Honda GL1000 Gold Wing
A radical bike that created a whole new class
‘It’s hard to believe that this bike caused such controversy over four decades ago when it single-handedly created a whole new class of motorcycle, and even a new category of rider’
FEW BIKES HAVE GENERATED as much controversy as the first Honda Gold Wing did when it was launched back in 1975. “Two Wheeled Motor Car?” asked the headline of one leading British magazine, summing up the mixed reaction that Honda’s new star received in Europe. The following test then went on to describe the GL1000 as ugly, overweight, complicated and boring.
By no means every European test was as critical as that, and some were positively enthusiastic, but the reaction was nowhere near as favourable as the one the Wing received in America. Cycle, the bestselling American magazine, devoted eight pages to a glowing review that began: “If Honda is going to sell a motorcycle for $3000, then by all that’s holy it’s going to be worth it.” Before long US sales were booming, and the Gold Wing was on its way to becoming one of the longest-lasting success stories of motorcycling.
Perhaps, the most surprising thing, given all that fuss, is just how ordinary the original GL1000 now seems. Despite its high, wide handlebars, bulbous styling and big flat-four engine, the bike pictured here is more noticeable for its vivid yellow paint than its sheer size. Cruising towards the distant horizon with the speedo indicating a steady 90 km/h and the tachometer alongside reading just over 3,000 revolutions per minute, it feels far too inoffensive to have made such a strong impression.
By modern touring standards the GL1000 is not so much complex and overweight as basic and under-equipped. There’s no fairing up ahead, no top-box, passenger back-rest or panniers behind, no radio, no cruise control and certainly no reverse gear, as on the six-cylinder Wing of today. It’s hard to believe that this bike caused such controversy over four decades ago when it single-handedly created a whole new class of motorcycle, and even a new category of rider.
Gold Wing owners have a loyalty to their machines that no other single model can match, especially in America, where two rival Wing associations are among the largest motorcycle owners’ organisations in the world. The riders call themselves ‘Wing Nuts’; their meetings are ‘Wing Dings’. In other countries, Gold Wing federations co-ordinate the activities of the many national owners’ groups, with massive meetings, often known as Treffens, held every year.
It’s all a far cry from the position in late 1972, when a group of Honda engineers, led by Shoichiro Irimajiri (who had designed several of the firm’s great multi-cylinder race bikes in the 1960s, and would later produce the CX500 and CBX1000), sat down to plan what Irimajiri insisted must be the ‘King of Motorcycles’. The new bike was to be the world’s fastest and best, built to bring back to Honda the glory that the CB750 was set to lose to Kawasaki’s recently-launched 900-cc Z1.
From the beginning the new bike was intended to be a grand tourer, although in the early ’70s that concept implied none of the luxury of today. Honda’s initial prototype was a 1,470-cc flat-six, codenamed the AOK and similar in appearance to the final machine. But although the engine reportedly worked well, its length created problems and led to the layout being abandoned (or at least postponed until 1988, and the GL1500).
Instead Honda’s engineers opted for a flat-four engine whose dimensions of 72 x 61.4 millimetres gave a capacity of 999 cubic centimetres. Peak power was a claimed 80 PS at 7,500 rpm. Single overhead camshafts were driven by toothed rubber belts, which was new for a bike motor. So was the contra-rotating alternator, designed to counteract the horizontally opposed unit’s torque reaction. This was Japan’s first water-cooled four-stroke, and its first shaft-drive model to be exported to the West.
The Wing’s chassis was relatively conventional, based around a tubular steel frame, and notable mainly for the dummy fuel tank that contained some electrical components, a kick-start lever and a small amount of storage space. Fuel lived under the seat, which helped lower the centre of gravity of a bike which, at 290 kg with fuel, was far heavier than most other bikes on the road.
Today’s much bulkier, 1,832-cc six-pot Gold Wing weighs over 400 kg,
so not surprisingly the original naked four doesn’t feel particularly massive now. This Wing was a K1 model from 1976, the model’s second year, and had covered 32,000 km. Apart from its revised colour schemes, including the yellow of this repainted but otherwise almost unrestored American model, the K1 was virtually identical to the original K0, differing only in a few added details such as helmet locks and a grease nipple on the drive shaft housing.
This GL’s big motor started easily, breathing out very quietly through its twin exhausts and emitting very little noise from the water-jacketed cylinders in front of my shins. Controls were as light as you’d expect of a Honda but this bike was reluctant to idle, and pulled away with a slight hesitation at low engine speeds. This is apparently fairly common with old GL1000s (although low-rev response was fine when new), and was most likely due to a problem with the four 32-mm Keihin carbs.
In every other way, however, the GL motor felt just as it must have done back in the mid-1970s. Then, the Honda’s standing 400-metre time of just below 13 seconds meant that, with the exception of Kawasaki’s Z1, it was the hardest accelerating production bike in the world. Top speed was slightly over 190 km/h, again very competitive, but then as now it was the motor’s long-legged cruising ability that was its most impressive feature.
The Gold Wing was as smooth and effortless at 130 km/h as it was at half that speed, and had enough mid-range power to make revving it towards the 8,500-rpm red-line rarely necessary. Combined with its light five-speed gearbox (this bike’s liking for false neutrals was typical), its competent shaft drive arrangement, and a rapidly earned reputation for reliability, this enabled the Wing to give the impression that it would cruise to the ends of the earth in relaxed comfort.
Unfortunately, even the GL’s supporters had to admit that wasn’t really the case. The Honda’s exposed, high-bar riding position was not suited to long distances, and the seat was not very comfortable either. It was less serious that it should have been, because the Wing’s underseat fuel tank held only 19 litres, enough for less than 200 km if the performance was used. (The fuel-gauge in the dummy tank was hopelessly pessimistic, and situated where a tank bag would go.)
Handling was never likely to be the Wing’s forte, but although it always felt like a big bike, its low centre of gravity meant that walkingpace manoeuvring was easy. The wide bars made steering fairly light despite the long wheelbase, 19-inch front wheel and 28-degree fork angle. You certainly couldn’t call the Wing agile, but it was less of a handful than I’d expected.
Some early tests reported a weave at high speed on the Honda’s original Japanese Dunlop tyres, but this bike wore a modern blend
of Avon front and Continental rear rubber. Stability was good, and grip much better than when the bike was new, allowing more use to be made of its reasonable ground clearance. The Wing’s skinny forks were fairly firm but the rather soft shocks began to feel vague and under-damped under moderately hard cornering.
Predictably, the Gold Wing’s main problem came when all that weight had to be slowed down in a hurry. The brakes themselves, Japan’s first triple-disc system, worked fairly well provided the handlebar lever was given a firm squeeze. But using the front brake with the bike banked over even slightly put too much force through the steering head. On the one occasion I tried it, I was rewarded with a wobble that made it very clear this bike was no sportster.
The GL1000’s unsuitability for spirited riding was, perhaps, the main factor behind its mixed reception in Europe, and its disappointing initial sales in many countries. Conversely, though, those factors mattered very little to the older, more affluent, touringoriented American riders (a 1976 survey revealed that the average US owner was 40 years old) who rapidly adopted the smooth, quiet and refined Gold Wing with such enthusiasm.
Not that these riders were totally happy with Honda’s product, for they soon started modifying and decorating their GL1000s with a range of accessories, production of which rapidly grew to become a massive industry in itself. First to be added were obvious touring accessories such as a fairing, rear carrier, top-box and panniers. Then came parts designed to improve on the Wing’s weaknesses: custom seats, brackets to move the handlebars further back, after-market rear shocks and electronic ignitions.
And as Wing-mania grew, particularly in America, more and more companies began producing parts with which owners could make their own machine look slightly different from all the other GL1000s being sold every year. The hundreds of accessories made specially for the Wing ranged from comfort aids such as footboards and back-rests, through dubious performance parts such as superchargers and pannier fuel tanks, to a vast array of lights and chrome bits designed purely for show.
Honda initially made few modifications, though in 1978 the K3 model had a new seat, and used smaller carbs and revised valve timing to give some extra low-rev performance. By the time the GL1100 arrived in 1980, complete with a bigger engine, new frame and air-assisted suspension, more than 200,000 units of the GL1000 had been sold worldwide. And the name Gold Wing had become synonymous with long-distance comfort and refinement.