I was still in mechanic's school when the GL1000 was announced. Still in my mind's eye I can see the artist's rendering -- a machine to top the wonderfully capable CB750 that had so upset everyone's perspective of their Triumphs. And now Honda was poised to top even that. Would it be a Z1 beater? Had to be! Man, look at that engine! And two brake discs! And liquid cooling! Exotic! I don't think most of us appreciated how unsporting the inaugural Wing was until we saw her in the flesh, so successful was Honda's advance propaganda. Not many today realize Honda promoted this as a sportbike! But we were far from disappointed. Maybe not King of the Hill, but very impressive. And quiet? One of my strongest memories of 1975 to this day is that understated turbine-like engine/exhaust whisper. You could hardly hear this motorcycle.

My first Honda dealership was in a neighborhood full of mostly CB450s. I was initiated into the mechanic's brotherhood by repairing CB450 gearboxes. After my 21st birthday I was in my second shop. My Service Manager rode a brand new, immaculately-kept, completely stock candy red, the first one the shop had got in. Not even a windscreen. The man fit the machine. He was obsessive about keeping his pride and joy spotless, and as I remember it, its carbs perfectly synced, the machine so quiet he could ride right up behind you without you knowing it, and I remember him doing that at the donut shop some weekday mornings. He taught me his sync technique. Man, that bike made my B44 Shooting Star seem like a civil war artillary piece by comparison! The San Fernando valley dealership naturally had a community of GL1000 riders as customers, so my GL1000 apprenticeship was rapid.

By 1977 I had become as familiar with the GL1000 as I had been 450s and 750s. I did tune-ups, wreck repairs and warranty crankcase replacements typical of a large metro area dealership. By the 1100’s intro I had amassed over 100 credit units of factory Honda training, as well as a brief stint at corporate Honda, and although the technological marvel of such machines as the 1100F, CX Turbo and Sabre 750 stole everyone's hearts, I still had a warm place in mine for the GL1000.

In 1980 I went to work for a dealership that entrusted me with all the Gold Wing service. Lot of 'em. Every day. A big shop with five mechanics, in a Southern California community not far from Long Beach, it was a great place to ply my trade and grow in it.

I'm sure I have forgotten most of what I knew about servicing the now classicly beautiful Grande Luxe, or at least my hands have, if not my heart. I still however proudly own the factory ring compressors, and the factory aluminum crankcase spacers used when assembling the engine cases. Tokens of my apprenticeship, I am unable to give them up. And I still feel a thrill when I handle a set of those early carburetors. Somehow the years drop away. I still have the once-coveted carb spec books used by career Honda mechanics. I still remember how to coax that automotive-derived engine into giving its best. The astonishment hasn't faded. Nor the excitement.