making a choice

hey ...I own a Honda Spirit 1100 and I'm thinking about trading in on a Silverwing. Not sure I have a valid reason other than I'm 62 and thinking this might be a better ride for me. Sharing with other riders seems to be a good start. I'm looking at an 08 with 30,000 miles no ABS for about 1/2 the retail of a new one....just looking for input from anyone who owns one. There doesnt seem to be any changes from year to year. My last scooter was a Lambretta in 1965.

Jerry,

Welcome to the forum and glad you joined. I have had my '07 SWing since new and I really like it. If people can get over the "scooter" mentality than these touring scooters are great bikes. I find mine very comfortable and plenty of power. Here is a link for the Kelley Blue Book:

http://www.kbb.com/motorcycles/honda/fsc600-silver-wing/2008-honda-fsc600-silver-wing/suggestedretailvalue/?categoryname=scooter

I would be curious about the comparison between the 2 bikes. Do you know what the h.p. is for your Honda 1100? Welcome.

Welcome Jerry. I have heard good reports on High Five Cycles and the customer treatment. It's good to hear you young guys checking out the Silver Wing.

JeffR_ wrote:

Jerry,
I would be curious about the comparison between the 2 bikes. Do you know what the h.p. is for your Honda 1100? Welcome.

I believe that the 00 - 07 1100 Spirit (vt1100c) is 58 hp and has a dry weight of 556 lbs. The swing weighs in at 50 hp and a dry weight of 503.

I would think that the CVT transmission might have a slight edge over a wide ratio 5 speed so acceleration would be similar.

Here is an interesting site that has specs on many of the Honda models from over the years.

http://www.motorera.com/honda/

Ride safe!

I'd need to see a lot more details, but the price you are talking about for a Swing with 30,000 miles on it seems high to me.

I just paid $2450 for a SWing with 29,300 miles on it. But, mine is a 2002 and shows signs of having been dropped a couple of times.

The Silver Wing would be a good choice for you! Of course I am biased really love mine In the first post you say you may trade-in your 1100 on the Wing. In this case you may do better on a NEW one, or perhaps a left-over model. The dealer usually has more wiggle-room on a new machine. Hence my new 2012; I didn't want to mess with selling my KLR so I traded it in.

The other option is sell the 1100 first then start looking for a SWing. Good luck with your search!

Hey! I've ridden a combination of motorcycles and scooters, and went back to scooters after riding a dual sport for almost 5 years (Suzuki VStrom). I went with a Yamaha Majesty when I sold my Strom, but after it blew up, my DH told me it was time to stop putzing around, and get a ride he would feel confident about me riding all over the country (usually on my own). He wanted me to get the Honda SilverWing. Who was I to argue?!? I've never regretted it.

I actually put my motorcyle on craigslist, but put it at my Honda dealership, on commission. Even taking the commission (10%, I believe) off, I still came out ahead of trade-in, and it sold in less than a week, with nobody coming to my house, etc. Then I looked on craigslist all over the East coast, and found one about 200 miles from home, and with only 3000 miles on it. This was 4 years ago, it was an 06, so 2-3 years old at the time, and I got it for 4000. So I also think the price seems high for such high mileage. Of course, you can look at things like the tires, the belts, the brakes, and see if they have been replaced recently. But on top of getting it at a decent price and just brely broken in, I didn't have to put a dime into it when I got it, except for an oil change and brake fluid change (both to be safe, it had been in storage).

I was prepared to fly to Atlanta, or Philly, or most other east coast cities, and ride the scooter home after purchasing it. Turns out DH drove me down to check it out, buy it, and then I rode home behind his car with the biggest grin ever on my face the entire trip home!

Good luck, it's a GREAT machine, and I think you can save a lot by going with a good used one. I just think they should come down a bit on price. I also think with a little effort you could do way better than they will offer you in trade-in buying a used scooter.