Common Silverwing Sounds and behaviors

I am wondering what are "Normal" Silverwing sounds and behavior and what to watch out for. I got a 2006 SW with ABS this fall and am just learning to ride - and the quirks of my new toy.

Some of the sounds I got so far....

Squeal from the belt area - went away after revving to 3800 with brake on - but smelled burnt rubber....

Whining gear sound from belt area. I am taking this as normal moving parts noise.

Rattle from front going over bumps - I need to check the right for plastic cover as it seems a little loose / open. Probably should check/tighten screws.

Faint Squeak from suspension when sit and bounce on the bike. Grease?

Engine sounded a bit rough - like a motorcycle - for a while but smoothed out again.

Ishkatan

Hi Ishkatan,

Sounds pretty normal for this type of machine.

She will idle a little rough until she warms up...It's just her nature.

Silverwings do squeal a bit, I think they do that in anticipation of going on a good, long, hard road trip.

Yes, she makes sounds when she just sets and runs in the driveway or creeps around town in stop and go traffic.

The reason I and most of the people love this machine is when her true self comes out...and that's on long, hot, high speed highway travel.

Take her out...Run her hard...She will love you for it...She was made for it.

Ride!

DennisB wrote:

Take her out...Run her hard...She will love you for it...She was made for it.

Ride!

Such wise words Oh Great one!

I love my swing but I will admit it's not at its best in stop-and-go traffic. Stop-and-go just sucks in general and my manual transmission car is awful in it too. I don't think shifty bikes are much better (if at all) in s-n-g. Only automatic cars are decent in it, and I've had rental cars that idle really hot that were a pain too.

So I hate it and I avoid traffic like the plague, but I'd do that anyway.

Screech, scrape bumpbumpbumpcrssssh

All those sound seem to be pretty normal.
I have used silicone lubricant in every gap and panel joint on the front (dashboard, around headlight, etc) and that stops those noises for a couple of months or until I wash it really well with soapy water.

Strategically placed foam, and hot melt glue work well for me for the rattles. The only other noise I get, is an occasional slapping sound from the belt if I'm riding with a passenger, and I get on the throttle hard.

KurtPerthWA wrote:

Screech, scrape bumpbumpbumpcrssssh

First hand knowledge showing there Kurt!!!!

Unlike some of the posters that want louder exhausts, I want my next SW to be electric and silent. I've been taking her out and running her and the noises change but are becoming familiar.

Sorry, but 40-55 mph is still my favorite speed and 75 on the highway is just plain scary - and uncomfortable. Feels semi stable. I'm off to search the forum for buffeting cures with a tall Givi windshield.

Ishkatan

For me its the plastic hollow sounding front end. Im going to start putting self adh. neoprene on the inside and lining the inside of the side boxes with some kind of white material so i can see down into them, ditto for the underseat area.

And i dont know if its me or the bike, but i cant seem to hold a line with this thing, unless im paying very close attn. And i always over judge my line initially in a corner, i always want to be farther over than the pressure line of the bike. I still havent gotten used to that. Weird.

Ishkatan wrote:

Sorry, but 40-55 mph is still my favorite speed and 75 on the highway is just plain scary - and uncomfortable. Feels semi stable. I'm off to search the forum for buffeting cures with a tall Givi windshield.

Ishkatan

Serious question.

Why ride a bike that is capable of twice the speed?

If 40-55 mph is your comfort zone, surely a smaller engined or lesser HP machine would fit the bill. 400 Burgman for example, or even many of the 125 cc machines would easily fulfill the speed range you quote. Why did you select a Silver Wing?

As I said, serious question to satisfy my curiosity.

Tagg wrote:

And i dont know if its me or the bike, but i cant seem to hold a line with this thing, unless im paying very close attn. And i always over judge my line initially in a corner, i always want to be farther over than the pressure line of the bike. I still havent gotten used to that. Weird.

Tag,

Tight or binding head bearings will cause the bike to wander. If you have to continually correct to keep it straight, then have them checked. Have the bearings ever been adjusted? Over torque will dent the races or rollers, causing the bike to wander. Another cause could be dry bearings. Honda is famous for skimping on the grease while assembling their products. This will cause binding and will also cause....well, you know……wandering.

I think this has been posted here prior, give a look and do a quick test before paying someone to keep the bike for two days for a 30 minute test.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1401175502815

Yea, brand new 2 months ago. Ill strip it down and check it.

Ishkatan wrote:

Squeal from the belt area - went away after revving to 3800 with brake on - but smelled burnt rubber....

Yeah - don't do that. You're applying power to the belt and it wants to start turning the wheel but you're not letting it forcing the drive belt to slip.

Ishkatan wrote:

Whining gear sound from belt area. I am taking this as normal moving parts noise.

Sounds normal but is this constant, only when moving, only at low / high speeds?

Ishkatan wrote:

Rattle from front going over bumps - I need to check the right for plastic cover as it seems a little loose / open. Probably should check/tighten screws.

Agreed. There are some plastic parts up front that also use plastic fasteners so be aware that when you take those apart, you're going to need to replace those fasteners.

Ishkatan wrote:

Faint Squeak from suspension when sit and bounce on the bike. Grease?

Ishkatan wrote:

Engine sounded a bit rough - like a motorcycle - for a while but smoothed out again.

In general except the intentional noise caused by revving the engine while not letting the bike move forward at low speed, all sounds pretty normal to me.

I have a good working relationship with my local dealer's mechanics and while I could save $ by not doing it, I prefer to let them do my annual "pre-season" (even though I ride all year) tune-up just so I have a pair of eyes looking at it that fix bikes all the time. I ask lots of questions and bring my shop manual with me asking them to show me what they saw and did - helps me learn more about my equipment. :-)

When I take off from a dead stop I hear a short squeaking sound. Could that be the drive belt slipping ? Is this normal or does it need ajusted ?

Ishkatan wrote:

Unlike some of the posters that want louder exhausts, I want my next SW to be electric and silent. I've been taking her out and running her and the noises change but are becoming familiar.

Sorry, but 40-55 mph is still my favorite speed and 75 on the highway is just plain scary - and uncomfortable. Feels semi stable. I'm off to search the forum for buffeting cures with a tall Givi windshield.

Ishkatan

Re: buffeting on the tall GIVI

The Silverwing was my first big bike and I thought that pressure on the back of my head and the funny handling was just from my inexperience. After cutting two inches off the top of the GIVI, then adding a Laminar Lip I got rid of the back pressure. Interstate speeds were still scary - gusts would grab me and push/pull me at random.

Last Spring I wanted to get a little more breeze to beat the heat. I ended up with the stock shield with the Laminar Lip, which I feel is much better in warm weather. The funky, sudden jerks while on the Interstate no longer happen. I think the GIVI, with its added height and particularly the wings covering your hands, causes a lot of our problems. I later cut the wings off the GIVI and installed it for the Winter. It handles much better after these changes.

I now have no problem riding on the Interstate. I don't enjoy it and will always take a two lane road if I have the choice, but the bike rides well on the Interstate now.

Finally, I now have the famous HyperPro springs. Handling is firmer, and more stable in cross winds or high speeds.

Start with modifying the GIVI, or go back to the stock windscreen with/without a Laminar Lip.

Tagg wrote:

For me its the plastic hollow sounding front end. Im going to start putting self adh. neoprene on the inside and lining the inside of the side boxes with some kind of white material so i can see down into them, ditto for the underseat area.

And i dont know if its me or the bike, but i cant seem to hold a line with this thing, unless im paying very close attn. And i always over judge my line initially in a corner, i always want to be farther over than the pressure line of the bike. I still havent gotten used to that. Weird.

Tagg, I don't think you are the problem here. It is probably the soft fork springs. The faster you enter the curve, the harder it is to match the line.

I had the same problem - I would enter the curve and find I had over steered. Then I would have a hard time correcting for it. I thought it was my inexperience. I took the suggestion of many of the posters on this forum and got the HyperPro springs. While I miss the cushy ride, I love the improved handling. I now enter curves at high speeds and match the double yellow line easily.

If I were the type to thrive on doing my own work, I might have experimented with using fresh/heavier fork oil first, just to see what effect it might have had. Since I paid a mechanic, I had him replace the springs at the same time. (My fork oil was almost eight years old and may have contributed to my problems.)

Waspie wrote:

Why ride a bike that is capable of twice the speed?

Part of my commute is in I-270, where the speed limit is 55 but if you run 55 you will get run over. If not in a traffic jam everyone is moving 70-80.

I want a bike that can handle 70+ mph and have some top end left over and I heard the SW will go 90. I believe it - have hit 80 on the speedometer which I believe lies a little but is close enough. But the buffeting and instability is painful above 60-65, especially in a 15-20 mph head or crosswind. I can feel the windshield catching wind and sailing and the buffeting from behind gets nasty.

I think the Givi mods are the thing to try - after I try going back to the original windshield for a test run to see if there is a big gain in stability.

Tagg wrote:

For me its the plastic hollow sounding front end. Im going to start putting self adh. neoprene ...

And i dont know if its me or the bike, but i cant seem to hold a line with this thing, unless im paying very close attn. And i always over judge my line initially in a corner, i always want to be farther over than the pressure line of the bike. I still havent gotten used to that. Weird.

I think the answer is to Relax.... I find that being a new rider (just got 600 miles on my SW which is my first bike) I tense up and it becomes really hard to get it to go correctly into a turn. When I consciously relax and allow the SW to lean a bit more it becomes very maneuverable yet still holds the road.

Also, I tend to stay vertical to the bike. The prior owner told me to "counter lean". He is right, if I lean the bike but stay more vertical to the road it feels very much more maneuverable but still under control. After relaxing and counter balancing the key is to get a feel for it, or it is easy to oversteer and make a turn too tight. However, that I think is experience and feel.

I also suspect that the small wheels make the bike want to turn sharper so it is easy to oversteer into the turn when you can toss the bike around.

buddy19520 wrote:

...After cutting two inches off the top of the GIVI, then adding a Laminar Lip I got rid of the back pressure. ... Start with modifying the GIVI, or go back to the stock windscreen with/without a Laminar Lip.

Thanks, that was excellent advice and I think I will start with going to the standard screen for trials, then consider cutting off the wings on the Givi.

I went looking for vents for the Givi but did not find any. Seems you need a Goldwing to buy an add on vent.

The prior owner did not install the metal brackets on the Givi and I got them in a bag, so I should be taking it off anyway to fix that. Trying the standard windshield just seems right.

Did you reuse the same Laminar flow addon between the Givi and the regular windshield? Are there any disadvantages to it?

I am debating trying the Laminar addon vs. the new Givi that has two parts and is adjustable in hight.

Before posting I should have read " commmon silverwing sounds " ! My question was answered there. SORRY !

DuggleBogey wrote:

I love my swing but I will admit it's not at its best in stop-and-go traffic. Stop-and-go just sucks in general and my manual transmission car is awful in it too. I don't think shifty bikes are much better (if at all) in s-n-g. Only automatic cars are decent in it, and I've had rental cars that idle really hot that were a pain too.

So I hate it and I avoid traffic like the plague, but I'd do that anyway.

Trail bikes are the best vehicles in traffic, you are high and can see over cars and narrow for nipping through gaps. You really do need 250cc plus to get away from trouble though.... If you are in town all day long, alter the gearing to allow a really low First gear and you can creep along all day!

As you say, the Swing is dire in traffic, all that holding the left lever in so as to keep some drive going.

KurtPerthWA wrote:

Screech, scrape bumpbumpbumpcrssssh

I reckon you have been up my farm lane too! You forgot the couple of annoying little rattles as well...

steveR wrote:

As you say, the Swing is dire in traffic, all that holding the left lever in so as to keep some drive going.

I found the perfect cure for stop and go traffic the other day -- I got stuck in a massive jam (took me about 45 minutes to go two and a half miles). The trike handled it fine. Just sit there and watch the traffic not move. Could easily take both hands off the bars, both feet up, lean back on the recently installed back rest and even had a bit of a conversation with the young man ("awsome bike dude!") next to me.

:flower:

I was getting some rattle and buzz from items in my right glove box. I installed some toolbox liner in it and the sounds went away.

Ishkatan wrote:

buddy19520 wrote:

...After cutting two inches off the top of the GIVI, then adding a Laminar Lip I got rid of the back pressure. ... Start with modifying the GIVI, or go back to the stock windscreen with/without a Laminar Lip.

Thanks, that was excellent advice and I think I will start with going to the standard screen for trials, then consider cutting off the wings on the Givi.

I went looking for vents for the Givi but did not find any. Seems you need a Goldwing to buy an add on vent.

The prior owner did not install the metal brackets on the Givi and I got them in a bag, so I should be taking it off anyway to fix that. Trying the standard windshield just seems right.

Did you reuse the same Laminar flow addon between the Givi and the regular windshield? Are there any disadvantages to it?

I am debating trying the Laminar addon vs. the new Givi that has two parts and is adjustable in hight.

Ishkatan, I use the same Laminar Lip for the GIVI and the stock windscreen. I have probably fastened/removed the LL 25+ times and the Velcro fasteners still hold well. I have a Universal, size small. It is wider than the stock screen, but narrower than the GIVI. I also use another LL on my Vespa windscreen.

Everybody raves about the new GIVI AirFlow. I have not tried it. Having spent the money on the LL already, I don't think I will try the AirFlow unless I meet somebody with a Silverwing/AirFlow that lets me ride it.