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What Happens When You Take A Honda Gold Wing Off Road In Sand?

At the end of August 2023, enduro rider and YouTuber Matt Spears brought joy to the hearts of many across the Internet when he had the questionable idea to strap his dirt bike to the back of a Honda Gold Wing, then take the ‘Wing off-roading. The combination of both Spears’ skills and the sheer sense of joy he and his buddies seemed to get out of making it work is arguably what made that video so great.  

It was clear that he had greater plans in mind for the future of the ‘Wing, but what would they be? It’s now the beginning of October, and you’ll be happy to know that he’s been hard at work. 

This time, he’s taking the ‘Wing to his buddy’s motocross track for a day of fun. His girlfriend is with him on a 300cc dirt bike. If all goes well, he says, they’ll try to do a drag race later—but first things first. One of the notable features of his buddy’s mx track is that it has a nice section of sand dunes.  

Now, this may or may not surprise you, but no one currently makes commercially available paddle tires to fit the Honda Gold Wing. No worries, though—Spears took a tire for a Toyota Prius and had a company that does custom paddle tires work its magic. We see the tire toward the beginning of the video, before it’s fitted to the rear wheel of the ‘Wing. It looks the part—but how will it do in the sand? 

We are, after all, talking about 800-plus pounds of bike. That’s the combined weight of multiple dirt bikes. Even with that paddle tire on the back wheel, will it work properly in the sand? Spears is willing to try it, and he and his girlfriend brought a shovel just in case—but even he doesn’t know if it’s going to work or not. 

Once they pull the truck up at the track, and get the bikes out of the back, he takes it out for its first test run in the sand. He’s a little tentative but gets it going—and then gets stuck after a little while. Luckily, the dirt bike is there to ride back to the truck and get the shovel to dig it out, because that rear wheel is dug in deep. 

After spending a little more time getting used to how it handles in the dunes with that paddle tire, Spears notes that as long as he keeps his speed up, it works surprisingly well. His girlfriend is impressed with the crazy amount of roost he gets on the thing, and it’s just laughter and amazement the whole way.  

He does get stuck again, but it’s no big deal as they’re able to lay the bike on its side, pack the sand down into the rut dug by the rear tire, and then power out after maneuvering the bike upright. They do eventually get to drag race, and you probably already know what happens. There’s also a jump at the end, but you’ll have to watch it to find out what happens. 

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