Where the tank would normally be was a glovebox that contained the motorcycle’s tool kit and a kick starter that could be used in the event of a dead battery or bad electric starter. The tank was not where you thought it was, instead finding itself located under the seat behind those huge side covers. Honda’s engineers didn’t stop with the then novel engine setup, either.
#Easy rider magazine 1975 full
In 1974, the smaller engine from Project 371 was lowered into a steel, full duplex cradle frame and the resulting machine was named the Gold Wing, a reference to the Honda logo. Thus, the engineers scaled the engine down to four cylinders and 999cc of capacity. The M1 was also seriously fast and benefited from a low center of gravity.ĭuring the time, it was found out that to accommodate the chunky engine, the rider would have to sit in a rather uncomfortable position. The shaft drive, engine layout, and the engine’s liquid-cooling were all firsts for Honda. That chunky engine–double the size of the CB750’s–was mated to a shaft drive. The resulting motorcycle was the M1 (also called Project 371), and its 1,470cc longitudinally-mounted flat six had more in common with a BMW or a Moto Guzzi than it did existing Honda products. Irimajiri’s team broke from Honda’s norm of parallel twins and inline fours by conjuring up a concept machine powered by a horizontally-opposed six-cylinder. Honda gave the team one mission: build the company’s next flagship motorcycle. At that time, Irimajiri was known for auto racing and for being the head of design for five- and six-cylinder motorcycle racing engines in the 1960s. The company created a new R&D division and put Soichiro Irimajiri at the helm. That same year, Honda decided to develop another motorcycle. This was a time when competition between Japanese manufacturers was sizzling hot and Kawasaki entered its own Z1 into the fray in 1972. As Honda UK writes, the brand was riding on a wave of success from the CB750. The story of the original Gold Wing takes us back to 1972. These are nothing like the rolling laptops that Gold Wings are today. That motorcycle is the Honda GL1000 and the Honda GL1100, the first two generations of the venerable Gold Wing. During my searches for classic metal, one bike has been showing up, and often for $1,000 or less.
Now comes the exciting part where I get to replace it with something different! I’ve been looking at a few bucket list bikes like a Yamaha RD350, an old BMW Airhead, or perhaps a Triumph Rocket III. I got over two years out of the yellow steed, so I think it had a pretty good run. The last issue to materialize was a mystery, intermittent miss. Despite my best efforts to make it a reliable motorcycle, I’d fix one electrical problem just for another to pop up. Last month, I sold my 1999 Triumph Tiger 855i. In its early days, the mighty Gold Wing was a naked machine that Honda dubbed “the ultimate motorcycle” and Honda wouldn’t even sell you a windshield for it. But the Gold Wing wasn’t always like that. Now nearing five decades of production, the Gold Wing is known for being about as close as you could get to a car while still retaining just two wheels. If you’re the kind of motorcyclist who likes oodles of tech and La-Z-Boy comfort, it’s hard to beat a Honda Gold Wing.
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