Couch Rocket
A Road Train With Push And Cush

“This is Purple Grape motorcycle near Akron, headed east on 76. How’s traffic up ahead on 80?”

On my way home from Honda’s plant in Marysville, Ohio, I’m on the CB radio, running with the big-rig gear jammers. I’ve got my own big rig, a Magenta Metallic ’04 Honda GL1800A that was manufactured in Marysville. With the cruise control set at 80 mph, turning 3500 easy rpm, I’m marveling at the torque that the six-cylinder engine belts out at any speed. Then the FM music playing through my helmet headset is interrupted.

“Purple Grape motorcycle, this is Road Dog Bob. About 10 miles ahead of you on 80 near Youngstown, and it’s all clear. What kind of bike you on?”

“Road Dog Bob, I’m on a Honda Gold Wing 1800.”

“Purple Honda, I’m in a blue Peterbilt. C’mon up ’n’ pass me, let me see that rig. I’m thinkin’ of gettin’ one mahself.”

When the GL1800 was handed over to me at the Honda Homecoming in Marysville, two alarming inner voices spoke to me. One said, “Oh, no, it’s come to this. I’m the Gold Wing stereotype: over 50, gray hair and beard, and expanding belt size. All I need is a teddy bear strapped on back and a smiley-face ping-pong ball on the antenna.” The other voice said, “This thing is huge. Geez, I hope it doesn’t handle like a bear.”

Well, throw away the teddy bears and smiley faces, and wipe out the stereotypes. In my view, the GL1800 is an overgrown sportbike with huge power, surprising agility, great brakes, unparalleled touring comfort, and a big grin factor. I was amazed that a machine of around 800 pounds dry weight, with every amenity from a CD player to reverse gear, could handle the way it does. It’s a purpose-built mile eater, but plays surprisingly well in the curves. And, teddy bears aside, when you speak to Gold Wing owners, you find they’re the ones out there racking up the miles. How many hard-edged sportbikes show 150,000-plus on their clocks?

A Lasting Line

Here’s a quick look at the progression of Gold Wing models, to bring the story up to date. The first, unfaired GL1000, with its flat four-cylinder motor, was introduced in 1975. Then came the flat-four GL1100 of 1980, with a full factory touring kit. This begat the flat-four GL1200 of 1984, which later begat the six-cylinder GL1500 in 1988. Finally, 2001 saw radical changes with the introduction of the all-new GL1800, the foundation of our ’04 test bike.

Responsibility for developing the GL1800 fell to Masonori Aoki, a project leader on Honda sportbike models. He used his experience to tailor a new Gold Wing that was sportier, better handling, more aggressive, and appealed to a younger audience, while maintaining the touring virtues that endeared the GL1500 to its older constituency.

Mr. Aoki’s chassis design features a twin-spar, aluminum box-section frame with 75 percent less components than the previous steel unit. It’s said to be over 100 percent stiffer laterally and 77 percent more torsionally rigid than the old frame, and weighs 25 pounds less.

The engine is a fuel-injected, 1832cc, horizontally opposed six with claimed 118 peak horsepower and 125 ft-lbs. of torque. Two 40mm throttle bodies each feed a cylinder bank. And the closed-loop engine management system meets the California Air Resources Board’s 2008 emissions standards.

For better balance, the engine is mounted lower and farther forward in the chassis than in the GL1500. It’s also solid mounted as a stressed member. A single-sided, cast aluminum swingarm helps stiffen the chassis and allows easy servicing of the rear wheel.

Braking is handled by two full-floating 296mm front discs with three-piston calipers and one ventilated 316mm rear disc with a three-piston caliper. The brakes are linked (LBS) through a secondary master cylinder and proportioning valve, with ABS as an option.

The 45mm front fork is damped by a cartridge in the right leg, providing 5.5" of travel. An anti-dive system uses brake fluid pressure from the secondary LBS master cylinder mounted on the left fork leg. The single rear shock offers 4.1" of travel and is adjustable for preload over a wide range. The bike sports 18" radial tires up front and 16-inchers in the rear.

Hold Everything

The aerodynamic bodywork — which says “Accord” to me from some angles — integrates the comprehensive cockpit controls, plush seating, and storage. With two saddlebags each holding 40-plus liters of storage, and a top trunk holding 66 liters (61 with the CD changer installed), you can pack a lot. Two helmets fit in the top trunk with lots of room to spare.

The lids are hydraulically damped and can be locked and released with a key-fob transmitter or the ignition key. There are also storage compartments in the passenger armrests and in the fairing. My rig also had an optional trunk rack, where I strapped my rain gear for quick access.

I found almost no wind buffeting at a steady 85 mph and little in triple-digit bursts, proof of the bike’s aerodynamics. My passenger started to feel buffeting at about 75 mph, but could easily tolerate a constant 85. She also said it was the most comfortable touring seat she’d ever graced.

Rain routes itself around the generous fairing. Airflow is provided by a vent in the windshield (new for ’04) and vents in the upper and lower fairings. The windscreen height is adjustable over a 4" range with two unlocking/locking levers.

Rider and passenger seating is comfy with plenty of wiggle room. The Wing’s bars rose up to meet my hands perfectly, while the step in the saddle provided great lumbar support. The saddle is cushy yet firm enough to be comfortable over long hauls. Although I relaxed doing no more than 500 miles in a day, I can easily imagine 800 miles on this bike with no ill effects.

I like the standard footpegs, which provide a good sense of control. For more move-around room, some owners add floorboards. The standard passenger floorboards are generous. Gear change is positive, with fifth gear (Honda calls it “overdrive”) indicated by a light.

Smart Machine

The cockpit is comprehensive and logically laid out, with adjustable backlighting and red pointers that transmit information clearly. Three dials with white-on-black analog displays show speed, rpm, temperature, and fuel. Below the cluster, a high-resolution LCD display gives trip/total mileage, ambient temp, audio and CB modes, rear suspension setting, and trunk/saddlebag open indicators. (I was warned twice of a partially open saddlebag. Damn smart machine.)

New for the ’04 model are illuminated handlebar and radio switches, making them very easily seen at night. The left handgrip houses controls for the optional CB and trunk-mounted disc changer, as well as volume and tuning for the standard AM/FM/weather radio, plus the high-beam and turn signal controls. Buttons selecting CB, intercom, CD, AM/FM, and weather band functions are on the tank. For our test, Honda provided color-matched rider and passenger helmets from Shoei with built-in mics and speakers.

The right handgrip houses the easy-to-use cruise control and the electric reverse gear, which comes standard. Shift to neutral, hit the reverse button, see the R on the dash light up, and thumb the starter for a reverse push. Overkill, you say? Try backpedaling a 1,250-plus load on gravel.

The lower right fairing holds the optional heated grip control. The lower left fairing houses the height adjuster for the headlight and the electric preload adjuster for the rear shock — a simple button. The shock is adjustable in increments from 0 to 25, and has a two-position memory. I found setting 15 perfect for one-up highway riding, offering a great combination of control and comfort. Riding two-up, I set it at 25 for the same result.

This Rig Hauls

This is a big bike, made for long distances. It doesn’t get smaller with speed, it just gets easier to handle. It’s more agile than you’d imagine, generating some impressive cornering angles while feeling very planted. The communicative front end is a real surprise in a big touring rig, and the stiff chassis enhances the bike’s stability.

At a 1-mph pace, though, you can be thrown off balance. You especially need to attend to the throttle at low speeds — it’s like an on/off switch with no play, and you need to carefully coordinate throttle and clutch so the bike doesn’t lunge forward. But long-distance road manners are impeccable, and I had an overall impression of total competence.

The brakes are solid and sure. Just remember that the linked system is thinking for you, so you can’t pull any tricks controlling the front or rear brakes independently. And the system works very well. The ABS is unobtrusive except for a slight servo-cycling in the hand lever when it’s kept engaged for the length of a traffic light. The bike stops very quickly, and the anti-dive feature almost eliminates fork dive.

For me, the engine is the centerpiece of the bike — it’s what makes this hauler really haul. Common quarter-mile times for the Wing have been in the high 11- to low 12-second range. The engine’s powerful growl reminds me of the flat six in the newer water-cooled Porsches. Crack the throttle wide, and you get a lovely induction roar with a deep purr at the mufflers. The engine delivers at any speed, in any gear. At as low as 25 mph in fifth gear, I opened the throttle and received a smooth, steady stream of power with no hesitation or judder. And there’s simply no vibration. By the way, I calculated the speedo to be optimistic by about 4 mph.

The 6.6-gallon tank delivered an overall average of 39.5 mpg over 1,700 miles of varied, but mostly highway, riding. The tank range is my only complaint — with a fast long-hauler like the Wing, you need a bigger tank. You’ll want to be on the road all the time. RB

TECH SHEET

LIST PRICE $18,999-$19,299/$17,999-$18,299

ENGINE Liquid-cooled, horizontally opposed six-cylinder

VALVETRAIN SOHC, two valves per cylinder

DISPLACEMENT 1832cc

BORE/STROKE 74 x 71mm

COMPRESSION 9.8:1

FUEL SYSTEM PGM-FI with automatic choke

MFR HP RATING 118 at 5500 rpm

MFR TORQUE RATING 125 ft-lbs. at 4000 rpm

TRANSMISSION Five-speed

FINAL DRIVE Shaft

OVERALL LENGTH 103.7"

WHEELBASE 66.6”

RAKE/TRAIL 29.25 degrees/4.3"

SEAT HEIGHT 29.1"

FUEL CAPACITY 6.6 gallons

DRY WEIGHT 799/792 pounds

2004 COLORS Black, Candy Black Cherry, Candy Red, Magenta Metallic, Red, Titanium, White