The odometer know shows over 70000 miles on the bike and there have been quite a couple of trips that we did with this bike that is still running like a dream. We have done some trips reaching as far east as Michigan. None of the trips did show as a problem for the bike. The latest trips usually my wife got to ride the bike, as I had to take the seat on our old 2 wheeler, which is a GL1200 Interstate. Unfortunately for her the old bike usually tends to take some additional rest time so I can get back on the 1800.
I've said before in one of the previous posts that I have written enough about tires. But I feel a short update is on order. About 12000 miles ago I installed the latest edition of the Bridgestone tires, which is a new front tire design (G709) coupled with the same tire design on the back. Now this tire has been run through quite some canyon carving and long stretches of freeway. In either case the tire proved to be as good handling as the old design that Bridgestone delivered. The only good side effect is that the tire after those 12000 miles is still showing not a single bit of cupping as all other tires that I rode before. My experience on the tire shows that it will most probably give me a range of 14000 to 15000 miles total before I have to replace it. By now the rear tire is holding up about the same distance, so they can be easily swapped in pairs.
On the last service I had them check the valves, which should be inspected
every 32000 miles. While on the first inspection they proved to be well
within specifications they showed to be drifting off quite close to the
limit, and using the previous recorded measurements would clearly be out
of tolerance by the time for the next inspection. So the whole valves (intake
and exhaust) on the left side was brought into the center of the line again.
Did I have any problems with the bike so far?
Let me think.
I need to think a bit more
Give me a bit more time
No. Not the slightest problem on any of our trips. Works like a dream. Wish I could say that for our old 2 wheeler. On the last trip to Michigan it decided to request an additional rest period during which a shop could install a new Stator. But the 1800 is holding up well with all the miles. Sure there are a couple of things that Honda could learn and improve on the bike. Let me give some examples.
I've installed the Front Cover. When trying to clean the bike the side molding has to be removed. Now this sounds like a simple and quick thing to do. When doing this, you better be really careful, as the tabs that hold the molding on are small pieces of plastic that brake easily. Once the shop had to replace them as they broke them during the service work (glad I did catch this when picking up the bike).
The tank area scuffs and does not look good any more. Sure there is some aftermarket pieces in there that can be put on. I've found something in clear to stick on, but I really think it should have something coming from Honda and not being the owner's responsibility to do this. The best thing I have seen is someone putting tank pads from BMW on his bike. I guess one of the next trips is to the BMW shop for accessories for a Honda.
Another area is the windshield. Clearly some more design and aerodynamic work should have gone into this part of the bike. The windshield is either low enough to see over it, or so high that one has to look through the piece in order to obtain a descent wind flow from it. The latest piece I've found is a windshield from Firecreek , called the WindBender, that seems to solve that problem. Now if that whole thing would only be electric??
Would I buy the bike again?
Let me look what is in the market to compete with the bike. There is only one competitor (BMW K1200 LT) that I could come up with (unless you want to consider antique technology). And in my personal opinion it is beating the competition by a far stretch.
Is there anything that could be improved?
Yes, for sure. But what is perfect? For one part I've mentioned a couple of things a little bit up. The one area that I believe Honda could improve is fuel mileage. While the mileage is not bad considering the size of the engine and overall weight of the bike there surely is room for improvement. Or why does the bike deliver over 50 mpg in high elevations without seeming to loose response or power? I would love to see this bike being able to get consistently over 50 mpg (that would be over 300 miles between stopping for gas) as opposed to the current average of 41 mpg. I'm not complaining about the consumption, but it could be better. If I wanted a bike with the lowest fuel consumption I would not have bought the Wing.
The fit and finish of the trunk leaves much to be desired as well. By
now the upper lid is full of scratches where it mates to the lower part.
The paint is gone and the Tupperware is already showing dents. The lid
is moving from side to side ever so slightly by now. This should not happen
on a bike in this price range. Honda has to do a bit more homework in fit
and finish on this bike to have what I would consider the ultimate touring
machine.