Newbie from Scotland

Hi all,

New to the forum, and returning to 2 wheels almost 3 years after an accident that broke my leg.

Previously I had a couple of Chinese bikes (a 125 & 250), which were very bad, a BMW K1100LT (better), and a Kawasaki ZX1000-B1 Tomcat (best).

However, the wife has banned me from bikes, and I'm now seriously contemplating a Silverwing 600.

I've had a sit on one, and it seems like a decent machine.

I'll be reading lots of threads and no doubt asking lots of questions (assuming no-one's asked before me - I will check before posting).

Thank you all in advance for your assistance - I will try to help as much as I can.

Paul

Let us no when you get your Swing.It's a great ride.

from belgium.
I can only recommend the Silver Wing. ('pround owner' of a crippled spine, after breaking two vertebrae...)

Tell her indoors that this isn't a 'motorbike', but just only a scooter ;-)
(we know better)
The ABS might also help to convince her that a S.W. is much safer ???

Thank you both.

I run my own S.M.A.R.T. repair business, and being on 2-wheels was the cheapest option for me to travel and view repairs. Given the high price of fuel - it still is.

We were on holiday in Italy 18 months ago, and the wife commented that maxi-scooters (that are very popular over there), seemed to offer more protection for the rider.

It's taken me this long to get to this point (actually sitting on one).

My main concerns are reliability, running costs, ease of DIY maintenance and weather protection - these seem to tick the boxes, better than others.

The Swing is very reliable,and adding a Givi AF screen,UK wind deflectors and Oxford Heatzer grips will give you the best protection in cold weather.

That's great to hear.

Many of the models I've been looking at secondhand have these features already, so your advice looks to have been heeded by many.

What kind of fuel consumption do you get on the motorway/highway?

I used to obtain 60 mpg (UK) from my Kawasaki which had carbs - mainly because I don't rev the engine in the lower/intermediate gears - I just roll-on the torque.

I cant say in UK fuel octane but with 87 octane fuel and riding 90 to 100 klph average is 65 mpg up to 68 mpg with good weather and road conditions .I have been averaging 68 + mpg and the best 73 mpg since I switch to a different tire. If you want more info go on my photo album. 12.1 to.3 Litters , 309 kl the tank is 16 litters .

Welcome Paul.

Re UK MPG's. As in all things many factors to consider. Type of roads your riding style etc.

Personally, I get between 45 and 57 depending on how I ride. My local area has some mean hills, coupled with country roads few duel carriageways or M/Ways. I also ride like I stole it most of the time.

Thank you both for the info.

I must admit that I tend to ride bikes like I drive my diesel van, shift-up early. Does the autobox play ball with that, or does it over-ride the rider's wish?

Never ridden an automatic, which will no doubt mean a bit of fun trying to remember that my feet won't be playing such an active role, once I'm actually back on the roads again.

Paul

pjas1969 wrote:

Thank you both for the info.

I must admit that I tend to ride bikes like I drive my diesel van, shift-up early. Does the autobox play ball with that, or does it over-ride the rider's wish?

Never ridden an automatic, which will no doubt mean a bit of fun trying to remember that my feet won't be playing such an active role, once I'm actually back on the roads again.

Paul

Can't help you ref the gearbox feel. I have only ridden auto bikes. What I can say is there is power there when needed and the engine braking is awesome on the Silver Wing. I rarely use my brakes, that said, the engine braking isn't available below 15-17mph. With the right observation and distance between the vehicle in front it is easy to NOT use the brakes on most journeys.

Like most bikes, you will have to ride to get the feel and explore it's unique parameters. Something to look forward to.

Safe roads.

I concur with Doug. I also get 45-60mpg, I ride into Central London which is lots of start-stops and filtering so I'm on/off the throttle a lot. Unfortunately its more of the 45-50's mpg over the last few months, I guess its the colder weather...

On a Ride Out its more like 55-60mpg, even over 60mpg on a couple of occasions. Ridden sensibly the Silverwing does return good mileage.

Check out fuelly link in my signature for more mpg details.

Thank you.

This info is very useful indeed.

I get a pretty consistent 12 miles per litre from my 2011 model, only high speed motorway riding reduces this. I don't do any commuting.

Thanks, that sounds like a pretty consistent range to work from.

When I was ordering brochures, Honda didn't have one in stock, but Suzuki (apologies for swearing) did for the Burgman 650 - on that scooter the transmission allows for 'stepped' gearchanges (I suppose like a sequential paddleshift), does the SilverWing have a similar system?

pjas1969 wrote:

Thanks, that sounds like a pretty consistent range to work from.

When I was ordering brochures, Honda didn't have one in stock, but Suzuki (apologies for swearing) did for the Burgman 650 - on that scooter the transmission allows for 'stepped' gearchanges (I suppose like a sequential paddleshift), does the SilverWing have a similar system?

No!

Nor does it, (S/W), have the problems some big Bergman 650 owners have had with transmission.

Meldrew has owned both, he may be able to give a riders perspective of the bigger machine.

Thanks Doug, this is the kind of info that makes forums so invaluable.

Paul

Yes I had a couple of years of 650 Burgman ownership before the Silver Wing, but I'd had 12 years of maxi scooter experience on 250cc and 400cc maxi scooters before I bought one.

Thank you.

Hello and welcome,

Silverwing uses the belt transmission (a fact you are already aware of). Unlike a conventional automatic that changes between gears the belt (cvt - constanstly variable transmission) is always in the right 'gear'. The Silverwing doesn't have the best mpg but other factors can outweigh that, performance, handling, ease when cruising, reliability, comfort etc it ticks all the boxes.
The stock screen is poor (being polite there!), Givi Airflow is a very popular alternative. Changing the stock rollers for Dr. Pulley Sliders (DPS) - either 26 or 24 grams one is another, you will read a lot about both on this forum.

If you want my advice - Go For It.

Cheers,

That's very useful info indeed - many thanks.

Out of curiosity could anyone tell me what the revs are at say 60 or 70 mph, just so I can try to determine where the 'sweet-spot' is for best mpg?

I appreciate that there is always a trade-off between speed & fuel economy (also highly influenced by aerodynamics).

My Kawasaki used to be circa 20 mph/1000 rpm and I think that's partly why I got such great mpg for a big capacity bike running carbs.

Paul

It's not as simple as that, the early model Silver Wings were thirsty beasts and the 2008 onwards models seem more fuel efficient. You're going to get opinions from riders using different fuel octanes and mixes, in US gallons, Imp. gallons, litres, and in miles and kilometres. I regularly get 175+ miles out of a tank on a mixture of A roads and motorways, with or without a passenger and still not be on reserve.

Before I moved to York from Cumbria permanently, I used to regularly ride over the Pennines where headwinds, hills, and high cruising speeds would significantly reduce the tank range. Being on a CVT scooter you tend not to look at the rev counter, unless it's new and you're running it in. 60mph is about 4000rpm if I remember.

Thank you, I appreciate that info.

Paul

You're up near Irvine, in Ayrshire, I used to have to drag my a** up to North Harbour Motocycles in Ayr for BMW and Honda servicing in the 90’s. I remember it seemed to take forever whichever route I chose from Cumbria.

That's right, I'm originally from Dundee, but now living on the west coast of Scotland.

I lived in the middle, in a place called Larbert from 2003 - 2010, but continued my migration westwards.

Hope the weather was a lot kinder for your journeys than it's been recently.

Paul

Hi! I bought mine in November. More than happy with comfort and performance. Had a Burg400 couple of years ago then went to Suzuki GS500 (m/c) and the Silver Wing is better than both (imo) I'm commuting around 45 miles a day and returning an average of 55.4 mpg(imperial) with a best of 57+ and a worst of 52+.

70 mph = 5500rpm roughly

The only change I'm likely to look at is to the Givi AF214 screen. But having had my head totally exposed on the GS, perhaps I don't notice the buffetting as much as the others ...

For warm hands I recommend Gerbing heated gloves.

Aloha from the island of Oahu. I have a 2002 SW and get around 50 MPG(US) if I baby it. I use to take mileage reading when I first got the SW. On Oahu, 170 miles gets you anywhere so you do not have to be concerned as to how far you have traveled. I have the 24gm DR Pulley sliders which give a smoother start. At 70 MPH, I am revving at 5K. Ride safe.

Hi there.

Many thanks for your advice and your welcomes - all very much appreciated indeed.

Paul

Welcome try fixing a wee plastic wind deflector on top o the standard screen ,much cheaper than a new givi, i can ride at 70 mph wi the visor raised in perfect pool of still air, no buffeting, i am 5ft 10in tall

Hi there,

That's good to know (I'm a little bit shorter).

Many thanks,

Paul