The Honda GL1800 Gold Wing the King of the Road

The Honda GL1800 Gold Wing is impossible; hurling a stupefying mass of metal and plastic around at seed isn't new – bi, fat, touring buses have been doing it for years – but the Honda Gold Wing brings FireBlade levels of handling, control and agility to the party. So where the old Gold Wing wallows and shimmies or takes ages to haul to s standstill or feels breathless over the ton, the GL1800 is capable of squirting round the outside of lazily-ridden liter sportbikes.

This makes the Honda Gold Wing GL1800 unbeatable as a touring bike. Pillions – most unnoticeable, whereupon the extra weight and its relative height dramatically increases the Gold Wing's ability to topple over – are astonished by its power and reassured by its poise; they feel safe and protected. They also feel most of the bumps – a side-effect of being such a composed beast at speed is less than flawless ride quality. Who'd have thought it; the Honda Gold Wing GL1800 has a sporty ride.

In terms of luxury the Honda Gold Wing GL1800 has more toys than other bikes in its class, but some basic functions aren't quite right. The stereo has lots of options – MP3 player input, RDS, etc – but has a low sound quality and is the least audible at high speed. The screen is adjustable, but uses low-tech levers rather than electronic adjustment..

Its 1832cc flat six motor – basically, a small-bore Porsche engine – makes more torque than a small car and whooms up the road from 0.1rpm with inappropriate shove. It feels like an automatic – which, given the parlous state of the gearbox, we wish it was. Shifting rapidly under full load too often ends up with a gearbox of neutrals.

Overall, for the rider, the Honda GL1800 Gold Wing handles as one of the best touring motorcycles I have