Motorcycle: 50 years of pure single-track luxury on the Honda Gold Wing

Contents

Half a century ago, Honda set a new benchmark in the touring segment with the Gold Wing. The developers pulled out all the stops to create the ultimate luxury motorcycle, and over 640,000 Gold Wings have been sold to date.

Target: maximum touring comfort

At the time, Honda was determined to become the leading motorcycle manufacturer on the planet, which meant offering the best model in many classes. Therefore, in 1972, a design team began to develop a completely new tourer. Soichiro Irimajiri, who had been responsible for the legendary five- and six-cylinder racing bikes in the 1960s and had brought Honda several world championship titles, was in charge. The specification was a motorcycle with maximum comfort for rider and passenger. Although a prototype with an in-line six-cylinder engine offered plenty of power, it was rejected for cost reasons.

Smooth running and full power

In 1975, Honda then presented the finished GL 1000 Gold Wing with a liquid-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine and cardan drive. It produced 82 hp and 80 Nm of torque from a displacement of 999 cm³, which was a real statement for the time. It also impressed with smooth engine running and powerful pulling power. The Gold Wing needed this even with a kerb weight of 295 kg. Thanks to its low center of gravity, the touring motorcycle proved to be surprisingly easy to handle, although it had little lean angle clearance. Honda stated a top speed of 210 km/h, but this was accompanied by oscillation. The first Gold Wing did not yet have a full fairing, but it was the first production motorcycle with three brake discs – two at the front and one at the rear. The supposed tank was actually a storage compartment, its 19  liter tank was hidden in the frame triangle. Although the Gold Wing had an electric starter as standard, it still had a kick starter in the dummy tank for emergencies, which could be plugged onto a shaft behind the alternator.

Bild 1 von 8

50 Jahre Honda Gold Wing I (8 Bilder)

From 1980 with full fairing

Reliability was very important to Honda, and the Gold Wing also excelled in this respect. It was an immediate sales success, with 80 percent going to the American market. This prompted Honda to build a plant specifically for the Gold Wing in Marysville/Ohio (although only cars have been produced there since 2011). It gained the reputation of being the most dignified touring motorcycle. In 1980, Honda increased the displacement of the GL 1100[  Gold Wing to 1085 cm³ for even more torque (90 Nm), while a longer wheelbase made it quieter at high speeds. Air-assisted suspension improved suspension comfort and its stepped bench seat was more like armchairs for driver and passenger. As the "Interstate" model, the Gold Wing was fitted with a wide full fairing with a high windshield, panniers and a top case as standard in the same year. However, the Gold Wing was always intended to represent the pinnacle of luxury in motorcycle construction and so, as early as 1982, the "Aspencade" version was equipped with a radio with speakers in the interior trim and LCD instruments in the cockpit.

Six-cylinder engine and level control

From 1985, the Gold Wing had a 1200cc engine and a full fairing as standard. This was joined by fuel injection, rear wheel level control, an electronic trip computer, cruise control and a sound system with four loudspeakers. The competition could not offer this in such abundance. However, Honda did not rest on its laurels, but thoroughly revised the Gold Wing for 1988. It was now powered by a 1520 cm^{3 six-cylinder boxer engine}, which was not only more powerful, but also quieter and smoother. It was the largest displacement production engine on the market and propelled the 385 kg GL 1500 Gold Wing forward with 150 Nm of torque at just 4000 rpm. It was the first Honda to be equipped with an electric reverse gear, which made it easier to maneuver the heavy machine.

With a fun factor

Honda spent a full eight years developing the GL 1800 Gold Wing, which was finally presented to fans in 2001. The project manager was Masanori Aoki, of all people, who had previously developed sports motorcycles such as the CBR 600 F and the CBR 400 RR. That sounded strange at first, but his expertise was to give the new Gold Wing even more agility. "My aim was to increase the fun factor and develop a Gold Wing with power and handling qualities that you would normally only expect from sports bikes," explained Aoki. The six-cylinder boxer with 1832 cm³ and 167 Nm was now housed in an aluminum frame.

20 technology patents

In the course of development, Honda registered no fewer than 20 technical patents for the GL 1800 Gold Wing. The Gold Wing continued to shine with innovations, for example in 2006 it was the first motorcycle to offer a rider airbag for an extra charge. The sensors were located in the front fork and triggered the airbag in 15 hundredths of a second if required. In 2011, the Gold Wing was given a new look with the name "Majestic Dynamics", a new audio system with six speakers was added and the storage space of the panniers and top case was increased to a total of 150 liters. Two years later, the FB6 appeared, a Gold Wing in bagger style, i.e. without the pillion throne at the rear and with a low fairing.

Bild 1 von 7

50 Jahre Honda Gold Wing II (7 Bilder)

The 1800 weighed 48 kg less

The weight of the Gold Wing had now increased to 413 kg and Honda wanted to do something about the excess weight. In 2018, the GL[ ]1800[ ]Gold Wing was completely redesigned and weighed 48[ ]kg less. The six-cylinder boxer finally had four valves in the cylinder heads and electronically controlled throttle valves. It produced 170 Nm of torque at 4500 rpm. The front wheel is guided by a wheel carrier with two trailing arms according to the patented "Hossack" principle, and the suspension and damping are electrically adjustable. The current Gold Wing also boasts an extensive range of other features: many assistance systems such as slip control and hill start assist, stop-start system, smart key system, 7-inch TFT display in the cockpit, Bluetooth connectivity to the smartphone, Apple CarPlay and an optional dual-clutch transmission with seven gears.

Ultimate single-track luxury vehicle

For the 50th anniversary, Honda is now offering two special paint finishes with the "50th Anniversary Gold Wing Tour" and the first 1833 buyers (in reference to the 1833 cm³ displacement) will receive a "half-and-half" model motorcycle with the right half representing the original 1975 model and the left half the current edition.

With the Gold Wing, Honda has created what is probably the most famous luxury tourer in the motorcycle world. It always impressed with maximum comfort, both in the drive and in the chassis. In addition, the Gold Wing always offered an overwhelming wealth of equipment and regularly set standards. It has never been cheap, but that has not stopped its sales success. Gold Wing customers want the ultimate luxury motorcycle on two wheels, and Honda has been delivering it to them for half a century now.

(fpi)