The First 20 Years

The First 20 Years

GOLD WING TRIVIA

MORE THAN A MERE MOTORCYCLE, THE HONDA GOLD WING IS AT THE HEART OF AN ENTIRE CULTURE. AND NOT SURprisingly, it has amassed quite a bit of history over its 20-year lifespan. To celebrate the Wing's colorful history, American Honda is releasing a limited-edition book titled Gold Wing: The First 20 Years that's packed with insider information on the evolution of this landmark motorcycle. Edited for Honda by former Cycle World Executive Editor, Ken Vreeke, this all-color, 124-page, large-format, hard-cover volume delves into every nook and cranny of the Gold Wing’s history, and offers a never-before-seen glimpse of the development of the most popular touring motorcycle of all time. Honda opened up its archives to provide fresh insight into the history of this rolling legend. Here are just a few excerpts sure to tantalize any hard-core Winger.

A design team with the responsibility to build the "King of Motorcycles" was first assembled at Honda R&D in Japan during December of 1972. Just exactly what the King of Motorcycles was, nobody really knew at the time. The Ml, appearing in 1973, was the first of a series of experimental "Grand Touring" machines that eventually led to the Gold Wing. It had a 1470cc, liquid-cooled, flat-Six powerplant designed to produce 61 horsepower. A dozen

years after it was built, the Ml’s sixcylinder engine was bolted into a GL1200 chassis to test the feasibility of the original GL1500 six-cylinder concept. That makes the Ml one of Honda’s most enduring test mules.

The production four-cylinder GL1000 was revealed to the world at the Cologne Show in October 1974. Only 5000 sold during the

first model year, far fewer than hoped for. It took touring riders time to discover the Gold Wing, and its strength as a long-distance machine.

The GL1000 was Honda’s first production motorcycle to use shaft drive. Three years in development, the shaft drive took longer to develop than any other component of the original Gold Wing. To test the shaft drive’s strength in the days before CAD stress analysis, engineers devised an adhoc torture test. Rolling at about 30 mph, the transmission was shifted to neutral, then the transmission was stomped

into first gear. Violent rear-wheel hop ensued, along with horrendous loading on the powertrain.

With the surge in full-dress touring’s popularity, Honda dropped the basic unfaired GL1200 in 1985. This same year, the first fuel-injected version, the GL1200 Limited Edition was added to the line.

A domed, climate-controlled test track was to be built adjacent to the Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio, in part for year-round testing of the Gold Wing. The plunging value of the dollar eventually drove the cost of the project too high,

and the idea was scrapped, but not before special grass was planted that could survive under the great dome.

During the development of the GL1500, engines were routinely run just short of redline for the equivalent of 60,000 miles.

According to the Guiness Book of Records, the world’s longest recorded solo motorcycle trip was taken by Jari

Saarelainen, who rode his GL1500 on a 752-day, 70,000mile odyssey that took him from his Helsinki, Finland, home on a 43-country trek. And he started the trip with more than 50,000 miles already showing on his GL’s odometer.

Despite emphasis on midrange acceleration, the first Gold

Wing was quite a rocket. In magazine tests, the original ’75 model ran the quarter-mile in 12.92 seconds with a terminal speed of 104.52 mph-second quickest in its class at that time behind the Kawasaki Z-l. The quickest stock Gold Wing ever was the 1980 GL1100, which delivered strong top-gear power and a 12.47-second, 107.39-mph quarter-mile run.

The first Japanese turnkey tourer, the fully-faired Honda GL1100 Interstate, appeared in 1980. The first Gold Wing to use air as a suspension spring medium was the 1980 GL1100. Torque Reactive Anti-dive Control (TRAC) arrived on the ’83 GL.

Only one of the Gold Wing series has a rubber-mounted engine: The current GL1500 flat Six.

Gold Wing engines are hand-assem-

bled in Anna, Ohio, on Zero Line-the original engine-assembly line. To date, more than 400,000 Gold Wings have been produced, most of those made in America.

A special “Owner’s Limited Edition ” of Gold Wing: The First 20 Years will be given to each purchaser of a 1995 20th Anniversary Gold Wing. The book is also available through Honda dealers at the suggested retail price of $39.95, or you can order direct using a credit card, by calling 800/238-4265.