Ultimate 2020 Gold Wing Tour DCT review
"At idle rpm, the Gold Wing makes more torque than most production motorcycles on the market."
By Mark Hoyer
There are a lot of elements of the 2020 Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT that can define it, but it is perhaps the 103 pound-feet of torque that does it best.
And it’s not just that there is 103 pound-feet. No, it’s that this torque peak happens at about 1,400 rpm. And, in fact, torque is more than 100 pound-feet from 1,000 rpm to 3,500, and gently tapers off as it approaches its 6,400 rpm rev-limiter.
Put it this way: At idle rpm, the Gold Wing makes more torque than most production motorcycles on the market. Add to this the horsepower that builds in a nearly perfect straight line as rpm rises.
This is a kind of internal-combustion effortlessness that informs every movement of the Gold Wing, particularly because the horizontally opposed six-cylinder is so smooth. Even at 845 pounds with its 5.6-gallon fuel tank full, as measured on the CW scale, the Gold Wing is fingertip easy to control when in motion. The reverse and forward “walking control” mode means also that even fully loaded and two up, the rider can use the "+" and "-" Dual Clutch Transmission manual-shift buttons to maneuver the bike with confidence and ease.
And paddling around parking lots is fine, but it’s not where the Wing shines. If you said I had to ride three consecutive 1,000-mile days on the Gold Wing, I’d say, “When do I get to start?!”
Hopefully, you’d say, “As soon as you click the seven-speed DCT automatic transmission into drive.” For those with a religious affiliation to manual clutches and toeing a shift lever, shift on, my friends. I mean, I love having great clutch control and using my brain to perfectly rev-match downshifts. I enjoy riding two up with my wife or son and deftly modulating clutch and throttle for the smoothest possible departure and seamless shifts so we never knock helmets or experience any other untoward lurching.
But I can’t tell you how much I enjoy letting DCT do all of that for me through excellent mapping in any of its riding modes. There is Sport, which is Honda showing off how edgy it can be, and Econ, which is so stubbornly frugal it shifts into seventh gear at about 41 mph. Rain does the obvious, and Tour was the mode of choice here about 96 percent of the time because it matched almost every riding condition with appropriate and expected shift points with just-right ride-by-wire throttle response.
I did occasionally use the manual-shift buttons to downshift for corners (it will override auto modes as well as allow full manual selection), but letting the transmission do its thing in Tour was all I wanted. If I was riding smoothly and swiftly but not braking exceptionally hard, it might downshift entering a corner at say, 3,000 rpm. But if I started charging hard and using significant braking force, it would alter that rpm to more like 4,500, and it would hold higher revs through the corner and down the next straight. Mellow yourself for a minute and pretty soon you were cruising in 1,500-2,000 rpm range again.
Why seven speeds? DCT’s first through fourth gears cover the same ratio spread as the manual’s first through third because it narrows the gaps between shifts and therefore reduces shift-shock. Seventh gear is the same ratio as the manual sixth, and the shaft final drive ratio is the same.
Now, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about DCT but in practice the system is all but invisible. Also, Gold Wing buyers prefer it, as two-thirds of them choose DCT. If I were buying this bike, I would too.
Exploring the operation of DCT on a back road is superb because the chassis and brakes are fully game for all the speed you want. Cornering clearance is solid for a full-dress tourer and we managed to drag the tip-over-bar covers and exhaust header covers in highly spirited riding. Steering is light and neutral at all speeds, and, as is Honda’s excellent habit in development on most streetbikes, braking while leaned over doesn’t affect steering. That is, you can change braking input while entering a turn and neither your steering input at the bar nor your chosen cornering line changes. This is very good engineering, no doubt aided by the double-wishbone front suspension (with new damping rates for 2020). The design has tuned-in braking dive (riders use dive as a guide to how hard they are braking and like to have some), and remains responsive to bumps better than telescopic forks, which tend to bind during hard braking.
We asked specifically what the 2020-model-year changes were to front and rear damping but were told only that the front bump stop was altered and that damping was changed for “comfortability,” a darling, wonderful word used by, presumably, the Japanese engineer who answered our written questions. Suffice it here to say that damping on this bike is both controlled and comfortable, and spring preload on the four user-selected settings were well suited to our use.
The Gold Wing’s 126.6-foot stopping distance from 60 mph is among the best of any bike we have tested. Overall braking performance of the combined ABS is some of the most sure-feeling and confidence-inspiring we have tried. Front and rear brakes are always blended in their operation, no matter if you use only the “front” lever or “rear” pedal. It changes the blend based on your riding and vehicle speed. That automatic bias change never makes itself apparent; you just get very secure, excellent braking performance all the time.
And that engine. Very smooth, very happy to effortlessly motor along at 1,500 rpm, it gets pretty animal when you let the revs rise. Overall recorded fuel economy during testing was 40.8 mpg. With the fuel tank’s 5.6-gallon capacity leads to a 229-mile range to empty.
Add in superb cruise control, keyless ignition and bag-unlocking, the electrically adjustable windscreen, auto-canceling turn signals (which can be made manual in the menu) and it is a very easygoing motorcycle to live with for commuting or touring on a day-to-day basis. The bothersome things include that this is not a touchscreen nav/infotainment system. The overall menu navigation is not particularly intuitive or easy to use, and CarPlay requires quite a bit of left-grip button pushing to even change artists when listening to music while riding. We won’t get bogged down in the details, and the system is usable, but a reduction in clunkiness would be a benefit. A 2020 update to software (available for 2018 and newer bikes) has added Android Auto functionality.
It’s impossible to leave this bike out of the top ten bikes of 2020. The Wing has been on the list a record 21 times since 1976, and essentially invented the technical luxury tourer. Honda continues to march it ever closer to perfection, at least as the times, riding culture, and customer needs define it. This particular model is defined by effortlessness and ease of use, and backed up with broad utility and excellent performance.