On A Wing
ON A WING
UP FRONT
EDITOR'S LETTER
AFTER A FEW PRAYERS
Riding 400 miles on a '74 Norton 850 Commando in a day can do things to a man. Especially when the new, "high-quality" coils give up on Pacific Coast Highway after he pulls out to pass a Suburban in Big Sur and the bike dies dead in the wrong lane in heavy rain.
But, hey, that’s what a man signs up for when he wants to ride his classic English superbike to May’s Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel Valley, California. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.
The fix was another new set of coils hand delivered by my local pal and Service columnist, Ray Nierlich. He’s the kind of guy who keeps spare Commando coils on the shelf in his shop, and getting them hand delivered in a 1961 Thames 400E Freighter English Ford van was a fine, spiritually satisfying bonus. The day was saved, and I got to ride with a hundred or so other enthusiasts on Friday’s 100-mile Quail Tour that also included a few laps at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which was sweet indeed.
Saturday morning before the Gathering began, I had the chance to time travel again. This time I was aboard a 1975 Honda GL1000, the first bike to wear “Gold Wing,” a name that forever changed what we thought was possible in traveling by motorcycle.
The example I rode is owned by Duane Richards, who brought his clean and mostly original red GL1000 out for Honda’s 40th Anniversary Gold Wing display at The Quail Motorcycle Gathering. I was the lucky fellow who got to ride it on the Cycle World Tour. We had nearly 70 people sign up for our ride around the Monterey Peninsula, and the hot breakfast served right on the waterfront tasted great.
The group of bikes was a perfect reflection of our magazine: brand-new sportbikes joined by touring bikes and vintage and customized machines.
Duane has owned the Gold Wing since 1985 and got it with about 10,000 miles on the clock. It’s around 30K now.
To have ridden my ’74 Commando so much just prior to riding the Wing gave me a glimpse into the past like I’ve never had. The Honda felt almost modern, as if you could replace the front brake with a late-model setup and throw the bike back in the showroom. It was exceptionally smooth, tractable, and responsive, with power building in a beautifully linear manner.
I could feel the GLiooo’s “spiritotechnical” connection with the brand-new 40th anniversary GL1800 Gold Wings being ridden along with us on the Tour. It’s hard to imagine even Honda having any idea of how much impact the first Wing would have on motorcycling. But if you have any doubts about the strength of the Gold Wing legacy, just count how many full-rig touring bikes are offered by the competition.
Today, as in 1975, if you really want to get there in comfort, it’s hard to beat a Gold Wing.
MARK HOYER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
THIS MONTH’S STATS
CREATIVITY IN THE NEO-CUSTOM SCENE
6 BIKES COMPARED IN TESTING
