Much as I enjoy flying the Goldwing, the word "designed" should probably be used loosely in this context. The designer was a 19 year old American and I could point out many aspects of it that are somewhat less than ideal.
However if I'm generous for a moment and assume that this was thought through, it is a small and very flat aircraft on the ground, so to fit a reasonable propeller diameter you need a high thrustline - the only other option would be a much higher undercarriage, which then gives rise to ground handling issues. Assuming that is the reason for the high thrustline, the rest is presumably designed to compensate for that. The short-coupled canard (which is very noticeable in handling) I think is due to the design requirement that it must de-rig and fit easily into a road trailer.
G
[ 19 July 2001: Message edited by: Genghis the Engineer ]