Quick Ride
QUICK RIDE
ROUNDUP
HONDA GL1500 INTERSTATE Less Is, well, less
IT'S EASY TO LAUGH AT GOLD Wings, but only until you actually get the chance to go somewhere on one of the things. Then all that size, weight and bulk mysteriously gets transmogrified into comfort, convenience and storage space you can't live without. Once your wife experiences this, you'll never again get her onto the back of your GSX-R. Don't say you haven't been warned.
The thing is, Wings are costly beasts, loaded as they are with the cubic gadgets so beloved of touring types. So the suggested retail price of the high-roller Gold Wing SE, anointed to the tips of its antennae with stuff like three different kinds of radio, carpeted luggage trunks, on-board compressor, self-can celing turn signals, cornering lights and, yes, reverse, in the high-zoot two-tone-red color scheme can injure your bank ac count to the tune of $17,099-more than haifa Mer cedes-Benz C-class sedan.
Or you could opt for the no frills Interstate, which starts at SI 1,399 and is no-frills only in relative terms. It's a stripper that's loaded. It's got the Wing's full-coverage fairing, luggage capacity, spacious seat and mar velous engine. Yep, it's got a radio-just AM and FM, so no second antenna, which on the SE is for CB. No tape player. No reverse gear, either, though the Interstate is just 50 pounds or so lighter than the full-tank SE, which tips the scales at about 920 pounds. Also, no ad justable windscreen and no car peting in the top trunk. But you're tough and can live with those hardships, right?
As with so many things, the differences are in the details. You'll only notice what the Interstate doesn't have if you've been spending time on an SE. For stripper or not, this is one very complete and competent motorcycle.
Consider, for instance, the bike's engine, a 1520cc op posed-Six that pulls like a buffalo and is as smooth as good single-malt Scotch.
Or consider the Wing's tra ditionally high levels of rider and passenger weather pro tection and comfort, aided by an open roominess and a large, commodious saddle.
About those comfort lev els: The Wing in all its mod els was revised for 1995, and not, we think, to its benefit. To lower its seatand rideheight a bit, Honda engineers moved the bike down on its suspension travel just a little, stiffened the springs, and made the seat a bit thinner. The practical effect of these changes was to remove the ride plushness traditional to Gold Wings. The suspension is now firm to the point of harshness over some pave ment irregularities, and the seat padding can pack down so that you're sitting on the seat's base pan.
Still, if you're a travelin' man, the Gold Wing Inter state is hard to beat. Sure, it's not as complete as the SE. But the difference isn't worth the $5700 price dif ference. Think of that as mostly representing profit. Buy the low-roller Interstate instead of the SE, and you're the one who profits.
Jon F. Thompson
