Hello from Ontario, Canada

Hi Everyone,

First I want to thank you for running a great website and community for Silverwing owners! I really appreciate learning from owners past experiences and sharing information.

I just picked up a silver, 2004 Honda Silverwing FSC600 with 21,000 miles on it. I dropped it off to my dealer for a safety check which is needed before I can license the bike here.

I'm 66 years old. I have been riding since I was 15. My first bike was a 1970 Yamaha DT-1. I have had many different styles of bikes through the years. A bit of a lull when my children were younger. My primary ride now is a 2017 Ducati Multistrada 950. In red of course. Its a beautiful bike and a joy to ride. I have travelled a few times down through the Blue Ridge Parkway to visit a brother in Georgia who also rides. Love the twisties down there. Up here I usually get away for a week in late spring and ride through the Muskokas.

I have always wanted a scooter and lets face it, I'm not getting any younger. I was in Greece this past Sept. and rented one while on Santorini. It picued my interest and lit the fire. Time to try something a little different and have some fun. This Silverwing scooter came up on Kijiji and was only 20 minutes from my house. It looks to be in excellent condition. So done deal. I hope to use the scooter more for running errands into town where I would have used my car. I live about 5 miles from a small city, Woodstock, Ontario. The Ducati is a pretty big bike and a little top heavy for easy city maneuvering. Stops and starts.

I have a few questions/issues with my Silverwing:

Parking Brake - Mine will engage and click on maybe once in every 10 or 15 tries. I have looked at a few threads on here. One of the recommendations was to remove the glove box and try and lubricate the upper mechanism. Any other suggestions. I should add that I'm not very mechanically inclined. I can change my oil and filter but most of my other mechanical work is done at the shop. Its what works best for me. Less stress. The shop warned me that trouble shooting and disassembling the bike for the parking brake issue could be expensive. So I would like to give them some guidance if I can on what to look for.

Windshield - I like the shorter windshield styles. I like my head in the air and the wind on my chest. I have seen a few pictures of Silverwings on Instagram with a shorter option but have not seen any pop up on my Google searches. If anyone knows of a good source for a short windshield for the Silverwing please let me know. Thank you.

Drive belt - I'm not sure the history on my belt or when it was last replaced. I have read that most of you stick with the Honda OEM belt #23100-MCT-003. I'm fine with that. I checked Partzilla and the price that came up for me was $188.04. That might be Cdn dollars. Is that the best place to buy the OEM belts?

Rollers to Sliders - I have read much discussion about this on this forum. I must admit I don't really understand most of it. It looks like most discussions recommend sourcing some Dr Pulley sliders. I like the sounds of some performance gain in the mid-range and to lower the rpm at 60 mph for not much money. Not sure if the 26g or 24g would be best for me. And I'm having some trouble finding my way around the Dr. Pulley website to order a set. Does anyone have a part number or the weblink showing what I should be ordering. 28x20x26 Or if there is a supplier here in Canada. Thank you.

Engine Oil - I'm thinking of using a good grade 10W40 mineral oil and K&N oil filter

Air Filter - I see most recommend to stick with OEM or the Hi Flow brand rather than spending the extra money on the K&N. I think the Hi Flow will work for me.

Exhaust cover plate - Mine has something like tinfoil covering the last 10 inches of the exhaust pipe. It looks horrible and wrinkles when touched. Any suggestions for replacement or just go to Partzilla for OEM replacement? I'm not sure what happened to the original cover.

I'm looking forward to hearing some of your thoughts and suggestions.

Best regards,
Perry

Welcome to the forum PerryH and thank you for the introduction.

Firstly, the handbrake mechanism behind the glove box is very visible and a sparing amount of WD40 on the teeth, spring and pivots will improve things. The glove compartment comes out quite easily but you need to be carefull not to stress the plastic.

Windshields have been covered extensively on the forum but it's really down to personal preference.

Most people stick to the OEM drivebelt unless you're planning to 'upgrade' the drive train.

Slider and/or Roller choice is another complex topic. I tried lighter rollers and sliders but ending up coming back to OEM rollers. I tried Dr Pulley 26gm slider which worked for a while and then started giving me engine 'over-revs when cruising.

Engine oil is again a matter of preference. It's worth reading-up on types of oil available. It's almost a science in itself!

OEM air filters are way to expensive for me and I've used Hi-Flo for years.

The chrome filmed muffler cover is a rare beast if you need a replacement. A thorough internet search may find something.

If you have the time, lookup the topics using various key words in the search bar. The answers to all the questions of the universe are hiding in there somewhere.

Thank you for your thoughts Loosemarbles

Welcome Perry! Enjoy your Silver Wing. May I make a suggestion?

Cut your questions out of this topic and make them a separate topic with a specific name. You will get more responses that way and they won't stay buried in your introduction!

Ok, thank you Glen!

Hi PerryH and Welcome to the forum.

I think Chris and Glen covered most things but....

Here's the link for DrPulley's Sliders.
https://drpulley.co/product/sliding-roller-weight-28x20-8/

Just use the drop down menus to select the weight you want.

Hope this helps.
Be safe, be seen!

Hi PerryH and welcome to the BEST SWing forum on the net!!

Thank you for the Dr. Pulley link JohnyC

PerryH wrote:

... snipped ... I live about 5 miles from a small city, Woodstock, Ontario.

Welcome aboard the board neighbour Perry (Waterloo Region here)  

I have a few questions/issues with my Silverwing:

Parking Brake - Probably a good cleaning and lube will do it. Getting to most of the moving bits does require taking off the tupperware which shops will charge a small fortune just to get to the areas requiring attention.  Stratford Cycle does decent work ... Jamie runs the shop there. My advice is get a Service Manual and start reading how to do things yourself. It's not as hard as you think if you can read, understand pictures and follow instructions (plus use the help on this site).  If you can change your own oil, you can tackle 80% of the standard maintenance and common repair tasks.  

Windshield - Easiest solution is to trim your windscreen down. Again, not hard to do with a jig saw and then some careful sanding of the edges. Should be plenty of posts on this site to guide you through the drill including one of mine. BTW - I have trimmed down a number of windscreens ... always with great success.

Drive belt - Honda OEM belt #23100-MCT-003 ... I checked Partzilla and the price that came up for me was $188.04. That might be Cdn dollars. Is that the best place to buy the OEM belts?

That's actually USD plus shipping plus HST plus possible duties if they decide to really charge you upon delivery. Check with your local Honda dealer(s), FortNine and perhaps GP Bikes. The drive belts are not cheap. With 21,000 mi/34,000 km, it needs to be replaced.  Save the old one as an emergency spare. (

Rollers to Sliders - I have read much discussion about this on this forum. I must admit I don't really understand most of it. It looks like most discussions recommend sourcing some Dr Pulley sliders. I like the sounds of some performance gain in the mid-range and to lower the rpm at 60 mph for not much money. Not sure if the 26g or 24g would be best for me. And I'm having some trouble finding my way around the Dr. Pulley website to order a set. Does anyone have a part number or the weblink showing what I should be ordering. 28x20x26 Or if there is a supplier here in Canada. Thank you.

These scoots are plenty quick and fast on their own.  It's not a Ducati which you can ride if you really feel "the need for speed". I suggest you ride your new SWing on the stock rollers for this season.  If you're unhappy, then make a change. Learn what you've got first.

Engine Oil - I'm thinking of using a good grade 10W40 mineral oil and K&N oil filter

The oil grade and type is fine.  My personal opinion is the K&N set-up is unnecessary. Good Honda filters are reasonably affordable and do a good job.  You'll only be changing the oil 1x per year anyway.

Air Filter - I see most recommend to stick with OEM or the Hi Flow brand rather than spending the extra money on the K&N. I think the Hi Flow will work for me.

So follow the same rationale with the oil filter!

Exhaust cover plate - I'm not sure what happened to the original cover.

Time, wear and heat wreck the thin "chrome" layer on the heat shield. You can remove the crinkling layer and paint it a satin black (or colour of your choice) ... or ... go to a "car wrap" company and have them install the wrap of your choice.  Maybe a carbon fiber look? Small investment and it will clean it up nicely.

Are there any great, hand scooped ice cream shops out your way?

Cheers, ~ BugJr ~

Thanks BugJr for your comments! Greatly appreciated and nice to know another member is close by.

Some updates: The parking brake was fixed by the dealer during my saftey check. So after a few $$ that is now working properly. I have been checking videos on cutting down the existing windshield as you suggested. I will look up posts here on the site to review this as well. I think I will try that route first before purchasing new.

The drivebelt was checked by the dealer and was said to be in good condition. So I will leave that and the sliders maybe until next year. Oil/filter is changed. New air filter installed.

I didn't realize that the wrinkly stuff on my exhaust was actually the chrome layer coming off the heat shield. I'll check out a couple of auto wrap options as suggested and see what might work for me.

Bartlets might be an ice cream option for you in Woodstock to check out.

Best regards,
Perry

PerryH wrote:

... snipped ... Thanks BugJr for your comments! Greatly appreciated and nice to know another member is close by.

Bartlets might be an ice cream option for you in Woodstock to check out. Best regards, Perry

You're welcome Perry. Maybe once the season gets rolling, we can arrange to get out for a ride together and maybe check out Barlets. Cheers.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the Swing...great bike!

I had a similar problem with my parking brake. My fix was to adjust the brake tension at the back wheel so that it would "grab" again. Like any brake, the pad wears down and the handle has to be pulled further and further until it won't catch anymore. Check the pad for replacement, too. Of course, my main problem is taking off and screaming down the street with the parking brake still applied! Bad habit! ;-).

Since we are discussing other bikes, I just bought a 2020 Triumph Bonneville T120 60th Anniversary Diamond edition with only 710 miles! Already have it doo-dadded up with highway bars, windshield, panniers, new handlebar geometry. It is a complement to the 1967 Bonneville that I drove in college...stil in boxes in the basement... ;-). I agree with you that the Swing is the daily grocery-getter. I work for the local County and have a great backroad adventure each morning and evening with the Honda... Again, welcome and good luck! (P.S. I only have 8K miles on a 2002 but still changed the belt to another stock belt...why get stuck on the road. I did put in Dr. Pulley 26's...nice acceleration and (I think" dropped the highway rpm 400-500...)

Thanks for the welcome TeraGar!

I was out for a quick ride on the SW today as it was sunny and 15c here. It rides great. Nice and smooth. I'm very happy with it. But I would still like a bit more acceleration so those Dr. Pulley 26's sound like a future plan!

Best regards,
Perry

Welcome Perry to the best silverwing forum. Its a goldmine of info. and friendly people always willing to help. I have learned to do my maintenance from the forum, oil changes, belt changes, air filters and remove wheels to get new tires etc. I own an 05 swing 600 and live in woodstock ont. Not far from bartleys ice cream place maybe this summer we can meet up for a ride .

Hi,

Thanks for the introduction 53Scooterguy

I can't believe two forum members from my area.

A quick update:

Exhaust Cover Plate - I removed it from the bike I found that 1) the chrome film was thicker than I thought and hard to peel off and 2) underneath it was a lumpy white plastic. So getting it recovered with an auto wrap would not work out. The price I was quoted from the auto wrap place was $125 Cdn. So I have decided to order an OEM replacement piece from Partzilla and just replace it

Windshield - I taped it off both sides with painters tape. The hardest part was figuring out how low to go and what style of design I wanted. I used a dremel tool with a cutting disc. It worked quite well. I cut off about 11" then sanded it down. Looks great!

For anyone wanting to see pictures of the new windshield please go to my Instagram page @perryholman19

I tried to set up my personal gallery here but received the error message that storage was full.

Best regards,
Perry