Honda GLX 1500 Gold Wing

The Honda GL1500 Gold Wing was the first Gold Wing with a liquid-cooled flat-six engine with a displacement of 1520 cc. This type was available from 1988 until and including 2000. During this period the model remained nearly unchanged. In the year 1990 a special edition, the GL1500 SE, was introduced at the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Honda Gold Wing. This type remained available in the years thereafter. Since 1991 three different variants were available : the Interstate, the Aspencade and the SE.

he first model of 1988 was extremely complete and provided with almost all possible gadgets. Unique was for instance the electric reverse gear which made the manoeuvrability easier. The saddlebags and the trunk could be opened and closed with the (one) ignition key. Furthermore there was an air compressor on board and an audio system consisting of a radio with a cassette player and an integrated intercom. Also an electronic cruise control was standard. Furthermore the windshield was adjustable in height into three different positions.

The maximum power of the Honda GL1500 Gold Wing was 73.5 kW or nearly 100 hp at 5200 rpm. With a maximum torque of 150 Nm or 15.3 kgm at 4000 rpm the GL1500 had an impressive tractive power. Furthermore the GL1500 was provided with five gears of which the last one was an overdrive. With a fuel tank capacity of well over 23 Litresa fairly radius of action could be achieved. The dry weight was well over 360 kg.

In the anniversary year 1990 (15 years Honda Gold Wing) besides the standard model an even more luxurious version, the GL1500 SE (Special Edition), was introduced. This version was painted in a special luxury colo(u)r (Pearl White) and was provided with an extra brake and tail-light bar on the trunk. Furthermore the passenger footrests were adjustable and the audio system was somewhat more luxury. The model remained available in the years thereafter.

Since 1991 besides the GL1500 SE two different versions were available : the Interstate and the Aspencade. In fact, the Aspencade was equal to the formerly standard model. However, the Interstate was somewhat more sober and therefore somewhat cheaper. For instance, the GL1500 Interstate was not provided with an electric reverse gear which allowed backWard driving at a walking pace. Furthermore, this model was not standard provided (only optional) with an air compressor and a cruise control. Finally the windshield of the Interstate was not adjustable in height. Weighing nearly 350 kg the GL1500 Interstate was somewhat lighter than his heavier little brothers, the GL1500 Aspencade (well over 360 kg) and the GL1500 SE (well over 370 kg).

Until 1997 the three different models (Interstate, Aspencade and SE) remained available. In 1993 the electronic cruise control of the GL1500 Aspencade and the GL1500 SE was improved. By measuring the speed of the crankshaft a better accuracy was obtained which allowed an adjustment of the cruising speed in steps of 1 mph. In the anniversary year 1995 (20 years Honda Gold Wing) the three models were provided with a special anniversary badge. Furthermore some minor improvements were carried through. From 1997 on the less popular Interstate model was no longer available.

Review

In the early days, anyone who could ride more than a couple hundred miles in a day was made of iron. And probably an exceptional mechanic, because the bikes were made of iron, too. Nowadays, with the current crop of high-mileage, big-rig touring bikes, it's not uncommon for a touring rider to see a thousand miles in a single day's worth of saddle time. Which luxo-touring motorcycle is best suited for this task? We decided to sample the best offerings from Japan, America and Europe to find the answer.
Surprisingly, the only common ground our three heavyweight tourers (a Honda Gold Wing SE, Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide and BMW K1100LT) have was how much they cost; you'll lay out at least fifteen big ones for any of them. You see, while the Honda has always been a purpose-built tourer, both the Harley and BMW are adapted from standard motorcycles, and the resulting differences in how they roll down the road is amazing.

Levels of equipment also vary. The BMW and Honda have liquid cooled engines with shaft drive, the Harley uses the familiar 80 inch air cooled engine with drive by belt. The Harley and BMW have fuel-injection, the Honda carburetors. The Harley and Honda have cruise control, the BMW doesn't. The Harley and Honda have stereo/intercoms/CB units, the BMW a radio only. The BMW has a trick servomotor-controlled adjustable windshield, Honda's is manually adjustable, and the the Harley's shield offers one-time adjustment via a hack saw. We could continue, but what does it mean on the road?

Ride along as we put these behemoths through the paces on a 2500 mile tour up California's coastline to San Francisco, across to Yosemite National Park, through the Sierra Nevada mountain range at altitudes up to 10,000 feet, then over to Arizona and its blazing desert heat, all before returning to the concrete canyons of L.A. to test their mettle as daily commuter mounts.

Honda GL-1500 Gold Wing SE

With its 1000cc opposed-four-cylinder layout, belt-driven cams, liquid cooling, shaft drive, and fuel tank under the seat, the original Gold Wing recast the world of big-rig motorcycling when it came out in 1975. But touring still wasn't easy.

Used to be that if you wanted to turn a motorcycle into a touring bike, even a Gold Wing, you had to put it together yourself. Buy the fairing, saddle bags, trunk, and spend countless hours trying to make it all fit to a bike that wasn't designed for the stuff.

Then, with the introduction of the 1980 Gold Wing Interstate, you suddenly had all the tools you needed for a long-distance touring mount. Air suspension, wide, high-mileage tires, adjustable seating, an integrated full fairing, saddlebags, and trunk. Even came with an optional stereo. The evolution of the Gold Wing, now in its fourth generation, has taken it to a point where it is now one of the top selling motorcycles in Honda's vast lineup, sharing top billing with the hot-selling CBR600F3 sport bike. Through the years no other touring motorcycle has enjoyed the popularity of the Wing.

The GL-1500's much-heralded six-cylinder powerplant is its heart and soul, delivering smooth, seamless performance that covers the ground effortlessly. It pulled the steepest mountain grades we could throw at it without hesitation, even fully loaded. Dispatching of slower traffic was as simple as dropping it into fourth gear and twisting the throttle. And it'll cruise the interstate readily at speeds that will have the local constables quickly writing you an invitation to traffic school -- Editor-in-Chief Plummer covered about 32 miles in Utah in less than 15 minutes, fully loaded with a passenger and the radio blaring.

All this performance, though, combined with the Wing's portly 816-pound profile, extracts a toll on fuel economy, and you'll see the Honda's reserve fuel light come on after only 150 miles or so. In short, the Gold Wing sucks gas. On one particularly long, blazingly hot stretch of Arizona two-lane, we had to refuel after 138 miles, netting only 26 mpg.

Prodigious thirst can be a good thing, as we found both the rider and passenger seats to be too soft, resulting in backside fatigue after 130 miles in the saddle. The seat-to-bar relationship of the Wing was the best of our three touring mounts, though, offering a level of comfort unmatched by the others. The Honda's large fairing and adjustable windscreen offers the rider complete wind protection and submerges him in a cone of silence, allowing the rider to watch the miles roll by unfettered by wind buffeting. But the fairing becomes a liability on a hot day, like any day around the Arizona desert, and we found the Wing's fairing ventilation system lacking, leaving both the rider and passengers' legs baking from engine heat spilling up from underneath the bodywork.

Where the Wing really shines is in its luggage capacity. The huge, fully integrated saddlebags come with nifty, high-quality saddlebag liners that can be lifted out and carried into the hotel or campsite. Together with the large top trunk (also equipped with a liner bag), you'll be able to carry enough gear to last a couple for a week-long tour. In typical Honda fashion, the SE has, by far, the best detailing and most carefully conceived touring features, and its myriad comforts and electronic gadgets kept us well occupied during some of those long empty stretches of highway.

All of these accessories, though, force a compromise. If there's ever been a recurring complaint about the Wing, it has been its weight, which has increased more than 250 pounds since that original model in '75. The SE's handling, although respectable for a machine this size, never feels completely planted in turns, and it exhibits a ponderous, unwieldy feel while riding around town, with both problems accentuated by an overly soft, Cadillac-style suspension that lets the Wing wobble when the going gets twisty.

Is touring boring? It shouldn't be, yet the Wing is a shade characterless compared to the other two bikes. And when the road starts to wind and twist, its limited ground clearance and heavy weight consign it to the back of the pack. If touring was all interstates -- well, we'd probably buy cars.

Source  Motorcycle.Com