half dad's bike

I bought a 2002 Silverwing with 14k miles on impulse from Facebook marketplace. I've owned motorcycles before but took a break for 15 years after i had kids- so getting back into it I knew what i didn't want. i was looking at small 150cc scooters, PCX150 in particular. I knew i wanted a Honda no matter what- and i was watching this Silverwing but at $3k i just wasn't interested. The seller dropped the price and I was IMMEDIATELY interested at $2k. Long story short- I borrowed $1k from my Dad so that i could give the seller cash the next day and i took it home on a u-haul trailer about a week ago. the deal was i'd reimburse my old man in January 2025 and he was happy to float me a grand. well dad died 2 days ago- he had a massive heart attack at the grocery store while returning some bad clementine oranges and they couldn't revive him. i'll never be able to pay dad back- so this wing is half his and he'll always be with me when i ride it...


Sad story over- I love this bike! Holy hell I'm glad I didn't buy a PCX, no offense. Where I ride the posted speed limit is anywhere from 40-55mph and the road i live on connects 2 rock quarries so there are ALWAYS dump trucks and those boys are ALWAYS in a hurry. I had this nightmare scenario in the back of my mind where a loaded dump truck is bearing down on me and my little scooter, bouncing off the rev limiter and pissing him off at 57mph or something like that. my 2nd day on the Wing that exact scenario played out, and i had a loaded dump truck behind me who really wanted to go 10 over the speed limit. i appreciated being able to effortlessly put a couple football fields worth of distance between us.

It needed some work. Oil, final drive, air filter- all were obscenely dirty and I told her sorry and that she's in a good home now and doesn't have to worry about that kind of neglect anymore. I added handguards and a windshield extension for wind protection and they were money well spent. I'm going to get her some new shoes- Michelin City Grip 2's seem nice. She needs a name- still working on that. Thanks for listening.

Welcome to the Forum balconio, from the UK.

So sorry to hear about your dad, life can be a cruel mistress at times.

Looks like you got yourself an old but tidy Swing with relatively low milage for her age.
The lack of maintenance would suggest last owner was a Sunny day rider, do you know how many previous owners she had, and how long it's been in storage ?
I guess you have already made friends with the search bar, for the wealth of knowledge contained within these portals.
One thing I would recommend is to remove CVT covers and check the condition of the belt, it could possibly be original. Plenty of pictures on the forum or some very good YouTubes just for peace of mind, and well within your obvious skill set judging by your pictures. You can run the CVT with the covers off using the centre stand just to see what the belts doing in a none load situation, no aggressive throttle uses though.
Can't find what you're looking for on the forum, just start a new post and await the flood or reply's.
Look forward to reading about your adventures.

Ps. Maybe change to LED bulbs in today's riding environment.

Welcome Balconio! We are glad to have you here with us. I have ridden motorcycles since 1969 and the Silverwing was my first scooter purchase! I absolutely love it and have since its purchase. I take 1-2000 mile trips on it and it does great. I maybe taking it to Death Valley after New Year's with some friends. Enjoy your scooter and definitely check your CVT belt.

If you go to Death Valley, I would highly recommend going to Scotties Castle.
A wonderfull tour of a home built in the middle of nowhere that had everything.
You are greeted by a guide that is dresses
For that period in time and also speaks as if she were actually living in that period of time.
Most excellent. And a nice place to stay a short distance away.

Welcome balconio. Your purchase looks good and I hope you have fun on the SW. She's no slouch but there are some mods which you can tailor to your preference; most of which is covered on this forum.

There is much to discover and discuss here.

Welcome! For $2K, I think you did well. Maintenance is no big deal with these so if you get it all out of the way, you’re good to go. I do agree with checking the belt due to age, and consider replacing it based on the age as well. They’re not cheap but good for 16K miles. Good luck!

JohnyC wrote:

Welcome to the Forum balconio, from the UK.

So sorry to hear about your dad, life can be a cruel mistress at times.

Looks like you got yourself an old but tidy Swing with relatively low milage for her age.
The lack of maintenance would suggest last owner was a Sunny day rider, do you know how many previous owners she had, and how long it's been in storage ?
I guess you have already made friends with the search bar, for the wealth of knowledge contained within these portals.
One thing I would recommend is to remove CVT covers and check the condition of the belt, it could possibly be original. Plenty of pictures on the forum or some very good YouTubes just for peace of mind, and well within your obvious skill set judging by your pictures. You can run the CVT with the covers off using the centre stand just to see what the belts doing in a none load situation, no aggressive throttle uses though.
Can't find what you're looking for on the forum, just start a new post and await the flood or reply's.
Look forward to reading about your adventures.

Ps. Maybe change to LED bulbs in today's riding environment.

I think for the CVT i'm not even going to check- when i crack it open she's getting a new genuine Honda belt and 24g Dr Pulley sliders. probably a good clean out too... currently when i goose it rolling say 30mph the transmission loads up, slips bigtime and the RPMs rise- then they fall and it starts accelerating properly. i think this belt is roached.

i wonder if the dr pulley Sliding Pieces are worth the money...

I gave her some new mirrors to replace the Emgo Roadhawks that were on there. those were nice mirrors but one of them was pretty loose from being dropped by the PO.

i ended up having to 3d print mirror post trim pieces because the ones that came with the left the bolt exposed and it looked unfinished. with the mirror risers these sit very high and wide but that's EXACTLY what i wanted.

Erdoc48 wrote:

Welcome! For $2K, I think you did well. Maintenance is no big deal with these so if you get it all out of the way, you’re good to go. I do agree with checking the belt due to age, and consider replacing it based on the age as well. They’re not cheap but good for 16K miles. Good luck!

Let's be honest- for $2k I stole this bike lol. I think it had partly to do with the fact that the seller lived in a bad part of town, but I have no fear of that. He turned out to be the nicest old guy and he gave me 2 brand new 1Storm modular helmets that my kids now use in the yard on their go karts and minibikes.

Hi balconio.

With reference to your Dr. Pulley sliders mod (24gms). I would place a higher priority on replacing the driven clutch spring first and then Sliders if you feel the need for lower rpm on highway cruising.
Below is a link to my article covering it all.

https://www.silverwing600.com/t12959-malossi-white-contra-spring-17kgs?highlight=malossi+contra

Hope this helps.

Ps. Fitting 24gm sliders without changing the Contra spring you will experience belt slip under hard acceleration and the belt warning light coming on, needing to be reset, which can be a ball ache on a long run!

Pps. here's a link to the repair manual and other info's.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cpsqEmvlpa4A4qDPLVGbqlwMfpqnZ0EM

Welcome aboard the board balconio. Sorry to read about losing your Dad. He'll be your riding partner for life ...