The Gold Wing is a Honda motorcycle that has completely dominated the touring bike world for decades. It’s a fantastic bike for tours of historic American highways or cruising out to the lake house. You can ride it out to dinner with your date comfortably sitting behind you in the conscientious and well-fashioned seat. Or, blaze it solo and hit some national parks. Sure they are awesome new, but not everyone wants to spend all the money on a brand new motorcycle. So, what are the best years for a used Honda Gold Wing?

It’s great at its job, and that job is cruising passengers from one destination to the next in comfort. It also provides the peace of mind that Honda reliability brings to the table. The Gold Wing is a supremely engineered chariot. And, while not completely without fault, it’s been proven to last by all the used Gold Wing motorcycles out there that are still going strong.

2018 Honda GL1800 Gold Wing Tour

The 2018 Gold Wing marks the 6th generation of the GL1800. The Gold Wing Tour is the top tier of the 2018 model year. If you love the 2020 GL1800 for its modern amenities but don’t want to spend new dollars, the 2018 Honda GL1800 is a great way to go for this Honda touring bike.

2013 Honda GL1800 F6B

The FB6 bikes were some of the first manufactured in Japan after Honda made the switch from Marysville, OH to Kikuchi, Kumamoto Japan. This second gen GL1800 had fresh bodywork that give the fairing and saddlebags a sleeker design, though they were in fact more capacious. The instrument display got an updated satellite navigation system and radio, plus and an improved six-speaker audio system with MP3 and iPod connectivity.

2009 Honda GL1800 Gold Wing

New, this Bike topped Cycle World‘s list of best touring bikes. For the 19th time. Cycle World lauded Honda’s touring expertise, praising the ’09 Gold Wing for its comfortable seat and smooth suspension.

How good is the Gold Wing? Well, except for the addition of a few optional accessories, this big flat-6 hasn’t undergone any significant changes since its introduction in 2001, yet it’s still the best two-wheel long-haul traveling machine on the market, having won this category seven times in the 1,800cc version’s nine-year existence. 

Cycle World

This bike, though dated in terms of technology and connectivity, is still a true ride to buy used. It’s several years into the generation, so any first year kinks will have been worked out by the ’09 model. You’re also likely to find a smashing deal on one of these due to its age –– even though they still have miles worth of awesome touring left in them.

Honorable oldies

There are honestly just so many good years. Any of the anniversary editions are cool collector’s items and there was also the 2004 Honda Valkyrie Rune. Though it wasn’t technically a Gold Wind per se, the Valkyrie was born in 1997 based on the Standard Gold Wing. The ’04 was the Valkyrie’s special edition.

There are the GL1500 Gold Wings: the Aspencade, the GL1500 SE models, and the GL 1500 Interstate (which borrowed names from predecessors) that were in production from 1987 to 2000. Also the GL1200 models which ran from 1983 to 1987, and the GL1100 Gold Wings from 1979 to 1983. Of course, now we’ve gotten pretty deep into vintage and antique territory. And if that is your speed, you’ll probably want to check out the first gen GL1000 produced from 1974 to 1979. Though it is worth noting that –– if reverse is a feature you love on the Gold Wing –– it wasn’t found on any models until 1988.

It’s possible to find a used Honda Gold Wing out there from every generation. It all depends on what you’re looking for. Either way, you’ll end up with a Honda touring bike like none other.