Highway speed

That is one very cool rig, and two very cool pups. 👍 

Your Goldwing would be an awesome setup. I've got a BMW R1100 GS /Dnepr with only a 49" track, and it does well on the freeway.  From my very limited experience it seems the most important thing is having the rig properly equipped and setup. 

Hope if you go this route, you'll post up a build thread, and ride reports! 😎 

Maybe I'm in the minority?  But all the rigs I've owned are/were comfortable at 75mph.  Of course, gas mileage goes to hell.  I've heard, but never verified, that wind drag increases exponentially with speed.  So your wind drag at 60mph is 4 times the drag at 30mph.  Wreaks havoc at the gas pump.

But anyway, my rigs were powered by these tugs -- R1100GS, R1150GS, R1200GS, K1200LT and the outlier a GL1800.

The GL1800, with a powerplant quite similar to your F6B, didn't breath hard even at 90mph. 😉 

@mike-o, here I am to save the day, it's Flying Monkeys on his way.....  

Okay, this is right in my wheelhouse, so read thoroughly. 

Both of my current sidecar rigs will easily cruise down the road at speeds well in excess of breaking the law, in 49 states, and most foreign countries. My '06 Wing w/Champion Daytona 2+2 is relatively similar to your '14 Honda F6B....and BTW, I have previously owned a '13 Honda F6B, that was made famous, or is that infamous, due to a particular Lightning Strike at 70 mph, but...I digress. This '06 Wing w/Champion Daytona 2+2 has just been sold to one of our family of sidecarists within our fold of the United Sidecar Association, but this same sidecar rig was also previously by @ned, as he mentioned above. 

My sidecar rig I am keeping is a '19 Wing w/DCT trans, and is married to a 2022 Hannigan Dream sidecar, and it will never be sold. It will be "willed" to the family that just agreed to buy my '06 Wing sidecar rig, but that is decades away.

Both of these rigs will VERY easily run down the highway, or any roads, at 75+ mph, and usually I set them at 80 mph, with NO taxing of the engines at all. Your '14 Honda F6B is designed to do that...ALL DAY LONG.

I can assure you, with 100% confidence, that both of my "WING" sidecar rigs are extremely stable on the roads...at any speeds, but most exceptionally at speeds in excess of 80+ mph. Both of mine had the sidecars attached to them at the manufacturers sites, by Champion in Los Angeles, and by Hannigan in Murray, Kentucky.

Your '14 Honda F6B has a slightly different ECM in it than what the normal Wings have in them. The ECM in your F6B is mapped to make the bike a "sprinter", whereas the ECM in the normal Wings has an ECM that is mapped to make the bike run more of a "marathon", than to do sprints.

The bottom line is that your '14 F6B is BETTER for dragging a sidecar down the road, than a typical Goldwing does, because of that ECM being mapped for use as a "sprinter".

Now, what the heck do I mean..."sprinter" ?

Your F6B is mapped to get up to 100 mph quicker than a typical Goldwing. The F6B will GET THERE....dang fast. BUT....(and this is NOT a drawback for sidecar use), the only BUT is that the F6B is speed limited to 125 mph. When you attempt to reach 126 mph, the ECM shuts off fuel to 2 of the injectors, making the bike stumble a bit, and keeping it from going over 125 mph.

Whereas the typical Goldwing 1800 can run up to speeds around 130 mph, or 132 in a long downhill in a particular section of I-90 in Montana. The typical Goldwing 1800 is NOT speed limited, just runs out of engine at 130 - 132 mph.

Reality....99% of you folks don't run a sidecar rig at speeds in excess of 100 mph, and 99.999999% of your don't run a sidecar rig at speeds in excess of 125 mph. The vast majority of you would rather have a bike that is extremely comfortable on the engine at 75 to 90 mph, than to attempt to break the speed records of a particular Flying Monkey.

When a local Honda dealer was rebuilding my '13 Honda F6B due to the electrical damage caused by the September 5, 2013 Lightning Strike, with more than $ 10,200.00 electrical damage done to the bike, the owner of the dealership asked me if I wanted them to install an ECM from a typical Goldwing into this F6B, because he knew I like to run at higher speeds. Taking 3.14159 seconds to think about it, I said NO...let's use the F6B ECM, as it gets the bike up to 125 mph much quicker than the ECM from a typical Goldwing 1800.

All this means @mike-o, is that your '14 Honda F6B is going to be an excellent tug for sidecar use.  You won't have Reverse, but that is easy to live without, and the bike is easy to push backwards, when needed.

When you get ready, let's talk about tires....front and rear on the bike, as it can easily accept a Run-Flat Car Tire on the rear wheel, and is very happy with a Bridgestone BT-46 tire on the front wheel...turned around backwards.

Welcome back. Sharp looking rig, the pups look like they are posing for that shot,,, love it 😎 

I typically cruise between 75 and 80 with a 2021 Honda Africa Twin/heavy DMC Expedition hack...  Very comfortable and stable, after sorting a few build details (ok a lot of details FM!)

It does not feel like the engine is working very hard; it is just an 1100cc parallel twin at 101hp, 97 ft/lb torque.  I did reduce final drive by 4.2% by adding a couple of cogs to the rear sprocket.

Less HP and less torque than the F6; you should be exceptionally happy!

Don't miss having a reverse, but if it was free, I'd take it!

The f6b is a perfect choice for a tug! Blast to ride and super comfortable. I have built a few of them and loved the results 

wow.

i follow the Old Ways. im still around here building a 1960s triumph 650 tug for my 1968 watsonian. doing well sourcing parts atm. have all the chassis and tin ware, now all i have to do is a motor. the easiest part, to be honest.

but i dont anticipate more than 45 mph, screaming top end, lowered gearing and all.

thats what they did when they were new, some 60 years back, when people used them as daily transport.

you guys pushing these super high blacktop speeds are living in a very different world. i have no experience there.

My rig runs best at 60 MPH and lower.   I have topped it out just over 70.   I’m recently retired and considering some travel with a better highway cruiser.  I appreciate all the responses.  Thank you!  

Posted by: @ned

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Maybe I'm in the minority?  But all the rigs I've owned are/were comfortable at 75mph.  Of course, gas mileage goes to hell.  I've heard, but never verified, that wind drag increases exponentially with speed.  So your wind drag at 60mph is 4 times the drag at 30mph.  Wreaks havoc at the gas pump.

But anyway, my rigs were powered by these tugs -- R1100GS, R1150GS, R1200GS, K1200LT and the outlier a GL1800.

The GL1800, with a powerplant quite similar to your F6B, didn't breath hard even at 90mph. 😉 

@sidecarusa  Looking forward to experiencing the change in my wing. I suspect it has not had the setup played with much since 1995 when Champion fitted the sidecar. Leaving very early tomorrow morning, roads will be quiet. i had a procedure that went slightly side ways so i now have a fashion accessory fitted so time for coffee and some much needed sleep. Speeds were i think much lower than the USA in Blighty

@kevin 

I remember my dad with i think a Matchbox or maybe a Norton with a big old watsonian sidecar and his ladders strapped across the top and newspapers under his jacket in winter to stay warm. No fair weather rider there for sure =) He also bought a 1950 Bentley shoved his ladders in the back and drove off to the building site. Here's me now joust bought a Goldwing at 72. Like father like son!?!!?

@miles-ladue Any truth in the rumor that you have cars with crosses through then added discretely to your Battlewing =)

Yes, Steve, the rumors are true  

And... it's BattleWing Galactica....dang it 

Ok i get it, as Battlewing Galatica and i have not yet been formally introduced i have to keep it formal =)

I am reminded of the old knight jousting with Battlewing Galactia at one end and some poor car at the other =)

The word Splat seems about right

My Bandit rig is comfortable at 75+ all day long.  I’m not going to run with Miles but I doubt many can.  With the new upgraded engine in it I’m betting it will be even less stressed.