Should I buy a GL1200 for my first Wing?

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This spring I swapped my 07 1100 Spirit for a '99 1500SE Wing. Like you, I'd dolled the Spirit to the "nines": highway bars, floorboards, chrome radiator cover, bags, reflectors, clock, thermometer, luggage rack-- you name it. Was a handsome bike and performed well, although at 6'1" and 260, my avoirdupois was not totally comfortable on the 550lb shock absorber:dude: when touring.

I'd lusted after a Wing since I first saw a tri-state wing gathering in Leavenworth, WA in 1980. My '99 SE will, in all likelihood be my final ride. Yes it's heavy (840lb) but sheds weight virtually as soon as it rolls; it's more agile than my Spirit. It turns in about the same economy as the Shadow Spirit (42-45mpg) but the smoothness, comfort, perqs of trim , appearance and creature comforts make an unbelievable difference. It has more storage room than the 1800's, and according to my dealership, all things being equal, the 1500 has proven the most reliable and maintenance free of all the Wings built to date. I do my own oil changes, loose hardware checks, and final drive oil changes. Anything much beyond that it goes to the pro's (it's always better to have someone else to hold accountable:dude

I've never operated an 11/1200, and only sat on an 1800. I like the 1500's look, feel, performance and reputation for reliability. Your opinion (and all the 1200/1800 owners') may vary.

Good luck with your decision.:coollep:



PS: Did I mention 1500's have reverse gear for those "Damn! I wish I hadn't parked this way" moments :shock:

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I have always loved the Goldwing. When I bought my first one, my budget was good for the 1200 only. It was a great bike. I rode it for 7 years. It had 155000 miles when I sold it and I did half of that myself.
The down side is that parts availablity is getting thin. some parts are still readily available new. Some are discontinued but you can find them on the used market (e-bay and various forums) and some parts, you may have to figure a way around. The bikes are incredibly reliable, however if you have the broken part, all the others being reliable is meaningless. I am able to do a lot of my own work, and I have friends that are better than I am that are able to help when I can't do it. Even the best vehicles still need repairs and maintenance from time to time.
My recommendation is buy the newest that your budget can afford. If you have a 1200 budget like I did, then by all means go for it. You will love the bike. Hope for the best. If anything goes wrong, odds are in your favor that it will be fixable, one method or another. Worst case scenario, it breaks and you can't fix it. There's a great used parts market out there and you can always sell the bike for parts, or part it out yourself and get a good part of your money back. But really, that's worst case. Odds are in your favor.
When I sold my 1200, it was really beat up. It still ran great, but it looked lousy. I ran that bike hard and the paint was shot, and the plastic was cracked in about a dozen places, I plastic welded it several times, and never finished the job (never sanded the finshed product) and never repainted. Some of the smaller plastic parts had gone missing. The part of the fairing that the mirror on the left connected to was almost broke clean off. I plastic welded it back in place, but it was starting to break again. It was a tired looking bike. But it ran great!!! and I was still riding it every day right up till I bought my 1500. I was considering parting it out, and someone offered to buy it. We agreed on $1500 and 2 years later they are still riding it every day.

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When I was shopping for a Gold Wing, I looked at a lot of 1100 and 1200's as they were more in my price range or so I thought. Many of these I was disappointed in mainly because they were in poor overall condition. I was fortunate to ride a few to get a better opinion on comfort, handling and braking performance. I was impressed with the handling considering their weight. I'm 6 ft 4" and about 250 lbs, I usually take a size 10 shoe. I found that there wasn't much room for my feet or knees especially on the left side and none of these had foot boards.

I had settled on a particular 1200 but some how missed the boat and while looking on the web found a 1500 quite close to home, er under a cedar tree in fact.
The PO was splitting up with his wife of 40 years and at all were being sold off at a 50/50 split. Anyway I went to see it, took it for a ride and the rest is my story. It has a lot of scratches and I will repair those in due time, for now I will just ride it and enjoy the summer. Plenty of time for fixin' things in the winter!

That was February of last year, apart from a few oil changes, a change of front tire and disc pads and some subtle mods, I have done little to the bike. However it carried my wife and I from Vancouver to San Fransisco and back last August with ease. I will be fitting new timing belts and a rear tire and balancing the carbs before heading for Montrose in September. It is really a great machine for the long haul and once you get used to the weight it really has great handling qualities. I have to mention that I did drop it a few times but that's all behind me now and Skert has helped me up once or twice. http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html

Hopefully you can get to ride a few to get the feel of them before you decide.

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I've owned both bikes at the same time. They overlapped several months. For a while, I was considering keeping both bikes just because I wasn't sure I would like the 1500 that much better. However, after riding both alternately, I got rid of the 1200. And, I'm not sorry I did. Don't get me wrong. I'm not badmouthing the 1200. It was a great bike, but the 1500 does everything the 1200 does at least as well and some things much better.

One thing that bugged the heck out of me was that the mirrors on the 1200 would sag if I rode on a rough road. I think that is a pretty common problem for 1200's. The seat on the 1500 is head and shoulders better for the driver and passenger. My wife says she feels much safer on the back of the 1500. By the way, we just got back from a 1000 mile trip from Idaho to Montana, through Yellowstone, into Wyoming and back to Idaho. The 1500 has an alternator instead of a stator. Any used 1500 will be loaded with features compared to the average used 1200 for sale. The 1500 only has two carbs to go out of balance while the 1200 has four (not a big deal). Both bikes had plenty of power for one rider, but the 1500 accelerates much better when loaded with a passenger. The 1200 is smooth, but the 1500 is smoother.

As a matter of fact, I would say that if you buy a 1500, it may be the last bike you ever have to buy. Well, maybe not. There is always something else that comes along.