Unlike BMW, no Japanese manufacturer seems willing to dedicate the resources necessary to take on Honda’s Gold Wing with a modern design. Instead, what you can expect to see is increasing use of large-displacement cruiser engines in full-dress tourer mode, from several manufacturers.
Harley-Davidson’s Electra Glide (pictured above) is probably the model. Available with plenty of features (including a large trunk and stereo options) — features rivaling the Gold Wing itself, it is a classic, touring cruiser-style machine.
Of course, several Japanese cruisers already serve as touring bikes, with Yamaha’s Royal Star Venture perhaps the most elaborately “dressed”, with its full complement of hard luggage and standard stereo system, but more and more Japanese manufacturers should be expected to offer full-featured “full-dress” touring models built around their large-displacement cruiser designs. As engine displacements, and performances, increase in the cruiser category, manufacturers will begin to feel they can take the Gold Wing on feature-for-feature, and even from a performance perspective, with a “cruiser” motor pulling the load. Watch this category of motorcycles evolve over the next few years.
