Am going to buy a used SW shortly and will need to set the handlebars
back. I have, from a previous 400 Suz Burgman, a 1 inch up/1 1/4 inch back.

Will the cables work? Will the bar plastic covering still work?

Why set back?
You mean... moving the handle bars to the rear of the scooter?

You can set the backrest to the front.
Or ..
You can turn the handle bars a little by loosing the 4 screws under the plastic cover.
But not very much because the vertical cover of the 2 bars.

The first question is why? Plastic covers won't cover with any changes, of course extreme changes would require cable, brake hose, etc.......and then there could be bars wacking windshield.

Honda has thought things out pretty well. I find SilverWing comfortable, main problem solving wind management areas.

Go out and ride it a quick 5,000 miles, then make changes, if necessary.

See above message for simple changes you can make

The point is not whether I want to do it or not; the question is can it be moved back with a Genmar setback which is something I need along with either a Utopia backrest/or one of my own making, due to lower back issues. By leaning back it relieves the back pain, but necessitates pulling the bars back somewhat. Worked on my Burg 400, and before that on my Burg 650 beautifully and the bar coverings all fit. If the covers don't fit, then I'll work out something to cover the ugly hole underneath and leave the bars bare. If the cables won't work, then I have to rethink the whole thing.

Bought an 05 SW today, titanium? color, 2100 miles on it by orig owner who bought it new in '08. Will pick up when wx cooperates, prob sun or mon. No extras at all so will be adding first a Givi WS, then work on backrest.

ulflyer
Hear is a link on how to make your own back rest. Check it out and if you like it you can save some money. I did it and I'm happy with it.
http://leroybeal.net/motorcycles/silverwing/articles/backrest/backrest.html

Roger, thats a great link and just what I needed to know. Thanks a lot.

I have the tools to do a conversion like that. One question: does it give you a little more butt room? The normal seating seems too short to me and makes me want to move back an inch or so. Looking at the pics in the link, it appears that the brackets could be made to allow for this. Great project for the coming winter.

It does give you a little more seat room. The added lower back support will add to your comfort. Pay attention to the amount of bend you put in the bracket, that is where you will gain a more forward riding position without rotating the bars rearward. Good luck with the new-to-u scooter and welcome to the forum! Ride Safe

Thanks Paul. Looking at the exc pics above make me think I may build a backrest myself. On my previous Burg 400, I took the pad off and attached a piece of thin aircraft grade (strong) plywood, tilted to suit with shims, made a cover from a nylon helmet bag, and stuffed it with foam. The tilt allowed me to lean back enough to relieve tension on lower back and along with the Genmar pullbacks for the bars, made for a very comfortable ride. Not pretty, but it worked well. I believe i can fashion one more easily for the SW.

I have read that if you use the genmar that raises the bar and pulls them back then the black plastic piece won't fit back on. But the couple of people who said they kept it off said it still looked good. I have thought of the same thing before too. They said there was enough cable to make it work but you need to remove the cable ties and then put new ones on. You just don't want to tighten the new cable ties to allow for the cables to move a bit.

Good to know Jeffr. I'll leave the bars alone till after I decide on a backrest. Perhaps I'll be lucky and not need to change them.

ulflyer
I will try this again, I posted it and it disappeared. I think JeffR_ and I posted at the same time.? It was around 5:34
I put about seven degrees bend to give more leg room. Instead of nuts and bolts, I used a tap and threaded the bracket, bolted the stock bracket to it then cut and filed smooth so I didn't have any nuts hitting my spine. Make sense? Sometimes I can be hard to understand.

Roger, I understand what you mean. I don't have a tap/die set. I'm going to pick the SW up this PM about 80 miles away so that will give me
a good idea on way home whether I can live with the backrrest as it is for awhile. If not, I'll do the mod as show in the link above as that appears pretty easy to do/undo and has the advantage of forward/back adjustment.

All this talk of setback got me to thinking. A rare thing on a Sunday in the Waspie household.

As an alternative, why not have a new set of bars manufactured with the rake back starting from where the new bars leave the tupperware? Then refit all the brake levers etc!!

Just a thought - going for a lie down now!

I made the buttrest conversion at the leroy beal link and it does give a bit more room but make sure you use a really good pad to cover the bracket extensions or it won't be comfortable AT ALL.

I also rotated my handlebars back several inches (which also lowers the grips) and all the cables and hoses work fine, but no, you can't keep the plastic cover. Works much better for my shoulders. As mentioned above, it doesn't look too bad, but I am concerned about the amount of rain water that it no longer deflects from the inner workings under the tupperware. I'm considering modifying my handlecover to remove the batwings but keep the part that covers the hole and lockset.

Roadrunner.....that mod sounds like a good idea. Let us know how it comes out if you do it.

I'll take some pictures when I do the modification. I'm going to be out of commission for a few months in a couple of weeks (torn rotator cuff that needs surgical repair); I'm hoping to get it done during that time. My weapon of choice for the handlecover is a Dremel with a cut-off wheel.

Anyone have an extra handlecover?

A spare cover is a good idea if you can get a used one to play with. I recall from the days when I did a similar botched job on my ST1100 that Honda San charges a great deal of money for these plastic covers ! Measure twice , cut once !!!

I accept the facts stated by several of you that if you pullback the bars the covers won't fit. I haven't yet taken mine off but being curious, I'd like to know why. I've looked at the pics and it appears to have something to do with the key assembly. Is this the reason?

I'm just being lazy and putting off pulling the covers to see for myself.

If I'm honest, removing the covers and leaving them off wouldn't be too big a deal. Doesn't look to bad. After all they are only cosmetic and if it means a more comfortable ride then I'd be all for leaving them off.

Bit like the naked Lambretta's and Vespa's in days of old!!!

Oh yes, I don't think leaving the covers off would affect the ignition barrel at all apart from exposing the securing screws to the barrel!