Speaking of the flat-6, it was interesting to see what Honda was thinking when they made the switch from a flat-4 in the 80s.

The GW kept getting heavier, and their efforts to squeeze out every drop of power from the Four was resulting is a reduction in smooth and vibration free power delivery, a hallmark of the GW power plants, and one of their original goals back in '75 when the original Wing was born.

So, they went to the Six, which they could keep as a SOHC two-valve per cylinder that still made strong power but without the vibration and raspy side effects from the tuned up Four.

That explains to me, fairly new to the Wing scene, why it has a low-tech Six...its about consistent, big power (though not sport bike power), but the minimal vibration and rough character that can come from too much tuning to too few cylinders.

Go ride any twin at 60 mph, then ride a Wing at 60, and you can see why they did what they did.

Hey Honda, just thrown in a 6th gear now to get 60 mph revs down to 2200!!