Well, my wife and I "pulled the trigger" on a 2008 red GL1800 Saturday! Now that I've said that, I'll share the story....
We had test-ridden an Ultra-Classic at Bike Week and we both were impressed. Starting at one of three Harley Davidson dealerships Saturday, we were looking specifically for an '07 or '08 new or pre-owned Classic or Ultra-Classic, or an '06 and up pre-owned Goldwing. There were no Harleys that matched our needs, so we moved on down the road to the Honda dealership where they had several '08 and '09 Goldwings all lined up.
My wife immediately picked the red Goldwing and after sitting on it, she fell in love with the comfort of the back seat, and the rest, as they say, was history. They happened to have two HD Classics and one Ultra-Classic that had been traded, so she sat back on one of those to compare. She determined that the passenger seat made her lean back at an odd angle and said the Goldwing's seating arrangement was much more comfortable.
The dealership offered us $100 over payoff for our Nomad and sold the '08 at MSRP, so in the end I think we did okay. They were going to wire our helmets with the audio package, but our helmets were not compatible, so they threw in a set of Kuryakyn highway pegs instead. I LOVE the power of this bike, and will provide more feedback as the miles wear on!
Welcome aboard. Let the fun begin. Congrats on purchase. You will not be disappointed. I have the Dark Red Metallic '08 also. What part of the country are you from?
It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who prefer the Wings over the HDs. I guess those of us who ride Wings enjoy riding comfort over status symbol. Who says riding has to be a sacrifice to your comfort to be "real riding?"
Do you think the IBA will start puting handicaps on rides by Wings? I hope not!
Let the fun begin. Before you know it, you'll have a second mortage to pay for all the farkle you want to add to your new ride.
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