Hemmings built a minibike to a standard most shops reserve for a six-figure show car: hand-laid metal flake in gold and candy purple, one-piece aluminum wheels, an inverted and adjustable front fork off a machine ten times its size. Then the company decided to give it away.
The machine is called Stay Gold, and it is the prize in the Hemmings Stay Gold Sweepstakes, a giveaway the collector-car marketplace opened this summer and will run through August 20. One winner takes home the bike. Entry is free at hmn.com/staygold.
Giving it away is the easy part to explain. Harder to answer is why a company built on selling million-dollar Ferraris and matching-numbers muscle cars spent months of shop time on a knee-high Honda tribute that a kid could have talked their parents into back in 1972.
Key Takeaways
- Stay Gold is a one-of-one custom Trail 70 minibike built in-house by the Hemmings Garage team in Bennington, Vermont.
- The Hemmings Stay Gold Sweepstakes runs through August 20, 2026. Entry is free at hmn.com/staygold, with nothing to buy, and one winner takes the bike home.
- Shop Manager Junior Nevison and Technical Editor Terry McGean led the build, using all-new parts from Bart Moto Co.
- The metal flake paint is the work of Travis “Tuki” Hess of Kolor by Tuki Kustom Auto Paint, a name known in the drag racing and custom communities.
- The spec is a modern reinterpretation: 125cc engine, manual four-speed, Nibbi carburetor, inverted forks, 12-inch aluminum wheels, and Coker whitewalls.
- Stay Gold is styled after the Honda CT-70, the 1969-era minibike that put a generation on two wheels, with more than 380,000 built.
A Show Bike Built From New Parts
The project started with a restoration. The Hemmings Garage crew brought a family heirloom back to life, a 1970 Honda CT-70, and in the process remembered why the little bikes matter.
What surprised them was the parts catalog. Nearly every component for a Trail 70 can now be bought new, which meant the next one did not have to be a survivor pulled from a barn.
It could be built from scratch.
Shop Manager Junior Nevison and Technical Editor Terry McGean led that build, sourcing new hardware from Bart Moto Co. and assembling a wide-body frame around a 125cc engine.
That displacement alone marks Stay Gold as a reinterpretation, not a replica.
Honda’s original ran a 72cc four-stroke single good for roughly four horsepower, enough to teach a child a clutch and not much more. It nearly doubles that, then adds a manual four-speed gearbox, a Nibbi 24mm carburetor, adjustable inverted forks, and a chrome drag-pipe exhaust.
Nevison also hand-sewed the seat, a diamond-stitched pattern in gold flake that answers the paint. It is the kind of touch that separates a shop project from a parts-bin assembly.
Kolor by Tuki
To finish it, Hemmings handed the bike to Travis “Tuki” Hess of Kolor by Tuki Kustom Auto Paint. Hess has spent years in the drag racing and custom scenes, and his metal flake work carries the period-correct look of 1970s show culture.
He built the finish in layers. A gold metal-flake base runs the length of the bike. Candy-purple flames pull across the tank and side covers, outlined in blue and orange pinstripe, with a “CT70” shield sitting on the frame as a nod to the original.
That paint is why the machine photographs like a trophy, and why its name lands. It is a small bike wearing a big finish, and the contrast is the whole idea.
Why a Trail 70
Ask a room full of enthusiasts how they started, and a surprising number will point to a minibike. The Honda CT-70, sold in the United States as the Trail 70, is the one many of them mean.
Honda introduced it in 1969 and kept it in showrooms into the early 1980s. Its handlebars folded flat, so the bike could ride in a car trunk or the back of a station wagon out to the campground.
Simple enough that a ten-year-old could learn to ride it and, just as often, learn to fix it, the CT-70 became a fixture in garages and backyards. The National Motorcycle Museum credits the model with more than 380,000 sales, and it stays near the top of the list of collected minibikes.
That is the thread Hemmings is pulling.
“Stay Gold represents everything we love about this hobby,” said Jonathan Shaw, President of Hemmings. “It’s creative, personal, and deeply rooted in the memories that first sparked our passion for cars and motorcycles.”
Stay Gold, Spec by Spec
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Engine | 125cc with high-lift cam |
| Gearbox | Manual four-speed |
| Carburetor | Nibbi 24mm |
| Frame | Wide-body with 5.5-liter fuel tank |
| Front suspension | Adjustable inverted aluminum forks |
| Wheels | One-piece aluminum, 12-inch |
| Tires | Coker Classic whitewall |
| Exhaust | Chrome drag-pipe |
| Brakes | Hydraulic front disc, rear drum |
| Swingarm | Stretched aluminum |
| Instruments | Digital speedometer cluster |
| Seat | Gold metal flake, diamond-stitched, hand-sewn |
How to Enter
The sweepstakes runs through August 20, 2026. Entry is free at hmn.com/staygold, with nothing to buy, and one winner takes the bike. Stay Gold made its public debut on June 12 at the Paradise Road Show in Austin, Texas, and Hemmings plans to show it at select events through the summer before it ships to whoever wins it.
Hemmings documented the project from bare frame to finished flake in a build video on its YouTube channel.
“Ask a hundred enthusiasts how they got started and many will point to a minibike, a project in the garage, or a machine that gave them their first taste of freedom,” said Dan Stoner, Creative Director at Hemmings. “It’s a reminder that some of the most meaningful vehicles aren’t the most expensive ones. They’re the ones that create lifelong memories.”
Bottom Line
Stay Gold is a marketing object, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. Hemmings built it to mark more than 70 years in the collector-car business and to put its name in front of a younger crowd, and a free minibike does both jobs well. That does not make the machine any less real. The flake is laid by hand, the seat is stitched by hand, and the bike descends from the exact model that taught a lot of today’s collectors how to ride and how to wrench. If the point of the hobby is the memory of a first machine in a garage, giving a one-off Trail 70 to a stranger is a fair way to honor it. Enter if you want the bike. It is worth a look either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hemmings Stay Gold Sweepstakes?
It is a free giveaway from Hemmings, the collector-car marketplace, offering one winner a one-of-a-kind custom minibike called Stay Gold. The bike was designed and assembled by the Hemmings Garage team in Bennington, Vermont, and painted by custom artist Travis “Tuki” Hess. The sweepstakes runs through August 20, 2026.
How do I enter, and does it cost anything?
Entry is free at hmn.com/staygold, with nothing to buy. Full rules and eligibility details are posted on that page. One winner receives the bike.
When does the Stay Gold sweepstakes end?
The sweepstakes is open now and closes on August 20, 2026. Hemmings is displaying the bike at select events through the summer before it is awarded.
What is Stay Gold?
Stay Gold is a one-of-one custom minibike styled after the Honda CT-70, also known as the Trail 70. It uses all-new parts built around a 125cc four-speed engine, with a wide-body frame, inverted forks, 12-inch aluminum wheels, and hand-laid gold metal flake paint. Only one exists.
Who built the Stay Gold minibike?
The Hemmings Garage team built it in Bennington, Vermont, led by Shop Manager Junior Nevison and Technical Editor Terry McGean. The new components came from Bart Moto Co. Nevison also hand-sewed the diamond-stitched seat.
Who painted it?
Travis “Tuki” Hess of Kolor by Tuki Kustom Auto Paint applied the metal flake finish across the frame, fenders, and headlamp nacelle. Hess is known in the drag racing and custom automotive communities for period-inspired metal flake work.
Is Stay Gold a real Honda?
No. It is a custom tribute inspired by the Honda CT-70, not a factory Honda. It is built from new aftermarket parts and carries a 125cc engine, larger than the 72cc single the original CT-70 used.
What is the Honda CT-70, and why does it matter?
The Honda CT-70, sold in the United States as the Trail 70, is a compact minibike Honda introduced in 1969 and sold into the early 1980s. Its small size, folding handlebars, and easy maintenance made it a common first bike, and the National Motorcycle Museum credits it with more than 380,000 sales. It remains one of the most collected minibikes today.
Where can I see Stay Gold in person?
The bike debuted on June 12, 2026 at the Paradise Road Show in Austin, Texas, and Hemmings plans to bring it to select events through the summer of 2026. A video of the build is posted on the Hemmings YouTube channel.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is the writer, photographer, and publisher behind The Weekly Driver. He cares about how cars drive and what they're like to own. He covers automobile industry news, car shows and events, and new car reviews. The reviews come from behind the wheel: day trips that favor back routes, treating a good meal as half the reason to go. He directs and produces the visual media, matching each car to a setting and mood that fit it. When he's not reviewing new cars, Michael races paddleboards, camels, and ostriches, along with the occasional exotic car on the racetrack, and has driven in every state and country visited.
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