Back when we started steady garage in 2012, we never would have thought that Honda would choose us to build them a custom 6th Generation Honda Gold Wing GL1800. Needless to say, the stakes are high and the opportunity means a lot to us. Honda was very specific on what they wanted to see and meeting their expectations meant appealing to both the kids and OG riders. With a tight deadline to unveil it at Daytona Bike Week 2019, the team came together to start the build on our “Cool Wing” that would be appreciated by riders of all ages, interests, and backgrounds.

At the time of the build, we had no point of reference.. No other custom GL1800 Gold Wings to guide us or even confirm that our ideas would work. Furthermore we had no room for error or any spare parts as the GL1800 was a brand new bike! It wasn’t until we started dismantling the bike that we even realized how big the GL1800 was. For those who have never been around a touring bagger motorcycle, the Gold Wing is a huge bike! Honda did a great job with the weight and overall balance of the bike, making it feel much smaller than it actually is. After performing the teardown, there were 20+ panels and individual parts that needed to prepped for paint and with everything under the panels being engineered to fit precisely and perfectly, finding space for custom work and parts presented an additional challenge.

In terms of the design, we aimed for stylish and “cool” without losing the original lines and form. Preserving the aggressive design language of the Gold Wing while adding a Steady touch was a priority.

The paint job was a custom mix that Edgar from Maxima Imagen helped us achieve, matching the rendering that our Art Director, Francis Clemente provided. With help from our friend Roger from Rogelio’s Auto Upholstery we created a heavily redesigned seat that is slimmed down for a lower seating position. The seat itself is also fitted with gel padding and a vibration device from the added Cub Blind Spot Detection System. The two radar sensors that you see on each side of the license plate are also from the Cub Blind Spot Detection system, which is a great add-on for safety and for better traffic maneuvering.

The first impression is always the lasting one, the saying goes. The design and engineering on the original double-wishbone front suspension were truly radical and innovative for it’s time and pushed us to think outside the box. We wanted to give our “Cool Wing” more attitude by building a custom air ride suspension system using Platinum Air Suspension Bleed Feed shocks. After a lot of testing and multiple fittings, we were able to lift the bike to a good ride height that would fully lay out with the press of a few switches