Gold Wing Interstate

The Interstate nameplate began as Honda’s factory full-dress touring version of the Gold Wing line, first appearing for the 1980 model year on the GL1100. It marked an important turning point for the series, adding the kind of integrated touring equipment that helped define the modern luxury motorcycle segment and made the Gold Wing especially influential in North America. Honda continued to use the Interstate designation through the next Gold Wing era, including the GL1200 generation that carried the touring formula forward in the mid-1980s. After that four-cylinder run ended, the Gold Wing family moved on to the all-new GL1500 platform, and the Interstate name later returned on the GL1500I in the early 1990s. Because the nameplate was discontinued and later revived, it should be treated as a model with multiple production periods rather than one uninterrupted build. The Interstate is historically significant as the Gold Wing variant that most directly established Honda’s long-distance touring identity, with factory fairing and luggage making it one of the first Japanese motorcycles to be sold as a true turn-key tourer.