In 1972 a small group of engineers and designers came together in Honda`s factory at Wako in Japan. Since the launch of the CB750 in 1969, other powerfull machines had overtaken it in performance and prestige. The motorcycle the designers came up with was a bike no one had ever seen before. The Honda OAK(M1), the prototype worldbeater, was a flat-six, single overhead cam, 1470cc monster. It weighted 484lbs (220kg), had a bore and stroke of 72x60mm. Compression ratio of 8.0 to 1, breathed through a downdraught twobarrel carburettor and developed 80bhp at 6700rpm. It`s wheelbase was 1480mm, carried a 20-litre feul tank, wore a 4.00x18 rear tyre, a 3.25x19 front tyre, 12 seconds standing quarter mile and top speed of 130mph(220kmh).
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Only one prototype was build, and test riders reported the engine was "dead smooth" throughout the rev range. It had lots of power and felt extremely stable thanks to it`s low centre of gravity. Main drawback was the length of the engine wich made a decent driving posotion impossible, so the AOK (M1)was added to the list of motorcycles the world never saw. |
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Honda felt that a more practical approach lay in a flat-four engine layout, so they designed a flat four water cooled, belt-driven single overhead camshaft, four carburettors, 999cc displacement, 80bhp at 7500rpm, five speed gearbox and a whole bunch of other ideas together for the first time in one motorcycle.
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The pre-production GL1000 had minor things the production model didn`t have or where changed. The pre-production had a lock to lock the dummy tank.
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Other details are: No GL1000 on the side covers, one curved line on the lower part of the tankdummy. Front brakehoses were attached to the front fender at another place. The high tension leads were fastened near the carbs with 2 clamps, only 1 at the production model. The pre prod. model had self-canceling indicators.
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If you got more info about the pre-production GL1000, or very high
resolution pictures I can use, let me know.
Pictures and text from Honda`s 20 anniversary book.
