Friday Forum Foraging: 2001 Honda GL 1800A Gold Wing
More comfortable than my recliner.
Deep down, in the far reaches of your brain, lie thoughts about riding a Gold Wing across the country. With your feet up, radio blasting, your significant other sitting in back, and the hum of the six-cylinder purring away as the miles melt away; how could you not want to give the ‘Wing a go? It doesn’t matter what you ride now, or what genre of motorcycling you identify with – Gold Wings permeate past every single niche. What’s not to love about riding a couch on wheels?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, this lovely example of a 2001 Honda GL 1800A Gold Wing is tastefully-outfitted, ready to go, and will only set you back $7800. Located in the California Bay Area, this week’s Friday Forum Foraging submission comes to us from the Bay Area Rider’s Forum, more commonly known as BARF.
First listed in April of 2021 (no, that’s not a typo), the seller says he’s been reluctant to place an ad for it anywhere other than BARF and the GL forums because of nightmare stories of scammers targeting sellers on Craigslist and sellers getting held at gunpoint from seemingly innocent parties who want a motorcycle but have no intention of paying for it.
And so, here we are. You can see for yourself from these pictures that this ‘Wing has been well cared for during its 20,000 miles on the road. With an engine with more cylinders than my car, I’d probably pick this thing to motor across the country with if I had to pick between the two.
Look at how glorious that thing is. Clean, shiny, and bright, the bike looks just as good as it did when it rolled out of whatever dealership it was sold from 22 years ago. The paint still looks great and all the chrome looks just as good. It’s probably a safe bet that whatever lies behind all that chrome and plastic has probably been well-maintained, too. The seller states that the bike recently has had an oil change with Mobil 1 and a genuine Honda oil filter, and even the final drive oil has been changed.
Talk about the lap of luxury, these Hartco seats for both the pilot and copilot are lush. Those backrests look like they can give you a hug, and the passenger even has plush arm rests to enjoy. Amazing. If, for whatever reason, you want the stock seats back on, the seller says he still has them and will include them with the bike. But why?
The view from the captain’s chair looks a little Starship Enterprise with all those buttons for lights, cruise control, CB radio, torpedoes, shields, missiles, and whatever else comes from Starfleet command, then he went and added to it with the phone mount, GoPro mount (with integrated power cord), and even a “deer deterrent thing.” It looks busy, but like all vehicles, you get used to it after a while.
While the bike is nearly immaculate, the seller notes the single blemish on the bike: some scratches on the left mirror “from a 0 mph drop.”
Really, for dropping such a big and heavy bike in the driveway, those scratches don’t look that bad and could probably buff right out. Frankly, I’m surprised the mirror didn’t break off.
Someone get this Gold Wing and rack up more miles on the odometer like Mr. Honda intended. It seems like a great deal for the right person.
Check out the listing here.
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Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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I can't let the wife see that backrest and arm rests or she'll never get on the back of the FZ-1 again. Wait a minute...
Even if I did long distance travel I doubt I'd pick the Accord of bikes.
I've noticed used bike prices coming down. Just watch the FED to get an approximation of the bottom. There will be deals.
This is the owner/seller. Someone on BARF pointed me here. The bike is for sale due to the better half co-pilot having had hip replacement surgery. She's not going to get back on the Wing. This bike was purchased so that we could enjoy touring on the thing. We had alot of fun on it. I'll be sad when it sells but it's not same going solo. Many other MC's to ride. The bike is near showroom new looking and running. It is ready for a loooong journey. No big hurry to sell. I keep threatening to take it on another journey and may still. BTW, I am a collector/hot rodder/restorer of "vintage" 2 strokes and take extremely good care of my bikes. Ken's Garage on YT. I can be reached via email rzdood at gmail. Thanks.