Previewing in Toronto, Ontario by Appointment. Please contact [email protected] for scheduling.

'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.' Motorcycle Classics

In a world grown accustomed to an excess of decadence on all fronts, it is hard to imagine the mixture of awe and disbelief that greeted the Honda Gold Wing on its arrival in 1974. 'Motorcycle or sci-fi fantasy?' was Bike magazine's reaction. 'Quite simply the most advanced motorcycle ever made,' was Honda's preferred description, and given the mind-boggling specification - 1,000cc flat-four engine, water cooling, belt-driven overhead camshafts, shaft drive, triple disc brakes, etc - it was certainly complex if not, strictly speaking, that advanced. One of the fastest production motorcycles of its day, the Gold Wing was described in Honda's Stateside ads as 'the epitome of what touring is all about' and proved eminently capable of taking sales from both BMW and Harley-Davidson. As owners began to fit more and more accessories - including trailers the size of small caravans - engine capacity was increased first to 1,100cc and then to 1,200cc to cope with the increasing demands for more power. Over the years the 'Wing' has continued to grow in engine capacity, overall size and complexity, which only serves to underline the increasingly collectible original's purity of form.

The GL1000 presented here belongs to a large collection of motorcycles located in the surrounds of Toronto. That cruising icon shows about 62k km (about 38k miles) and appears to be in all original condition.