2005 Honda Silver Wing Life Expectancy

Seasons Greetings Everyone.
I know that (god forbid) a 600 Silver Wing could be totaled on the way home from the dealership the same day it was purchased. I also realize that an owner could meticulously maintain a Silver Wing and keep it on the road for over 100K miles. I would like to know the average life expectancy of a 2005 Silver Wing.
I have an acquaintance that has one for sale at $2500 which seams like a reasonable asking price, but I am leery about the 45,000 miles he has on it. I know it is well maintained and he rides it almost every day, but I don't want to purchase a money pit. I am thinking that 45k is approaching the average life expectancy if not surpassing it.
What are your opinions on this?

$2000 sounds better

If any silverwing Scooter is maintaned correctly, you should be able to get 250,000 to 300,000 from the motor.

these the km to 23.04.2009 of the Silver wing of a roman friend



today have exceeded the 180,000 km = 112,500 miles

I sincerely doubt that 45,000 miles is much of a risk. If the bike has been well maintained it will last well beyond triple that number. I think the reason there are few high mileage SilverWings is not because they are not capable of going the distance, but rather that there are few riders who are going that distance on their SilverWings.

The bulk of the SilverWings available for purchase as used bikes have few miles on them because the average SilverWing rider doesn't ride all that much.

+Not a judgement on SilverWing owners, and not a scientifically derived observation.+

Thanks for the advice.
Here are my choices before sales tax.
05' 45,000 mi $2,500 (local)
All other prices below are with shipping included.
05' 6,205 mi $3,499
07' 540 mi $4,295
08' 2,900 mi $4580
NEW 09' 0.5 mi $6,299
Which one would you choose?

When purchaseing a used Silverwing, there are a few things that need to be considered not just the miles. Over all condition of the scooter, body panels (do they fit right, and don't be shey about looking under the scooter), tires, brakes, Paint, horn and lights (the safty stuff).

I hope this helps...

To be honest, I don't see a problem running a SWing upto 250,000 miles. Most motorcycles seem to be scrapped/thrown away over realitively simple problems or ones that on the face of it appear uneconomical to fix.

As an example, it cost approx £500 to totally rebuild a CX500 engine (v-twin), this includes a rebore, new pistons and rings, heads done (valves seats cuts etc.) all new plain metal bearings; mains and crank etc. etc. At the end of the process you have an engine that, with proper servicing, will run another 100,000+ miles without issue.

My point is, by the time you have actually worn out a SWing engine to the point it needs a total rebuild how much further are you going to ride and is it worth getting a new machine as opposed to investing a little in the one you already have. I know some of you guys over the pond do tremendous distances in a short period of years so this problem arises more often.

Modern motorcycle engines are designed to the same specs as car engines and are expected to cover reasonably high mileages as long as they are serviced. On a 45,000 mile bike I'd be looking not to closely at the engine (as long as there are no clunks, bangs or smoke, its probaby ok), I'd be much more concerned with the state of the cycle parts, esp brake calipers, brake pistons and pads, the state of the wheels & fork stantions, the center stand and frame - all will be showing signs of corrosion and wear. Plastic body work is easy to come by and easy to repair/ replace, me, I'd be looking underneath it to see what shape the rest is in!

$2500 seems a little steep unless he can provide you with every receipt for every service and item ever replace on the bike and even then I'd be looking to pay about $2k no more.

Good luck.

It depends on your situation.

When I bought my Swing I was buying it as a commuter. I knew I was going to putt a buttload of miles on it, so high mileage was what I was after.

If you are after one you can ride on occasional weekends I'd say you're looking for a low mileage scoot.

If, like me, you are going to ride the hell out of it, save yourself some bucks and buy the high mileage one.

I like the '07.
Decent price, very low miles, and I believe the last year to not have an O2 sensor.

Can you go look at the ones that need to be shipped ? I would want to see any thing in that price range before I sent money.Someone has a S/W in the local club I belong to that has 45,000 also and knowing its history I would not think twice a bought purchasing it.You will pay sales tax on witch ever one you bye.If you bye new you will know the history from day one,but you will also never get near your investment back if you decide you do not like the Wing.[ not that I can think of a reason to do so .]With a used one you may get some good accessories[=$] that you may save money on if you think you will be adding them down the road.What ever you decide I wish you many safe,fun miles.

Roger, I wanna be in St.Pete right now, cruising down Gulf Blvd on my Swing, on my way to John's Pass for supper by the draw bridge, maybe DeLosa's if I remember correctly.

Hey Roger, We are talking about the same 05' 45k $2500 swing.
I know it has been well maintained, but 45k means it has 45k miles on most of the other parts too. I am sure there could be problems with the other 05' that only has 6,205 mi on it also, but is the $999 difference in price worth the 38,795 difference in miles? The 07' with 540 on it should be in excellent cosmetic condition, but I'm afraid it hasn't even been ridden enough to have all the possible new scooter bugs worked out. All the riders that have purchased a scooter when it was new know exactly what I mean by working out the bugs. I am sure that occasionally a new scooter has absolutely no bugs to work out, but it is rare.
The 08' with 2,900 mi for $285 more might have a better chance of having all the bugs if any worked out of it. I think the 07' or the 08' are better scooters for the money if all else is equal. I think the St. Pete 05' could be in the consideration if it was closer to $1750.

I have a 2004 and now have 53,000 trouble free miles on it and
hope to go another 53,000.

http://paulscooter.webs.com/apps/photos/album.jsp?albumID=1642301

Wing Man wrote:

Thanks for the advice.
Here are my choices before sales tax.
05' 45,000 mi $2,500 (local)
All other prices below are with shipping included.
05' 6,205 mi $3,499
07' 540 mi $4,295
08' 2,900 mi $4580
NEW 09' 0.5 mi $6,299
Which one would you choose?

The '07 looks good. $6399 for the new '09 is a bit steep. KBB lists it for $5905. Of course with a new one you have the advantage of knowing for sure the service history. Also, you get a 1 year, unlimited mileage warranty with it. This assumes you purchase it from a dealership and are the 1st registrant.

I will say this though, 45,000 miles on any Honda that has had factory recommended service as specified in the manual is NOT high mileage. Honda knows how to build bikes and engines. Witness the Helix. Designed to run 70mph all day long when 72 to 75 is the top speed.

The problem with a used bike is you seldom know the service history. 2500 sounds about right for that year and mileage. Maybe a bit high; not much though.

The Kelly's Blue Book value is $4225. But the standard mileage for an 05 is 8980. So that takes the price down some. 45000 still isn't that high. It's only 9k a year. Looks like he's been using it as his everyday commuter.

Really hard to make a recommendation here. On a used bike, I would want proof of service though. Don't want to buy a stinker.

I bought my 02 Swing this last Sept with 31,000 miles on it. New tires, new brakes, new battery. She just turned 40,000 miles today on our ride along A1A in Cocoa Beach. Runs and rides great- I worked for Honda/Acura as a Service Director for 35 years, and can say their engineering and part quality is some of the best in the world. I fully expect her to go 100,000 miles plus with proper preventive maintenance,and hope to be the one to do it!

The service life of a SW ought to be as long as anyone wants to maintain it and parts are available. I can't see any reason why one can't exceed 100,000 miles without major repairs. Goldwings have no difficulty exceeding that by a factor of two. The water cooled engine in the SW is not a high performance set up which means it's likely to last longer than a harder working mill. Much longer than air cooled engines. The drive system will use up a lot of belts over a long life but I consider them the same as brake pads and tires, expendables. It's not rare to see a 20+ year old Honda scooter still running, no reason to think that a SW can't do that as well.

hi ive got a 2004 model thats just turned 65000 as yet no problems as exavid said with some normal maintainance i to would like to see 100000.happy riding

Today km SW of some Italian, (km/1.6 to get the miles)

CLASSIFICA KM. AL 23/12/2010

DISOSSATO - KM. 190.728
FRANKINO - KM. 111.700
ILSANTO - KM. 96.000
EASYRIDER - KM. 84.000
PIPPOBIS - KM. 77.000
ILGLADIATORE - KM. 70.000
MAVERICK59 - KM. 68.500
MIMMOSILVER - KM. 65.000
SILVERDAGO - KM. 61.000
TOSCANO - KM. 60.137