I wouldn’t hesitate going with the DCT one bit. Through all of this, the Honda headlights grinned wide its “cat that ate the canary” smile as if it knew this was coming. It’s a pleasing reach to the handlebars but the clutch and brake levers feel very thick and a little bit clumsy to the hand. So Yamaha built a good one. (Is that an altimeter on the Indian display you might wonder? Yamaha’s new Star Eluder brings high technology and classic styling to the competitive bagger niche. From complete engines to TPS sensors, we have an extensive selection of used parts in stock for Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Harley Davidson, Aprilia, Ducati, and more! We’ve joined selected affiliate programs which will allow us to place advertisements for select motorcycle and motorcycle-related product retailers on the site. They’re so sophisticated with their electronics it wouldn’t surprise me to discover they allow for some wheel spin before it activates. I ended up refinishing many old clear coated parts and a lot of plastic damage. I pick the Indian Chieftain as the winner in this category, though it’s highly subjective. Hi Jim: Great work! Right now the key is probably languishing in a gutter somewhere along the 405 Freeway. Heard anything else from folks since then? The display catches my eye right away with how clear it is to read. . The Yamaha is emboldened by a traditional big V-twin while the Honda is saddled with its signature horizontally-opposed six-cylinder. Not having to clutch and grab gears was heavenly in the city and on the highway. I love the idea in fact. I tell them to go to the motorcycle shop, they’ll know when they see it. I would say Indian is closer to being an elite touring machine that can double as a “cool guy bike” than the Honda is at being a touring bike that is also “cool”. 2018 Yamaha STAR ELUDER GT Private Seller - 1,900 mi. This reminds me of that movie from 1987 called Can’t Buy Me Love where a high school geek pays the Captain of his High School cheerleader team $1000 to pretend she’s dating him in order to see if he can become popular. Of course, your opinion may differ, but if you have more than 5 tattoos, the Indian is probably the bike for you. The Indian does that in ways the Honda never can. I loved the Indian. Die Honda bietet mit 145 PS bei 10.500 Umdrehungen einen spürbaren Unterschied im Vergleich zur Yamaha mit 119 PS bei 10.000 U / min.. Das maximale Drehmoment der CB 1000 R von 104 … Wow! Motorcycles are not about efficiency or convenience, they’re about emotion. That’s not to say it feels cheap. If I were in the market for a touring bike today both these models would make the list of possible candidates. The Gold Wing wins because of the DCT and the walk modes that it provides. The electronics package is intuitive, clear and concise. The Honda suffers the most with its smaller luggage capacity. It’s just not up to the standard set by the Honda. It rides nice and performs perfectly. Meanwhile, the infotainment system looks like something out of a nice car and the bike is laden with tech such as linked, anti-lock brakes, traction control, rider modes, ride-by-wire throttle and cruise control. I love new age technology, but I also love traditional styling, V twin sound, and simplicity. Although there’s a lot of them, they seem to make sense. Young riders taking a selfie in front of their Gold Wings? With a DCT a vehicle needs to have a park brake on it in order to avoid seeing it roll away once parked on an incline. The Tri-State Areas #1 Selling Honda & Yamaha Dealer. Also, the Venture is a lot more comfortable on a longer … Motorcycle Transportation Companies (USA, EU, UK, Canada). Only been riding for 8 years….so by no means a pro. Let me just say that to me, personally, this is by far the most appealing Gold Wing Honda has ever built. Will Harley-Davidson change course after CEO shakeup? Unfortunately, I just couldn’t surrender the thought that the Chieftain was going to let me down somewhere far away from, well, everything. By sheer coincidence, our Honda rep had just shown us the same feature on the Gold Wing earlier that day. Handling – Honda. So, the Honda Gold Wing DCT wins. And to me, that’s what it’s all about. The Chieftain Limited is legitimately in the discussion when compared to any competitor product so long as you don’t need to seriously compete with the much more powerful Gold Wing or BMW bikes etc out on the highway. Reliable and unbiased advice here. 2019 Husqvarna Vitpilen and Svartpilen 701. Fit and finish are top level and the taillights appear to be stolen from a late model Acura NSX, which is a good thing. In the end, it’s still a win for the Chieftain for me. What if you build what you know your company needs to build, but it doesn’t boost sales? For the record, I have friends who own Indian motorcycles that have no complaints. It surprised me and my usual ride is a 200 hp Ninja H2SX SE. The Chieftain also needs some lower fairing add ons to quiet the wind buffeting I experienced while riding it and an aftermarket seat. Of course, we stopped to visit with them and discuss theirs and our bikes. Of course that doesn’t apply to motorcycles. It was devastatingly embarrassing for me and irritating for the Indian reps I’m sure. Photo by Drew Ruiz. All rights reserved. 2008 Honda GoldWing GL1800 (Bought 3/11/2014 - 14,000 & counting) 1995 Honda Shadow 600 VLX (7,500 miles) 2002 Honda Shadow 750 ACE (74,000 miles & counting) 1986 Honda GoldWing GL1200 (65,000 miles before being totaled by rear-ending from 2013 GMC Sierra Pick-up @ 40mph in Oct. 2013) It just begs you to twist the throttle so you get to hear the engine make its music just one more time. He might find a way to translate his Texas Two Step skills into Tango mastery and pull it off, right? So suddenly, today, I remembered that while I was at a multi-brand dealership a few months ago, I overheard some guys raving about the same Goldwing you reviewed in your article. The “sand storm” we rode through also played havoc with the latches on both compartments. The Chieftain is easy chair relaxed and it’s in no hurry to get up and rush around. It will happily cruise at 85 mph on the highway and launches hard off the line thanks to its 119 ft lbs of torque @ 3000 rpm, but once the revs pass higher than about 4000 rpm I really noticed how flat it went. I’m confident I could source parts to satisfy both needs, but the fact is these things are already there on the Gold Wing gives the nod to the Honda. I even stalled the bike once when I went to take off from a stop sign/red light. This has to be safety related to encourage the rider to leave their hands on the bars and use the buttons there instead. This one still comes with 99% of the premium convenience features one would expect in a touring bike. It was stunning to look at, it sounded better than an ice cream truck on a hot August day and the motor moved me in a way that the Honda mill never could. The Chieftain is surprisingly the winner here. As a result of that failure I’m super paranoid about where my keys are at all times now. Thanks again John! Thanks for the feedback and reading our page. This bike is too damn good, period. There’s a silver lining in this cloud – and that’s that once you know the 4 digit code to start the bike you might not even bring the key with you when you travel. I also noticed a couple of fits and finish issued with the Chieftain. It comes down to being user-friendly. It was the dealer net work and reliability of the Honda not to mention the thousands of dollars save on a purchasing a 2018 leftover that influenced my decision. I hate stereotypes, but there is often some truth to them. I also think the new GoldWing is a great improvement but in looks and is going in the right direction in performance but id still buy something like an FJR instead. There is still a significant price difference to consider but the Indian will retain its value like a Harley Davidson does even over 10 years or better than most Japanese bikes do. Unfortunately I live in northern California and there was not a Goldwing to be found around here. Spinning off of this idea, I’ve seen two new motorcycles introduced to the press in the last two weeks that represent two versions of the motorcycle manufacturers’ dilemma, when it comes to appealing to various kinds of consumers. $17,400 . All the usual controls fall right at hand – except there’s no clutch lever or shift lever. In this case, the donor bike is Yamaha’s brand new Star Venture super tourer. The Indian seems like a primitive machine but it’s loaded with technology from its navigation system to its cylinder deactivation – the potential for issues is there (and a few were realized during our test). What if you build what you know your company needs to build, but it doesn’t boost sales? Although the Chieftain knows exactly where to grab you, for me, there’s no happy ending. The seat is very large and the weight feels easy to manage. The Gold Wing appears amused at this unusual comparison too it seems. Stator vs Voltage Regulator vs Bad Battery Not sure where I left off with the posts about this winters rebuilding but here are some of the photos. No issues. You’re In The Right Place. One finger was plenty to stop that bike from any speed. The Yamaha’s 6.6-gallon capacity is a close second, with the new Road Glide and Challenger tied at 6 gallons. Honda stepped out of their comfort zone on this one and flirted with sacrilege by changing what isn’t broken on a proven top seller. Ride to Live, Live to Ride! It’s fit, tight and ready. Honda’s 2018 Gold Wing and Yamaha’s 2018 Star Venture are intended for premiere comfort in long-distance touring, achieving that end through very different means, the most obvious being the engine platforms. . I can’t wait to get this one on the road. I’ve logged hundreds of thousands of miles since then. With friends like these who needs enemies, eh? The previous version of the air-cooled 1,854 cc air-cooled Yamaha V-twin made … It’s challenging to push the turn signal button instead of the horn on an unfamiliar bike at the best of times, let alone when it’s dark out and they don’t light up. The Honda flat out wins every measurable performance category. But if we take Yamaha’s statements at face value, I can easily imagine a bunch of Harley-Davidson Electra Glide riders surveyed by Yamaha insisting that a touring motorcycle needs an air-cooled V-twin engine. The Gold Wings front suspension is a double wishbone design that replaces traditional forks, and it works. The taillights are LED so the whole assembly needed replacement (if it wasn’t a wiring problem and I wasn’t sure). Given a month I’m confident the technology controls would become easier to use for me on the bike and the noisy DCT would be forgotten if not simply tolerated. When you talk about ease of use, you need to consider the DCT. The 2018 Honda Gold Wing Base has an MSRP of $23,500, while the 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder Base has an MSRP of $22,499. The Chieftain wins because of it’s very intuitive electronics package. That version of this bike (pictured below) would fit in with the other custom cruisers outside the bar, in my opinion. MSRP $22,499.00 . The battery problem turned out to be caused by a loose positive cable connection. Now’s the time for me to throw Jim under the bus. The electronically adjustable windshield is noticeably shorter than other Gold Wings too. Having said that, I bet there are Trask turbo kits that could be fitted to the Indian if someone was so inclined to keep the contest from being the blow out it currently is. If you’re a knee dragger, just pass on the Indian, it’s probably not for you. I have a fair bit of experience with computer controlled dual clutch transmissions in cars, and for the most part, they’ve been pretty reliable so, despite the clunky nature, I expect that Honda will have this figured out. They lock/unlock just fine if the key fob is in the vicinity. There’s not a loose thread anywhere on the Honda’s suit. You can hear every pulse and it reaches to the depths of your soul. Need to stop in a hurry? This means that the Yamaha Star Eluder features the same 113ci (1,854cc) air-cooled v-twin engine, mammoth chassis size, and robust feature list that is found on the Venture variant as well. I’m at a loss for words here John… thank you for reading this piece and sharing your story! On the fence with traditional or DCT. Yes! away . Fortunately our rep. knew the code so we were quickly and easily on our way. ... 2018 Honda Gold Wing. Yamaha FZ25 vs Honda Goldwing [2018-2019] - Which bike should you buy? 2018 Goldwing vs 2018 Yamaha Star Venture If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. I think I should be able to figure out how to navigate most all of the features using only the demonstration given by the dealership coupled with trial and error. So in the first major makeover in 17 years, Honda made the Gold Wing sportier and almost 90 pounds lighter. For informational use only. I should have stopped at a Honda dealership and asked if they had the gold wing taillights in stock just to compare, eh? Having said that when the Gold Wing was parked by itself we had more than one person comment on how great it looked. I didn’t experience any problems with the TC while we rode on slick, rain covered roads and I was wondering if the bike had the feature at all. Have a look at these pics to see what I mean. Like other baggers, Yamaha’s new Eluder is essentially a tourer stripped bare. I have no issue reaching the ground comfortably though I’m not flat footed thanks to my 28” inseam. Yamaha did things a bit differently. I love the looks of the new Gold Wing. The heads are large and beautiful, the push rod tubes are stout and beefy and the entire engine glistens in the sun. This weekend I am going to get the book out and program in a number that I will remember in case I lose the fob (or the battery dies). The Honda is a wonderful machine. I plan on doing more, but worry a bit that I was too brutally honest and Indian may not want to participate in the future. We’ll aim to push these bikes to their limits and beyond a little bit if I get my wish. I haven’t ridden one of them either. Both bikes could use cloth saddle bag liners. The difference in seat size is that noticeable. What a terrific motorcycle that Honda is. Once completed easily by the owner all the rough shifting disappears. I commute to work on my bike. The Chieftain “rump stump” is not the worst seat I’ve ever been on but it’s far from good in my books. Hahaha thanks for taking the time to sink the knife of shame into me just a little bit deeper, Vicki. It’s important to note the bike never did quit (initial battery issue notwithstanding) and got us everywhere we wanted to go despite our concerns. But what the MG lacks in displacement it makes up with a total of eight valves, four spark plugs, and a huge 104m… I still think about that trip fondly and can’t wait to get back to Death Valley for more riding. The Indian has braking and handling, but you might not notice it. This site uses cookies to ensure the best browsing experience on our website. Making this comparison interesting is the wide array of engine sizes in this match-up. That has turned out to be very bad for my heart and soul. It sounds wonderful. I could summarize the look of the Honda as Wall Street conservative with Saville Row attention to detail. Perhaps it’s just the V Twin engine connection, but I doubt it. Left to my own, I am a little eccentric about minimizing stuff rather than adding it. I didn’t read the manual for either motorcycle until the last day of testing on purpose. I’m glad the review helped you make the right decision. But if you like nice lazy country rides, step right up. Big cruisers have always been the bikes that light my fire. Let’s start with the Yamaha Star Eluder, which I wrote about over at RevZilla last week after attending the press launch. I think this design is a major step forward for them and I see recently that this same bike was customized by Kevin Dunn, Duy Nguyen, Jimmy Chen, and Ray Tong, of Southern California’s Steady Garage to produce this “Cool Wing”. Then again I am positive you’ll love the Gold Wing too. One comment to “What if you build the motorcycle people want and they still don’t buy it?”, Yamaha’s history of V-four touring engines. I found it challenging to remember to activate it when parking the Gold Wing. Have a look at this video showing the Gold Wing splitting lanes of traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway to see how this heavyweight bike can bob and weave like Muhammad Ali. Now that’s a happy ending. Unfortunately most big cruisers are too low to the ground for this, but I’m sure I can find something suitable down the road. For a brand new model like the Chieftain Ltd it’s probably not uncommon for parts to be in short supply at dealerships. Thanks for sharing with us. This caused the cable end to bend weirdly and threaten to cause damage over the long haul. I started riding street bikes in 1968. The heads are adorned with vestigial cooling fins that appear to mimic the Indian logo headdress. Nice touch. I … Because I’m a lousy consumer. One interesting discovery that came out of playing around in the sand and rain was that the traction control on the Honda allowed me to spin the rear wheel much more than other TC systems I’ve experienced on motorcycles. The Honda method involved a 9 or 10 digit code that had to be entered a la Morse code using the start button combined with the button to open the gas tank filler cap. Your email address will not be published. Sure, I could pack almost all the clothes I own into an older Gold Wing, but there are plenty of hard-core Wingers who felt the need to pull a color-matched trailer with them everywhere, for more storage capacity than a Civic. I don’t really like buying stuff. See the webBikeWorld Site Info page. It has the presence of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson at a bridal party, it’s big, brawny and ready to dance. Greg: I like the look of the Gold Wing, especially the cockpit. I suspect the Eluder will be the example of a bike a company builds because it’s what consumers say they want, but then those consumers refuse to buy it anyway. The Indian took a beating on this one. The Honda having been equipped with Apple Carplay made my life WAY easier because it allowed me to use Google Maps as my GPS which I find has better audio cues. Braking – Honda. As much as Indian has made inroads with market share there just aren’t near as many dealerships or aftermarket parts to choose from comparatively from what I can tell. Get one step closer to owning the Yamaha of your choice. Prepare to be blown away. People almost trip over the Honda to get a look at the Indian. Installs in minutes using basic tools; Comes complete with billet tips and baffles of your choice; Price is for the set (2 pipes) TAB's Limited Lifetime Warranty View All 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder Reviews View All Photos & Videos. The Indian Chieftain Limited is a head-turning, stunner of a motorcycle built in the image of tradition reaching back to 1901. Our reviews are hands-on, detailed, and unbiased. Dear Jim, The Gold Wing’s 6 cylinder count (vs the Chieftain’s two) does mean spending more money on spark plugs/wires to replace down the road admittedly. I’ve always dreamed of doing one of these comparison pieces and this was a ton of fun. Happily, it never happened, but it’s worthy of mention on this comparison because obviously, the Indian didn’t have any park brake to worry about. Honda Goldwing 40th anniversary model 2017 BMW K 1600 GTL At 1854cc, the Star Venture would have the biggest capacity of those three, even though it’s only a twin and the 1832cc Honda is a flat six and the 1649cc BMW has a transverse inline six. I think that’s how this one turned out. Every time it engaged a gear I felt part A bumping into part B with some level of force. BikeWale helps you compare FZ25 and Goldwing [2018-2019] on over 100+ parameters, including detailed tech specs, features, colours and prices. Well done Indian! Greg is 6’2 and as he puts it “a few Big Macs short of 300 lbs”. The 4 digit code is the way to go on the Chieftain. Despite the stark contrast, there are some traits these two motorcycles share. So what do you do if you want a Street Glide, without the Harley. 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder Chassis. They cheaped out using the worst looking LCD digits I’ve seen since Grade school when I had a Casio calculator watch. ... 2021 Honda ADV150 vs. 2021 Honda Trail 125 . ... 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder GT Option Package Honda Marysville Motorsports - 1,838 mi. Time will reveal whether the Venture and Eluder will be a success, and whether the revised Gold Wing will win new customers. Hahaha. With no WSBK ride, what’s left for Cameron Beaubier? Jim turned off the Chieftain and that was the end of it. The seat feels low and, in contrast to the sensible position of the Gold Wing, your feet stretch way forward. I think it’s brilliant and it can be installed on any motorcycle with about 6 inches of ground clearance. The Gold Wing is loaded with technology. I just couldn’t get comfortable on it if the ride went longer than 45 minutes. Yet everything Harley has done, from the V-Rod to the Buell Blast to the recent Street 750, has brought the company as much scorn as it has sales success. Ottawa, Ontario born (to ride) in 1975, but an Albertan since 1999. I don’t feel “mature” enough to be drawn to the full-blown touring Gold Wing or Indian Roadmaster at this point. It’s not stylish enough for the Indian, but given some tweaking, it could be exactly what the Chieftain needs. Is it an impending mid-life crisis or perhaps just acceptance of the fact I’m turning 44 in a few months at the heart of this??? That’s a positive in my book. One angle I’d like to try next time is inviting one of our readers to join in on the review to have a witness to confirm the findings. In keeping with the spirit of the dichotomy found between these two motorcycles, I’m thrilled to have my friend Greg join me on this expedition for a few good reasons. Here’s the rub though: you’ll never have leaky seals on the Honda to worry about and that’s a huge positive. The Gold Wing doesn’t need an aftermarket seat at all, but a passenger backrest would be nice. I just have to find a way to get the message out there and choose someone. My previous bike for several years was a Harley Road Glide (also a great bike). Hahaha! After a couple of hours, I was squirming around on the Chieftain like I had ants in my pants looking for some way to take the weight off my tailbone. As all the controls on the Chieftain, using the code is simple and easy. It’s a well-known procedure amongst DCT bike owners. I even mentioned wanting to do a comparison piece. It’s simply excellent. And it wins because it’s excellent. Are there enough of those fictional selfie-taking people in the photo above to offset the loss of the kitchen-sink travelers? Anyway, I never even considered any type of bike other than what I was used to, so after test riding the Chieftain, I was hooked. We did ride the bikes through some heavy winds laced with tons of blowing sand in Death Valley the day before and I wonder if perhaps that may have been a factor. Now, it could be that the “we had to build a V-twin by popular demand” story is just a cover and the real reason for the engine choice had to do with cost. The funny thing is that the Indian FEELS fast, but isn’t while the Honda IS faster but doesn’t overstate it… unless it’s in Sport Mode. The bike looks surprisingly small from the rear view. I currently own a 2018 Chieftain Dark Horse (thunder black smoke), but fell in love with the 2018 GoldWing (beautiful red!). These motorcycles are meant for the open road, chasing sunsets and languishing outside roadside diners. Once it got into third gear things did smooth out and quiet down thankfully. Shop millions of cars from over 21,000 dealers and find the perfect car. 2018 Yamaha STAR ELUDER GT Private Seller - … Why? In that case, I like to have one for each specific riding task I do. Hopefully, they’ll forgive me for my carelessness and let me demo another bike in the future. I still want something sleek to ride, but also want to be comfortable on a long haul and have enough storage to hold items for a weekend trip. I made more than a few urgent trips outside to pull the lever pictured above throughout this demo. The issues we had were substantial enough that they gave me pause on its ability to return me back to the routines of daily life. The Gold Wing is actually kinda cool now. I deserve it though. How is it possible the “old school” motorcycle with the classic appearance and tough guy attitude beats out the technology-rich Gold Wing? This is a win for the Gold Wing. 2018 Harley-Davidson Road Glide® Overall User Rating. The equivalent Yamaha Star Venture has an MSRP of $31,999. Engines define a motorcycle, and nowhere is this more true than in the cruiser category. It’s like art or sculpture you can ride around on and people will willingly pay more for beauty. I think if more people took the opportunity to try one they would become a fan too. It’s comfortable doing what it does, and there’s something nice about that. I also noticed a new fault code appeared the last day we had the bike indicating ABS system voltage issues. I just loved it. Even sport mode only served to make throttle response jerky instead of the bike faster. If it comes to that I’ll try renting the bike instead of borrowing a press fleet model. Breaking Mat Mladin’s records, FortNine video stars an old, long-lost friend, Don’t forget these five things on your next motorcycle trip, Four reasons the new BMW R 18 cruiser will be a sales flop. As of January, 2018, the Honda Gold Wing Tour will retail for $30,799 in Canada. At stop lights, you just can’t stop yourself from blipping the throttle just to hear the commotion. If you don’t notice a safety feature working then it’s either broken or tuned in perfectly. The ensuing panic at the thought of going outside to find it tipped over halfway down the street was hard on my heart. My iPhone X fit in them without issue leaving enough room to plug in the USB cable to keep it charged. The center of gravity is beautifully low set thanks to the flat 6 engine. It makes maximum torque just over 1200 rpm, has 20 more horsepower and three times the number of cylinders than the Indian. I love the raw and edgy attitude this bike exudes so much. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. That’s made apparent by the bolt upright standard seating position and voluminous fairing. Premium. The pushrod tubes are big, beefy and chrome. If you always remember to take your phone with you it’s no worry, but I found myself turning around a few times after I realized my phone was left behind in the bike. The Chieftain perfectly embodies classic cruiser styling and marries it to touring friendly features like a medium sized batwing style fairing, an electronically adjustable windshield, 100 Watt premium stereo, and navigation tech package along with ample storage from two huge hard bags. The stock Victory 106 only beats the Yamaha in Horse power with 79 HP to 75.9 HP but loses big time to the Yamaha in torque as the Yamaha113 makes 110 lbs … I have ridden and reviewed other bikes from Ducati, KTM, and Harley Davidson. Stick Slip On Mufflers for '18-Up Yamaha Venture and Eluder Models (Choose Chrome or Black) Get Increased flow over stock exhaust! I liked the videos mixed in. It’s a terrific bike although I still wish the display was a touch screen as it is on the 2020 Africa Twin. There’s a ton of work involved in putting a piece like this together and hearing someone like yourself appreciates it validates the effort of our team. I put 70,000 miles on my 2002 Goldwing and while it was a great bike, I wanted a bike that looked like a bike. The owner’s manual indicates this is done on purpose to allow some spin. So, in the end, Honda won the battle on overall merit (as expected) for my nod of approval, but I’m not above casting a wayward glance the Indian’s way again someday. 2019 Honda Gold Wing DCT vs. Indian Chieftain Limited Matchup Gallery Der Yamaha MT-09 mit ihrem 4-Takt Reihe 3-Zylinder-Motor mit Einspritzung und einem Hubraum von 889 Kubik steht die Honda CB 1000 R mit ihrem 4-Takt Reihe 4-Zylinder-Motor mit 998 Kubik gegenüber.

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