Back into the mega-scooter

Ola,

Picking up an '08 today that was traded in at a Harley dealership with about 1,700 miles on it. I used to have a Burgman 400 and then a 650 Executive. This feels like it falls somewhere between the two.

Need to add a mount for my GPS and maybe run a Powerlet through a fuse relay. Will think about tires too, as they are the original, although it was stored inside so the sun hasn't degraded them.

I joined up because most google queries seemed to direct me to this forum.

Cheers!
Dale

Dale,


Most of the mods you are talking about, along with tire changing, have been done by someone. You should be able to find information on here.

Came home after about a 30 mile ride. First impression is that it is sprung VERY softly and needs to be firmed up to improve the handling. Maybe just adjusting the preload on the rear will help.

It also seems to shudder a lot at take off and the Burgmans didn't. A 570cc single is getting into thumper territory so I get it.

My other gripe is that I put my helmet in the storage area when I ran into home depot and subsequently broke the button that controls my sun visor off. Not enough room for an 'L' helmet without mayhem.

BUT - I got a very low mileage bike for a very low price. And I don't have to worry about the complicated tranny stripping it's input shaft or the 'lifetime' internal belt blowing apart. I'm a happy camper.

Although I never had a problem putting my full face helmet under the seat,
GIVI Trunks are available with brackets specifically for the wing.
Anything 50 litre and above will give you room for 2 full face helmets.
Hyperpro springs are a common upgrade for the front.
Hagon Shocks for the back.

Dan

I have a couple of GIVI top boxes, a 52 litre the biggest. Going to look into the front springs and firming up the rear. Thanks. It just kind of wallows through curves right now.

GIVI just came out with a 56 litre if you are interested.

http://www.giviusa.com/givi-products/cases/monokey-cases/v56nt-56-liter-top-case-maxia-4-detail

Dale welcome to the best Silverwing forum on the web.
If you are looking forward to learning and plan on doing your own maintenance you'll find you can do anything you need or want with the service manual and help from this forum.
I add the paragraph below for most new members because there's a lot of information in the links and may save you some work.
Here are some links(3 below in blue)that will help you learn a lot about your Silverwing. If you can't find what you need in the links below the search on this forum works good, and if you still need help just ask and someone will do what they can to answer your questions.

Maintenance, Tips and Hints
Maintenance "Pictorials"
Accessories-Modifications

Exavid - I loved my Burgman Exec. Electric windscreen, incredible power, bigger tires....in hindsight I should have kept it but I'm here now and I prefer the simplicity of a CVT anyway so no regrets. I had been searching for a Helix or Big Ruckus but everyone wants stupid money for them and this is better anyway. This SW had almost no miles on it. I can see it was dropped once or twice, no biggie but probably why it wasn't ridden much. You have a BMW scooter? Is it truly a rebadged Kymco?

Thanks all for the comments and links. I usually go through a used/new to me bike and change fluids and filters and will do so with this one.

Not bigger tires ,but bigger rims . 650 burgman and Swing are so close to the same diameter it's not worth mentioning. Do the search in tire charts . Don't take my word on it.

dalehazelton wrote:

Exavid - You have a BMW scooter? Is it truly a rebadged Kymco?

The engines of several BMW models including the scooters are made under license by Kymco. The rest of the machine is German built.

Welcome aboard Dale! You made a wise choice IMHO. Love my Silver Wing! But to clarify...you have a 570cc TWIN cylinder engine. Cao.

The silverwing has a 582 cc twin if I remember correctly.

There's a hook under the seat that you can hang your helmet outside the bike secured whenever the seat is locked down.

Really   ?  Thank you. Love the site!

Feel dumb - always thought it was a single. Gotta look for that hook now.

Just as advice, and being even newer to the community than you (as well as not having yet acquired my SW), search online for "20xx Honda Silver Wing Owners Manual", using your year of course. Unlike some publications, mine is over 150 pages with some very good information. And drawings. I like drawings. Seriously, most every subjective question is at least touched on in the contents. Then use the search function to flesh out anything ambivalent and if you are still in the dark with me, ask these folk. Good luck,

dalehazelton wrote:

Came home after about a 30 mile ride. First impression is that it is sprung VERY softly and needs to be firmed up to improve the handling. Maybe just adjusting the preload on the rear will help.

It also seems to shudder a lot at take off and the Burgmans didn't. A 570cc single is getting into thumper territory so I get it.

My other gripe is that I put my helmet in the storage area when I ran into home depot and subsequently broke the button that controls my sun visor off. Not enough room for an 'L' helmet without mayhem.

BUT - I got a very low mileage bike for a very low price. And I don't have to worry about the complicated tranny stripping it's input shaft or the 'lifetime' internal belt blowing apart. I'm a happy camper.

Dale,

I good way to get rid of any shudder is to hold in the front brake and run the rpm's up to 4,000 rpm's for about 4 seconds. This will de-glaze the clutch and let the SWing run smoother. Sometimes in long stop and go traffic you may need to do this.

Deglazing does help. If you use a good bit of throttle to get underway then backing off as you reach desired speed it will keep the clutch happier. Starting out slowly allows the clutch to slip. Adding a good bit of power will lock up the clutch more rapidly reducing glazing and wear on the friction material.

Dale, I bought my SW and sold my Burgman Exec., Goldwing and CB 900 919 Hornet and don't look back anymore. I'm through with the big tourers and fast bikes and the Burgman's. Had 3 Burgman's and replaced the drive belt on my last one. Fortunately a friend helped me replace it otherwise the bike would have been a throw away. Deb and I just came back from riding the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC as we rode 2 up in perhaps the nastiest weather I've ever ridden in. We were in the clouds with near zero visibility with rain, cold and wind. The bike performed flawlessly and felt like it was on rails in the wet twisties. Mine is ABS too and my new Pirelli Diabolis stuck like glue to a super slippery road covered in wet leaves. Never once did I feel the bike slip. Deb also liked the narrower body of the SW as our B650 would spread her hips and cause much discomfort as it has a wide rear end. Several times in the loose sand at the driveway to my house have I had to catch the bike from dropping and it's been easy to catch the SW but not always so with the hundred pound heavier Burgman. I'm continually amazed at how good the SW is and personally can't think of a better scooter out there.

I'm pretty much in agreement with you there mate, I also find the Silver Wing far better than the big Burgman to ride in wet weather. I've stayed with Bridgestone Hoops and I've no complaints about them and the rear tyre doesn't square off like on the Suzuki. I also found that unlike the Airflow I'm using on the Honda, the taller Secdem screen I fitted to the Burgman attracted road crap like a magnet and treating it with Rain-X didn't help much either.

A few months before I sold my 650 Burgman I took it over to Northern Ireland for a few days, and a hour or so after getting off the ferry it started to rain and it continued solid for the next three days. Northern Ireland is lovely when it's sunny but dreary in the wet and the fine raindrops don't clear from your visor like normal rain.Most of my riding was around the County Antrim coast and there was sand on the roads and I had to be careful getting on and off the bike when parking because of it's excess weight. The scooter was absolutely filthy from top to bottom by the time I arrived home.

Mrs M would agree about that too wide pillion seat too

DanB Reading your comments about the SW, I have only just bought one and am very pleased with it.
I did a lot of research before I parted with my money, checking on reviews, web sites, forums, to see which was the best scooter out there and the SW came out on top every time.
I am 70 now and find conventional motorbikes difficult to get on and off, plus I was always getting cramp in my hips, the scooter is much more comfortable.
It's definitely a winner.

Meldrew wrote:

I'm pretty much in agreement with you there mate, I also find the Silver Wing far better than the big Burgman to ride in wet weather. I've stayed with Bridgestone Hoops and I've no complaints about them and the rear tyre doesn't square off like on the Suzuki. I also found that unlike the Airflow I'm using on the Honda, the taller Secdem screen I fitted to the Burgman attracted road crap like a magnet and treating it with Rain-X didn't help much either.

A few months before I sold my 650 Burgman I took it over to Northern Ireland for a few days, and a hour or so after getting off the ferry it started to rain and it continued solid for the next three days. Northern Ireland is lovely when it's sunny but dreary in the wet and the fine raindrops don't clear from your visor like normal rain.Most of my riding was around the County Antrim coast and there was sand on the roads and I had to be careful getting on and off the bike when parking because of it's excess weight. The scooter was absolutely filthy from top to bottom by the time I arrived home.

Mrs M would agree about that too wide pillion seat too

I did not have a chance to road test the Burgman 650. How would you compare suspensions on SW600 and B650? Is there a difference to justify switch from SW600 to B650?

I don't really have any views on the suspensions of the 650 Burgman or the Silver Wing, they both worked fine for me on rider and rider/passenger settings and tyre pressures, they're maxi scooters not sports bikes.

They're both fine tourers, but the Silver Wing is lighter, easier to ride in all weathers with or without a passenger, the rear seat seems to suit the lady rider better, and it's also far easier to clean especially in winter time.

The B650 reminds me of the Goldwing (which I had several). It's big, heavy, fat and comfortable for touring. If you're into long distance touring, you may like it. I like that the SW can do both, urban and touring. The Burgman is a lardy in the city.

BTW the helmet hook is on the left side toward the middle of the seat once you open the seat up. When the seat is down the helmet is locked onto the bike.

Meldrew wrote:

A few months before I sold my 650 Burgman I took it over to Northern Ireland for a few days, and a hour or so after getting off the ferry it started to rain and it continued solid for the next three days. Northern Ireland is lovely when it's sunny but dreary in the wet and the fine raindrops don't clear from your visor like normal rain.

Had that problem too with the extra tall Givi windscreen that came on my SW. Despite cleaning with Pledge, it would not bead the water from my recent ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. Our speed was often 40mph or less as the wind wouldn't blow it off either. On Sunday I cut it down and now can see over it. Wish I had done that before that ride in the Smoky Mtns.

fitted a givi tall screen and loved it until we had a 4 day holiday in the west coast of scotland. rained every day at some point and the vision through it was nil at times. i refitted the original screen and bought a second hand but perfect condition Puig Clamp on Adjustable Wind Deflecting Screen .A bit noisier again but works perfect in rain or sunshine and much safer.

I won't ride a bike with a windshield that I can't see over. I've cut off a couple of windshields including a brand new Cee Bailey I put on my previous GL1500. That's one thing I like about my current bike with its electrically adjustable windshield. If it's raining real lightly and making it difficult to see I can lower the windshield, if the rain is hard enough to run off I can raise it back up as needed. I never could understand why Honda never put electrically controlled windshields on Goldwings. Their manual adjustable ones were a bother, especially on the 1800. You had to pull it all the way up before you could lower it. Who ever thought up that ratchet system should have been fired. At the price of those bikes they should have had something much better.

I had an electric screen on an ST1300 ABS and on my Burgman Exec. FANTASTIC! I bought the GIVI Airflow for my present SW and while it does a great job with wind management it's made fro Plexiglass and already is showing some serious scratches despite my only using Honda polish and a microfiber cloth. Very disappointing for the price. I would have paid a bit more for polycarbonate or lexan.

Install Hyperpro springs on the front, you will not be disappointed, vibration on takeoff is common, most likely belt is glazing over.

dalehazelton wrote:

I had an electric screen on an ST1300 ABS and on my Burgman Exec. FANTASTIC! I bought the GIVI Airflow for my present SW and while it does a great job with wind management it's made fro Plexiglass and already is showing some serious scratches despite my only using Honda polish and a microfiber cloth. Very disappointing for the price. I would have paid a bit more for polycarbonate or lexan.

For your information, from Givi's website: AIRFLOW raises the bar for versatility of the windshield. This comes from its ability to adapt, in a few seconds, to the size of the driver or the current weather conditions. This is achieved easily and quickly thanks to its height adjustable spoiler. This unique element, made of transparent polycarbonate, is a moving part of the windshield

I has "PLEXIGLASS" imprinted right on it.

That's interesting, because it is definitely not what they say on their website.  I have just checked my Givi 214 DT  and it is also made from acrylic ( Altuglas, a tradename for acrylic just like Plexiglas).

According to some expert reviews, polycarbonates are not necessarily better suited for windscreens for a few reasons:
Key characteristics, Acrylic compared to Polycarbonate:

   More likely to chip
   less impact resistance then Polycarbonate, but still 10-24 times more resistant than float glass
   more resistant against evenly distributed loads then Polycarbonate
   Less likely to scratch.
   Does NOT yellow after time.
   Better clarity. Acrylic can be restored to optical clarity by polishing.

Key characteristics, Polycarbonate compared to Acrylic:

   Impact/chip resistance is much higher with Polycarbonate. (about 30 times more resistant than glass)
   More likely to scratch.
   Substantially more expensive. (roughly 2 to 3 times)
   Used for more industry applications
   Bulletproof when thick enough.
   More bendable under normal temperatures (0-20°C)
   Yellows over time due to ultraviolet rays
   Easier to work with (cut, less likely to break)
   Poorer clarity, diffuses light

Clearview and Puig also make their screens from acrylic.  

All of this does not explain or justify Givi describing the Airflow as a polycarbonate!

Buyer beware!

Both acrylic and polycarbonate have their uses. Polycarbonate has a good bit less expansion and contraction changes with temperature. Acrylic definitely has a harder surface than poly. Polycarbonate will craze if gasoline gets on its surfaces. I had to replace a skylight on an aircraft I built that had a poly windshield and skylight. I just spilled a bit of gas on the skylight when filling one of the wing tanks. I quickly doused the poly with water but it was too late. Every rivet hole in the thing was starred also any area on the skylight that was stressed as in curved areas had hundreds of small cracks. Acrylic doesn't care about gasoline.
Take you pick both work well but I like Plexiglas because it's easy to buff out scratches. Almost impossible to do with Lexan.

dalehazelton wrote:

My other gripe is that I put my helmet in the storage area when I ran into home depot and subsequently broke the button that controls my sun visor off.

I have an HJC modular that has an internal sun visor. I managed to knock off the button on top of the helmet that moves the thing down. I got a replacement button from HJC.
http://hjchelmets.com/hjca/ismaxbt_ismaxbtsolid

I emailed HJC and they sent me a new button. But I can't figure out how to put it on. The button looks like it just snapped onto a pin but nothing's there. HJC said I may have to ship it back to them for repair. Just shipping a helmet will probably be ten of fifteen bucks.

My wife has an LSL and the sunscreen button is on the side and doesn't look nearly as vulnerable to breakage. My helmet was ordered and I hadn't seen the mechanism before I paid for it. Bad design in my mind.

I don't remember exactly how the tab snaps into the track but it did. Try pushing your sun visor up a bit and see if you can see the hole in the plastic track.

The broken pin might still be in the hole. Look for a broken off pin and take it out with needle nose pliers. Or drill it? You may also need to slide it forward (down) by pulling on the visor or pushing on the track bed with a pointy thing.

I had no problem fitting my HJC 33 or Shark Evo 3 under the seat. Love it. The one thing to watch out for is stuff getting under the helmet raising the helmet. Works for me.

BTW, you may want to consider taking out the small lamp in the light under the seat.

Ok, before I tackle the sidestand switch, I got a Givi 214dt windscreen and a Givi topcase. Thought it'd
be a snap to install....but. Anyone know how to get the upper centerpiece of the cowling off? Took out 2 screws in the upper inside corners and the 2 just inside the airscoop and thought she'd pop right off. Nope.  Something is still holding that piece on, tho' it's loose. Anyone know? No instructions came w/the screen (from Revzilla) and a vid on Utube showed the ol' boy taking the entire fairing off just to get at the mounting screws. Can that be necessary?

If you got the one from inside the airscoop that should be it. The fairing requires some careful wiggling and jiggling so you don't break a tab. I forgot what the motion was but it's probably in the pictorial archives.

The pin from my helmet was lost to the ages so I'm most likely SOL.

There are four screws holding the top cover. Two behind the windshield and two inside the airscoop. Make note of which ones are machine screws and which are sheet metal types. The cover will require some jiggling to get loose. There are two tabs that can break easily. Pushing the cover toward the windshield while working a credit card under the front edges will help release it. If you do a search on the forum you can find better descriptions than this but that's the general idea, the tabs under the front part have to be released by moving rearward, the front corners need some wiggling with a credit card under them.
Putting it back on is a piece of cake. Slide it rearward, pressing down on the rear center to get the extension of the airscoop liner in the hole and push it in place.

Yeah, I noticed the difference in the screws. I'll try to gently do some wiggling & c if that works. Seems like it should, as loose as it is. Thx

Yaaay! The little bugger finally popped off and the new screen is on. Now to mount the top case...

An interesting aside....this scoot had been in these folks' garage almost 2 yrs. Had to unbolt the grab rails to drill mount holes for the case plate and remove the underside plastic cover. Found an old muddauber nest inside. Also found a large one in the front fairing under the cover plate. What an interesting world we live in.....

spyglass wrote:

An interesting aside....this scoot had been in these folks' garage almost 2 yrs. Had to unbolt the grab rails to drill mount holes for the case plate and remove the underside plastic cover. Found an old muddauber nest inside. Also found a large one in the front fairing under the cover plate. What an interesting world we live in.....

Might be a good time to check your air filter, if you haven't already. I know others have reported problems with scooters that have just been sitting. There should be help in the maintenance tips section to show how to check it.

Thx, I'll do that. Also, as concerns the sidestand switch....seems popping the parking brake on & off a time or 2 will do the trick. Hmmmm...

The parking brake can get sticky if it's not used much. I was surprised to find out the rear and probably the front brake pads are the same as Honda put on the Valkyrie. If they will stop one of those they are plenty good for a scooter.

Indeed. This thing has some serious brakes. And from now on, it's centerstand only. (I wish DOT would mandate centerstands for all road bikes/scoots). That, and selfcnxl turn signals.