Hi everyone!

So happy to have found this forum. I'm Sheila and I'm in Ft. Worth. I have been looking at scooters for awhile now, and have finally decided that the Silver Wing is the way to go. I have a couple of questions that hopefully some of the ladies can answer. I've read that one of the negatives of the bike is that it can be a bit difficult to park and get off of the stand for a "smaller" person. I'm pretty average--5'5" about 120 pounds, but I'm not a weakling. Just wondering, from those of you who ride this scooter daily, is this something I should concern myself with? I just want to make sure that I'm not biting off more than I can chew.

I should add that this will be the first scooter I've ever owned.

Thanks so much for giving your opinion!

Oh, and to expound on why I need a scooter like the Silver Wing: My BF has a Honda VTX 1800, and we'd like to ride together. Pretty sure there's not another scooter that could keep up with that bike.

Hi Sheila, welcome to the forum.

I can say you should be fine with the Silverwing. It is a great bike. I too bought the Swing to be able to keep up with my husband on his BMW R1150R.

I just started riding last September when I got my Swing. I have gone 2100 miles so far and having a great time.

The swing can be tricky at first to park and set up on the center stand. But it gets easier with practice. I find when I'm tired from riding and I've tried a couple three times to put the bike on the center stand I get more tired. Having the right boots/shoes helps. You can always leave it on the sidestand and try later or have your BF do it for you.


Don't let that deter you from getting a maxi-scoot. I love mine.

You will get some great info on this forum. They are great bunch of people.
Enjoy the ride.

Cathy

Thank you for your feedback, Cathy! The funny thing is that I went from looking at Vespas to now deciding a maxi scooter is what I need. What a difference! haha The initial plan was to have a scooter to ride around town and then I would ride with the BF on his bike on long trips. We have a 17-month old, and we've decided it's smart to ride separately (plus I'm kind of a control freak) when riding on long trips.

From what you've said I guess practice, experience, and patience will help tremendously (plus wearing the right shoes--guess flip flops are out?).

Thanks again. So happy to have found you guys!
Sheila

Sheila,

Bob and I rented a Gold Wing a couple of times for a trip to the Ozarks and Knoxville, TN. Which was a great ride. Talk about comfortable. I would do it again.

I took the MSF course to be a better passenger and ended up taking a scooter course to get my license.

I found I did not like the shifting and the clutch on the motorcycle. So I gave the scooter a try. The maxi-scooter is a motorcycle without the clutch
and the shifter.

I'm glad I took the MSF course it gives you a lot of good safety info when riding and being a passenger.

I get down to McKinney, TX about once a year.

Talk to you soon. Good luck in your search. Try www.scooterfinds.com


Cathy

Glad you found us Sheila. There was a whole dicussion on getting the scooter on the centerstand. The key is to push down with your foot, not try to lift the bike. If you go a dealer and ask, someone can show you. If they can't, then you don't want to deal with them anyway. As to keeping up with your boyfriend, it might be vice versa. Just let him win every once in a while. Happy riding from the D side of DFW.

Sheila (shesheb),

Welcome to the forum - enjoy the ride.

Why go with the Silverwing? I and my wife started on 250cc Honda Reflex(i, s, es), which after a couple of years we determined were too small. In retrospect I wish we had kept the Reflex(i, s, es) for our in town riding, but they were not long distance machines for us. This said inspite of our trip around Lake Superior on our little yellow machines. They were great, just not enough for us.

As for putting the SilverWing on the centerstand - Kim has for the longest time not wanted to do so. Of late she has begun to put it on the centerstand - simply stepping down on the lever rather than trying to muscle the bike up onto the stand. I still offer to do it for her if we are riding together, it is just a gentlemanly thing to do - kind of like opening a car door... But, the upshot is - putting it on the centerstand is not such an intimidating thing to do. Like riding it may take some practice to get good at it, but it is possible. Now getting it off the centerstand is where Kim struggles a bit more.

I am a new Swing owner my self. 5'4" and have found that the centerstand is easier to use if the ground is completely level.
Getting it off of it, well I have found that if I stand in front of my bike with both feet firmly on the ground and a strong hold on the handle bars it works. It does take practice and my hubby wants to help to. Being stubborn, I want to do it myself. I do let him help me sometimes get it off of the centerstand by standing at the front or back of the bike to make sure I don't dump it.
Practice is all I can say here.

Sheila,
Welcome to the forum; the best one you could have found... but (and I don't mean to annoy everyone), please let us know that you were just "joking" about the "flip-flops" ? ? ? ?

Good afternoon, and thanks to everyone for your awesome feedback (and yes, DickO, I was joking about the flip flops ). Today I went to the Honda dealership to look at one in person and to test out the heaviness of it. I think it's just more bike (weight-wise) than what I can handle as a beginner.

As an alternative, I'm looking at the Rebel 250. It gets incredible gas mileage, weighs about 200 pounds less, and it would have no trouble keeping up with my BF's 1800.

This is a terrific forum, and if I change my mind I'll be back! Have a great weekend!
Sheila

Sheila,

I've owned a Rebel, and while it is a great little bike, if you really want to keep up with the VTX, it simply isn't enough. It will do it, but you'll know how hard it's working.

If you can indeed handle it, and I would imagine you can, go with the SWing. The weight really goes away over 10 MPH. And don't discount the great storage space -- cruisers of any size have zero, unless you go with a bagger. You will become addicted to it in no time. I regularly get two bags of groceries and a couple of gallons of water under the seat.

The only drawback I can see is when you leave your BF's VTX behind on a twisty road...

Maybe for your first scooter, pick up a used 250 model. That will run on the highway, but it will be quite a bit lighter than a Silverwing. That will get you used to riding, and give you the storage advantage of a scooter. I've had a Piaggio BV250. It was easy to ride, and could run highway speeds, although a slight uphill grade and a strong headwind would have me right up against full throttle to run 65-70mph. Ride that for 6 months or a year, sell it for minimum loss, and then step up to a SWing.

I recently got rid of the Piaggio, and upgraded to the Silverwing. Although there was some initial concerns (my gosh, what a monster!), I quickly adjusted to it. It is WORLDS better for actually logging some miles.

Oh yeah, I would not recommend the Piaggio. I've owned one, and I wouldn't do it again.

Welcome to the Forum Sheila. I started with the Rebel and soon found I did not like all the shifting. It is a good little bike but has it's hands full at highway speed and is lightweight in the wind. Switched to the Silverwing after only a couple months. What a difference! So smooth and so powerful and no shifting. Good luck with what ever you get and let us know how it goes. This is a wonderful place for info and answers and opinions.

Sheila,

Have you thought about a Majesty or Burgman? They both have 400cc's and are about 70 lbs lighter than the SWing. I had a Reflex (250cc) and a Majesty (400cc) and the Majesty will keep up with the m/c's. It's top speed is about 96 per gps and it will run 80 all day. You might try one of those. A 250cc m/c or scooter will not keep up and if you plan to go up hills you will be in trouble too.

Just a thought.

I got my SWing this winter - and tried to pick up the rear end to move it around the garage... I learned real fast that I can't pick up 500 lbs - or half....

To get the bike on the kick stand:
1) I stand on the lever so it is touching the ground and the bike is vertical
2) put some weight on the lever to help keep the bike upright.
3) Grasp the luggage rack with my right hand.
4) Let go of the brakes (it is not going anywhere with brakes on)
5) Stand up on the center stand lever while pulling up on the luggage rack. Bike pops up pretty easy (OK, I'm 228 lbs ) if you help it up a little.


To get it off the center stand:
1) Straddle the bike seat - almost ready to go.
2) Grasp the handlebar and lead forward.
give it a push on the handlebars or jerk the handlebars forward.

Ack, sleep.
Goodnight
SMSMSM

Hello,everybody.I am a newer here.I like to make friends.If u are the people that like to make friends too,just contact me.Haha.

Welcome "thenewday"! You will like this Forum for all it's ideas and information. Great bunch of guys and gals!

I leave the side stand down, center the bike, start it rolling back, step on the center stand bar and roll it onto the center stand. To take it back down I make sure the side stand is down, then keeping it centered, I roll it forward with left hand on the handle bar and right hand on the guard rail, then ease it down onto the side stand. Works for me. Important to keep it centered.