Unlike some liquid cooled engines that are disguised to appear to be air cooled with bolt-on cooling fins, the GL 500 engine made no such pretense. The GL 500’s engine was an attention-getter.It is a liquid-cooled, 80-degree pushrod V-twin, with four valves per cylinder, displacing 497cc. The technical derring-do Honda exhibited in the bike’s design is impressive.As with most motorcycles, the engine tends to be one of the most prominent features. Purchased from a private party, the GL-500 was preserved in pretty good order, overall.Even after 23 years and more than 22,000 miles everything worked and that’s saying something considering how much of everything there is with this bike. I admit it, when it comes to such technical innovations, I can be pretty slow on the uptake.I owned my 1982 GL 500 Silver Wing for about three years, only selling it to make room for a 1984 Honda V30 Magna. I was even more skeptical about the GL-500 Silver Wing.I thought, who needs liquid cooling, shaft drive and air adjustable suspension front and rear? Who needs interchangeable seats and travel trunks? Who wants that goofy looking engine with cylinders popping out the sides of the bike making it look like a low-budget Moto-Guzzi? Who wants that prominent radiator hung out there on the front?As it turned out, lots and lots of people wanted those things, including me – about 20 years later. When a friend bought a new CX-500 in 1978, I was certain the model would die on the vine.
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