I like to have as much experience in certain matters as possible. This yearning for something new or different makes me restless, never more so than with regard to motorcycles. I've never had a bike for more than a year, partly because I like to buy a bike that needs a little work, ride it for a while and then sell it for a bit more money. With the cash from the recent sale of a Y reg Suzuki GS550 Custom burning a hole in my pocket I was on the lookout for a new toy.
1979, T reg Honda GL1000, average condition, MOT and taxed, fairing and top box. £895, ran the advert. I had always wanted to own one of these fat, bulbous monstrosities just out of curiosity - so I decided to suss it out. The GL had 58000 miles on the clock and was very unpretentious. It looked exactly what it was - neglected, abused, dog eared and travel weary. It looked something like me, in fact, no wonder I took to it. I cast a bleary eye over its substantial mechanicals.
If you're buying a motorcycle, especially something like the GL1000, then you'd be stupid not to put the bike through its paces. I've learnt the hard way. View anyone selling a bike as a potential crook and you won't go too far wrong. Started her up, engine was stone cold so I could assess its condition properly - no rumbles or heavy knocks, oil pressure up quickly, some piston slap, but not too bad - tappet noise not too excessive, a puff of blue smoke; no more.
With the owner on the back - even a promise to leave the girlfriend tied to the railings failed to let him give me a go solo - first few feet it felt like it was going to flop down on the road, it's a heavy, cumbersome beast and you need strong legs to stop it falling over once it starts tilting towards the road when stationary.
It seemed to run well so I was interested enough to offer £595. No chance, but after I pointed out that the exhaust was gone, rear worn tyre, leaking shocks and worn front pads, we agreed upon £675. What the owner didn't know was that I knew there was a crashed one in the local breakers and I was able to pick up rear tyre, shocks and seat for £75. That left the front brakes and most costly bit, the exhaust. Luckily, I had been welding exhausts on many dubious bikes for the past years and fixing them up, I knew that once I set to with my welding equipment I could soon fix the exhaust.
The rest of the bike was examined with a critical eye for damage - scrapes and gouges where it had been rubbed against a wall or something, paint faded and scratched in need of a respray, chrome pitted, discoloured which could be renovated to a degree....I'd bought a lot worse. As the bike was already in my workshop having undergone the welding, I decided to do the cosmetics at the same time. Only the chrome let the bike down after the paint was done, even after polishing up there were still places where the rust had eaten through the plating, not much I could do about that without spending money.
It was time to try the now visually pleasing GL on the road, only after a thorough service though, all information gleaned from a newly acquired Haynes manual - you can easily overlook an essential service requirement without one of these and they are much cheaper than the official handbook. On the road it was much improved - quieter, and pulling cleanly. Oh my god, it's big though. A word of warning, don't buy one of these bikes unless you're fairy strong.
Above all, you have to be confident about handling big bikes. If you ever dropped one of these you'd never pick it up without assistance. At times it makes you wonder if there is a market for a miniature, portable telescopic gantry with matching block and tackle, especially if you ever contemplate touring off the beaten track alone. It's quite a nice bike. It does everything bar handle. It's not a practical, everyday form of transport, as shoving it in and out of anywhere is unnerving to say the least. Though, a long, two up journey is very pleasant. Power delivery, from the watercooled, opposed four engine is never startling, especially for a 1000cc machine, but there is always plenty of torque everywhere in the rev range and hardly any vibes even on a fairly old machine.
It's reasonably stable with 80mph up, but beyond that it wallows a bit on suspension that is just not up to controlling 600lbs of metal (plus whatever the fairing and rider weighs). The engine configuration means that most of the engine is mounted quite low which, along with the petrol mounted under the seat, helps keep the centre of gravity reasonable.
Just why the false petrol tank should be so wide and so ugly is not clear, but at least there's a reasonable bit of storage space inside. Addition of the fairing makes the bike very heavy at the front end and requires considerable muscle power to heave the bike around at low speeds. The shaft drive doesn't mess up the gearbox as per BMW, nor does it interfere with handling in corners, probably because you dare not go too fast in the first place. I often had the feeling that the whole plot could seriously get out of control and do something nasty, so a certain amount of circumspection was the order of the day.
Petrol consumption was not as bad as I had expected, it averaged between 40 and 45mpg taking things fairly gently, whilst 50mpg could be achieved at steady, legal motorway speeds. Rear tyres went for around 6000 miles, pad wear wasn't noticeable and the shaft drive was wonderfully free of maintenance after the antics of some ill designed chain drives.
Rider and pillion comfort was one of the better aspects of the bike, it was quite possible to plod along the motorway or good A roads with 70 to 80mph up without a worry in the world, the fairing taking care of the wind blast. On the other hand, trying to pilot the hulk through traffic proved tiresome and patience straining as the width of the cylinders precluded taking gaps through which normal sized motorcycles could flit and taking tight turns through gaps in traffic was more likely to end up with the bike wedged between cars than achieve rapid forward progress. At least its sheer bulk tended to stop car drivers throwing their vehicles beneath its front wheel.
I don't know how American riders manage. I mean to them, the Goldwing in 1000cc form, without luggage, is a bit toy like - what they do with getting on for 1000lbs of metal in traffic I don't know.....you know that all the tests of mega cruisers say they handle well...for their weight!
The bike left me with a lot of fond memories. It did let me down a few times, though, the battery on one occasion, a coil on another. Other GL problems likely to crop up on high mileage bikes are blown head gaskets, water pump and cooling problems, and dodgy gearboxes. Few people are able to thrash the engines due to the handling problems, so engines usually have quite an easy life and with only 80hp on tap and little need to rev the motor hard it is by no means highly tuned.
My worst memory, though, is when I manhandled the heavyweight out of garage, lost control and toppled over, albeit gently, though enough to scrape and split the fairing. Even if I say so myself, I am quite powerfully built but even so I had to get my father to help right the beast. Repairing the fairing wasn't too much of a problem, though, I'm well used to that kind of thing.
After a summer of use, for a variety of reasons, it became time to dispose of the bike. Had I become attached to it? No, not really. At times, I wished for a smaller, more manageable bike, a local trip down the road was something to avoid as it meant too much hassle. Selling the bike proved quite easy as it was looking very presentable by the time I'd finished with it. I managed to sell it for £1200 and there were lots of telephone calls. To sum up, I'm glad I experienced the GL1000, and maybe when I've mellowed sufficiently to really appreciate the bike's assets, I would reconsider owning such a motorcycle - but if you're young and looking for excitement, leave well alone.
Mark Jones
****************************************************
Why would anyone want to bother with a 13 year old bike, especially a Goldwing (aka Leadwing or bathchair)? I don't care what people think of it. Anyone who simply slags it off as a piece of dog's dump probably doesn't know anything about motorcycle engineering, period! He (or she) is usually into carbon-fibre exhausts, smooth-bores and pecker-pads!
I bought it because I wasn't interested in joining the 150mph club or wearing scratch pads on my knees. I wanted the Goldwing because it looked a very impressive piece of machinery, when in naked trim, that is. Very few GL1000 Goldwings, especially KZ Goldwings, are around without the usual dressage (boxes and fridge-door fairings), except mine.
Goldwings can and do go around bends without looking like a grinding shop on wheels. They can be ridden all day at 70mph in comfort and will return over 40mpg. Gratuitous caning will lower it to the mid twenties! Routine maintenance is negligible due to watercooling, shaft drive and, in my case, electronic ignition. The stock points (two sets) require constant adjustment to avoid rough idling, and £65 for a Piranha set, which has never needed to be touched, was money well spent.
The engine uses an OHC arrangement with two toothed bets. I have no idea how long these should last. Valve adjustment is via the old locknut and rocker arms with reusable head cover gaskets. Because the engine layout is a flat four this work can be carried out from the comfort of your favourite armchair.
As a result of the relatively low state of tune, Gold Wing engines should sound sweet at idle and be almost vibration free right up to the red line at 8000rpm. Power spread is wide with no troughs or peaks, just good old fashioned grunt. Any riders revving beyond 7000rpm are probably sexually inadequate as no additional power is available and the engine starts to feel a bit stressed, emphasized by its normal smoothness.
Front tyres should be good for in excess of 6000 miles, rear tyres approximately 4000, but that's with me thrashing the arse off it. Tyre choice is extremely important if you want to avoid high speed weaving, white lining and seasickness inducing wobbles on even mild bends at 60mph. I know from experience because when I bought the bike it had Avon Roadrunners with stock FVQ shocks - handling was somewhere between sucks and no good.
Koni-Dial-A-Rides and a Pirelli rear did wonders for the handling. Mind you, it took two years to take the plunge, countless snug-bar tales of the transformation they made to other bikes finally convinced me. I hadn't ridden a big motorcycle for years so took the poor handling as being perfectly normal. Even with the mods, if you push it hard enough on a fast sweeper it'll still take on a slow weave, which looks worse than it feels.
Ground clearance is better than expected, it's extremely rare for the centrestand to hit the deck even on tight roundabouts. Stability at town speeds is good due to the very low centre of gravity and sit up and beg riding position. It doesn't have the top heavy feel expected of a bike of this weight and size, but the reality is very quickly realised in the form of a red face and vomiting should you park facing down a slope with no forward exit. Also, never use the sidestand when in company as the horizontal cylinders on the nearside will quietly fill with engine oil and produce a fog reminiscent of Kuwait's burning oil fields.
Riding position is classic sit up and beg with two big chrome dials up front and a smaller set comprising fuel level, battery voltage and engine temperature mounted on top of the tank - quite useful as they are all very accurate. Overheating never occurs even in hot summer traffic jams as the thermostatically controlled fan and large heavy radiator (probably from a Datsun 100A) have plenty of reserve capacity.
At modest speeds rider comfort is as good as any bike with a large, well padded, stepped seat as standard, but bum-ache will set in after about one and a half hours. Pillion comfort is just as good with a big chrome grab-rail, which probably provides more psychological comfort than actual security for nervous pillions. A cut down King & Queen seat would provide better comfort but personally I think they look shit.
High speed stability isn't as good as I would've expected. The bike feels too sensitive to road conditions and sidewinds for my liking, but is acceptable up to the ton. It may be my choice of rubber or suspension settings that causes this. Braking is okay, locking either wheel possible. However, it's very easy to find yourself running out of road if you don't plan the braking well in advance. Because of the weight and somewhat soft front forks, fast stop-start riding is hard work with lots of front end dive and very little engine braking to help speed loss. Let's face it, the GL is designed for long sweeping bends and open countryside, not town centre work or scratching sessions.
The gearing is quite high and widely spaced, which allows the rider to enjoy the broad spread of power. Acceleration from standstill is surprisingly good for a 600lb bike that only produces 80hp. 4.5 seconds to 60mph. Performance is good up to the ton, thereafter things become a bit sedate, the supposed top speed of 120mph possible with a long road and a lot of patience. Not bad, considering it has the frontal area of Blackpool parade.
Engine life depends on the style of riding. Long haul trips around Europe should allow car-like mileages before serious attention is required. However, giving the engine a hard thrashing may result in trouble in less than 30,000 miles, although given the way it's handling under such duress it's more likely to be written off than blown up!
Always use a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water in the cooling system or you may find the head gaskets corrode or even the water pump impeller seizing - change every two years. I do the oil change twice a year, especially if the bike's used for lots of short trips when an excess of water is absorbed into the lubricant.
Spares, as with most Hondas, are available.....if you can afford them! I've made considerable savings by using Dave Silver spares in Leiston, Suffolk, for items such as fuel tank, rear differential, rear wheel complete with cush-drive, dummy tank panels, etc. The parts are genuine, new but may have a few superficial marks; much cheaper than going via the Honda dealer.
The only persistent problem I've had is with the carbs. Whilst the bike had been standing for some years the fuel tank had rusted, resulting in all the carbs being coated in a brown, lacquer like substance that wouldn't disappear when attacked by any solvent known to man. Every time another float bowl thread stripped and needed retapping then the swarf blocked the jets......then the gasket goo blocked the jets and then another thread stripped, and so on.
Fortunately, the complete carb assembly can be removed in 20 minutes and after many frustrating trips, limping home on three cylinders, I finally admitted defeat and tentatively enquired if Dave Silver had by any chance a set of carbs. Yes, one complete set, ready to bolt on for £120. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry after all the frustration and weeping despair suffered over the years. I eventually settled for repeatedly hitting my head against a broken bottle for being such a tight-fisted arsehole and for some reason believing they were as rare as rocking horse shit.
I had to have them. They duly arrived, brand, spanking, shiny and new. A work of art. Even though they are basically four Superdream carbs in banks of two - Honda must have had a mountain of the bloody things as they ended up being fitted to all the dross models, even those terrible Triumph Acclaim cars had two! What a difference, no more flat spots, rough running or poor pulling at high revs.
Clutch action is light and smooth, although when the engine is warm a sight but noticeable snatch develops on final engagement of the drive. Gearchanging is not as slick as some bikes. Firm control is the order of the day going up or down the box. A lack of firmness on the gear lever leads to lots of false neutral. Never rush gearchanges, either!
Because the Goldwing was the flagship model in its day, don't expect it to be a brilliant all-rounder. It isn't and you will be disappointed. The GL is like no other bike, either to look at or to ride. It was designed for long distance, high speed, effortless, two-up riding. To really appreciate the bike you need to travel on A-roads two-up for long distances. Then you'll know the advantages of a heavy bike with a turbine smooth engine that never feels stressed and provides more than enough power for top gear overtaking at any sane speed. On the open road the bike is undemanding and virtually steers itself. All the rider has to decide is the speed at which he wants to travel.
I would only recommend the Goldwing to high mileage, all weather riders if they are prepared to put the hours in that would be required to maintain the bike to a reasonable standard. As with all Japanese bikes they suffer from the ravages of salt and grime. I've found that they are very easy to clean compared with bikes like the Kawasaki GT750. If washing and buffing is not your idea of fun between riding sessions, then stick with a BMW, because chrome and alloy abound which pickles very quickly after a winter's day ride on salt covered roads.
Function dictates the way it looks not fashion, everything on the bike is there for a reason. Comfort and low maintenance are worth more than race replica looks, in my book. Plastic Rocket riders tend to sneer at its inability to compete with even modern 250s. I find that irritating but I enjoy the feeling of comradeship with other Goldwing owners, although even here some owners of 1200s and 1500s regard my naked GL1000 as very quaint!
S.R.K.
****************************************************
Why would anyone want to bother with a 13 year old bike, especially a Goldwing (aka Leadwing or bathchair)? I don't care what people think of it. Anyone who simply slags it off as a piece of dog's dump probably doesn't know anything about motorcycle engineering, period! He (or she) is usually into carbon-fibre exhausts, smooth-bores and pecker-pads!
I bought it because I wasn't interested in joining the 150mph club or wearing scratch pads on my knees. I wanted the Goldwing because it looked a very impressive piece of machinery, when in naked trim, that is. Very few GL1000 Goldwings, especially KZ Goldwings, are around without the usual dressage (boxes and fridge-door fairings), except mine.
Goldwings can and do go around bends without looking like a grinding shop on wheels. They can be ridden all day at 70mph in comfort and will return over 40mpg. Gratuitous caning will lower it to the mid twenties! Routine maintenance is negligible due to watercooling, shaft drive and, in my case, electronic ignition. The stock points (two sets) require constant adjustment to avoid rough idling, and £65 for a Piranha set, which has never needed to be touched, was money well spent.
The engine uses an OHC arrangement with two toothed bets. I have no idea how long these should last. Valve adjustment is via the old locknut and rocker arms with reusable head cover gaskets. Because the engine layout is a flat four this work can be carried out from the comfort of your favourite armchair.
As a result of the relatively low state of tune, Gold Wing engines should sound sweet at idle and be almost vibration free right up to the red line at 8000rpm. Power spread is wide with no troughs or peaks, just good old fashioned grunt. Any riders revving beyond 7000rpm are probably sexually inadequate as no additional power is available and the engine starts to feel a bit stressed, emphasized by its normal smoothness.
Front tyres should be good for in excess of 6000 miles, rear tyres approximately 4000, but that's with me thrashing the arse off it. Tyre choice is extremely important if you want to avoid high speed weaving, white lining and seasickness inducing wobbles on even mild bends at 60mph. I know from experience because when I bought the bike it had Avon Roadrunners with stock FVQ shocks - handling was somewhere between sucks and no good.
Koni-Dial-A-Rides and a Pirelli rear did wonders for the handling. Mind you, it took two years to take the plunge, countless snug-bar tales of the transformation they made to other bikes finally convinced me. I hadn't ridden a big motorcycle for years so took the poor handling as being perfectly normal. Even with the mods, if you push it hard enough on a fast sweeper it'll still take on a slow weave, which looks worse than it feels.
Ground clearance is better than expected, it's extremely rare for the centrestand to hit the deck even on tight roundabouts. Stability at town speeds is good due to the very low centre of gravity and sit up and beg riding position. It doesn't have the top heavy feel expected of a bike of this weight and size, but the reality is very quickly realised in the form of a red face and vomiting should you park facing down a slope with no forward exit. Also, never use the sidestand when in company as the horizontal cylinders on the nearside will quietly fill with engine oil and produce a fog reminiscent of Kuwait's burning oil fields.
Riding position is classic sit up and beg with two big chrome dials up front and a smaller set comprising fuel level, battery voltage and engine temperature mounted on top of the tank - quite useful as they are all very accurate. Overheating never occurs even in hot summer traffic jams as the thermostatically controlled fan and large heavy radiator (probably from a Datsun 100A) have plenty of reserve capacity.
At modest speeds rider comfort is as good as any bike with a large, well padded, stepped seat as standard, but bum-ache will set in after about one and a half hours. Pillion comfort is just as good with a big chrome grab-rail, which probably provides more psychological comfort than actual security for nervous pillions. A cut down King & Queen seat would provide better comfort but personally I think they look shit.
High speed stability isn't as good as I would've expected. The bike feels too sensitive to road conditions and sidewinds for my liking, but is acceptable up to the ton. It may be my choice of rubber or suspension settings that causes this. Braking is okay, locking either wheel possible. However, it's very easy to find yourself running out of road if you don't plan the braking well in advance. Because of the weight and somewhat soft front forks, fast stop-start riding is hard work with lots of front end dive and very little engine braking to help speed loss. Let's face it, the GL is designed for long sweeping bends and open countryside, not town centre work or scratching sessions.
The gearing is quite high and widely spaced, which allows the rider to enjoy the broad spread of power. Acceleration from standstill is surprisingly good for a 600lb bike that only produces 80hp. 4.5 seconds to 60mph. Performance is good up to the ton, thereafter things become a bit sedate, the supposed top speed of 120mph possible with a long road and a lot of patience. Not bad, considering it has the frontal area of Blackpool parade.
Engine life depends on the style of riding. Long haul trips around Europe should allow car-like mileages before serious attention is required. However, giving the engine a hard thrashing may result in trouble in less than 30,000 miles, although given the way it's handling under such duress it's more likely to be written off than blown up!
Always use a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water in the cooling system or you may find the head gaskets corrode or even the water pump impeller seizing - change every two years. I do the oil change twice a year, especially if the bike's used for lots of short trips when an excess of water is absorbed into the lubricant.
Spares, as with most Hondas, are available.....if you can afford them! I've made considerable savings by using Dave Silver spares in Leiston, Suffolk, for items such as fuel tank, rear differential, rear wheel complete with cush-drive, dummy tank panels, etc. The parts are genuine, new but may have a few superficial marks; much cheaper than going via the Honda dealer.
The only persistent problem I've had is with the carbs. Whilst the bike had been standing for some years the fuel tank had rusted, resulting in all the carbs being coated in a brown, lacquer like substance that wouldn't disappear when attacked by any solvent known to man. Every time another float bowl thread stripped and needed retapping then the swarf blocked the jets......then the gasket goo blocked the jets and then another thread stripped, and so on.
Fortunately, the complete carb assembly can be removed in 20 minutes and after many frustrating trips, limping home on three cylinders, I finally admitted defeat and tentatively enquired if Dave Silver had by any chance a set of carbs. Yes, one complete set, ready to bolt on for £120. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry after all the frustration and weeping despair suffered over the years. I eventually settled for repeatedly hitting my head against a broken bottle for being such a tight-fisted arsehole and for some reason believing they were as rare as rocking horse shit.
I had to have them. They duly arrived, brand, spanking, shiny and new. A work of art. Even though they are basically four Superdream carbs in banks of two - Honda must have had a mountain of the bloody things as they ended up being fitted to all the dross models, even those terrible Triumph Acclaim cars had two! What a difference, no more flat spots, rough running or poor pulling at high revs.
Clutch action is light and smooth, although when the engine is warm a sight but noticeable snatch develops on final engagement of the drive. Gearchanging is not as slick as some bikes. Firm control is the order of the day going up or down the box. A lack of firmness on the gear lever leads to lots of false neutral. Never rush gearchanges, either!
Because the Goldwing was the flagship model in its day, don't expect it to be a brilliant all-rounder. It isn't and you will be disappointed. The GL is like no other bike, either to look at or to ride. It was designed for long distance, high speed, effortless, two-up riding. To really appreciate the bike you need to travel on A-roads two-up for long distances. Then you'll know the advantages of a heavy bike with a turbine smooth engine that never feels stressed and provides more than enough power for top gear overtaking at any sane speed. On the open road the bike is undemanding and virtually steers itself. All the rider has to decide is the speed at which he wants to travel.
I would only recommend the Goldwing to high mileage, all weather riders if they are prepared to put the hours in that would be required to maintain the bike to a reasonable standard. As with all Japanese bikes they suffer from the ravages of salt and grime. I've found that they are very easy to clean compared with bikes like the Kawasaki GT750. If washing and buffing is not your idea of fun between riding sessions, then stick with a BMW, because chrome and alloy abound which pickles very quickly after a winter's day ride on salt covered roads.
Function dictates the way it looks not fashion, everything on the bike is there for a reason. Comfort and low maintenance are worth more than race replica looks, in my book. Plastic Rocket riders tend to sneer at its inability to compete with even modern 250s. I find that irritating but I enjoy the feeling of comradeship with other Goldwing owners, although even here some owners of 1200s and 1500s regard my naked GL1000 as very quaint!
S.R.K.