Honda For 1978
HONDA FOR 1978
Hard on the heels of the completely new and mostly different line of Hawks, Honda called another press conference for presentation of another batch of 1978 models. Every model in the show has been improved to some degree, only one was actually new. No dirt bikes, no competition models, no sign of the revolutionary things we’ve been led (or led ourselves) to expect. Either this is Act II of Honda’s Evolution or it's an intermission.
But that’s not fair to the motorcycles shown here. As always, Honda has work in progress.
Most noticeable in this showing wras the revised GL1000. Working in their own way, Honda designers have taken note of the complete acceptance of the GL by touring riders. Then they learned that touring requires more power at legal highway speeds than sheer speed, to the point that many GL riders have been changing final drive ratios to speed up the engine on the road, thereby getting more power w hen it can be used.
Honda has a better way. For 1978 the GL’s opposed, water-cooled Four has its intake system, that is valve timing, carburetion, etc., highly modified. Power has been taken off the top of the engine’s rev range and packed into the middle. As a result, the ’78 GL is billed as being much quicker in normal passing while the low numerical final drive lets the engine run as quietly and live as long as before.
Other GL changes include Honda’s own composite/cast ComStar wheels and an instrumentation package atop the storage compartment. Right, the thing that on any other motorcycle would be the fuel tank. The standard headlight is a quartzhalogen unit, bringing Honda up to par with BMW and putting both of them a giant step ahead of the rest of the factories.
As an added inducement for touring riders, the GL now has a separately fused 5-amp jack in the storage compartment to allow' installation of a CB radio or other electrical extras without getting into the bike’s owm wiring loom. Maybe as gadget of the year, the infamous turn signal beeper is now' a two-stage affair. It clicks below 40 mph and beeps above that: Complicated way to solve a problem, eh?
More useful is that the suspension work first seen on the new Hawks continues for other Hondas. The factory men say the '78 GL has more travel and less initial stiction. especially in the front forks, which have been the most criticized component of the GL.
Most of the same goes for the three 750 models. The 750K is still with us, four pipes and all. The stepped seat has been given more of a step, the fuel tank holds a full five gallons. Front forks are recalibrated and the rear shocks are what Honda calls two stage. (Not inaccurate, exactly, but CW’s suspension lab tests on the Hawks show the secret of the two stage to mostly be a relief valve which keeps the shocks firm on slight jars and gives less resistance and quicker reaction on a real bump. They work, which is more important than the term used.)
Act II of Honda's Yearly Show: Many Improvements, Nothing Really New
The 750F is once again the sports model, with 4-into-1 collector exhaust and streamlined rear bodywork behind the seat. The 750F has a milder step in the seat—fine by us as last year even the passengers preferred the 750F to the 750K, largely because the long and smooth seat was more comfortable for an all-day ride. The 750F now' has ComStar wheels. The exhaust has been changed to give, well, character, while not making more noise. Good. The factory says carb linkage is changed, which one could take to mean the throttle spring won’t wrestle the human hand to a draw. Suspension changes are as above, i.e. reworked forks and two-stage rear shocks.
Once more for the 750A; ComStar wheels, Hawk-style suspension. The 750A seat is reported to have improved padding and cover, perhaps reverse news in that the stepped seat isn’t any higher than before.
Honda’s smaller Fours are now . . . the 550K. Company policy in this regard can be a puzzle. When the Hawks were announced officials would not say which, if any, previous models were being dropped in the Hawk’s behalf. Later on they said of course the CB360 and CJ360 were out of the lineup but wouldn’t discuss the CB400F, never mind the 550F.
Neither the sports 400 nor the sports 550 are included in the catalog as presented late in calendar year 1977. When the Hawks were introduced they were supposed to give the performance of a 500cc bike with nearly the smoothness of a Four, at lower cost, etc. Honda apparently believes the goals have been met. If the past predicts the future, down the road a ways they’ll say, Of course, the 400F and 550F have been superceded by the sports-model Hawk 400.
The Hawks themselves were presented two issues back, so the only note of those bikes needed here is that Honda has announced a line of accessories: luggage racks, engine case guards and saddlebags.
The only new model in the Act II display was the CM185T, tested elsewhere in this issue so we needn’t go into that here.
Well, shoot. Playing with words. There is another new Honda but it’s not a motorcycle. It’s the (brace yourself) Hobbit and the Hobbit (still sitting down?) is a moped.
Yes. The name comes from a literary race of people, little people, or so we’re told. Not Honda’s usual practice, but then, neither is a moped something Honda usually does.
More like self-defense. Last year Honda brought out the Express, a small-but-actual motorcycle. As quick, quiet, easy, cheap and thrifty as a moped. Doesn’t have pedals, can’t be classified as a moped. Because mopeds are a fad at present and because several states require rider skill for motorcycles and not mopeds, Honda reckons to get a fair share of those folks who’ll ride and use a motor but won’t go through the bother of getting a motorcycle license, insurance and such.
What the Hobbit is, is an Express engine and drivetrain, with pedals and a different frame, bicycle styling and the like. We’re also told the Hobbit comes from Belgium, where Honda makes them for the European market. So it’s not much of a bother and who knows? Mopeds may be here to stay, or people who get a taste for two wheels and move on to the real thing.
From here on, it’s details. The CB125 road bike has a new paint scheme, mostly black bars and brake hubs. The street-legal XL 175 also has new paint while the everpresent XL 100 and XL 125 have leading axle forks and increased wheel travel as well as different paint, stripes and trim. Good machines, all of them, so there may not be much reason to change more than the externals. EsD
