January 2010 - The 1st year Honda Gold Wing will be AMCA eligible

[RSmith]

Intesting note I found on one of the Honda Gold Wing riders webpages.

"Wow! Has it been that long? In 1975 the Gold Wing was released
to America and the world, as the first production version of the now
famous touring bike. It was ultimately deemed to be a tremendous
success and in 2010, the 1975 "Wing" will be 35 years old and A.M.C.A.
"Legal" for judging and participation in their events."

[Robert Luland]

I'm just piss'en my pants with joy! Just can't what for the Boulevards turn.

[Barry Brown]

Now please don't take this personally but here is my take on the Gold Wing as it applies to our hobby and possibly this club . They may be incredible engineering marvels but they have ZERO soul. Just like every new Harley and any other post circa 1974 bike has ZERO soul. What is soul in a bike? Well a big part of it is the ever present thought that you can break down anywhere and be forced to rely on your wits and possibly the help of strangers therefore creating a bond between rider and machine . Check out the movie "The World's fastest Indian" and you will see the greatest on screen portrayal of the true motorcycling ethos ever. Riding a Gold Wing is akin to abdication , giving up, throwing in the towel for a true vintage biker. To me I could care less about helping the club grow by adopting this 35 year rule. Gold Wings and all other bikes since it's inception belong in different clubs.

[Ohio-Rider]

Barry, I couldn’t agree more with your definition of soul. It is just as you say in my eyes as well, yet who can be the judge in such matters?

Antique Motorcycle Club of America. If it’s an antique, by yhe clubs defination then I think we are obliged to allow them in our club.

Lots of people interested in the British/German/Italian, ect…. bikes, just like me. If their 35 yrs. old then I say welcome to our club. That includes the Wings. I can’t believe I just said that.

[exeric]

Barry, I have never heard it put that way but you nailed it. I respect Honda, and the Gold Wing certainly has it's place in the pantheon of motorcycling but it's in the pantheon that's behind the pantheon that has all of the good bikes in it.

[DaveSwanson]

Not much can be done to hold back the sands of time...

I do think a well sorted first year Wing is interesting to look at.

[c.o.]

Barry that was some way to put it..... I wholeheartedly agree. You delicately put in print what I believe a lot of us were thinking. I believe everyone has a right to their preference of motorcycles. I would never judge a fellow for liking a Goldwing or any other motorcycle that I'm not particularily interested in. I do however like what I believe to be old bikes. You were generous with 1974....... if I had my way it would be cut off to around 1957... I already skip reading the articles on these "modern" type of bikes in our magazine and I can only hope that eventually this rule gets a review. What happens when the eighties and nineties machines become eligible? Man.... the shows and events will be so packed with the stuff that it will alienate (or drown) the people with the "real" antiques and then what will become of the club? Sure, it will likely still be profitable with it's influx of new members but where will the "Soul" have gone? I would rather see the club stay smaller and about old bikes than see it turn into "big business"........ just another opinion......for what it's worth.

[flat-happy]

i can't imagine the day the new harley clone ripoff indians become 35 years old-----oh wait a minute----i'll probably be dead by then----so that's how it works----

[Rubone]

The Gold wing will actually be eligible sooner than that as it goes by production date not calendar date.. And the first of the production is right around the corner. I remember a few years back when the club decided to allow bikes at the 35 year cut-off. Everyone wanted it because it allowed their Pans and early Shovels to be considered for inclusion. But suddenly, it might include Gold Wings! The bike that nearly destroyed H-D. OK, lets go back to the '54 or earlier rule that we had before. And all of you can leave your Duo-Glides and Sportsters at home. And your Bonnevilles, Dreams , and R60s. And we can all be a bunch of elitist buttheads living in a dying world. We may love these old bikes, but we are a diminishing group. Every day one of the old timers is gone, and like it or not, we cannot stop time or fill the shoes of those gone before. I personally don't like Japanese motorcycles, don't own any , don't ride any. But I respect the right of anyone who chooses to. And if the club accepts them I welcome them as they become eligible. And if you don't it might be time to consider why you cannot and if it is time to move on. It is easy to talk about simple times and early technology as you read this in front of your computer screen isn't it!
Robbie

[c.o.]

All valid points Robbie.......it's always interesting to hear differing opinions. I guess from my point of view I joined a club that included all the great old bikes that I like. It's hard for some of us with dinosaur mentalities to accept change........

[silentgreyfello]

I can appreciate all the negative thoughts on the goldwing. I harbored those for years. I then took a spin on a friend's and had to have one, even though I wouldn't have been caught dead on one not so long ago. As I get older, I can appreciate a little comfort and reliability once in awhile. I love the early pre-16 stuff and have some bikes from the 30's, 40's and 60's, but when I want to unwind from a hectic day of work or dealing with traffic jams, I will often get on my goldwing for a drive up State-Route 503 to Mt. St. Helens. It is a blissful ride, one of the most comfortable steeds ever, and it ALWAYS makes it home contrary to some of my other bikes. After all, it is the enjoyment of the ride that I am after, and it does have soul... just a bit quieter and smoother and more reliable than others, though not as cool to look at.

As for the Goldwing's entry into the AMCA... I am not ready for that but here it comes.

[Barry Brown]

Besides the previous point I made about reliability or lack thereof being endearing and therefore creating a challenge, "modern" bikes lost some appeal to me with the adoption of 'die cast ' engine parts and copious quantities of plastic. This is not just a sentiment of a grumpy old biker, witness the astonishing value of the first Honda 750 with SAND CAST crankcases compared to the later die cast amongst collectors of Japanese bikes. To me, a sand cast MV Agusta engine is a work of art . Most of us after all are collectors, and lower production hand made has more appeal than mass produced. An early knucklehead is a more reliable and in some ways better engineered bike than a same year Crocker but which one would you rather have in your collection?

[flat-happy]

well i've been reading this thread with a lot of mixed feelings and the point i think that resonated the most with me was the part about how big the meets are going to get soon. i think 3 or 4 are much too big now and that isn't fair to anyone. i enjoy looking and shopping for all of them. so i got to thinking---what makes the best way to separate all the bikes? i think the largest meets would be best separated by the starting. have one meet for just bikes with kick starters and a different meet for bikes with electric starters. maybe even two halves of the club. that way the meets don't get so diluted with too much stuff and too many marques. how do you feel about that? anyone.

[koanes]

I kinda like the thought of that, kickstart meets and button meets. But wait, my 65FLH has both, does that mean I can't attend either meet or I'm welcome at both? You fellas thinking that the display and judging areas at the meet are soon to be overun with 1975 Gold Wings are worried over nothing. Can there be enough decent examples left to fill the back of a pick-up truck?

[Barry Brown]

ORIENTAL SOUL ? RIKUOS AT EUSTIS