Looking back, it’s easy to think the first Honda GL1000 Gold Wing in 1975 was a revolutionary motorcycle. It was, in fact, evolutionary, built to appeal to the American bigger-is-better theory. Today, the Honda Gold Wing is an icon for the cross-country touring motorcycle. But back in the day, it was just Honda’s best guess at what Americans wanted in a touring motorcycle.

In the well-lit upstairs offices of any large corporation you’ll find legions of employees who do nothing but analyze things like costs and expectations. Like any huge corporation, Honda’s headquarters had (and has) bean-counters by the bushel, and founder Soichiro Honda, impressed by the strength of the American market, wanted to build a motorcycle that would specifically appeal to U.S. buyers: He told his boys to look into it.