The Honda Gold Wing is a series of touring motorcycles manufactured by Honda. Gold Wings feature shaft drive and a flat engine. Characterized by press in September 1974 as "The world's biggest motor cycle manufacturer's first attack on the over-750cc capacity market...", it was introduced at the Cologne Motorcycle Show in October 1974.
The Gold Wing series
Total sales are more than 640,000, most of them in the U.S. market. Gold Wings were assembled in Marysville, Ohio, from 1980 until 2010, when motorcycle production there was halted. No Gold Wings were produced for the 2011 model year, and production resumed in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan in 2011 using tooling transported from the American factory.
The includes a Honda Gold Wing GL1000 manufactured in 1974 as one of their 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology. Through 2012, Honda GL models have appeared eighteen times in the Cycle World list of Ten Best bikes.
Over the course of its production history, the Gold Wing had many design changes, beginning in 1975 with a flat-four engine; by 2001, this had grown to a flat-six. The 2012 model had anti-lock braking, cruise control, electrically assisted reverse gear, an optional airbag, a fairing with heating and an adjustable windscreen, panniers and a trunk, a pillion backrest, satnav, and a six-speaker radio/audio system with MP3/iPod connectivity.
Gold Wing development
In 1972, following the success of the CB750 superbike, the company assembled an R&D design team to explore concepts for a new flagship motorcycle. The project leader was Shoichiro Irimajiri, who in the 1960s had designed Honda's multi-cylinder MotoGP engines and their Formula One V12 engine.
The 1974 Gold Wing with its flat-four shaft-drive powertrain used technologies both from earlier motorcycle and automotive designs.
Although preceded by the 1971 water-cooled Suzuki GT750 two-stroke triple, the Gold Wing was the first Japanese production motorcycle with a water-cooled four-stroke engine. The first four-cylinder boxer engine was produced in 1900.
Target market
During its development, the CB750 was known within Honda as their "King of Motorcycles." As it would sit atop the CB750 as the top of the line Honda motorcycle, the project that would become the Gold Wing was informally called the "King of Kings." Honda first envisaged the Gold Wing as a large sport motorcycle, but on learning that customers were "piling miles on touring", Honda reconsidered the bike's design objectives, realising that the primary market for the Gold Wing was the long-distance motorcyclist. In North America a motorcycle suitable to that task would need comfort for the long haul, wind protection, a smooth ride, a comfortable seat, luggage storage, and power in abundance.
In America in the early 1970s, long-distance motorcyclists had only a few manufacturers to choose from: Harley-Davidson, Moto Guzzi and BMW. The H-D Electra Glide was a touring motorcycle with a loyal cult following. It faced strong competition from Moto Guzzi's 850cc Eldorado. BMW motorcycles were smoother and more reliable, if expensive. Other large Japanese motorcycles, such as the Honda CB750 and the Kawasaki Z1 were cheaper but were not ideal tourers with their small fuel tanks and rear drive-chains needing regular maintenance. The Gold Wing was aimed at a newly emerging market segment, namely, a new kind of American long-distance rider who was not likely to buy a Harley-Davidson or BMW but who would open their wallets for a reliable machine offering comfort, endurance, low maintenance, and a smooth, torquey, quiet engine.
The Gold Wing's secondary target market was Europe, where riders prioritised handling and performance over luxury. (The European market's special demands subsequently led to the Honda Pan European). Though other motorcycle manufacturers build touring bikes, no other touring bike has achieved the popularity of the Gold Wing.
M1 prototype & Project 371
In 1972, the project team broke from Honda practice to produce an experimental prototype motorcycle code-named "M1". Instead of the usual transverse engine layout with a chain final drive, the M1 had a longitudinal engine suitable for shaft drive. The M1 had a 1470cc liquid-cooled flat-six engine, (twice the displacement of the CB750). Instead of seeking high performance (as some engineers had wanted), the M1 engine was designed to have a broad torque output and to produce at 6700 rpm, with a top speed of .