In its modern iteration, I wholeheartedly believe that the Honda Gold Wing ─ relative to its intended purpose ─ is the greatest motorcycle in the world. It is very hard to find another bike that does what it’s supposed to do as well as the Wing. So, this (somewhat suspiciously) affordable first-gen model speaks to me.
Developed with the US market in mind, the GL1000 Gold Wing was first introduced in 1975 with considerably less bling than the Gold Wing we know today. That’s because Honda had intended it as a supersport model. Driven by a 999cc four-stroke, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine, it was like nothing else on the market at the time. What’s interesting is that although the bike was created for the US market, Honda doesn’t appear to have done a lot of market research into how US riders might actually use their product. Rather than hooning around tracks on the GL1000, Americans added fairing and other touring accouterments and took the thing on long-haul journeys.
It was only later iterations of the Gold Wing that were equipped with the bells and whistles we associate with the model ─ with Honda simply copying the sort of thing its customers were already doing. Ignoring some apparent water damage in the speedometer, this particular model seems to be in pretty good condition, which makes me even more suspicious of the price. According to the seller, the only issues are “smoke from the left exhaust on warm up (common for boxer motors left on kickstand) and a chatter from the primary chain at idle (also common on higher mile bikes).”
That stuff in parentheses comes from the seller, by the way ─ not me. Feel free to discuss the veracity of such claims in the comments below. “Has original owners manual and tool kit in the glove box,” the ad continues. “Starts, runs, rides, and stops well.”
If I didn’t live in England I would be speeding my way to the Buckeye State to check out this piece of history in person. With the Gold Wing set to celebrate its 50th year in production next year, owning an original (or, well, mostly original ─ the pipes are from a later model Gold Wing) would feel all that more special.
You can find this GL1000 Gold Wing for sale in Ravena, Ohio for $1,500 here on Facebook Marketplace.