1985 GL1200 Limited Edition FI versus 2018 GL1800 DCT

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Rednaxs60

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Went to my local Honda dealer to pick up some miscellaneous parts from my favorite parts guy - rode in on my '85 LTD. Had a good chin wag, and just before i left I wanted to find out how a person got to ride the new 1800 demo bike.

I was interested in this because a friend of mine, brand new rider, has been researching bikes, riding gear and whatever associated to motorcycles. He was an academic expert and he was a wealth of information; however, no practical experience. He went up to VI Honda in Nanaimo, BC to do a test ride on the Africa Twin DCT. He had a down payment on one here in Victoria and we convinced him it would be a good thing to do a test ride.

My other HD friend went with him and was going to do a test ride of the new 1800 DCT when my friend on the Africa Twin laid it down in the parking lot for a test ride of some $1500.00 CDN - a few scrapes and such. He has cancelled the purchase of the Africa Twin and went to the Triumph dealer and bought the 800 CC Tiger, he had done a test ride on it and it did not take a nap on him.

Getting back to my story. I asked the sales team what I would have to do to ride the new 1800. Sat down, showed my driver's licence, signed my life away, and was getting a pre-ride brief, about 10 minutes total.

Was given a good brief, and some of the more finer points were demonstrated. Would need some time to take in all the controls and bells/whistles, but I got the jist of most. Had it on the setting where the engine shut off when stopped for a period of time at a light. Even in this mode if you don't want this, you don't have to change the setting, just apply a little throttle and it will start again and idle while stopped. The horn is quite loud and rivals the horn on the older 1800s.

Mentioned when I got back that the pre-ride brief missed the horn and signals, but I found them anyway. the bike is quite comfortable, low centre of gravity, and ride is quite smooth. The front suspension is magic, can't say enough good things about it. The engine sound is a little more throaty than the older ones, and quite nice. Handles well and quite smooth riding. Found the DCT to be a bit harsh on the downshift, but not all the time. You can hear the gear changes as well - this has been mentioned. There are 4 modes as you know but I left it in the tour mode. Wound it up on the highway and it went down two gears and swill make you sit up and take note. No replacement for displacement. Overall very nice, but the front suspension is truly magic, everything else is great, but the front suspension is state of the art. Mentioned that it would be good to test ride in the rain because the weather envelope on the older 1800s is quite good and as long as you are moving, you do not get wet. The same with the my 1200, as long as it is moving you don't get wet, not as good as the 1800 but quite close.

For a purchase price of some $34,000.00 CDN before taxes and fees, I can do a lot of maintenance and work on my two 1200s. You can go a long way on this amount of capital.

Is there a convert here, not in the foreseeable future, or some years down the road. It's like driving Sonya's new 2017 KIA Soul compared to my 2011 KIA Soul, so much nicer but not enough to get me to change.

End result - 1200s are here to stay. Go the same distance, get better comments in parking lots, and I need my projects - keeps me busy and out of trouble.

End of rant on the new 1800.

Cheers
 
Nice write up on the new wings, I can only imagine that they are great to ride. I wish I had that kind of disposable cash. On the other hand I am quite happy with my old wings. They are great to ride, still nice and smooth and I still get a lot of compliments on them.. :yahoo:
 

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The new wing is very nice, but I thought about all the hype and innovations compared to what I have. Won't comment on the difference in engines - knew this from having an 1800 with the 1200 - no replacement for displacement.

I have a stereo and sound quality is quite good. CB already installed. Fuel management system, trip computer, oil pressure/temperature indicator - the new 1800 does not, rear suspension has been upgraded as has the front, gets good fuel economy - 350 to 400 Km per tank, easier to work on, have installed a GPS unit that is apparently much easier to upgrade than the one fitted on the 1800, and have USB connections for myself and passenger.

Do miss the heated seats and reverse function - selective in where I park so not a big issue. The horn is also very loud. Don't know about the headlights but the older 1800s had very good lighting.

Some have mentioned the luggage capacity as an issue. Maybe only pack for four days then take a laundry day, let the butt relax as well. Going to the local GW Chapter coffee this coming Friday at a local adventure gear store. It is being put on for the local GW chapter, and is about packing and the new clothing and accessories that are available for those who need to pack light for weekend and long distance touring, much like hiking/camping scenario - should be interesting. lots of new technology out there to help with this issue.

Fuel is not an issue with the new 1800 or my 1200s. On my trip across Canada had one stretch in Northern Ontario of 220 Kms between gas stations. Maybe heading north into the Yukon or Alaska would have similar, but normally there are lots of gas stops.

Other than the front suspension that is truly magic, not enough change to make me upgrade, besides as a pensioner have to be frugal with the sheckles. New is nice no matter what the item.

Would prefer the non-DCT model because of the transmission shifting idiosyncrasies. Maybe Honda will smooth the DCT shifting in the fullness of time.

Maybe when I'm hitting the 70 mark in another 6 years an older 2012 to 2017 GW may be in order. The bikes I have should get me to that milestone quite easily.

Cheers
 
Reading reviews of actual new owners the reports are truly favourable of the DCT as it learns your riding characteristics. One owner stated that his new GL 2018 rides nothing like the demo model which he described as clunky. It makes sense that a test ridden bike of that price is probably ridden with some trepidation.
I loved your write up Ernest. :good:
The only thing missing was praise for the front brakes that are even better than the front suspension in my opinion. :yes:
The DCT would be the only option for me as I love the idea of a mechanical reverse and the walking feature. Also the bike I test rode responded well, much better than the VFR1200 DCT that I had ridden in 2010 ( I guess 8years allows for lots of improvement).
 
Trepidation, not in my case, just what the traffic would allow - nothing rides or drives better, corners and brakes well as a vehicle that is rented or not your own! :music:

When I mentioned the clunky/harsh shifting up or down, the dealer person mentioned that a fellow who bought one had the same comment. Could also be the setup by the shop, who knows - expertise is not always consistent.

Hadn't thought about the brakes. The brakes on my ex-1800 were quite good as well. In retrospect, the brakes are better than the 1200, but still not enough to make me change.

When I win the loto and get my new garage, more bikes to find and put in the stable, until then...........

Cheers
 
I traded an SEi for a new '06. There was no comparison. I have ~113k miles on her now, still a magic carpet to me. My wife sat on an '18 at the dealership and did not like it. Over 50% of my enjoyment on the bike is sharing it with her (she would not ride on the SEi or '77 with me). If not for that, I'd probably already own a DCT Tour.
 
Good to hear that the Mrs likes the '06 1800. I hear you on the seating, would have to visit my custom seat guy in Washington state for a fitting if I was to get one.

I'm fortunate in that Sonya enjoys riding on the '85 LTD even when I had the 1800. It is very enjoyable and nice that she wants to ride as well. As long as she enjoys the '85 and it maintains a good reliability factor, the '85 LTD will fit the bill.

Cheers
 
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