Goldwing vs. Harley for Hi mileage

[Mavagrand]

Ok. Was reading a goldwing forum recently, those guys seem to average about 200,00 out of their bikes. I have an 08 EGC that I am keeping stock and don't ride too hard. My question is, how many miles do you guys think I can expect out of my bike? I know some guys have really gotten high mileage outta there Harley's and I suspect a lot of guys that don't probably have them modded to the max and ride them like crazy. Is the Honda design (water cooled = tighter tolerances) that much better?

 

[Mavagrand]

Gary, lighten up and slow down with the Koolaid. I'm not talking about an "emotion", I obviously prefer a Harley or I wouldn't have purchased it. What about those "winger" that "feel" their bikes are beautiful and sound good...should they be offended by a simple comparison?? I am looking for constructive input from people who have high mileage on their HD's, curious to know if they are stock. Not meant to insult anyone.

 

[tlyoungb]

I road honda's for years, and even worked on them as a Mech. I would not take 30 goldwings for my 05 Electra Glide. If your going to compare Goldwing and Harley? Might as well compare Harley to a Car. Goldwing is nothing less than a 6 cylinder auto.

Can you imagine would its like to have to repair a GoldWing? I can tell you from experience. You have to take have to bike apart to get to the engine. No Thanks. I wil keep my HD.

 

[FifthGear]

Well, now. Sometimes there are those who look at a Honda Goldwing as some kind of reliability god. From my experience and friends experiences that's not any more the case than todays Harley. Actually from my experience of cost to maintain, ease to work on and repair if any problems arise the award goes to Harley for getting back on the road the quickest, less down time and reliability at less cost. I think a high milage Goldwing is just about worthless as far as cost to mantain and rebuild. If you don't believe me I have a friend with an old high milage Goldwing he'd probably let go for $500. It's not much to look at but all it needs to run a little is a starter clutch assembly which the dealership says they can fix by pulling entire engine and replacing for $1600. For two thousand dollars and a couple more thousand to replace some minor cosmetic and functional items in bad shape you could have a high milage winger worth maybe a thousand dollars. A Harley of the same year and in such a state will bring ya 5 to 9 times that money, and you'd have something. I think when you look at Wings as disposable you may have a ride that is dependable and worth the purchase price for a few years untill buying another. And the guy who buys it for a few hundred isn't out much. But it's not a real long term bike to most avid riders no matter how many miles it gets before rebuild. IMHO only.

PS: Ya got to admit you do meet the nicest people on a Honda and if I owned one now I sure wouldn't want to miss the Honda Hoot. Cheeses! teehee

 

[Fisher]

Man you don't have to ride a Honda to attend the Hoot.Great event.Oh and this Harley has over 300K on it.

 

[DavHJ]

I baught a 1978 Gold Wing brand new and owned it for 18 years put 78,000 miles on it it was a great bike then I was intreasted in the new 1800 Gold Wings so I did some research on them and found out the frames were cracking and the engines were overheating I wanted no part of that so
I baught a 2000 Electra Glide Classic and I'm not sorry one bit
so far it has been a trouble free bike.

 

[tlyoungb]

I use to own a VTX 1300 Retro. Man getting parts for that bike was like pulling teeth out of a alligator. I mean just simple parts. For example like a clutch cable. You have to order the clutch cable. Unless you purchased an after market cable. And then it took like a week to get it. I never had that kind of problem with Harley.

I asked the parts department how come they don't just keep these in stock. He answer was..."If I had to stock every part for every motorcycle that Honda made in just one year, I would need a parts building as big as Wal-Mart to stock them." I told him, yea but a clutch cable is a wear item. They are going to break. "Don't matter. I still have to order it." I waited a whole week before I got the cable. Never again. At least with Harley you have a huge selection, and so far when I needed something for my 05 EGS! I had no problem getting it. Either off the showroom floor or out of the parts department. THANK GOD FOR HARLEY DAVIDSON. I will never own another JAP BIKE AGAIN.