Hello everyone: I'm Marcia from Ohio. I am not yet a Silver Wing owner but I am dreaming about it!

Where to begin? I have a few handicaps so I am looking to trike a scooter. I currently own a Chinese scooter-trike. It was all I could afford at the time. But it vibrates so badly it is useless to me. Excessive vibration aggravates nerve injuries so I am thinking of selling. I have heard that the SW is a very smooth ride. I hope that is true. I'm sure y'all will let me know.

Anyway, just wanted to say "hey." Mostly I'll be reading and learning....getting info from the folks who know the most because you ride SWs!

Regards, MarciaG

Hello Marcia,

Welcome aboard.

MarciaG, Howdy and welcome from Texas.

Welcome, Marcia. Lived in Akron for over 20 years...

Hi Marcia and welcome to the premier Silver Wing site bar non.

Don't want to burst your bubble - But!!!! The Silver Wing can suffer from a fine vibration. Normally up to 50 mph when it disappears. A few riders are aware of this, others either don't suffer at all or vibrate so much themselves it kinda cancels it out.

Not all 'Wings' suffer this vibration but I feel if you do suffer or at least vibration aggravates an injury then do be careful when selecting your steed.

All that said, I am referring of course to a two wheeled variant and a trike 'Wing' may be totally different.

Much advice on here so it will be worth a mooch around to see what you can discover.

Welcome Marcia! There are a few members of the Forum that have triked their rides. If you do a search for 'trike', you will probably find out a lot. Also check out 'Danson' and 'Trinity'. (Don't use quotes when doing the search)

Kudo's to you for not letting your limitations kill your dreams! My wife is in a wheelchair, and is determined to do as much as possible in spite of it. Adapt, and live on!!

Waspie...I am wondering just how much of a vibration you are talking about. I bought a gel seat with 2 foam inserts. It was like they weren't even there on my trike! I pretty much need to isolate/get rid of any seat vibration or I can't ride.

I checked out the Trinity trikes. Hadn't seen them before. I see they are true trikes in that they eliminate the rear tire. That's great because that way, you have the 2 rear wheels driving it instead of training wheels! It's all so pricey. Guess I will be saving and not riding for a few years unless we do something dramatic with my current ride.

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

MarciaG

I just purchased a 2010 Burgundy Honda Silverwing for 7299. I am new to scootering, but previously had a chinese 150cc scooter a month prior to buying the silverwing. I love the scooter however it is really intimidating to me, because it is very fast and powerful especially compared to the chinese scooter. I am starting to think that maybe I got in over my head. Any comments or suggestions.

practice, practice, practice + a lot of patience.

Jon

Marcia,

Do you know anyone with a SWing? It might be beneficial for you to ride as a passenger on one to assess the level of vibration and whether or not it would pose a problem for you. IMO, all bikes vibrate to some degree or other. The smoothest I have ridden is a GoldWing, but as smooth as it is, there are some situations where there might be some momentary level of vibration. I consider the SWIng to be pretty smooth, but that is a subjective comparison... What is smooth to me may or may not be acceptable to you.

Hi Gary! Thanks for that input. I don't know anyone with a Silverwing but I think I am going to have a chat with someone who is the leader of a scooter club here. And/or perhaps, go to a local SW dealer. I absolutely will not purchase a scooter (again) without being able to try it first. I realize I can't ride on 2 wheels but even sitting on a stationary one at idle would be very insightful!

Dare I even mention the (shhhh) Burgman here without having tomatoes thrown at me? I wonder how they compare with the SW as far as vibration is concerned.

MarciaG

marcia , you might try an Airhawk seat cushion.
A lot of Long distance riders love them.
It would have a small cushion of air between you and the seat.
If you get one just put a minimum of air in it. This seams to work best for long distance riders.
Ask around you might find someone tht will let you borrow one and see if it helps.

MaxB

The 650 Burgman is a good touring scoot, some riders have problems with the rectifiers, I had some condensation in one headlight. There's too many switches and buttons on the left hand side, and you soon tire of playing with the Manual 'Up' and 'Down' switches and leave it in Auto . I can't remember any vibration problems especially through the seat which is a lot more firmer than the Silver Wing. The Burgman is far too heavy as well.

Join a Burgman forum and you have to do your best to mention the 'Burgman Grin' in every post you make, that's the rule. There's no exceptions, even for Buckeyes! The Silver Wing is just as able as a tourer but more like the 400 Burgman to ride, and you don't need a truss to move it about.

Thank you all! You're all so helpful and knowledgeable and I really do appreciate it! I'm going to have to sell my current scooter. I'm just in too much pain after riding. Not only that, but the pain lasts for days and even weeks....not worth it! But you're giving me a lot of "food for thought".

Funny, Max. I have an Airhawk seat for my drum throne (yes, as in, I play drums!) but I never tried it on this scooter. I think that with the right scooter (like a Silver Wing), combined with the right cushion... I'll be able to ride again. It's just going to take time to save. In the meanwhile, I'll read the forum threads, learn and enjoy!

Marcia

Hello Marcia... I have been watching the posts here and have a little input for your consideration. I do have the Trinity Trike Kit installed on my SW. There are good and bad things to consider. Let me list a few.

Good: It is a true trike with two wheels on the rear instead of the three rear some kits use. Both wheels are drive wheels and the feel of driving is awesome. It is very stable and it is nice not to worry about balancing or the scoot falling over when you stop. I have very weak ankles and knees are deteriorating now too. Without the trike kit, I would be unable to ride already. My wife rides with me all over the place. We both have Walmart Gel pads that she has modified with some "egg shell" foam to add even more cushion. Works like magic for me.

Bad: Trinity still appears to have a delivery problem. You will have a long wait unless things have changed very recently. For me the wait was worth it. Wasn't expecting such a long delay. If you are interested in the Trinity Trike, be sure to ask about that problem. It will also require some skill in the installation. It is more difficult than plug and play that I am use to in the PC world. You don't have to be a mechanical genius but basic skills will help. You asked about stability or smoothness. On nice smooth highway the trike is like riding in a Cadillac. The ride is different for slow speeds (less than 30MPH) on rougher road. I really thought that the front wobble was a Trinity problem until I read up on the subject. It appears that it is a TRIKE problem. Not all, but it is very common on a wide variety of trikes. It is also is not a big problem unless you take your hand(s) off the handle bar. Putting the hand back on the handle bar makes the wobble go away. I experienced it when I took my left hand off the grip to raise or lower my face shield. I wear glasses and sometime they slip down my nose and I need to adjust that. Now I am aware of the potential problem and grip the left grip very firmly, so, it happens less ( almost never). At highway speeds (for me 65 mph or so) I do not have any problem with wobble-steering or control of any kind.

I know I have rambled here a little. Hope I have given you some information that you will find helpful. I will say that you should feel free to PM me if you have any specific question. I am thrilled to be riding the Trinity Trike. You may want to go a different route. Before you make the investment in any trike, I would suggest you do the research.

Here to help

Hi Gary: Wow, thanks for your very thorough and thoughtful reply!

I hadn't heard about the Trinity Trike until I came to this board. I have taken a look (online) at the Tow Pac, Voyager (a friend has one on her Suzuki Motorcycle), and the Danson. Seems like the Trinity trike comes more "bare bones" than the others. Also, I don't see a listing of authorized dealers/installers like the other trike manufacturers have. I DO like that it is a "true trike." The others leave the back wheel on so that your added tires are more like training wheels. They don't truly "drive" the trike. So it is a quad, essentially.

I know I mentioned this, but the cushion I bought has a gel pad at the bottom and then 2 foam cushions above that, all enclosed in a faux, sheepskin cover. The claim is that it cuts out 90 - 100% vibration. Well, the manufacturers haven't met my trike! :-( It's like it isn't even there. My "hope" is that when I am able to afford my new ride (hopefully, a Silver Wing), that this cushion will be all I need to get back on the road again. Currently, my trike is a very expensive lawn ornament. Makes me sad that I finally have her in riding shape but I am not in shape to ride this trike!!!

I will definitely PM you when I am close to making a purchase. It's going to take some time to save up. My credit used to be flawless but my medical bills piled up and now, nobody is going to finance me. So I will have to pay cash. Yikes.

Marcia

PS I forgot to ask you about the availability of a reverse gear. My trike has one and I do really like that feature. Some of the trike manufacturers offer it, for a price, of course!

Marcia... just to clear up a couple of items you brought up.
As far as i know, there are no authorized dealers of Trinity. The Silverwing kit is new. Trinity has been manufacturing kits for Burgmans for a while. All units ship out of their place in Hudson, FL. They may have some shops that they are familiar with in your area that could install the kit for you. That would be a question you could ask Bob at Trinity about. If you have a friend that is a little mechanical, he/she night be able to do it for you. The kit IS bare bones. You will get your moneys worth in the kit. A very robust assembly with superb workmanship (for the most part). Trinity is working on a few cosmetic additions that will provide protection to the under carriage. Also, they are working on a reverse. (For an additional cost) Not sure where they are on that project. I thought I might neeed that, but so far, the UltraWing is very easy to push (just make sure the parking brake is off before trying to push )

You can see some of the pictures I took while putting my kit together, as well as, some after assembly is complete, in my signature below
I wish you were a little closer so I could just bring mine by for you to inspect.

Yeah, you're a little far to just ride over! I enjoyed looking at your trike pics. Did we establish that your trike has independent rear suspension? That would sure help smooth out some of the bumps in the road!

Yeah, I think I would like that kit better if it had a rear faring, at least! Most important thing though, is durability and stability!

Marcia I get it about the parking brake. I once stalled out with a line of cars behind me. I'd been messing with a mirror at the light and didn't realize I hit the kill switch. Doh!

Thanks, Bill. MUCH better. Love the lights in the rear, as well. And I noticed the Corbin Seat.