[SnS_12]

A premium and a loyal Honda customer, who is willing to pay a premium (for a colour of his choice) to a brand who are known for charging a premium for its products when compared to competition in India.

Wonder why Honda wants to rub such a customer on the wrong side??

P.s Dippy, your friend truly has a unique and rare collections of Hondas and we would be delighted to see some pictures shared of them on this thread

[neil.jericho]

Dippy, from what I know, there is a massive shortage of Goldwing kits and it isnt like Honda India is sitting on ready stock of these bikes. I know of another Goldwing booking for which the delivery is tentatively expected to happen only around August. Also, given the abysmally low volumes that the Goldwing has, Honda has earmarked only one colour for India. Looking at it as discrimination, does seem to be a rather harsh stand.

All of Honda's big bikes sold in India, come in other colours abroad. But only a few colour options are available here. This is no different from any other big brand that is operating in India. For example, Kawasaki's ZX10R used to come in a stunning pearl ivory paint scheme that never made it to India, though it was popular in the US.

I would suggest that your friend not worry too much about all of this. As a long time Honda owner, he must be well aware of how Honda India operates.

The Goldwing is a magnificent machine, and he will be guaranteed tens of thousands of happy kilometers with it. He will just have to wait for it to be delivered, just like everyone else.

[Dippy]

Update:

First up, thanks for all the support guys. With some help from my circle and this thread, things got escalated rather quickly.

And now I am happy to report that we got delivery of the Goldwing last week. We didn't get a colour choice, but atleast we got the bike. My friend is delighted. Now begins the ordering of accessories



Will try and share more pictures soon

Thanks again fellows.

[Viju]

Glad to know your friend got delivery. Always good to see someone get their dream machine. As several others have requested, please do post a picture of your friend's collection. Should be one of the (if not the) best Honda motorcycle collections in the country.

Also, couldn't help but wonder at the price we pay for premium motorcycles.

50L INR for a Goldwing Tour DCT that costs 34.5L JPY inclusive of taxes (or 21L INR) in Japan! That's 2.3 times the original price!!

And then, there are guys like me who can't even afford the 21L price tag in spite of living in Japan, lol!!

As part of my job, I had the pleasure of testing the 2020 'Wing DCT extensively, and simply put, it is the pinnacle of Honda's over-engineering. Haven't ridden anything on 2 wheels that's smoother than the 'Wing, and probably the easiest super bike I have ever ridden except the Busa.

[Nithesh_M]

The Honda Goldwing is nothing less than a sophisticated car on 2 wheels. It literally has a car dashboard with audio system and control on the handlebar.
So its not shocking that Honda will have chip shortage affecting the Goldwing production. Its a flagship model made in limited numbers. Their customers don't usually mind waiting because they are mostly made to order nowadays.

[Starfire]

Originally Posted by Dippy

For eg: If I place an order for Ferrari, they give give me the option to choose any colour I want and any trim.

Yup, they give you the option to choose the colour and trim of your choice but they DON’T give you the option to choose the car of your choice to begin with! Don’t believe me? Then ask your friend to go to the Ferrari dealer and tell them you want not their base but one of their top of the line limited edition flagship models. Sorry to say, but even a person of your friend’s “stature” or with all the money that he has won’t be able to buy one. They’ll expect you to be a Ferrari collector of some sorts to let you even think about it! leave alone the colour and trim. Infact, even after that they’ll put a dozen of restrictions on how you can use YOUR OWN car that you bought with YOUR OWN money.

In short, we should be thankful for small mercies. Every customer is important for Honda and should be treated equally. And while they should not have done this to your friend, I'm sure we have to hear their side of the story too. I’m glad that your friend got his delivery albeit after 5 months, but try telling this to someone whose booked the new Land Cruiser and he’ll laugh at you knowing that he’ll been waiting for a whole 2 years before he can get his car! Now can you blame Toyota for delaying delivery to their premium customer buying their 1.8 Cr flagship SUV telling them that they’re giving Indians a step motherly treatment? You be the judge.