and I swapped bikes for a while and like an old pair of shoes, the F6B fit like a glove. Man that is a nice bike however it was crazy that in just a few months I had forgotten where the high beam light switch and radio controls were located. I love love love the F6B and if I hit the lottery then I’ll pick up another “B” for my collection until then I’ll keep the 2018.
