Happy Birthday Golden Girl.
- Mark McCloskey
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
If the CB750 is the king of bikes, the Gold Wing is the king of kings.
Although unveiled to the world at the Paris and Cologne motor shows in October 1974, with deliveries to the global Honda dealer network throughout the Spring of '75. But there wasn’t a whiff of a Gold Wing on Irish roads for at least another year. This was due to a combination of Ireland’s depressed economic situation as well as the hefty IR£1,600, just under €2K, price tag -you’d be lucky if €2k would buy you new wheels for one today!
Ireland’s seemingly poor sales figures for the Gold Wing was by no means isolated, and indeed was reflected in most markets, with the notable exception of the USA, so much so that by the end of 1975 the Gold Wing had achieved less than 10% of the sales that Honda had forecast for their new flagship. Always proactive, Honda. Slashed the price to IR£1,250 to get sales moving. This helped a bit, but nothing like what was required to shift the volume of bikes that had been anticipated and that were now languishing in dealerships across the world.
Essentially, consumers were unsure as to which category the Gold Wing fitted into. Honda had conceived and designed the Gold Wing as a step-up from the hugely successful CB750 which was launched in 1969 and enjoyed rocketing sales figures year on year throughout its' decade long production run. Indeed a sales mantra often used by Honda dealers back then was: The CB750 is the king of bikes, the Gold Wing is the king of kings! The Gold Wing was heralded as Honda’s flagship, the next big step on its' quest to global dominance.
With the very first Gold Wings Honda got so many things right, or even perfect. For instance, the fuel tank is significantly larger than say the Z1 or the CB750, enabling longer journeys. In addition, the tank is located under the seat instead of the traditional location between the rider and the 'bars, giving the bike a lower centre of gravity for more nimble manoeuvrability on back roads. Also, the horizontally opposed longitudal flat-four, 999cc motor was the ideal unit for the virtually maintenance-free shaft drive giving a smooth, comfortable ride over long distances. Thus becoming a bone fide tourer which was very reliable and could cover long distances without missing a beat. Add to this it had a radiator, the first Japanese water-cooled 4-stroke, and you have a machine ideally positioned for long trouble-free journeys. some of the smaller details that were not included, ones that consumer research showed only added to the sense of confusion as to which market sector this flagship Honda was aimed at, prevented the initial success that the Gold Wing deserved. This was a big, at the time 1 Litre motorcycle was considered huge, tourer without any luggage capacity. It took a few years before alternative suppliers appeared with a selection of colour-coded panniers and fairings to satisfy demand.
Another useful addition, a grease nipple for the drive shaft, didn’t appear for another two years. The Gold Wing’s biggest successes were in USA where it competed effortlessly with customers of bikes like Harley-Davidson’s Electra Glide among others, where it’s ‘plenty of torque, delivered smoothly’ while also being surprisingly nimble and had buckets of power’ being attractive adages for the buying public over there. Indeed, such was the overall success of sales in the US that Honda moved Gold Wing assembly to Marysville Ohio where it remained for almost thirty years until relocating to Honda’s Kumamoto factory in 2011.
The shape and size of the Gold Wing morphed constantly throughout the past fifty years of production, from the four cylinder 999cc, the smallest model which we see here today to the biggest, a 1,832cc flat six that appeared in 2001.
This original, unrestored Gold Wing is from 1975, the first production run. It was sold in Kent, in the U.K, in the Spring of '75 and had already done several thousand miles by that December when current owner Maurice Keane bought it. Word was out that Honda were about to drop the price because, at the time, you couldn’t give them away, so Maurice was happy to buy at IR£980, an almost 40% drop after eleven months. Maurice was serving with the Royal Navy then and bought it while on shore leave. He was then able to efficiently re-register it in Ireland under a transfer of residency when he left the navy in 1979 by which time the mileage had increased to 35,000. He was also able to arrange a cool number plate, SZN999, at no additional cost.
When I called over to Baltray to view the bike it was up on Maurice’s bench getting a deep clean, and when I say a deep clean that’s exactly what was in process. This Gold Wing was pretty much immaculate when I saw it out on a run last year as well as some ten years previously on it’s 40th birthday, but 2025 is a special milestone and Maurice feels that it deserves the very best, and besides, it was as good an opportunity as any to change the belts which were last done fifteen years, or 15,000 miles ago. A tiny chip while removing the petrol tank could’ve been touched up, remember, you cannot see the petrol tank- it’s neatly concealed under the seat, but for this beautiful girl’s 50th birthday, the fuel tank got a full re spray.
But only the fuel tank, the rest of the paintwork is as it left Japan fifty years ago. “This bike is maintained out of my wife’s clothing allowance” Maurice declares keeping a straight face but in a hushed tone so as not to be overheard through the open door of the nearby kitchen. The paintwork throughout, including the frame, is so perfect that, with 90,000 miles on the clock, I assumed it had had a re spray at some stage in its life, but Maurice was quick to assure me that all paintwork is totally original. ‘But surely you’ve changed the silencers’, I asked. ‘Yes of course, three times’ ,is this like Trigger’s brush?, ‘but a silencer, like tyres, battery, spark plugs etc, is a usable part’, and Maurice assures me that he has only, ever, used genuine, New Old Stock (N.O.S.) Honda parts.
I left Maurice to get on with his reassembly and arranged to call back two weeks later to monitor progress. By then the ‘Wing was definitely taking shape, and was sporting its freshly polished alloy and chrome engine covers as well as its ultra sonically-cleaned carbs.
I owned a few 400/4s and 500/4s back in the day, these were also 70s Hondas that also had both push button and kick starters, and I was always curious as to where exactly the kickstarter was located on these first evolution Gold Wings. Well, it’s located in a neat compartment behind the saddle, very cool. But even cooler, Maurice was able to take it out, insert it into the starter housing and, using only his hand, turn it over and fire up the engine. Very impressive! Incidentally, the kick starter was only a feature for the first two years of production. By 1977, the virtually identical KH model came without one and consequently is worth considerably less than this GL model.
So, what constitutes a decent run for this aging beauty these days? Well, I pulled up outside Kennedy’s motorcycle shop in Drogheda two weeks later to find out. Kennedy’s, now ably run by third generation family member, James, is something of an institution in Ireland’s motorcycling pantheon and has been in business since 1949. Maurice’s superb Gold Wing was parked neatly outside, meticulously reassembled, and while he finished off a coffee I had a quick look around the impressive array of bikes lined up throughout the premises. Lo and behold there was an original maroon Gold Wing with low mileage that has been ‘sleeping’ for several years. I’m sure, if the price was right, it would make a great classic. But before I had the chance to make enquiries it was time to head off.
I followed as I wanted to observe the ‘Wing’s handling. We put up just over 100km passing Monasterboice, Blackrock, Dundalk, Castlebellingham and then Ardee. I was suitably impressed with both the handling and the pace of this fifty year old bike. Indeed it showed me why the Gold Wing was billed as a sports tourer, rather than just a tourer.
I then followed Maurice in to Clogherhead village on the way back and he took an impromptu detour along the narrow, twisty road that runs down to the pier where Kirwans Fish shop. They operate a chip wagon year round from Thursday to Sunday offering a fine selection of the very freshest fish with piping hot golden chips. Everything is cooked on demand and takes a good ten minutes from placing your order to collecting and devouring same at the picnic benches alongside. This is just enough time to stroll to the end of the pier and back. There was very little conversation while we ate, I guess the food was just perfect and I suppose I was more hungry than I’d realised. I rode home afterwards feeling warm and satisfied and promising myself that I will definitely do this run again soon. I wish all Saturdays were this good.
Happy Birthday Golden Girl!
