The bike was picked up by the gale-like gust of wind and thrown into the other lane of traffic. An artic blared its airhorns after slamming on its brake to avoid picking up the GL under its bumper and I visibly cringed. I leaned 675lbs of GRP, steel and alloy over into the wind that was coming off the Severn and seemed to be shaking the bridge to its very foundations.
Passing by a bridge pillar the sudden absence of wind almost made me drop it, only a quick, spine jarring dab with my boot saved me from that disgrace. Hitting the wind again we were all over the place. I had to wrench the handlebars to get the bike back into shape. Cresting the middle of the bridge where the wind was at its worst I thought I could not hold the bike and was going to slip into the central barrier. Banked over at a truly absurd angle, I made it past the halfway mark.
A quick glance in the mirrors revealed that all the other vehicles had dropped way back. I thought I saw one passenger with his head stuck out of the window waving a camera about. I would doubtless have made the news - mad motorcyclist plunges off Severn Bridge.
I persuaded the behemoth gently back into its original lane to give me some more room to slap about. The feeling of sitting on a giant blancmange persisted, however. The next pillar came and went in a series of dangerous lurches. The home stretch, the last couple of hundred yards of bridge, was within spitting distance. I thanked whatever gods looked after motorcyclists and cursed whoever had designed the Honda with such huge slabs of GRP. I upped the speed to 20mph in celebration of the diminution of the wind.
I had already noted the way the Honda shook about when approaching the wake of large vehicles. The first time it happened I thought a suspension unit had fallen off! I upped the rear suspension to its hardest setting using the on board compressor, which helped a little but turned the ride a bit harsh. The Honda was stable under other circumstances on motorways up to about 90mph. Thereafter a marshmallow effect took over the suspension and the bike felt very sloppy.
The slow revving flat six engine storms out an incredible amount of torque from very low revs. Developing just 100hp from 1500cc it is very lowly tuned and in the 18000 miles I've done on my bike has needed no maintenance save for the usual oil/filter changes. The valves adjust themselves hydraulically.
At a 90mph cruise it’s like there is no engine there, complete smoothness combined with uncanny silence. The GL comes with its own radio and stereo system, which can be used with headphones in the helmet to wonderful effect. Such luxury is in line with the rest of the machine. A rolling armchair with enough storage space for the kitchen sink would be an adequate description.
The huge fairing provides brilliant protection from the elements but in the rain it’s a bit of a pain because I couldn’t see over the top of the secreen (which is adjustable in height) and had to peer through the rain splattered perspex. This was like trying to ride with a heavily scarred visor in the dark.
I became so pissed off with it, in fact, that I took a hacksaw to the screen, chopping a good three inches off. What a transformation. I was still protected but could just peep over the top. It made wet weather riding about twenty times more pleasant the chassis was surprisingly stable in the wet, something to do with the low slung engine and huge tyres.
I am short of leg so found parking a problem, even with the reverse gear (which runs off the starter motor). I dropped the bike several times when I lost my footing. Luckily, it just flipped down on to the chrome engine bars, doing no damage to the expensive plastic. Once under way, however slowly, the bike displayed a remarkable stability and could be rolled gently to a stop with feet up. It was possible to sit at a standstill like that if you maintained your balance.
This natural balance made the bike much easier to ride in town than its bulk suggested. It was very long and wide, so could not be twisted through traffic like a 125, but left in second gear it could be rolled on and off the throttle in a most pleasant manner whilst I jigged up and down to my favourite music. True, excessive use of the gearbox was not recommended as the change was about two decades behind the level of sophistication achieved by the rest of the machine. Luckily, no great problem as once out of town the bike would lumber along in top with absolutely no need to change gear.
My trip into Wales also revealed that handling was surprisingly reasonable. Deciding that I'd had enough of motorways, I turned off after the bridge and took the A48 down to Newport. This is a brilliant mixture of dual carriageways and wide two lane roads. It sweeps through fast bends and up and down a couple of hills. The police are usually busy chasing people on the motorway, so it’s quite safe to run along at 90mph. The Honda could be heeled well over until the undercarriage started to scrape. Steering was neutral, despite the shaft drive it was quite safe to back off the throttle midway through bends.
Not surprisingly, on such a huge beast, the front discs were immensely powerful and a bit snatchy at low speeds - their use in slow speed corners upset the steering, the bike wanting to leap up and ride straight off the road. Flicking from side to side needed a lot of effort and it was possible to catch the suspension out if between curves you had to brake harshly.
I was always aware that if I did something really silly then 700lbs of GL was going to bite me back viciously. Being aware of this I made damn sure to ride within the limits of the machine - not so easy when you get carried away with the flow of the music.
I made good time to Newport, having burnt everything off in sight. Finding somewhere to park the bike in the congested town centre proved problematical. A crowd gathered to watch as I reversed the machine up on to a large bit of pavement. I was relieved when I managed the manoeuvre without dropping the bike. The crowd was agog with wonder at the sight of the mighty Honda, as they usually were. I used to be embarrassed by the people who gathered around whenever I parked and the kids who pointed as I rode past, but I seem to have got over that now.
It's not that expensive to run. Not needing dealer servicing obviously helps and fuel is in the 45 to 50mpg range, surprisingly good for a huge, shaft driven bike. The special tyres last well but cost a couple of hundred quid a set to replace every 8000 miles. Brake pads need replacing every 5500 miles and there have been some instances of the discs wearing rapidly, although mine have been OK. Hugely complex if something does go wrong, the six cylinder engine has so far been the epitome of reliability and longevity. Long do I expect it to last!
The Honda was really put to the test on the mountain roads of Wales. Snaking through these single track lanes in second gear, the bulk of the GL was impressive enough to make even the sheep get out of the way. On hairpin bends that snaked back on themselves it was dead easy to lose the Honda, speed down to a pitiful 20mph. The discs sizzled red hot from the necessity of slamming on the brakes to lose speed for each and every tight bend. There was no way I could have done a U-turn on those roads, so I just turned the stereo up extremely high and trundled along as best as I could.
I didn’t feel that unhappy with progress. Seated so comfortably, I was overwhelmed with a sense of well being. I just knew the Honda would never break down and be able to plod on reliability for the millennium. I know a lot of motorcyclists dismiss them out of hand, but they offer a rather unique experience.
I bought mine by chance. I was going to buy a big CBR but that had already been sold. The dealer offered me the GL1500 at a bargain price - a 1989 model with only 12000 miles done, a grey import from the states; a steal at £4500. I was dubious at first, but an hour's test ride removed most of my doubts. I was open minded enough to accept the machine’s oddities and ended up enjoying ownership immensely. I don’t really know why, but the GL's become my favourite bike by a long, long way.
Adrian Greene