Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Honda drops the other shoe • U2 -, IlQ ;Ii!: IlQ ~ g ;... g -::t' t- O) --< -... u ~ 0 ... u 0 • Here it is. Though there were enough new detail features to inspire a dozen de tail pict ures, one big picture will have to do for now. Th e GL 1000, called " Gold Wing" bac k home in Ja pan. LAS VEGAS, NEV., SEPT. 19 American Honda ended months of rumors by formally introducing the GLI000 tourer at their dealers preview meeting. It's a shaft-drive, water-cooled nat four of 1000cc displacement. The engine is fed by four constant velo city carburetors .and requires a fuel pump (driven off the-rear of the righ t cam) to draw lead-free gasol ine fro m the under -scat tank. The lubrication system is wet sump type. A -single overhead cam per bank allows a 900.0 RPM redline. Braking is all disc (two fron t, one rear) and id io t ligh ts abo und on the instrument cluster. . , T he false fuel tank is a cargo trunk, with a ' lockable lid th at incorporates the fuel gauge. One side panel falls away to reveal all th e electries. The other conceals an "emergency usc" kickstarter. (Sh ad es of the older VWs that came with an engine crank.) .An electric fan is th ermosta tically opera ted to draw air through the radiator if necessary. Two morenew-for-'75 ro ad bikes arc progressions on pri or models. The CB400F is a ca fe racer progression on the 350 Four with a 3mm larger bore, factory four-into -one exhaust, low bars and six-speed gearbox. Foo tpegs have be en dr awn back 'an d raised slightly, also the free -valve forks hav e been carried over from th e larger Honda fo urs. Claimed dry wei ght is 3 73 pounds, the same as the 350 Fou r. Honda has dropped CB and CL versions of th e DOHC 450 in favor o f th e CB500T with bore/stroke of 70 x 64.8 m m. With th is model they've co m bined a rich metallic br own paint sch em e with a tan leath er scat, att emp ting to capt u re th e Ilavor o f classic En glish seda ns in a motorcycl e " de signed for (a n) experienced to expert rider of mediu m 10 large stat ure." Dr y weight is a claimed 425 pounds. A safely feat ure th at will carry across th e road models is a special flexible rubber tip attache d to th e sid estand, wh ich will drag the ground and pop the side sta nd up should th e o wner for get to raise it a fter leaving the cur b. Aut omati c "headli ght on " switc hgear is rea dy to mee t co ming Fed eral standards . Also on the hori zon is c ran kcase vap or recirculation gear. T ho ugh Honda ex pects to increase th eir mo tocross presen ce nex t year, they arc largel y standing pat on th eir dirt models. Th e XL250 an d XL 350 receive a new black/red paint sche me to make th em appear slimmer, and the tw o new dirt models (the TL250 tri aler and th e MR175 enduro) arc scheduled for release later this year. • Superbike of the cafe gender, or Sunset St rip showboat? Hopefully .we'll be amon g the first to fi nd out. Honda te ars a page from Detroit's casebook: Tak e a reason ably successful mid-size, mid-price machine and hawk it as a "luxury" item. Visual package exu des class, . fairly large balanc e pipe exhaust resonator smooths out the audi o. III III o ... o ~ ""'---------------_---1 27

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