There are two things I particularly love to see in custom vehicles: Handmade artistic details and a hard commitment to an aesthetic theme. This 2004 Honda Gold Wing has both—big time.
The Gold Wing is a staple of American highways, combining the breeze of a bike with the comfort of (almost) a car. You often see them decorated with cute customizations or maybe an extra cargo box for a long haul. This one has cargo boxes, and a trailer hitch, and a freaking sidecar, and delightfully ornate airbrush-style self-referential art. It’s the most Gold Wing Gold Wing. It’s the final boss of the breed.
My buddy Joel and I were musing about our advancing ages and unironic appreciation for Honda Gold Wing motorcycles just a couple of weekends ago. There was a time when I really wanted to get a ‘Wing, rip all the fairings off and turn the handlebars upside-down to make it into some kind of hot rod. Now I’m thinking I’d be nice to tuck in behind those fairings, pack the wife behind me and dog into a sidecar, and cruise on down Pennsylvania backroads or something.
I think whoever set up this 2004 Gold Wing and California Friendship II sidecar combo had the same idea. Check this thing out; the Disney Ride-looking sidecar caught my eye, but the murals and pinstriping captured my adoration. It’s just perfect.
On the back, the names “Joe and Nancy” are scripted, and then there’s not one but two murals of the bike itself (presumably mounted by Joe and Nancy) flying off into space, with a couple of dogs wearing jetpacks in the background.
The bike’s being sold with 62,583 miles on it, a staggeringly high number for a motorcycle, so it looks like the previous owners got a lot of joy from this bike. You can pick up where they left off—it’s listed for sale in the northwestern corner of New York State for $11,900.
A few of the ad pictures are bizarrely low-rez, like, I’m surprised somebody still has the cord for whatever 0.5-megapixel camera took some of these. But there are enough clear shots of the artwork for us to appreciate it.
That’s all I really wanted you to do; appreciate this artwork and give ol’ Joe and Nancy a nod for racking up so many miles on this thing. But the sidecar setup is pretty cool itself. It’s not a Honda product, it’s an aftermarket one called the California Friendship II. I guess it effectively makes the Gold Wing a three-wheeler. It has two parallel seats, so this motorcycle could (safely?) carry four passengers. Wild.
Here’s hoping whoever adopts it next puts another 60,000 miles on it… and leaves the airbrushing intact.
Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com