honda goldwing
When Honda announced it was ceasing motorcycle production at its Marysville, Ohio plant in 2009 so that it could consolidate building bikes at a new factory in Kumamoto, Japan, once over the shock we started speculating what that might mean for the motorcycles produced at Marysville, specifically the Gold Wing GL1800. We recently pow-wowed with a couple guys in the know at Big Red, and they cleared up some of the mystery for us.
First off, before any changes took place, Honda says it produced sufficient numbers of 2010 Gold Wings to meet demand until production can resume at Kumamoto, which isn’t expected until sometime in 2011. In other words, there are plenty of 2010 bikes out there, and if the current economy is affecting Honda dealers like it is everyone else, they ought to be ready to deal on them.
Once enough 2010s were built, rather than using the move from Ohio to Japan to “start fresh” with an all-new Wing, much of the machinery and tooling used to build the existing bike as well as the engine dies needed to duplicate the engine, powerplant and bodywork of Honda’s flagship motorcycle were transferred to Kumamoto.
SO, what that means is that when Gold Wing production resumes at Kumamoto sometime in 2011, the bikes will be 2012 models, but probably won’t have extensive changes–at least not for 2012. Personally I would expect a few new convenience and/or comfort features added to the existing six-cylinder, aluminum-framed platform and running gear (psst, electric windscreen? Adjustable seat? Keyless ignition?), and of course the quality and performance standards for which the Gold Wing is famous.
Article Source: Carguru.com
