2018 Star Venture

[garyk]

After owing five past Gold Wings...I can tell you...that even in stop and go, when those two side mounted fans kick in...that can, not always, but can push really hot air out of those twin rads, back at you. I have had that happen, but not on a regular basis.

 

Thanks for pointing that out. When I think about it, I suppose they're all going to do produce heat, aren't they? I mean they're internal-combustion engines; they burning/exploding stuff less than a foot beneath me and just a few inches beside either leg.

 

The three bikes around which I have circled are the new BMW Grand America, the Gold Wing, and the SVTC. I quickly eliminated the SVTC, put off by the early heat reports. My FJR experience, which is otherwise very positive, has me leery of the heat reported in early SVTC reviews. The FJR can get very hot; even when moving quickly on a hot/humid day, the heat coming off it can be very unpleasant.

 

We quickly eliminated the BMW after riding it. Even in Touring mode the ride is stiff and jiggly, far more of a sport bike than a touring bike. (The K1600 GTL is too high for my wife's arthritic knees, and the seating is too cramped for us.) BMWs are, in an odd way, too sophisticated. I think of them as over-engineered. Plus their reputation is not good maintenance-wise, and BMW doesn't stand behind its products the way Yamaha does. The Gold Wing and SVTC are also sophisticated machines, but, and I don't know how exactly to quantify this, they are not "overly sophisticated" the way the BMW is, and that, to me, is a good thing.

 

The touring-mode ride on the new Gold Wing, and the ride is the main criteria for this purchase, is amazingly supple. Bumps from street irregularities are still there, but they are distant, cushioned, more like echoes of bumps. Yet I'm repeatedly drawn back to the SVTC because of my very positive experience with Yamaha over the decades, first on a 2-stroke 350 in the early 70s, then on an XS750 triple, then after 11 years on the FJR/AE (the AE is the designation for the auto-clutch), which, aside from the heat issue, is to my money the greatest all-around street motorcycle ever created.

 

I have a test ride scheduled for Saturday in Pasadena on the SVTC. It should be a hot day, and there should be traffic on the 110 that we can sit in. And as I write this I realize how perverted that sounds: On a test ride I will be seeking out traffic to sit in.

Edited May 11, 2018 by garyk

[cowpuc]

Thanks for pointing that out. When I think about it, I suppose they're all going to do produce heat, aren't they? I mean they're internal-combustion engines; they burning/exploding stuff less than a foot beneath me and just a few inches beside either leg.

 

The three bikes around which I have circled are the new BMW Grand America, the Gold Wing, and the SVTC. I quickly eliminated the SVTC, put off by the early heat reports. My FJR experience, which is otherwise very positive, has me leery of the heat reported in early SVTC reviews. The FJR can get very hot; even when moving quickly on a hot/humid day, the heat coming off it can be very unpleasant.

 

We quickly eliminated the BMW after riding it. Even in Touring mode the ride is stiff and jiggly, far more of a sport bike than a touring bike. (The K1600 GTL is too high for my wife's arthritic knees, and the seating is too cramped for us.) BMWs are, in an odd way, too sophisticated. I think of them as over-engineered. Plus their reputation is not good maintenance-wise, and BMW doesn't stand behind its products the way Yamaha does. The Gold Wing and SVTC are also sophisticated machines, but, and I don't know how exactly to quantify this, they are not "overly sophisticated" the way the BMW is, and that, to me, is a good thing.

 

The touring-mode ride on the new Gold Wing, and the ride is the main criteria for this purchase, is amazingly supple. Bumps from street irregularities are still there, but they are distant, cushioned, more like echoes of bumps. Yet I'm repeatedly drawn back to the SVTC because of my very positive experience with Yamaha over the decades, first on a 2-stroke 350 in the early 70s, then on an XS750 triple, then after 11 years on the FJR/AE (the AE is the designation for the auto-clutch), which, aside from the heat issue, is to my money the greatest all-around street motorcycle ever created.

 

I have a test ride scheduled for Saturday in Pasadena on the SVTC. It should be a hot day, and there should be traffic on the 110 that we can sit in. And as I write this I realize how perverted that sounds: On a test ride I will be seeking out traffic to sit in.

 

There ya go Gary,,, get right into it and go right after it!!! Hopefully you are going to be doing your testing with a passenger onboard and hopefully that passenger has some experience on riding two up = THAT would be awesome,,, icing on the cake so to speak.. Another simple thing that I would suggest is to bring along one of those infra red themometers and take temperature readings of both the bikes heat on items that are near the rider/passenger legs/feet as well as the rider/passenger legs/feet while sitting in one of those traffic back up situations that anyone who attempts a real deal tour is going to encounter.. IMHO,,, putting some real scientific proof by quantifying things would really add to reducing the subjectivity of this debate.. Either way though,, I personally look forward to the report of your encounter..

By the way,, have you ridden the new Wing? I have not but I have heard that Mom Honda positioned the rads on it to actually remove the engine heat and blow it out into the air flow outside of the cockpit.. I have read where riders have stuck their hands outside and into that air foil and they could clearly feel a 2 or 3 inch jet stream (my words) of hot air flowing past them.. Any idea if this is true?

[American]

Before you settle on the Honda GoldWing Tour you might want to watch some of the videos from Traxxion Dynamics.

 

 

When you play that video there will be more on the right side, Traxxion Dynamics has developed a new shock and spring for the 2018 GoldWing so if you buy one you might want to factor in the price of replacing the stock GoldWing suspension.

 

Video link is not showing up for some reason, but you should do a search about the issue.

Edited May 11, 2018 by American

[garyk]

There ya go Gary,,, get right into it and go right after it!!! Hopefully you are going to be doing your testing with a passenger onboard and hopefully that passenger has some experience on riding two up = THAT would be awesome,,, icing on the cake so to speak.. Another simple thing that I would suggest is to bring along one of those infra red themometers and take temperature readings of both the bikes heat on items that are near the rider/passenger legs/feet as well as the rider/passenger legs/feet while sitting in one of those traffic back up situations that anyone who attempts a real deal tour is going to encounter.. IMHO,,, putting some real scientific proof by quantifying things would really add to reducing the subjectivity of this debate.. Either way though,, I personally look forward to the report of your encounter..

By the way,, have you ridden the new Wing? I have not but I have heard that Mom Honda positioned the rads on it to actually remove the engine heat and blow it out into the air flow outside of the cockpit.. I have read where riders have stuck their hands outside and into that air foil and they could clearly feel a 2 or 3 inch jet stream (my words) of hot air flowing past them.. Any idea if this is true?

 

My wife and I will be riding. She's a many-decades veteran of pillioning (is that a word?), plus she rode her own Honda 400F around San Francisco for years, so she knows whereof she speaks. I don't have access to an infrared thermometer, so that's out, but I should be able to get a sense of the engine heat, particularly relative to the FJR.

 

We did ride the Gold WIng (twice). No engine heat on us at all. Don't know about the engineering of the fins.

 

I'll post tomorrow after the test SVTC ride.

[garyk]

Before you settle on the Honda GoldWing Tour you might want to watch some of the videos from Traxxion Dynamics.

 

 

When you play that video there will be more on the right side, Traxxion Dynamics has developed a new shock and spring for the 2018 GoldWing so if you buy one you might want to factor in the price of replacing the stock GoldWing suspension.

 

Video link is not showing up for some reason, but you should do a search about the issue.

 

Thanks. Definitely something to be concerned about. That video makes the Honda shock look remarkably lame. Still, the ride is extraordinarily smooth, so whatever they've done, it works, at least in the short term, and if I get the GW, I'll also get the extended warranty (5 years total), so if the Honda effort turns out to be a problem, they'll be replacing it, and maybe upgrading the part. Plus I will have the option of buying the TD shocks later.

 

I don't want to repeat the mistake I made with the SVTC--judging the bike based on pre-real-life-experience. The Honda engineers have a good track record, and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

Not that this necessarily means anything--I think TD is a good company and I have their shocks on the FJR, but do also have to consider that the TD video is selling TD parts.

[luvmy40]

I almost got a test ride on the 2018 SVTC today.

 

I went to the local Yammer dealer to order some parts for the Beast and there was a beautiful Black 2018 SVTC sitting in the parking lot with Georgia tags. I thought I might be meeting one Y'all today! Turns out it was a demo bike and they were sending riders out on it today. I asked if I could sneak a demo in and got a "Let me see what I can do" fo an answer. Sadly, 10 minutes later the rep came back and told me there wsn't much chance of getting a ride today but I could get on the list for the next demo which may be next Saturday. They'll call me Thursday and let me know if they have the demo bike again next weekend.

 

They had a Black TC and a Grey Eluder on the show room floor. I'm kind of glad that I didn't get to ride today as I am already in love with the new model just from seeing it and I certainly don't have an extra $25k to spend on anything, much less another bike!

[American]

I almost got a test ride on the 2018 SVTC today.

 

I went to the local Yammer dealer to order some parts for the Beast and there was a beautiful Black 2018 SVTC sitting in the parking lot with Georgia tags. I thought I might be meeting one Y'all today! Turns out it was a demo bike and they were sending riders out on it today. I asked if I could sneak a demo in and got a "Let me see what I can do" fo an answer. Sadly, 10 minutes later the rep came back and told me there wsn't much chance of getting a ride today but I could get on the list for the next demo which may be next Saturday. They'll call me Thursday and let me know if they have the demo bike again next weekend.

 

They had a Black TC and a Grey Eluder on the show room floor. I'm kind of glad that I didn't get to ride today as I am already in love with the new model just from seeing it and I certainly don't have an extra $25k to spend on anything, much less another bike!

 

You sure you were not looking an Eluder as they come in Impact Blue, Raven (Black) or Liquid Silver.

 

The Star Venture comes in either Raspberry Metallic or Granite Gray.

[luvmy40]

Well it sure looked black to me but I suppose it was Granite Gray. It was definitely the TC. The Eluder right next to it must have been "Silver" but looked grey in the show room lights.

 

I'll take pictures next week.

[Red Ryder]

Seems like a step backwards to me. V-twin with a belt drive. Why imitate HD? Aren't we past that?

 

Good looking bike but I wonder why they didn't use a shaft drive.

 

Sorta have to laugh,

a new Yamaha Venture is Air Cooled V-Twin, and a new Harley Ultra is Liquid/Oil Cooled. It is like they called each other to switch engines.