Gold Wing Revisited
Gold Wing Revisited
EVALUATIONS
Equipping Honda’s Tourer For The Open Road
Because the Honda Gold Wing is a touring bike and because most touring motorcyclists equip their motorcycles with all manner of optional equipment, the GL tested by CYCLE WORLD a couple of months ago has since been equipped as many touring riders would choose—with everything. There was another reason as well. The Wing’s suspension didn’t provide adequate compliance or comfort when lightly loaded. Is the suspension better suited for carrying heavy loads?
The answer, sorry to say, is both yes and no. Mostly no. But first, take a look at the accessories.
Calafia Industries sent their latest Eliminator ST fairing ($241.50), fairing mounting brackets ($45.50), floorboards ($164.50), saddlebags ($124), saddlebag guards ($147), luggage rack ($46.40), Sports Kady (also known as a scoot boot) $72.50, and mounting brackets for the Sports Kady ($3.75). All totalled it amounted to 74 pounds and $845.15 worth of accessories.
Mounting the accessories was a day’s work. A long day. Oh, it’s all straightforward. There’s just a lot of pieces. And there are a few surprises. The rear turn signals, repositioned on the 1978 Gold Wing, still must be removed for installation of most saddlebag assemblies, only the bike’s wiring has been changed and Calafia’s instructions haven’t. The 1978 seat doesn’t quite fit over the rear crash bars and must be bent to fit. Before the seat is reinstalled, the holes for the mounting bolts must be cut away so the seat can be slid into place with the bolts already partially screwed in. It’s a matter of clearance with the saddlebag mounts. Minor problems. Installing the floorboards requires the most work. Shift linkage is adapted to the selector shaft and brake linkage is changed. A rocker foot shift and repositioned brake pedal result.
Onté installed, the entire Calafia package appears to be a part of the Honda. Of course the black paint matches perfectly but beyond that, beyond how the details go, the concept fits. Some fairings on some bikes look out of place. Not so with the Calafia on the GL.
In function the Calafia accessories also score high. A favorite passenger reported less wind turbulence in the back seat with the Calafia than with an average fairing, whatever that is. The windshield is finally low’ enough for average height riders to peer over, not through. Inside the fairing, under the snap-on naugahyde covers, is an above average amount of storage room and large enough openings to get large items into the storage area. Great. And with two mounting bolts removed, the fairing tilts forward, allowing access to the “simulated gas tank” side panels. There’s also room in the fairing for installation of a radio or additional gauges on a tacky-looking fake wood panel.
Out back there’s a little more room for criticism. In fact, there’s probably room for just about anything you’d care to haul short of the dining room table, the roomiest compartment being the Sports Kady. The kady can easily carry two full face helmets. Only problem is that the kady invites the biggest, heaviest items and then places the weight at the worst spot—far to the rear and high. The saddlebags could be called normal size, normal because Calafia some years back invented the California Fats bags which are also available and which are about 50 percent wider. Biggest problem with the saddlebags is the extra latch at the front of the lids. One latch is fine but with a second latch instead of a hinge, opening and closing the saddlebags> became a two-hand job. Latching the bags wasn’t always easy even when the front latch remained closed. The fit is less than perfect. And less than waterproof.
Mentioned last and thusly regarded are the floorboards. One rider said “they stink.” A more generous rider said “I suppose 1 could get used to it. If I had to.” No one liked them. The problem is that the Gold Wing is just not shaped to accept floorboards gracefully. The boards are mounted too far to the rear to clear the cylinder heads, which causes problems with the excessively long rocker shift lever. While the repositioned brake pedal comes closer to fitting, it too is not convenient to use. Unlike other auxiliary boards, which mount on top of the Gold Wing rocker arm covers, the Calafia boards mount behind the heads. But they aren’t long enough for both the rider and passenger to use. Pity.
Back to the bike. Adding weight to a motorcycle has never improved performance and so it is with the Gold Wing. Seventy-five pounds of accessories tacked on didn’t improve the ride of the Gold Wing. It still lacked suspension compliance.
At the front end much of the problem could be attributed to sticky fork seals. The stock seals had 28 pounds of stiction (static friction). Teflon coated fork seals from Ken Ross, Inc. were installed to reduce the stiction. The improvement was slight.
Two-thirds of the accessory weight was added to the rear of the GL1000. Even more weight would be concentrated on the rear suspension when two riders and touring gear was added. With a medium size rider, passenger and 50 pounds of life’s necessities (hair dryer, camera, etc.) in the bags the stock rear tire of the Honda was supporting all the weight it was designed to carry, 670 pounds. Not much of a safety margin.
Because the Honda would be tested with a maximum load, a Dunlop K91 Mark II rear tire was installed when the original equipment tire w’ore out at 4000 miles. Maximum load capacity of the K91 is 810 pounds, 140 pounds higher than the K87 original equipment tire and high enough to carry a normal heavy touring load safely.
Once equipped for load carrying, the Gold Wing was loaded. The suspension was still stiff. The suspension was not improved by adding weight. To its credit, the Honda handled the weight well. With two people and luggage the suspension didn’t bottom over normal bumps and dips. However the handling characteristics of the bike, not especially good to begin with, suffered even more with the accessories. The floorboards scraped and folded up during moderate cornering and the bike wallowed more than normal on high speed bends.
For the kind of use most Gold Wings get, cruising down long, straight highways, the full dress GL performed as well as a stripped GL. There was adequate power. The louder exhaust note is more apparent with a fairing although there was none of the whine older model Gold Wings exhibited with fairings. For riding behind afairing, the handlebars provide the correct
posture but not the right bend to suit any of our riders. The new' seat doesn’t push the passenger forward as previous Gold Wing seats did but it’s still not right. After a 40 mile stint as passenger. Mr. Editor Girdler climbed off the seat and proclaimed “the seat’s terrible and it still rides like a buckboard.”
If loading up the GL didn't improve the bike, neither did it hurt it. What the Gold Wing does best is carry big loads long distances with a minimum of fuss. The accessories just make the job easier. 0
