BikeTest: Honda Gold WingBike passengers will be impressed with the Honda Gold Wing's comfort on the road, writes Rohit Jaggi
The Honda Gold Wing is a bike built with wide open spaces in mind and not just the endless highways of US movie mythology. One such space lies right in front of the seat so that, in the best tradition of big-bellied bikers, the well-upholstered Winger can let his (or her) stomach stretch out for the ride.
The Wing has put on weight over the years. From its launch as a 1000cc flat four-cylinder machine in 1975, it has grown into a six-cylinder 1800cc behemoth, weighing well over 800lb (363kg), with more touring-oriented features than any other two-wheeler.
These include the most well-appointed pillion seat ever. "It's like being driven around in a squashy leather armchair," said my passenger. The huge backrest also means you can accelerate without fear of the passenger toppling off the back.
My daughters were similarly impressed. Phoebe, 15, managed to negotiate it in a short skirt without embarrassment.
Cicely, 11, who has for some time had an eye on Gold Wings - when she was just six or seven she was entranced by an earlier-model Wing - decided the seat was spacious enough for herself, her sister and probably one or two friends as well. The vast luggage box behind the pillion backrest was, she added, perfect for a baby.
Measured by more standard methods, the box can fit two full-face helmets.
Built-in panniers can carry heavier items lower down where they are less likely to upset the handling.
That said, it takes a lot to disturb a Gold Wing, despite an unsophisticated suspension that clangs and complains as it copes with the Wing's weight.
Huge, girder-like handlebars give lots of leverage so it is easy to tip into corners, and the sheer mass means mid-corner bumps are treated with the disdain a road-roller might show a roadworker's foot.
But it is at a standstill the Wing's bulk asserts itself. It is hard to push, hence its electric reverse crawler gear is a boon. As one friend told me: "It's like two bikes stuck together." Another remarked: "It's as big as a bed." However, once the Wing starts moving, the feeling of mass falls away.
If the acres of plastic bodywork and touches of art deco styling do not immediately betray that the Gold Wing is US-manufactured, the big and clunky handles for the luggage, and the switchgear that has avoided redesign a little too long, surely do.
The handlebars alone have more knobs and buttons than a light aircraft.
It does mean you can zoom in on the built-in satellite navigation screen without taking your hands off the handlebars and you can search for dance music radio stations without needing to scrabble around by your left knee.
The cruise control's cycles of acceleration and coasting are too coarse however.
The gearbox is clunky, and does the extremely smooth motor a disservice, and when the engine cooling fan comes on, it's far louder than the engine.
A bit of a glitch with the fuel injection and unpredictability about the engine pick-up at low speeds make pulling out of tight T-junctions a little nerve-wracking.
But much more successful are the Wing's anti-lock brakes; if they proved unable to save you from disaster, the airbag - a unique option on a bike - just might.
The bike, far from being a two-wheeled recreational vehicle, is a practical form of, almost, everyday transport.
Factfile: Honda Gold Wing GL1800
Engine:1832cc flat, horizontally opposed six, fuel injected. 87 KW of power @ 5,500rpm, 167Nm of torque @ 4,000 rpm
Dimensions:length - 2,635mm, width - 945mm, height - 1,455mm
Dry weight:363kg
Seat height:740mm
Price:€27,999
The history of six appeal
Honda Gold Wing's 1832cc engine has a unique place as the only six-cylinder motor currently used in a production motorcycle.
The first ever motorcycle sixes also came from Honda - such as the frantically revving 250cc in-line sixes used for race bikes on which Mike Hailwood won two world championships in the 1960s.
In its tracks came road machines with the same layout but a more sensible capacity of 1000cc, the late-1970s CBX.
Others followed. Benelli of Italy's six aped the CBX. Kawasaki lived up to the name of its parent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, with a water-cooled 1300cc. Recently, Suzuki showed off a six-cylinder concept bike, the 1100cc Stratosphere, which may hit the showrooms before long.
The Gold Wing's water-cooled engine is laid out like the classic Porsche air-cooled car engine as a horizontally opposed six. Also like the German engine, it grew from a similarly arranged four.
The first reaction of a neighbour of mine, a former test pilot, was that the Wing motor's layout and modest level of tuning would make it a great light-aircraft engine.
Some of the longest-living engine layouts in light aircraft are unstressed, horizontally opposed fours and sixes.
Surprisingly, no one seems to have put a Wing engine into the sky. Aircraft builders have pressed many other engines into service - Subaru flat-fours, BMW flat-twins, Mazda rotary engines, Smart Car threes, even high-revving Suzuki motorcycle engines and lazy, heavy, Harley V-twins. But not yet a Gold Wing.