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The Honda Goldwing motorcycle first saw the light of day at the Cologne Motorcycle Show in October 1974 , as the flat-four cylinder , 999cc GL1000 Gold Wing and was released to the world for the 1975 model year . While this first production version of the now famous Goldwing was ultimately deemed to be a success (it was after all the birth of a legend), it's place in the world of motorcycling was not entirely cast in stone at the beginning. Part of the reason for this was the fact that the GL1000 didn't really fit properly into any particular motorcycle class, even though it was officially tagged as a tourer. Weighing in at 584lbs dry , it was far too heavy to be called a sports bike and the upright sitting position also helped to kill of any such sporting pretensions. The rear coil spring suspension wasn't up to the job of handling all the weight when the rider was pushing it through heavy going, such as the winding country roads that all bikers love (at least occasion...

The GL1100 was announced for the 1980 model year and this time Honda got it right. This was the first ever Japanese mass produced motorcycle to roll off the production line fully kitted out as a proper touring motorcycle. Full fairing, trunk and panniers on the Interstate model (the unfaired model was called the GL1100 Standard), all at a time when injection moulding for motorcycle plastics was in it's early days and to Honda's credit, the quality, fit and finish of the stuff was first rate. The new frame was stiffened considerably to cope with the extra poke and the not inconsiderable extra weight of the Interstate. The bigger 1085cc engine was still a flat-four, but gave more torque and also ran smoother and less truculently than the previous model, due in no small part to the smaller carburettors and electronic ignition . The suspension was air assisted and this greatly transformed the handling and comfort of the beast and inspired much more confidence when the going ...

The GL1200 arrived for the 1984 model year and continued the trend set by it's predecessor. Competition from Yamaha's Venture (which many motorcycle magazines compared to the Goldwing) no doubt hastened the development of the successor to the GL1100 and the GL1200 was Honda's answer. There was the unfaired Standard, the dressed Interstate and the top of the range Aspencade, which had the Type 3 audio system. New, stiffer frame with major improvements, bigger and more responsive 1182cc version of the flat-four engine with bags more torque and hydraulic valve adjusters , better suspension and handling were the main attractions on the new Goldwing. A hydraulic clutch was another first for a Goldwing. Carried forward from the previous Aspencade were the now even better air suspension controls and linked brakes , and the new Aspencade had a more advanced audio system and upgraded LCD dash . The front wheel was a rather unusually small (for such a large machine) 16" an...

After a false start the previous year, the long awaited GL1500 finally hit the buying public for the 1988 model year . This of course was a major new model and totally redesigned from the ground up. The GL1500 now had a silky smooth flat six cylinder engine of 1520cc and a reverse gear , real news for touring motorcycles in those days. This was the first mass produced six-cylinder motorcycle to have a reverse gear and was more in line with the intentions of Honda's 1470cc six -cylinder prototype M1 of 1972. The M1 had been an engineering exercise to see what could be achieved with the available technology of the day and it is possible that the GL1500 engine designers drew some inspiration from the earlier work. All new bodywork on the GL1500 almost enclosed the whole machine and the single key operation of the trunk and panniers, as well as the bodywork design on which not a single screw or bolt could be seen , showed that the Honda designers had spent a lot of time on this bike. ...

The GL1800 was finally announced for the 2001 model year . The official unveiling had been done the previous August and in an age where people could hide small cameras the size of a button on their person, it's a miracle how Honda managed to keep pictures of the new Goldwing a secret for so long. Honda should really be put in charge of national security in Japan! They managed to keep a lid on things right up to the last minute. Honda had managed once again to completely redesign the Goldwing from the ground up. Everyone and his dog knew that Honda couldn't simply continue to make their flagship tourer heavier as the engine size got bigger. Over the previous thirteen years, most magazine test riders agreed that the GL1500 had been pushing the limits of what they called the "performance envelope" and common sense suggested to Goldwing riders that if the next Goldwing couldn't at the very least maintain the weight of the GL1500, then the end of the line had already ...