Just Looking and Learning

I've been riding bikes for quite a while, but I'm getting to the age where my knees are a little wobbly, making conventional bikes difficult to get on and off of. Also, I am tired of thumpers and v-twins.

I've always prided myself on my ability to think outside the box, and the superscooters may be the solution to my situation.

My first real concern is the quarter-mile of poorly-graveled, partly sand "street" that lies between my house and the blacktop. My DR-650SE negotiates it with ease, even with 80/20 street to off road tires. With my Savage and its pure street tires, it's much like a carrier landing -- possible but "interesting", particularly the last 200 yards, where the street degenerates to a hard surface overlayed with about a half inch of loose-packed sand.

How well does the Silverwing fare in such circumstances?

As long as you are aware of it EVERY SINGLE MOMENT, you should be ok. I have a 1/4 mile gravel twisty driveway that I've been just fine on, because I KNOW about it and ride it like it will take me down.

I DID go down on sand/gravel last Saturday because I was not aware of the instability of another driveway I was on.

Sooooo .... the Swing is steady on good roads, steady on roads you are aware of and I love riding mine .... as soon as I heal and Big Red gets spifffed back up from the spill.

STAY ALERT!!

OldDesertRat, welcome to the forum, you are thinking outside the right box.
My hips are shot but I can still get on and off my Silver Wing. It is why I can still ride thanks to maxi-scooters.
I ride a poorly-graveled, partly sand ally about 1/4 mi. to get out of my garage to the main road 2 or 3 times a day. I have no problems,but as Jo said pay attention.

Thanks for the responses.

From my reading here, it appears that the Silverwng handles pretty much like any other motorcycle unless you push the limits to the insane side. Since I'm an old fart and no longer in any particular hurry, that's not a problem.

I just finished a trip with the wife by car, and I made an interesting discovery. If I set the cruise control to the speed limit and just let the miles flow by without worrying about time, I arrive at my destination with much more energy than I did before. I believe that the charm of retirement is beginning to sink in.

Sounds good to me!

I think one of the joys of the Silverwing (or any good maxiscooter, come to that) is that it can be ridded hard, cranked over and so on as well as gently and comfortably in 'armchair' mode.
I think it was someone here who coined the 'FAC Silverwing' term.

FAC? Fast Arm Chair!

MikeO wrote:

Sounds good to me!

I think one of the joys of the Silverwing (or any good maxiscooter, come to that) is that it can be ridded hard, cranked over and so on as well as gently and comfortably in 'armchair' mode.
I think it was someone here who coined the 'FAC Silverwing' term.

FAC? Fast Arm Chair!

Firstly, welcome OldDesertRat. Best place for Silver Wing chat and such.

Mike, FAC, until now it had always meant Fast Attack Craft. (Fast Patrol Boat in old money!!) Now I will look at my 'Wing' in a totally different light. Just need me a few Surface to Surface weaponry and the 'Wing' and I will be ready for anything!!

One can surely ride over gravel and other slippery surfaces provided he knows what to do and I think the only way to achieve that knowledge and therefore certainty is to practice. The scooter smaller wheels might limit the speed more then a bike with taller ones, but if you stay within the safe speed allowed you will be fine. The only time one goes down is when he miscalculate the speed required and basically goes faster then he should loosing traction.

Until you do that road at least once you will not know really how it goes and what the safety margin is.

Even on ice or oil one can be safe provided he knows the condition and goes within the safety margin.

I find my Silverwing very safe and very easy to use. It is also very light, especially since I have been riding a Honda Shadow 1100 for the past two years. If however you still have problems, maybe you want to test ride the Piaggio MP3, the one with 3 wheels. It's a cool scooter too.

you can always add a trike kit as last option

tankyuong wrote:

you can always add a trike kit as last option

I've been thinking about doing just that with the Savage, but for the price of the conversion kit, I can buy a used pickup and get almost as good a mileage, have lower insurance premiums, and haul a heck of a lot more -- not to mention being cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

(Of course the darling wife was quick to point out all of the above to me)

Welcome Old Desert Rat,
You will enjoy all the good people and knowledge base available on this forum. I see you don't have a location entered into your profile. Where are you located? Is it in the American Southwest or the Austrailan Outback or some other desert area? I'm curious on where that old gravel road is.

LVScooterBill wrote:

Welcome Old Desert Rat,
You will enjoy all the good people and knowledge base available on this forum. I see you don't have a location entered into your profile. Where are you located? Is it in the American Southwest or the Austrailan Outback or some other desert area? I'm curious on where that old gravel road is.

I'm outside out of Reno.