by Michael Rogers

She’s a big old girl. Not the Honda Gold Wing. The overgrown black SUV, all tinted windows and truck-sized doughnut tyres, pulling into our path as we glide easily along the ramp connecting the San Diego freeway to the Santa Monica freeway in downtown Los Angeles.

It’s not a particularly near miss – more of a warning shot across the bows – and the Wing deftly changes direction, powers around the SUV, and accelerates to a safe distance. But it demonstrates, within minutes of picking up the Gold Wing and diving headlong in to the LA rush hour, just how nimble and agile the 1832cc flat six model (named for its engine configuration) is.

Agility and comfort combined

Yes, it’s the most comprehensively equipped motorcycle on the planet with a long list of luxuries, and of course it’s no lightweight. But the way the Wing jinks from side to side with the slightest nudge on its wide bars and threads seamlessly through traffic with the agility of a bike half its size reveals the advantages of a unique, 40-year development heritage. Honda have had close to half a century to hone the Gold Wing’s handling to a point of excellence, and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

The freeway skirts central LA, then we zigzag north to pick up the famous Angeles Crest Highway, which snakes for 64 miles and two hours of full lean riding through the spectacular Angeles National Forest. Road signs advise, “On the Crest, safety is best” as the landscape moves through sandy low scrub to a higher altitude with an almost Alpine feel (the Angeles Crest has actually doubled for the Alps in a few Hollywood movies).

In the desolate landscape the Wing’s reassuring presence scores over any other motorcycle

Sit back and enjoy the view

The road, designated California State Route 2, is a local legend for sports riders keen to test their skill against the twisting asphalt. But cliff-top run-off and frequent rock-falls make hard riding a risky business.

Nevertheless, the Wing sails on imperiously. Once again its surprisingly reactive steering and pin-sharp, ABS-assisted brakes make unexpected obstacle avoidance a mere flick of the hips, and the Honda turns with easy accuracy.

There’s no understeer pushing wide on corner exits, and the Wing’s colossal motor delivers such phenomenal roll-on/roll-off midrange force, the effort involved for the rider is minimal. I literally sit back and enjoy the view – and, looking back across the smoggy Los Angeles basin, it’s a view worth flying all this way for – while the GL1800 takes care of the road.

Leaving the hills it’s onto a couple of hundred miles crossing the western edge of the sprawling Mojave Desert (Joshua trees, motels, fast food joints; all proper American dream stuff). Here, the Wing’s cruise control, comprehensive on-board stereo and efficient rider-cooling and heat management design make the arrow-straight roads a cruiser’s delight in the broiling midday heat.

The drive is the perfect place to indulge in a spot of existential contemplation

Ideal for the long-distance rider

We turn right and head for more hills gathering like a black storm on the flat horizon. The run into Death Valley spins us through a barren, Martian landscape, with beautifully cambered corners coming as a shock after so long riding upright.

This is desolate stuff, the scope of the scenery disorientating. I feel insignificant – and now is when the Wing’s reassuring presence scores over any other motorcycle. With an all-day tank range, a boot full of bottled water and the security of Honda’s legendary build quality and reliability, it’s a sanctuary for the long-distance rider; a home-from-home. I park up in the middle of nowhere, without another human in sight, and indulge in a spot of existential contemplation.

Back on the road towards Las Vegas, and the Wing hums a genial tune. The big engine turns over with a mellow churning, an ever-present, torque-rich source of extraordinary thrust. The throttle is like a gateway to an alternate universe; one in which mass is inversely proportional to acceleration. The bigger it is, the faster it goes.

Rider-cooling and heat management design make the arrow-straight roads a cruiser’s delight in the midday heat

Take it easy

The Gold Wing’s velocity; the way it seems to gather itself before hurling you both forward with horizon-battering hyperdrive; is truly startling and always entertaining. Its chassis and engine performance is completely out of keeping with the volume of space it occupies. Take it easy, take it steady, or take it flat-out in fourth, the Gold Wing is always composed, comfortable and operating well within its – and your – operating envelope.

I stop at the 49’er Cafe at Furnace Creek Ranch for a bite to eat – mmmm… biscuits and gravy, pancakes and a date shake – and then take a 10-mile diversion to check out Dante’s Peak, a viewing platform overlooking a valley composed largely of heat and dust. Then back on the road, we cross the state line – literally, a painted white line on the road with ‘Nevada’ beneath it – before arriving, as night falls, in Las Vegas.

Riding through Las Vegas, the Wing’s glossy fairing and panels reflect a rainbow of lights

The best way of seeing the world

Vegas might be famous as a fluorescent example of conspicuous consumption and rampant greed slap bang in the middle of a desert, and its veneer of light may well hide vast shallows of questionable ethics… but it’s still a mighty impressive sight.

As the Wing parades down the main drag heading towards a cauldron of casinos, bars and shopping malls, a rainbow of lights reflecting off its glossy fairing and panels, it fits right in here.

Wherever we’ve been, dodging traffic in town, swinging the bends on twisty mountain roads, cruising for miles on dead highways, the Wing has reigned supreme.
She’s a big old girl – America, not the Gold Wing – and of course we’ve barely scratched the surface – of both the country and the bike. But one thing is clear: the GL1800 is essentially the world’s fastest, best handling, most well-equipped and comfy mobile armchair, and the best way of seeing the world.

Honda Gold Wing: a brief history

• 1974: the 999cc flat four GL1000 Gold Wing is introduced in Europe at the Cologne Motorcycle Show. The bike is a naked roadster with shaft drive and is the first water cooled Japanese four-stroke.
• 1980: the 1085cc flat four GL1100 Gold Wing introduced with air suspension. Interstate model is the first Gold Wing to come with a fairing, panniers and a top box, and lists a stereo among the factory accessories.
• 1982: Honda introduce the GL1100 Aspencade with many interstate extras as standard including chrome luggage rails, bigger stepped seats, radio and cassette (plus CB radio, running lights, digital dash, onboard air compressor for the suspension, and up-rated chassis components).
• 1984: the 1182cc flat four GL1200 Gold Wing introduced. It has engine revisions for more power, an up-rated chassis and further refinements to running gear and optional extras including more luggage space, comfier seats and better aerodynamics.
• 1985: the new model features cruise control and fuel injection.
• 1988: the 1520cc flat six GL1500 Gold Wing is introduced. It has an all-new engine and chassis featuring integrated fairing and luggage, plus massive upgrades to rider comfort, aerodynamics and extras including reverse gear.
• 1993: Honda continues to upgrade and refine the Wing engine, chassis and level of optional extras, now including pillion speakers, a new stereo and better cruise control on the SE model.
• 2001: 1832cc flat six GL1800 Gold Wing is introduced. It has a new lightweight aluminium frame and 1.8 litre engine, now with optional ABS. Astonishing levels of refinement include trip computer, multiple audio functions (including six-disc CD player), large-capacity panniers and top-box, pillion speakers, and heated grips and seats.
• 2006: Refinements include inboard satellite navigation and the world’s first motorcycle airbag system are applied.
• 2011: Total global Gold Wing sales top 64,000
• 2012: There is increased luggage capacity, plus revised styling for better aerodynamics. Yet more comfort refinements including MP3 player integration are also included.
• 2015: The 40th anniversary Gold Wing is available in four colour options including a stunning two-tone paintwork and blacked out chassis, plus special 40th anniversary emblems and key fob.