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Slammed! A Conservative Custom Gold Wing

So you thought the Gold Wing was just for touring? Wrong! How about a custom Gold Wing to shake things up – but not too much.

custom honda gold wing in garage side angle

There’s not much in the way of big cruisers remaining in Honda’s lineup these days—the bikes that might have been prime targets for customizers. The Rebels 300 and 500 received custom treatments when they were introduced and the results were impressive considering the limitations with which the customizers had to work. 

The most recent big cruiser—if one can admit that the Gold Wing sans the top case is a cruiser—to get the treatment is called “Cool Wing,” which debuted at Daytona Bike Week in March, and was created by Kevin Dunn, Duy Nguyen, Jimmy Chen and Ray Tong, of Southern California’s Steady Garage. We have seen many decorated Gold Wings but a custom Gold Wing is a not often seen bike.

The production 2019 Gold Wing touring machine is a contemporary version of the legendary “King of Motorcycles,” and the Steady Garage build team wanted to transform it into a bike that would represent their love for modern styling while paying homage to Honda’s robust Gold Wing heritage. The design challenge was to create something that was stylish but without straying too far from functionality. 

So you thought the Gold Wing was just for touring? Wrong! There’s not much in the way of big cruisers remaining in Honda’s lineup these days—the bikes that might have been prime targets for customizers. The Rebels 300 and 500 received custom treatments when they were introduced and the results were impressive considering the limitations with which the customizers had to work. The most recent big cruiser—if one can admit that the Gold Wing sans the top case is a cruiser—to get the treatment is called “Cool Wing,” which debuted at Daytona Bike Week in March, and was created by Kevin Dunn, Duy Nguyen, Jimmy Chen and Ray Tong, of Southern California’s Steady Garage. The production 2019 Gold Wing touring machine is a contemporary version of the legendary “King of Motorcycles,” and the Steady Garage build team wanted to transform it into a bike that would represent their love for modern styling while paying homage to Honda’s robust Gold Wing heritage. The design challenge was to create something that was stylish but without straying too far from functionality. Following an extensive draft process, designer Francis Clemente came up with a design that could stimulate both customizers and purists. Air suspension and batique-style mufflers were examples of elements that were key to creating the build’s silhouette, but a handcrafted leather saddle, bare metal details and scallops in the paint brought the Cool Wing to life. With one and a half months to bring the project from concept to reality, Steady Garage worked with partners to machine and fabricate special needed parts. Mooneyes built a mold specifically for the project in order to make the disc covers for the Gold Wing front rim, while Platinum Air Suspension provided air shocks to help achieve the slammed stance without sacrificing the ride height. The onboard air is stored on two Dirty Work stainless-steel air tanks, with air supplied by a single Viair 380c air compressor. Maxima Imagen painted over 33 individual parts, and Electrical Connection provided dress-up components. Cub Group supplied the industry’s first motorcycle blind-spot monitoring system (BSM), and Rogelio’s Auto Upholstery did a fantastic job with the seat. “Our team was ecstatic to be the chosen company to build a custom Gold Wing for Honda,” said Steady Garage Co-founder Kevin Dunn. “The project was very challenging due to the Gold Wing’s new design, as there was no guidance from any existing builds or projects that fit our style. Our hope was to build a custom Gold Wing that would be appreciated by riders of all ages, interests and backgrounds. “We had to make it look cool without stepping away from functionality. The bike has a lot of attitude, mixed with retro salt-flat inspired discs, scallop graphics and a low seat, and in our opinion the custom colours make it look very cool!” American Honda unveiled the custom as a part of its Daytona Bike Week activities. “The Gold Wing is one of our halo products,” said Honda Motorcycle Shows and Public Relations Manager Chris Cox, “and we wanted to highlight the fact that while it’s rightly known for its amazing touring capabilities, it’s also a very high-performance machine that can be appreciated by a broad range of enthusiasts. Steady Garage embraced that theme for this project, and we’re very pleased with the result. Cool Wing has a youthful, creative, exciting spirit, while still respecting the Gold Wing brand and what it stands for.”

Following an extensive draft process, designer Francis Clemente came up with a design for the custom Gold Wing that could stimulate both customizers and purists. Air suspension and batique-style mufflers were examples of elements that were key to creating the build’s silhouette, but a handcrafted leather saddle, bare metal details and scallops in the paint brought the Cool Wing to life.

With one and a half months to bring the project from concept to reality, Steady Garage worked with partners to machine and fabricate special needed parts. Mooneyes built a mold specifically for the project in order to make the disc covers for the Gold Wing front rim, while Platinum Air Suspension provided air shocks to help achieve the slammed stance without sacrificing the ride height. 

The onboard air is stored on two Dirty Work stainless-steel air tanks, with air supplied by a single Viair 380c air compressor. 

Maxima Imagen painted over 33 individual parts, and Electrical Connection provided dress-up components. Cub Group supplied the industry’s first motorcycle blind-spot monitoring system (BSM), and Rogelio’s Auto Upholstery did a fantastic job with the seat.

custom honda gold wing hidden gauges

The First of the New Honda Gold Wings Gets Re-Imagined

“Our team was ecstatic to be the chosen company to build a custom Gold Wing for Honda,” said Steady Garage Co-founder Kevin Dunn. “The project was very challenging due to the Gold Wing’s new design, as there was no guidance from any existing builds or projects that fit our style. Our hope was to build a custom Gold Wing that would be appreciated by riders of all ages, interests and backgrounds. 

“We had to make it look cool without stepping away from functionality. The bike has a lot of attitude, mixed with retro salt-flat inspired discs, scallop graphics and a low seat, and in our opinion the custom colours make it look very cool!”

American Honda unveiled the custom Gold Wing as a part of its Daytona Bike Week activities.

“The Gold Wing is one of our halo products,” said Honda Motorcycle Shows and Public Relations Manager Chris Cox, “and we wanted to highlight the fact that while it’s rightly known for its amazing touring capabilities, it’s also a very high-performance machine that can be appreciated by a broad range of enthusiasts. Steady Garage embraced that theme for this project, and we’re very pleased with the result. Cool Wing has a youthful, creative, exciting spirit, while still respecting the Gold Wing brand and what it stands for.”

Canadian Biker #342

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