Honda GL1000 Goldwing Street Tracker

[:es]Honda GL1000 Goldwing Street Tracker. Ya sabéis lo que suele pasar con estas motos. Solo con una mirada fugaz cuando pasan delante de tu camino te encandila y hacen que te enamores de ellas con una sola mirada, eso es lo que me ha pasado a mí. Aunque había visto esta moto en varias fotos, webs y revistas, hasta que no tuve una delante no me di cuenta  de lo fabulosa que es esta moto y el carisma que tiene.

¿Hay sitio para dos? No hay problema en una Honda GL1000 Goldwing!

Bueno, cuando me encontré con la GL1000 de 1978 la semana pasada de Mike Audette, supe que había encontrado una máquina gemela. Las Wings pueden parecer una moto extraña para una cafe racer o una transformación street tracker, pero tienen un gran potencial y puede ser barato ya que no hay que hacerle gran cantidad de cambios porque la moto te lo da casi todo. Además de la facilidad y la versatilidad de convertirla en una Cafe Racer, Street Tracker o en Scrambler. La GL1100 y la GL1200 creo que se adaptarían mejor para hacerlas Bobber o Brat Style.

Honda GL1000 Goldwing Street Tracker

Como podéis apreciar, se ha creado una composición muy sencilla. Se han quitado los guardabarros, el subchasis se le ha subido un poco para que el asiento que está hecho a mano, esté un poco encorvado hacia arriba. Se le ha puesto luz trasera e intermitentes pequeños y de led.

En la parte delantera, tanto el doble faro como el velocímetro, más pequeño, dejan muy despejado el panel frontal. Las suspensiones y el cambio del tubo de escape son los otros pequeños cambios que comento que se han hecho.

Aunque en España es una moto difícil de conseguir, creo que si quieres decantarte por una moto y no sabes cual, esta sería una gran elección.

Fotos: Jessie Smith www.jessicasmithphotography.com[:en]Honda GL1000 Goldwing Street Tracker. You know how there are those bikes that you get only a fleeting glance of as they blast down the road, and by the time you haul around the steering wheel or handlebars to chase them down for a better look, they’re gone, quick as a ghost? That happened to me with a custom Goldwing a few years ago. I saw that boxer engine flash past, built like a train, and it was too late by the time I got turned around.

Two-up riding? No problem on a Honda GL1000 Goldwing!

Well, when I came across Mike Audette’s ’78 GL1000 last week, I knew I’d found a kindred machine. ‘Wings may seem a strange platform for a cafe or tracker build, but they are powerful, cheap, and you can actually ride them clear across the county–hell, the country–without your hands and feet going numb from vibration. Plus, that flat-four is one mean hunk of power. Mike makes another fine point:  you can easily ride two-up on a Goldwing–scoring you big points with your boy or girlfriend.

The Build Story

In the words of builder Mike Audette:

I had been searching for a bike for several months, not having anything specific in mind. I just wanted something older that would need some work but still had enough power to ride 2 up easily. I came across this GL1000 on eBay and knew I needed it. 

The stock bike just had such a heavy look to it, I wanted to lighten it up but not change its styling too much. I started removing things right away and noticed how much better it looked and showed off that massive horizontal 4 cylinder boxer engine. It was a chain reaction from there, and I started pulling things off and replacing them. Here’s a list of things I did to the Wing:

New Renthal handlebars, Biltwell grips, bar end mirrors, a new master cylinder, stainless steel brake lines, rebuilt calipers, new mini speedometer and tachometer from Dime City Cycles, new speedo and tach cables, new exhaust mini mufflers, dual headlights, fork gaiters, new turn signals, LED rear tail light, shaved and reupholstered seat, custom license plate mount, new Honda tank decals and whitewall tire paint applied to the letters on the tires, new rear shocks, painted wheels, repainted various parts, rewired everything, lowered forks, lots of cleaning and polishing.

This bike was my winter project and I’m hoping to get another bike project going soon!

Photo Credits:  Jessie Smith of www.jessicasmithphotography.com

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