Demo ride heaven at the Wing Ding

I just got back from Wing Ding 36, held this year at Madison, Wisconsin. The wife and I had a great time. The highlight for me is the demo ride area. Unfortunately the only OEM there this time was Honda, along with some trike and sidecar vendors.

Thank you Honda, for letting me ride 7 of the 17 2014 bikes you brought! I rode:

GL1800
F6B
CB1100 Deluxe
Interceptor
CTX700 DCT
CB500X
Forza

I picked up a nail with the rear tire of the CB500X near the end of my ride. Honda had to replace a nearly new tire but they got it back in service quickly. Sorry, guys.

The Honda rides were about 35 minutes long, with some in-town, some divided highway, and mostly rural 2 lane. One ride was two hours and included lunch provided by Honda. All rides were at no cost to me. The Honda staff is very professional and safety conscious.

And in other booths, we rode:
GL1500 trike
BMW K1600 trike
Suzuki Burgman 650 trike (wife driver, me passenger)
And a very interesting and expensive GL1800 Quad conversion

At past rallies I've been able to ride other Hondas, CanAm Spyders, Harleys, and Thoroughbred Stallions. Very, very few of these machines would be of any interest to me to own, but it's great to sample all the powersport options possible. If nothing else, it confirms that I made the right choices in my own machines.

Thanks again to Honda.

Sounds like a good day!

itlives said:

Sounds like a good day!

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It was! Actually we were there Tuesday night thru Sunday morning. It took awhile to get all that riding in.

Now that is a good weekend.I went to a dealer to look at the cb1100,I like the looks of it.then I saw the nc and said that is the one,test road it and bought it the same day.

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I've never been to an event like that. Seems like a great time. Did you ever feel any pressure to purchase a bike? Do they hint at that during the rides?

SergeantChuck said:

I've never been to an event like that. Seems like a great time. Did you ever feel any pressure to purchase a bike? Do they hint at that during the rides?

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There was absolutely no pressure to buy. Sometimes there is a casual, "well what did you think?", but it seems more like just that the ride coordinators are genuinely interested in your thoughts because they like the bikes, too.

The couple running the Honda demo operation aren't even Honda employees. Honda provides the truck and bikes, but contracts with them to run the operation. You couldn't buy a bike from them if you wanted too, and they have no incentive to pester you. They are motorcycle enthusiasts just like us.

The other vendors were the same way. Not even a hint of sales talk. At the Harley Davidson tent they would ask what i thought of the Harley ride and I'd say, "No thanks, I'm keeping my Gold Wing", and that would be the end of it.

So I am going to ask " well what did you think" about the F6B ? Isn't that the naked Wing sort of like the modern Vulcan ?

Grump said:

So I am going to ask " well what did you think" about the F6B ? Isn't that the naked Wing sort of like the modern Vulcan ?

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All I could really compare it to was a Gold Wing, so the F6B compares to the Gold Wing as follows:

Windshield is short so it's a windier, noisier ride. Earplugs required.

Suspension is stiffer. It may handle a little better but the ride is a bit "jolty" on rough roads.

Power is supposedly as good or better, and the bike being lighter should give better performances, but I really couldn't tell much difference on my ride.

Seat is longer and slopes rearward with less backrest. Was bad for me but may fit a larger person better than the 'Wing. The standard 'Wing front seat doesn't have much space for large riders.

Passenger accommodations are minimal compared to 'Wing.

Steering head angle feels a little steeper. Less effort required for turns but parking lot maneuvers are a little twitchy, at least until you get used to it.

In summary, the F6B is a GoldWing with the same great motor but with some cruiser attributes.

Do you have credentials that got you invited to it? It seems to me that if anyone could go, it would be packed with too many people.

itlives said:

Do you have credentials that got you invited to it? It seems to me that if anyone could go, it would be packed with too many people.

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When all the vendors show up at a big rally like Americade, you will probably have to get there at 5 am, wait in a long line and possibly just get one ride sign up per day. I recall back when the Honda Hoot was running, demo rides were hard to get. The beauty of Wing Ding is that most of the attendees are in their 60's, already have their GoldWing or trike, and really don't care about something like an Interceptor or a CB500X. That means the demo area sees only light traffic. No credentials needed other than a ticket for the event and a valid motorcycle driver's license.

The Honda demo team said the street bike truck is going back to California and for awhile they are switching to ATV and off-road demos. Apparently they alternate.

Pics or it didn't happen, you know the rules.

Roger that. Pics tonight.

OK here's a sliver of proof. First, the Honda demo truck, tent, and some of the bikes.

Then here's the wife ready for the Burgman trike test.

And here's the GL Quad we rode. First you buy a GoldWing, which we know isn't cheap, then buy the $29,000 Quad kit!

Unfortunately, since I'm the picture taker in the family, I have no photos of me on a test bike.

Incidentally, we really hate trikes but we test ride them anyway trying to understand why people like them. To each his/her own, of course. The Quad handled and rode way better than a trike, but nothing compares to leaning on two wheels!