Two 2018 Honda Gold Wings Tour The California Coast

Why do we get up before dawn and saddle up on a motorcycle when it’s 29 degrees? Well, if there’s a 2018 Gold Wing (heated seat! And grips!) in your driveway, there is really no other choice but to hit the long road.

So that's exactly what Cycle World Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer and Video Producer Spenser Robert did on the all-new luxury touring machines from Honda. Hoyer is old(er) and a longtime Gold Winger. Robert is not so old and had never ridden a Wing before. They are united by their common love for motorcycle travel and new adventures. They are less than united by their taste in the culinary arts, and also have divergent ideas about where and how performance luxury touring bikes should be ridden. But they work through this to find common ground—and elevate the adventure as a result.

This unconventional California tour includes riding on the beach, hitting a world-class racetrack, and sampling some of the greatest motorcycle roads on earth, all while occasionally braving awful weather. And then there was the “weaponized” hot wings (holy $#@!) incident in a San Francisco Mission District bar.

There were a lot of laughs and a little crying (hottest hot wings will do this), but that’s exactly why we go on road trips in the first place. Ride with us and watch the feature video!

A special thank you to everyone involved in this project: Cold Spring Tavern in Santa Barbara, Il Tegamino restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Teeth restaurant and bar in San Francisco, and Brix Restaurant and Vineyard in Napa, California. We’d also like to thank Sonoma Raceway and the MotoAmerica teams for accommodating us at the racetrack.