A Welcome Message from the General Secretary of GWOCGB

Hello to you all, especially to those of you who may be looking at the possibility of joining the huge family of Goldwing owners. My name is David Duffield and I am the General Secretary of the Goldwing Owners Club Of Great Britain. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you something about our club in the hope that, if you own, or are looking around for a Goldwing at the moment, you may be encouraged to join us and get involved in some of the activities that we have to offer.
 
For a start, you might be surprised how little it can cost to own a Goldwing and GWOCGB isn’t just about the “top of the range” 1800 models, but also about the classic models, the 1000, 1100, 1200 and 1500s which were, of course, in their time “top of the range” models themselves. Some of these are classics, owners of which, are involved in our Classic Section, run by 25 year plus committee member from Yorkshire, Pete Fisher. Pete could talk all day about the spridgets and wodgets of GL1000s and could rebuild one with his eyes closed. In fact, in for a rebuild at the moment, he has the very first GL1000 Executive in all black, with fairing and alloy wheels, which was the first prize in a 1978 Motor Cycle News “Spot The Ball” competition (if you remember those), Still with the same owner, now 72 years of age, the bike hasn’t been started for 10 years. But now he wants to see it preserved for someone else to enjoy in years to come. And with Pete’s passion for classic Wings, it will be up and running in no time.
 
One advantage of these models is, of course, that they are cheap to buy, many having been purchased for as little as £300 and in working order. They also have cheap insurance and tax and when I added a GL1000 onto my GL1500 insurance policy, it only cost me an extra tenner……so there the proof that it may be possible to be on one of the world’s best touring bikes for less than £500! Would you have believed it!
 
Getting back to the club itself, we always try to have a national charity and, although we pride ourselves in raising about £5,000 a year towards this charity (which changes every 2 years, unless voted back in by the members), I think that even many of our existing members would be surprised to hear that throughout our 33 regions of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, we raise a staggering £60,000 a year. This comes through a membership of about 2000 people and is achieved by such events as static displays with tin shaking, sponsored everything (from cutting off a beard for money to riding from London to Bangladesh!), helping people fulfil their wish to travel on a Goldwing, charity barbeques, auctions and many more ways. Our members are caring people, always prepared to help someone less fortunate than themselves. So, not all our spare cash is spent on bikes and beer!!
 
We also shatter the illusion that we prefer to stay at home polishing our Goldwings rather than riding them…yes, we like them to look shiny and bright, but its not uncommon to see a group of club members heading to the ferry port for a 2 night weekend in Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg or even further afield to find the hospitality and friendship of other Wingers from all over Europe, members of the Goldwing European Federation (GWEF). This manifests itself as a family of many thousands where all members become your surrogate brothers and sisters.
 
If you feel that you would like to join our happy family, please feel free to contact Janet Cross, our membership secretary, or myself or any other National Committee member and you will find yourself with instant friends.

David Duffield - General Secretary

The Goldwing Owners Club of Great Britain