My Gratitude to the SW Forum

I was chatting with a Honda Dealer who commented he didn't see Silverwings much anymore, I told him I was part of a forum just for Silverwings - he said it must be for Bergmans and other scooters as well - no just silverwing. He said what was the big deal about Silverwings - "I guess their light" - he responded "I have to keep pushing the Goldwings around the model floor" he said in a groaning fashion.

winged warrior,

There were a few Silverwing sites before this one.  The Yahoo Silverwing site, that was run by Cosmic-Jumper, was a big one.  Silverwing.org was another very good site, and it was run by Dspevack.  They are still there but the silverwing.org site is not accepting members anymore.  There was a very big forum in Italy that was much bigger than this site and I remember a picture that showed about 100 Silverwing riders on a ride in Italy.

But when I started this site many came over and were very active.  John Gordon (silverwing.org owner) started to ban members who posted here from his site.  He even told Dspavack to leave and Dan built that site to be the best on the internet.  As soon as Dan left I grabbed him in a heartbeat.  Dan really knows his stuff about the Silverwing and knows how to run a site.

But the Yahoo site is very quiet, and has been for years, and this site somehow became about the only one on the net.  There is a site for Silverwings in Germany but it isn't quite as big as this site. I see Silverwing's in my area and I'm sure they will be around for a long time just because you don't see Silverwing's die.  I was reading a post on the burgman site and people asking the questions comparing the Silverwing with the Burgman, and many of them said that nothing ever goes wrong with the Silverwing.

A former Silverwing rider also said that the reason there is only this site is because nothing goes wrong with the SWing so there is nothing to talk about.  That says alot about the bike IMO.

Boy Jeff that makes feel good about the Silverwing I have, Thanks.

Mine's a 2001 & has only ever had 'consumables' (tyres, brake pads, etc) replaced, regular oil & filter changes (twice a year regardless of low milage) seem to be the 'secret' to longevity

When I first came on this site I had never had a scooter before,always motorcycles. With the help of Jeff R and Big birds videos, I learned how to change the belt and pulleys, and make a variator holding tool(which I still use) today. I did 40,000mls in four years on my first Silverwing always doing my own oil changes and maintainance, on my second Silverwing that I bought new in July 2014 I have just clocked up 35,000mls. I stayed on the site to share knowledge, gained from riding more or less daily. Recent events had me thinking that maybe it was time to leave as more professional people had joined and my input was not needed anymore. I am currently looking at a smaller scooter that might replace my Silverwing or at least join it. I cannot thank everyone enough for all the help they have given, but many are no longer with us, Bigbird, Waspie, Dennis B to name just a few.

Old Limey wrote:

Recent events had me thinking that maybe it was time to leave as more professional people had joined and my input was not needed anymore.

Please stay around bud, first hand experience/observations is always needed

Jeff R:
Knowledge is a great thing to be able to access any time
am or pm. I've asked a few questions & got answers and
some members TOLD me where to find the search box. I
search a lot on the web and usually get the answer in no
time flat.
Glad to be a member & happy
JOE

Old Limey wrote:

I am currently looking at a smaller scooter that might replace my Silverwing or at least join it. .

If you want a little scoot for easy around town work, I strongly recommend a Yamaha Tricity. Really light, a proper step through (so much easier), and what with having the extra front wheel it has amazing front end feel and grip. Miles better than the silverwing. Just not as fast. Will sit at 60mph unless there's a big hill or a strong head wind, but for town work they're great. Oh, and the Tricity is the little 125 3-wheeler that is legally a proper scooter, and handles like one. Not one of these Piaggio/Gilera/Peageut things that make a Swing look light, handle like barges, and can be driven on a car licence. And aren't much faster. The 350 piaggio runs out of puff at 70 apparently, only 10mph more than my 125 due to the extra 100kg it carries!

gavinfdavies wrote:

Old Limey wrote:

I am currently looking at a smaller scooter that might replace my Silverwing or at least join it. .

If you want a little scoot for easy around town work, I strongly recommend a Yamaha Tricity.

Another good one is the Honda PCX150.  Very light--feels like a bicycle after getting off the Silver Wing.  Great around town.  I got nearly 100 mpg (US). Not at its best on roads posted for 50mph and above, like most of its size class though.

With my kind of riding (short suburban commute) I should have just kept my PCX rather than get the Silver Wing.  I anticipated more highway time, but that has not come to pass--after almost three years with the SW, it only has 1700 miles on the odometer.

My second scoot will still need to cruise at 50/60mph. I have a test ride booked on SYM 300i, iam really interested in the CruiSYM300, I like to have something different from most people, I will also cover 3/4,000mls a year so a smaller engine may not be up to it.

Great to be assured about the Silver Wing reliability. I need that assurance over and over. Gives me more confidence in riding solo. And because of that, we have a lot of other Swing-related things to talk about. This site has been growing on me as an addiction for this lonely old fart. I was trying to prepare for the cold turkey, but seem to have dodged a bullet with its revival.

Thanks for hanging in there.