All Duels – BMW K1600GTL Vs Honda Goldwing: 6-cylinder in-line or flat? – Checklist before take off

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BMW K1600GTL Vs Honda Goldwing: 6-cylinder in-line or flat ?

All Duels - BMW K1600GTL Vs Honda Goldwing: 6-cylinder in-line or flat? - Checklist before take off

In the clan of opulent road, the Honda GL1800 Goldwing is sovereign, at the same time very comfortable, soft and pleasant … But this year arrives a second 6-cylinder motorcycle: the BMW K1600GTL… Face to face full options !

Check-list before take-off

In terms of electronic equipment, two schools are opposed. The golden wing ("Goldwing" in French) offers a button – backlit at night – for each function, which transforms its dashboard into a real airplane cockpit !

More modern, the German centralizes almost all functions in one place: the multi-controller. This dial placed on the left stalk allows you to move more or less intuitively in the various menus of the on-board computer. This concept, which will particularly appeal to "geeks" bikers, comes from the cars of the Bavarian brand which have already been fitted with it for a few years..

The essential and the superfluous !

Regarding comfort, our two "road vessels" offer fairly equivalent services. Both offer to warm up your paws as well as your posterior, just like that of your passenger. We also find on each cruise control, on-board sound system (coupled to GPS on the K1600GTL) and rear suspension preload.

The latter, basic on the Goldwing, is particularly high-tech on the K 1600 GTL: optionally equipped (750 €) with the ESA II system (second version of the "Electronic Suspension Adjustment"), the new BMW complies with the wishes of its pilot with a simple pressure on the control gear. A system still as efficient and practical to use.

Geometry lesson

By trying to disregard the weight and the consequent size of our machines so as not to put too much pressure on themselves, MNC settles on board. This is done very naturally since our two vessels offer very reasonable saddle heights: 740 mm for the "Gold" against 750 mm for the "Ka sixteen".

Even if their seats are rather wide, they do not prevent a large majority of pilots from having both feet flat on the ground. The driving position is perfectly straight on the Honda with the knees less apart than on some large four cylinders.

On the other hand, if you have a straight bust on the Behemian, your legs are a little more bent and spread apart. The handlebars are noticeably wider and more curved on the Japanese, which offers a good leverage to handle the 405 kg (!) Of the machine..

Beyond its weight, the height of a motorcycle’s center of gravity has a huge impact on its handling. At this little game, the Goldwing is an expert! With its 6-cylinder lying flat in front of the rider’s feet and its intelligent weight distribution, it is surprisingly easy … for a motorcycle of this volume !

On the BMW, we feel that the center of gravity is placed higher as soon as we raise the bike from its side stand. So, even if the Japanese weighs almost 50 kg more on the scale (348 kg for the GTL), its perfect balance makes it almost as easy to maneuver..

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