Faults:

Head gaskets, water pump, coils, starter solenoid, front crank seal, cam seal, timing belts.

General Comments:

Although it needs lots of maintenance, I love this bike on the road. It's way more bike than the 900F on the highway. Unbelievably smooth and tons of power. I had no idea how smooth these Wings are. Bringing a low mileage Wing back that's almost 40 years old costs about 600 to 800, and you have to learn to do the work yourself or it's not economically feasible.

The 1975 would do a 12.75 quarter mile when they came out. And the only bike that was barely faster was the ZED, the KZ 900. So that tells you what kind of motor this is.

If the temperature is above 50, then I have a hard time not riding it.

Faults:

I have had an ignition switch go out, which is no longer available OEM. Rebuilt more parts than I care to write about here.

General Comments:

This bike is not very fast, has no top end, and sucks gas above 4,000 RPM.

The brakes are OK. I love how it handles personally. It's like steering a couch. After the 75, the head angle changes and the handling is different.

I traveled across the country last year with it, and it did great.

Faults:

Spun rear wheel bearing. Replaced myself.

General Comments:

This bike was a basic GL1000. It was a really decent motorcycle. What can I say? It had a lot of miles on it when we bought it. We rode it, and traded it without any major issues. It did spin a rear wheel bearing. I bought a new, generic German made bearing and installed that with red Loctite.

The carbs needed to be rebuilt when I bought it. They were quirky and I never got them perfect. But this bike ran strong and we enjoyed it.

Faults:

Not one thing. Dead on reliable.

General Comments:

At 18 this was my first bike. I even took my MC license test on it!

Not too bad around town, but turn it loose on the interstate and it all comes together.

I could ride for hours without any discomfort... And mine was naked. Lots of good memories.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong. The previous owner of this Goldwing knew what he was doing; he performed all maintenance and rebuilt the carbs, changed all fluids, etc.

General Comments:

I rode this bike for approx. 8 months, and put around 5,000 miles on it.

The riding position was very upright and comfortable, with an easy reach to the handlebars and foot pegs. I'm 5'9, 190 lbs. Very comfortable for two-up riding. After about 1.5 hours of riding, both hands would get slightly numb from both vibration and small upward reach to the handlebars. Foot placement on the pegs was rather low.

The engine was a real performer, which truly surprised me. The only mod this bike had was a fishtail exhaust, which was more for show. The bike really started to take off past 4000 rpm, and pulled hard to redline. Impressive for a heavy touring bike. Gas mileage was always above 40 mpg, usually 45-47. The motor would rev too high for my tastes at freeway speeds, which is one of the reasons that I sold the bike. Taller gearing was introduced for the 1983 model.

Where I really wanted to comment was the handling of the bike. I had the unfaired, naked version of the bike, which reduced weight by some 50 lbs. The bike would slice through the turbulence left by large trucks on the highway, aided by its flat boxer engine. However, around turns I thought that this same aspect would produce countersteer. Almost as if the bike preferred to remain upright at all times.

A supremely reliable bike, best left to backroads and straight shots.