Hiya everyone. I am joining the world of the maxiscooter after riding bikes for 35+ years and at present still have my much loved Transalp that has offroaded, raced and toured all over Yurrup. The trouble is that my knee cartilage is starting to play up and I am going to give a scoot a go for a summer and see if that keeps me on 2 wheels, heck, i am only 53!

I have purchased a 2003 Swing, 10K on the clock and in super condition. I am hoping to get some serious miles in this summer (hasn't it started early!! ) and want to just run it around for a few hundred miles and get my head around no gears etc...!

It seems to me from browsing the net, that the bike will need a new belt around 12k miles or so, and as the bike is on 10K and is 8 years old, sooner rather than later may be wise? Will the pins need doing too, or is this a bit unecessary at 10K? I am tempted to do it myself, as I am happy fettling bikes (and farm machinery!) but just wonderd what the going rate for a dealer would be to do this job ie belt and pin change? I guess drop the oil too?

Any ideas or thoughts please?

Hello Steve and welcome!
I haven't a clue about costs but there's enough expertise on here to guide you through almost every job on the Silverwing.

steveR,

Welcome to the forum - enjoy the ride.

Hi Steve.

Belt change will set you back just under 200 quid at a dealer.

This will include the belt and one hours labour to fit.

Jamie.

Welcome Steve. As Mike eluded there is enough help on here to guide you through the majority of servicing on your new machine. JeffR, has some good pictorials and there is a link somewhere as to how to manufacture the Variator tool needed for a belt change.

Enjoy the forum, and look forward to hearing how the gearless world grabs you.

Welcome Steve.. here is a nice pictorial put up by JeffR ... the grandfather of this forum

http://www.silverwing600.com/t23-variator-and-belt-pictorial

Welcome Steve! The 2003 is a good vintage!

SteveR,

Welcome to the forum and I'm sure you will enjoy the SWing. Many of us rode motorcycles first and came to the SWing. As far as the belt..they last at least 16,000 miles and usually longer. But since it is 8 years old it may be good to change it just so you will feel peace of mind on long rides.

If you have a stock variator you won't need to replace the "pins" since the original variator has "rollers"..and they last at least 25,000 miles before they start to get flat spots. But if you want better acceleration there are a few things you can do that is really easy. The "Pictorial" I put in here is with the J. Costa variator.. and that thing will really give quite a bit more performance. But if you enjoy working on things the SWing is very easy to work on. I hope you will be an active member and if you have any questions at all please just ask and someone will know. And if you need any custom made stuff look for DennisB's topic in the main forum.

As for Opalsboy, aka Gary...calling me the "Grandfather of the forum" !!! Didn't I just ban you last week.

Welcome to the forum. Shifting gears is easy to leave behind. Just don't pull in on that clutch.

[quote="Waspie"]

steveR wrote:

As for linked brakes, can't comment, not really known any thing else!!!! Adapting to a new riding style must be strange, I have never known geared bikes so cannot comment upon it at all. It took me a few weeks to get used to the 'Wing' after the Suzuki Burgman.

Totally new style of riding really from my small run outs! Auto is fine, but the handling is..... weirdly different. The Swing seems to want to understeer in corners and go straight on and needs to be really pushed down, but that may well be a result of my riding big, tall bikes with wide bars that I can really push down and of course, there is no tank between the knees which add to the ease of cornering a bike!

My Swing is not a nice ride, but I suspect that the present suspension and tyres may not be setup quite right. The bike has a big givi screen and a big top box, and neither will improve handling I would say... They don't on any bike! I do have the honda screen and may try it and see if it is better???

14 stone rider, solo, which rear shock setting is optimal? The front is a wee bit harsh and possibly lacks damping which may mean fresh oil is needed, this looks a big job with a lot of plastic to remove? I will have a look in the forum guides for this one.

I tend to want the rear rack for a tent and drysac for sleeping gear

Guess what! DennisB makes a very tasty 'luggage-mounting' device specially for the Silverwing.
I haven't got one but I've no doubt it's the same excellent quality as the rest of his bespoke products.

Here:

http://www.silverwing600.com/t85-cargo-fastening-system-for-the-silverwing

[quote="steveR"]

Waspie wrote:

steveR wrote: As for linked brakes, can't comment, not really known any thing else!!!! Adapting to a new riding style must be strange, I have never known geared bikes so cannot comment upon it at all. It took me a few weeks to get used to the 'Wing' after the Suzuki Burgman. Totally new style of riding really from my small run outs! Auto is fine, but the handling is..... weirdly different. The Swing seems to want to understeer in corners and go straight on and needs to be really pushed down, but that may well be a result of my riding big, tall bikes with wide bars that I can really push down and of course, there is no tank between the knees which add to the ease of cornering a bike! My Swing is not a nice ride, but I suspect that the present suspension and tyres may not be setup quite right. The bike has a big givi screen and a big top box, and neither will improve handling I would say... They don't on any bike! I do have the honda screen and may try it and see if it is better??? 14 stone rider, solo, which rear shock setting is optimal? The front is a wee bit harsh and possibly lacks damping which may mean fresh oil is needed, this looks a big job with a lot of plastic to remove? I will have a look in the forum guides for this one.

I joined the small crowd of riders who have swapped their front springs for HyperPro springs. I had a local independent mechanic do the work, and he was able to do it without removing any of the plastic. Remember, the Silverwing only has a single triple clamp, which you can see from underneath.

I feel the spring swap was a very good enhancement of the bike. I took it on a 150 mile ride a few weeks ago (a week after getting the fork done), and tracking was much improved. It was considerably easier to maintain the curve than before - I used to have problems with weaving in the turns that I thought was my inexperience.

Another note - when the rear tire (tyre to you!) gets worn, handling is much worse. I have worn out two back tires and noted how poor the handling seemed just before installing new rubber.

I weigh 175 lbs. and have tried the rear springs between 2 and 5. I like it best at 3 with the new fork springs, and 3 or 4 with the original fork springs. To adjust, put the Swing on it's centerstand and you should be able to do it by (gloved) hand.

If you want more legroom, and/or a backrest look here
http://leroybeal.net/motorcycles/silverwing/silverwing.htm
then look at his 'Articles and How To" section for the backrest conversion. Tremendously comfortable set up!

Hope you get comfortable on the new ride. Most people that try it find its benefits far outweigh its drawbacks.

Hi everyone, Got my Swing a month ago for the fair price of £1300, non abs 04 plate. Very high miles at 67500, but she sounds and runs lovely. Previously I only had a couple of piaggio 125 scooters, so the first thing I did with the silverwing is to give it guns on the A13 into London. Fantastic handling and throttle response, but I did notice a small backfire on down throttle, not enough to write home about, but I have also noticed a very small oil leak which is finally dripping from I think an engine guard or mount right next to the oil filter, but its not coming from the filter. I am keeping an eye on the levels, and i'm not losing too much, just an irritation. I'm guessing its most likely the rocker cover.
My question is has anyone removed enough panels to do a similar inspection, and if so what method and which panels? I was going to start with the rear leg peg panels and possible start to remove the seat to get above the engine.
Any help that is sent my way will be very respectfully received, and I will keep you all posted with the progress of the job.

Kindest Regards and safe driving.

Liam

Hi Liam,

Welcome to the Forum. I changed my own oil and filter on my Swing and noticed that the bottom engine guard had a problem catching and holding a little bit of the drained oil from the crankcase. This does drip off after a while and does look like an oil leak. My advice is clean her up real good and run her for a little while and see where the oil is coming from before taking her all apart...Unless you just want to.

How long since the scooters last oil change?

Hi Liam,

Welcome from another newbie here in the UK! I also only just got my Silverwing and am also in the London areas (SW18).

You'll like this forum...they guys are great and the knowledge base is fantastic! If you haven't seen it already, check out Dennis' shop...some nice toys, especially if you wish to have gps for your way around london!

Would be great to see some pics mate!...

Oli