What to do with an old Gold Wing

I like the other one..the 67 Bonnie in Aubergine and white. My dream retro
 
Thread starter
Thought about doing a similar project as I often see vintage Gold Wings on Craig's List. The early pre-fairing Wings were good riding bikes with decent power and handling. And that boxer 4 is so smooth.
 
I don't know much about the old GDub's. Or the new ones for that matter...

Is the bodywork the original stuff or something the builder re-tasked? The frame and suspension look original. Or definitely of that era.
 
Thread starter
Body work on this example looks original except for the seat. The manager of the local Honda dealer was a good friend and allowed me a test ride on the first Wing they received back in the '70s. It was a beautiful red, similar to the '13 CB and with gold accents. It was touted as a super bike at that time and had no fairing or any touring accessories. Early non faired bikes appear almost Lilliputian compared with the heavy tourers this breed evolved into.
 
redbirds_imp said:
Body work on this example looks original except for the seat. The manager of the local Honda dealer was a good friend and allowed me a test ride on the first Wing they received back in the '70s. It was a beautiful red, similar to the '13 CB and with gold accents. It was touted as a super bike at that time and had no fairing or any touring accessories. Early non faired bikes appear almost Lilliputian compared with the heavy tourers this breed evolved into.
Click to expand...
There's several GWs in the club I occasionally ride with. They seem like a damn car to me, but what the hell. The riders definitely like them, at least they're out there riding. And they do seem to ride them a lot.
 
The Spaceman_imp said:
redbirds_imp said:
Body work on this example looks original except for the seat. The manager of the local Honda dealer was a good friend and allowed me a test ride on the first Wing they received back in the '70s. It was a beautiful red, similar to the '13 CB and with gold accents. It was touted as a super bike at that time and had no fairing or any touring accessories. Early non faired bikes appear almost Lilliputian compared with the heavy tourers this breed evolved into.
Click to expand...
There's several GWs in the club I occasionally ride with. They seem like a damn car to me, but what the hell. The riders definitely like them, at least they're out there riding. And they do seem to ride them a lot.
Click to expand...
There's several GWs in the club I occasionally ride with. They seem like a damn car to me, but what the hell. The riders definitely like them, at least they're out there riding. And they do seem to ride them a lot.
When I was signing up for my CB I got bored and wandered around the showroom, ended up sitting on a new 2013 GoldWang.

It was reduced from something like £26000 to £21000 and looked larger than my dining room table. I just looked at it, thought about the sort of journey you'd need to justify it, then thought WHY???

You lose almost all the benefits a bike offers and lose a lot of the benefits a car or van offers. It's between a rock and a hard place, and at stupid money.

I'd imagine a lot of wealthy old biffs buy them with a rosy lensed view of their use, only to never cross continents, or cruise to the coast for fresh fish, or the bakers in the valley on a Sunday morning for fresh croissants.

No, they sit in the garage, being too intimidating to ride, and thus end up being an overpriced armchair which old fat men sit on in their garage and listen to the radio, maybe with a bandana round their heads.
 
Thread starter
Tortuga_imp said:
The Spaceman_imp said:
redbirds_imp said:
Body work on this example looks original except for the seat. The manager of the local Honda dealer was a good friend and allowed me a test ride on the first Wing they received back in the '70s. It was a beautiful red, similar to the '13 CB and with gold accents. It was touted as a super bike at that time and had no fairing or any touring accessories. Early non faired bikes appear almost Lilliputian compared with the heavy tourers this breed evolved into.
Click to expand...
There's several GWs in the club I occasionally ride with. They seem like a damn car to me, but what the hell. The riders definitely like them, at least they're out there riding. And they do seem to ride them a lot.
Click to expand...
There's several GWs in the club I occasionally ride with. They seem like a damn car to me, but what the hell. The riders definitely like them, at least they're out there riding. And they do seem to ride them a lot.
When I was signing up for my CB I got bored and wandered around the showroom, ended up sitting on a new 2013 GoldWang.

It was reduced from something like £26000 to £21000 and looked larger than my dining room table. I just looked at it, thought about the sort of journey you'd need to justify it, then thought WHY???

You lose almost all the benefits a bike offers and lose a lot of the benefits a car or van offers. It's between a rock and a hard place, and at stupid money.

I'd imagine a lot of wealthy old biffs buy them with a rosy lensed view of their use, only to never cross continents, or cruise to the coast for fresh fish, or the bakers in the valley on a Sunday morning for fresh croissants.

No, they sit in the garage, being too intimidating to ride, and thus end up being an overpriced armchair which old fat men sit on in their garage and listen to the radio, maybe with a bandana round their heads.
Click to expand...
There's several GWs in the club I occasionally ride with. They seem like a damn car to me, but what the hell. The riders definitely like them, at least they're out there riding. And they do seem to ride them a lot.
When I was signing up for my CB I got bored and wandered around the showroom, ended up sitting on a new 2013 GoldWang.

It was reduced from something like £26000 to £21000 and looked larger than my dining room table. I just looked at it, thought about the sort of journey you'd need to justify it, then thought WHY???

You lose almost all the benefits a bike offers and lose a lot of the benefits a car or van offers. It's between a rock and a hard place, and at stupid money.

I'd imagine a lot of wealthy old biffs buy them with a rosy lensed view of their use, only to never cross continents, or cruise to the coast for fresh fish, or the bakers in the valley on a Sunday morning for fresh croissants.

No, they sit in the garage, being too intimidating to ride, and thus end up being an overpriced armchair which old fat men sit on in their garage and listen to the radio, maybe with a bandana round their heads.
Many Gold Wings are ridden regularly here in the States where a large touring bike like this actually finds a niche, covering long mileage days on high speed interstate highways. I meet often with a friend for lunch who belongs to a club of mostly Wing riders. Many of these bikes have in excess of 100K miles despite being only a few years old. One fellow in their group has 275K miles on his Gold Wing. For long days on four laned super slabs at 80+ the Wing excels and in many areas of the US this is the common venue. Not for me or the way I like to tour but to each his own.
 
I really loved the original GL1000. A friend of mine had one and we traded bikes often. I completely lost interest in them when Honda turned them into fully dressed touring bikes.

If I was going to do a resto, I'd just return it to it's stock form.

a8b5602d34b4932b62a3e0b5a4221ad6.jpg
 
Reminds me of the Ford Thunderbird. Started out as a nice little two seater and morphed into large boat. Not as big as a Lincoln but a tub none the less.

We have counties over here bigger than Jolly ol' England. Once you get on the super slab and try to get across the Dakota's (or gawd help you; Texas) Kansas, Nebraska etc. you'll kill for a Goldwing. I used to tour across Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana. A wing would have been glorious.
 
And that is why it morphed into the big tub it currently is. Radio, CB, reverse gear, trailer hitch, and two large Americans at 85 mph all day long and then climb over the Rockies without even slowing down!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Flynrider_imp said:
I really loved the original GL1000. A friend of mine had one and we traded bikes often. I completely lost interest in them when Honda turned them into fully dressed touring bikes.

If I was going to do a resto, I'd just return it to it's stock form.

a8b5602d34b4932b62a3e0b5a4221ad6.jpg
Click to expand...
A big +1 to that!
 
RetroSeattle_imp said:
Believe it or not, this GL1000 competed in the Isle of Man TT.
Click to expand...
define competed :rofl:
 
Back in the day that thing snorted. Compared to today's bikes it's pretty tame. But back then.....
 
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