Hello from the foothills of the Blue Ridge

Hi, I have just ridden my first Silverwing (up at the dealer's) after about 12 years experience riding everything from a 250 Rebel to an F650GS dual sport. I think I want one!
Spent the day surfing the web, as I'm looking for a good used unit with fairly low mileage. I've located one not too far away but it hasn't had the 16K service done which I'm assuming means it needs a new belt and what else? What else is part of the 16K service? Valve adjustments? oil change? Any idea what a mechanic might charge for this?
Any and all free advice would be appreciated. While I have seen a couple of Helixes and a Burgman in my town, I've only seen a Silverwing passing through on the freeway so far (and it was keeping up with the traffic just fine).

Hi 53rd Lady of the Church!

I'm not one of the guru's around here but I'll gladly give you your first welcome to the site . You've got about 11 years on me in the riding experience department but I'm learning fast. Anyway, you'll love the SilverWing. It's everything good that everyone says it is.

Whatever you might read about the technical side of the SWing, mix it in with what you already know and then get the particulars here at this and the other SWing sites. It's that veritable "cornicopia" of information from those who really know.
Good luck on picking out that first SilverWing.

churchlady53 wrote:

I've located one not too far away but it hasn't had the 16K service done which I'm assuming means it needs a new belt and what else? What else is part of the 16K service? Valve adjustments? oil change? Any idea what a mechanic might charge for this?

A used SWing it would always be helpful to do

1) Oil Change
2) Final Drive Oil Change
3) Check Antifreeze level

All of these very very easy to do yourself and JeffR has pictorial step-by-step instructions for 1 and 2.

I changed my belt at 27K+ miles.
The belt replacement instructions are here http://www.leroybeal.net/motorcycles/silverwing/articles/drivepulleytool/drivepulleytool.html and I believe JeffR may have a pictorial on this too. So if you want you have some time to decide if you want to change it yourself, have someone help you or have the the dealer do it.

If you decide to let the dealer do it, I would suggest removing all of the plastic and CVT metal housing in the parking lot (VERY EASILY) and ask them what the price would be to just remove the variator nut and installing the variator nut ... the rest you could EASILY do yourself in the parking log ;-). It would greatly reduce your cost and you would learn a lot with very simple steps.

The valve are fine. The consensus is that the valve are fine all the way up to 50-75K and doing a compression test to determine if a valve adjustment is needed. The price for valve adjustment (if I recall) was around $500-750 ... a lot of people did the valve adjustments only to find that it did not need any adjustment.

Welcome to the site and check out the maintenance sections for the work you are asking about. The Swing is a great bike and doesn't really need much maintenance really. Just the normal stuff that is pretty simple to perform. The Swing will keep up with any traffic anywhere in my opinion. It will get up to about 102 mph actual so don't worry about the power. Welcome.

Thank you both. Now a handling question or two. My town has some big hills, like rising the equivalent of a full story of a commercial building within one block. I know how to stop and re-start going uphill on a conventional bike (keep that right foot on the rear brake), but what's the technique like with just handbrakes? How's the turning radius on a SWing? We've got some hairpin turns around here that are interesting on a conventional bike (I live about five miles from the nearest approach road to the Blue Ridge Parkway). Just wondering.

Just hold onto the left brake lever and let it out as the engine takes up. It's a bit like the clutch lever in reverse. Does that make sense?

Yes, thanks.

churchlady53,

Welcome to the site. You've already figured out - got a question - just ask. No judgement, just lots of answers.

You do live in a great area to ride. My wife and I plan to ride with a scooter group on a trip up to Cherokee over the weekend of June 19-20. Being organized through the Heart Of Georgia Super Scooters (HOGSS - www.wildhogss.com) Smaller discussion thread here on this site - https://www.silverwing600.com/rally-information-f2/3rd-annual-blue-ridge-parkway-scooter-ride-t203.htm

churchlady53 wrote:

How's the turning radius on a SWing?

With the long wheelbase and no clutch ... it takes more practice. Some people find they can take tighter radius with lightly apply the rear brake ... would suggest trying in a parking lot testing with smaller and smaller circles to be safe.

churchlady53 wrote:

We've got some hairpin turns around here that are interesting on a conventional bike

Going down a hairpin turn, I drag the rear brake as needed.
Going up a hairpin turn, I find I rarely need the brake.

Greetings and welcome to our group,

Saw that you were from Old Fort, N.C. I lived in Chimney Rock for about 12 years. It's a beautiful part of the country. I would have loved to had a SWing while living out there. Lots of winding and twisting roads. The SWing will do well there. I haven't done any mountain trips yet here in Colorado (waiting for the temperatures to level out) but when they do I'll be there. If you decide to go with a SWing you won't be disapointed.

I saw mention of the BRP ride but unfortunately I'll be away (in Cancun!) on those dates. Hope I find a Swing by then.

Howdy neighbor! I live nearby, in Forest City, NC only a few miles from Old Fort and Lake Lure where OzzyBee lived. After riding Harleys for years I bought a Swing in Feb. 2009, mainly for commuting to work (from here to Lenoir - 57 miles one way). I still have the Harley but it's for sale now since I find I prefer riding the Swing.

We just bought my wife a Kymco Grand Vista 250. (She's 106 pounds and felt the Swing was too heavy for her).

This IS a lovely area to ride, both in the mountains and foothills and we enjoy cruising around when we have the chance. One of our favorite rides is to go to Lake Lure for dinner. So, if you happen to see a dark silver Swing and a red Grand Vista cruise by, be sure to wave.

Good luck with your search. I did see a silver Swing in the lot at the Honda Dealer in Shelby the other day but didn't stop to check it out. I assume it was an earlier model since it is the light silver color, not the 2008 dark silver. I bought mine there and they were good to me.

Have fun in Cancun!

Welcome. I just moved up from my Helix to the Silverwing. It took some adjustment with the turns and slower speeds. But I have put practice time in and boy I'm just loving this new bike. I bought a new 09 and this week should have my first thousand miles on it. Enjoy!!!

Thanks for the welcome. I'm wondering how different it will be to ride some of these mountain roads around here, but first I have to find scooter. The only scooter I've ridden was a rental that went 45 mph, top speed, so demo-ing a Silverwing at the dealer's was a real eye opener. I've already scared myself once, grabbing the rear brake (which would be the clutch on my motorcycle).

Does anybody have thoughts on liking or not liking the ABS versions of this thing? My current bike has ABS, but it can be turned off (for riding on the dirt and offroad).

The Silverwing has more power than you will ever need. Guys in my group have been 110 on it...not me! I pretty much stick to the speed limit. But boy the power is there if you need it. I like the extra weight and bigger tires than the Helix. Now that I am used to it, it corners great. Looking forward to a great summer.

Let's see, that would be...a 2009 Silverwing with ABS! I called my dealer this morning and talked logistics. Went by on my lunch hour with the deposit and learned that it will be shipped to the dealer arriving tomorrow and I will pick it up on Sunday (they're closed on Saturday). Most money I've ever spent in 20 minutes or less.

Hi Churchlady53,
I'm a brand new rider as of May of '08 and my '05 Swing with ABS is the only one I've ever had naturally. Anyway, as I've gained my experience out here on the back country byways, panic stop practice has been an item I've concentrated on from time to time. Since I don't have another non-abs bike to compare it to, I can only tell you that once you clamp down on those handles, just brace yourself. It will not only stop you, it will do it real fast and real smooth. Like I've said, I'm a novice in this cycle world but I've learned a little bit in 64 years of driving and this ABS system is really neat.

churchlady53 wrote:

Let's see, that would be...a 2009 Silverwing with ABS! I called my dealer this morning and talked logistics. Went by on my lunch hour with the deposit and learned that it will be shipped to the dealer arriving tomorrow and I will pick it up on Sunday

Congratulations.

Have you taken a Motorcycle Safety class?

churchlady53 wrote:

Most money I've ever spent in 20 minutes or less.

Just do not get all your accessories in 20 minutes .

Yes, I have taken the beginner MSF course as well as the Experienced Rider Course. I have three versions of riding gear ranging from ballistics to leather to mesh. I usually look like Gumby riding but have been grateful to be obsessive on that point (ATGATT) since I got rearended by a teenager talking on a cell phone. The F bike went under her Buick, neatly skewering her radiator, which prompted her to finally stop. I kind of rolled off the front right and since the oncoming car driver also rides he knew to stop and to stick around to fill out the accident report with the state trooper. I didn't get hurt, but I'm still pretty leery of riding past dusk, which iis frustrating. I was very lucky.

churchlady53 wrote:

I didn't get hurt, but I'm still pretty leery of riding past dusk, which iis frustrating.

Here are some pictures of day-night pictures of my SWing

http://silverwing.org/cgi-bin/topic_show.pl?pid=10843#pid10843

Plus I added LED lights later

http://silverwing.org/cgi-bin/topic_show.pl?pid=15001#pid15001

A lot of people think I am a policeman at night from all of the reflective tape and LEDs .

Wow scary, maybe that's where being a "churchlady" helped you out It sure makes you more defensive. I'm watching out for the other guy all the time.
Congrats on the new bike, you will love it!
Great that you already took the safety classes. I found the advanced class really helpful fine-tuning my riding.

We ate lunch in Old Fort today. We were not on the scooters, but were returning home from Fayetteville, NC. Had been out for the birth of our grandson. On the way back we decided to stop in Old Fort and have lunch at the Cafe on Main St. This is a pretty town if any of you ever get out near it, you should stop.

We did get caught by the train. It was sort of neat to just sit and relax while the switchman and engineer did their thing.