Honda Gold Wing GL1000: A Tale of Evolution

Image Gallery The GL1000's horizontally-opposed flat four keeps weight down low, and is actually 1in shorter and 3.5in narrower than BMW's 900cc twin of the same era. Photos by Clement Salvadori

Honda Gold Wing GL1000

Years produced: 1975-present
Total production: N/A
Claimed power: 80hp @ 7,500rpm
Top speed: 125mph (est.)
Engine type: 999cc single-overhead cam, two valves per cylinder, water-cooled flat four
Weight: 295kg (650lb)
Price then: $2,895
Price now: $2,000-$5,000
MPG: 35-40 (approx.)

Looking back, it’s easy to think the first Gold Wing in 1975 was a revolutionary motorcycle. It was, in fact, evolutionary, built to appeal to the American bigger-is-better theory. Today, the Gold Wing is an icon of cross-country touring. But back in the day, it was just Honda’s best guess at what Americans wanted in a big road bike.

In the well-lit upstairs offices of any large corporation you’ll find legions of employees who do nothing but analyze things like costs and expectations. Like any huge corporation, Honda’s headquarters had (and has) bean-counters by the bushel, and founder Soichiro Honda, impressed by the strength of the American market, wanted to build a motorcycle that would specifically appeal to U.S. buyers: He told his boys to look into it.

Price-point analysis is an unrefined art, dedicated to the unvarnished truth of the bottom line. If the cost of any piece of the product can be reduced without harming its function, it’s done. In our industry it boils down to the MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) of the envisioned competition; in 1975 the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide cost $3,555, (with bags and fairing standard); BMW’s R90/6, $3,395; the Moto Guzzi 850-T, $2,699; and the Kawasaki Z-1, $2,475. Honda slotted its planned new model right in the middle at $2,895.

The second consideration was how many of the new model they could sell. With the memory of tens of thousands of CB750s sold in that model’s first year fresh in mind, the prognosticators were hoping for something similar. Soichiro’s notion was to build something grand, something luxurious and powerful that would make the Honda marque stand out as it had with the CB750. And he did not want to go head-on against Kawasaki’s 903cc Z-1, which had effectively eclipsed his own CB750. Instead, he wanted to light a new path with a very different motorcycle that would have the cycle-buffs applauding.