What did you do to your SW today.

First topic message reminder :

I went for a nice ride. 120 miles or so. Despite the weather forecast it was nice.

Try to keep this post active and it will be interesting for all.

bikehiker wrote:

Still  riding up to the archery club Tues. and Thurs., weather permitting (14 miles one way).  This morning 34 degrees F.  This afternoon, 36F.  But the blustery wind made it colder and sometimes a little "buffety."  The wind was blowing me in my layered nylon shell more than it was blowing the SWing, even with the big Givi windscreen.  I don't think my previous bikes would have been as stable in this wind.  Friends look at me and scratch their heads questioning my sanity.  I can't help myself.  The ride somehow makes me feel so much more alive, even though the irony is that riding is closer to not being alive.

I rode a PGR mission this morning... 22 miles of 2 lane twisties with two other guys... brrrrrr nippppppers but leaning into them turns? outstanding!!!

Rode to work in the cold light of day, and rode back in the dead of night 60 mile round trip, and yes she goes better in the cold dense air, swear 500rpm less for the same speed.

Also fixed a blowing silencer with a coors lite can that seemed to help with the acceleration....lovely!

Next job is to fit a metzeler rear tire, and replace the two grommets on the crank case, 27k miles now and going strong.....compared to my C90cub she is ever so complicated with the EFI and sensors everywhere......lets hope she stays sweet!

Spring has sprung MOSTLY. Checked tire pressures and put 87 miles on the road. Mid 50's but it was nice to be riding again. It's been since late Nov. since I had a good ride.

Both tires at 20 psi after winter lay off. Reflexes a little slow and muscles not in practice but had a good time.

Also fixed a blowing silencer with a coors lite can that seemed to help with the acceleration....lovely!<<>> most certainly not a Coors type job, more like a job for my Bud to do, less carbs more miles

Today I serviced (24000km) my SW-T600. Also installed Fabbri 2580EX windscreen. I rode about 30km for the test and I'm very happy with a new windscreen. A lot of quieter than original.

The Coors only lasted a week, and has ben replaced by a baked bean tin of serated steel. This has been in now for a few weeks and whilst not helped the performance it does make a parf parf exhaust note now lol

Baked bean tin, barbecue or regular ?

My bike. Thoroughly washed the bike, tires too, dried same then applied ICE to everything except the tires and riders seat. It looks so good I don't want to get it dirty

Baked beans and Coors sounds like a bad gas story. It's a performance muffler. Bad mufflers over here sometimes called fart cans because of popping on decel. 2 wheels are better than no wheels. .

Sun finally came out today so I managed to get my top case installed. Next project is a belt and oil change. The person I bought SW from could not remember when the belt was last replaced and oil just to know its fresh.

That's the best way to do it dragonknight. I bought a 2006 GMC Sierra pickup on Valentine's Day and one of the first things I did was oil and filter change so that I know what's in it.

Yesterday was new tires and brakes, today new rollers, clutch pads, and belt. I'm flat worn out and it's raining so not going to test it out today. (Don't like rain and new tires)

MOT and service; it passed the annual test/inspection with no advisories so that was good but the total bill was rather more than I'd expected.
That's life, I suppose.

MikeO wrote:

MOT and service; it passed the annual test/inspection with no advisories so that was good but the total bill was rather more than I'd expected.
That's life, I suppose.

sadly labour rates appear to be £80/90 per hour now across the board.

I rode SW, 100 miles to visit big Suzuki dealer to be told Suzuki UK have dropped the Burgman 650 from the line up, no news of a replacement and only new available in dealerships already.

So biggest Suz'Scoot for us now will be the revised 400

That's about the size of it.
It's a pity about the big Burgman although I suppose many people are down-sizing; I'm vaguely looking at Forzas although I shall hang on to the Silverwing as long as i can haul it around.

It probably won't happenin the near future; my move to the North is taking up all my time and money!

What Mike? Moving takes time and money? Whodda Thunk. That's why I'm waiting to hit big on the lottery. That way I can just pay someone else to do it for me...
Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
When we bought this house it did take a lot of time and money to move. That's one reason I don't want to do it again. The old saying is, "Why do you want a bigger house?" "To store more crap that's why."

Exactly, Dale! You know me better than I thought!

Seriously, I feel cooped up here in my one-bedroom flat and circumstances have changed dramatically, enabling me to buy a house away from here.

Property in some areas of the North-East of England is much cheaper than in the South; flats (apartments) in my sheltered-housing block go for £100.000.00+ while the 3-bedroom house I'm buying was on the market for £89,950.00.

Where I am going is on the coast; the air is clean, unlike here, and people don't feel the need to put on a show.
It's in a former coal-mining area and has been regenerated since the closure of the pits 25 to 30 years ago.
The town is called Seaham, 300 miles from here.

I will have space to do a bit of woodwork; my tools have been in storage for six years as I've had nowhere to use them, let alone keep them close by. My mechanics tools have suffered the same fate.

The logistics is worrying but all will be well.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, or should I say ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...I put the seat back on, and gave up at that because it was colder than I expected. Caught a good one, now have to take care of it .

Jay.

Hi Mike. Living on the coast sounds great.

My Dad was a fantastic carpenter/woodworker. Somehow I didn't get any of his skills. I subscribed to Woodworker's Journal magazine and made my Wife a stool for by the front door so she could sit and put her shoes on when we went somewhere. I followed the plans and cut the pieces and put it all together. It didn't turn out and was off square by quite a bit. All the pieces were in the right place too according to the plans. I busted it up and made another one which came out perfectly. Go Figure. That was about 7 years ago and it's still solid and all 4 legs sit nicely with no wobble. In conclusion, I make more sawdust and chips than something useful. But it is fun putzing in the garage.

Right now I have two sisters living with me who moved up from Florida last July. My garage is so crowded I can hardly get around out there. But I do have a "path" so I can get the SWing out on nice days.

Thanks, Dale.
I was bitten by the 'carpentry' bug through watching my grandfather, a superb amateur woodworker. He made some lovely pieces of furniture as well as carving and making well-over 300 marionettes with which he and the family gave shows all over the South of England. His were the first puppets on television, back in the 1930s (had to slip that in). He first earned from his uncle who was an undertaker and made his own coffins.

Wow Mike That's amazing to hear. My Dad built a house in Pengilly, Minnesota before I was born which is still standing. Not sure who's living in it now tho. He also cut a rectangle hole in the ceiling of our Buck Lake home and put in a stairway and finished the attic for bedrooms for us 6 kids. The house was on the North shore of Buck Lake which is 12 miles north of Nashwauk, MN. It was a nice place to grow up. Go down the hill to the lake and go swimming in the summer or skating in the winter. In the winter when it was really cold we could hear the ice crack on the lake which made a real eerie sound. Or we could cross the road in front of the house and go hunting. Fish from the lake, veggies from Mom's huge garden and game from the woods. We ate good even tho times were tough back then. Most everybody up there had a deer hanging in the garage at any time of the year. The Game Warden didn't really care because he knew nothing would go to waste and we all needed to eat.
I didn't realize at the time just how good we had it.

Rode mine 242 miles with several other bike groups to Dungeness in Kent.

Quite an ecleptic mix from Honda 125cc Innovas to NC750s

Unusually for me I took no photos this time

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeness_(headland)

Wow, Scootypuff, that little bicycle-tired 125cc Innova kept up with the big boys for 242 miles?

bikehiker wrote:

Wow, Scootypuff, that little bicycle-tired 125cc Innova kept up with the big boys for 242 miles?

Pretty much, but that's the beauty of the group's I ride with no egos, you ride to the slowest machine using the corner man system & to be fair the type of country lanes ridden didn't allow for huge speeds.

There was actually a modena 110cc as well but I didn't get to ask how far he'd covered

Bern was due to attend on his innova but sadly couldn't make it but his mileage would've be in the 600+ for the weekend.

Fitted new Alarm & tested (nice and noisy) , went on ride to see pass-out of new recruits at Fire HQ, proud day for all. Rode home & ordered a set of Hot Grips.
Now trying to find a Givi AF214 Screen on the web

Well, not today, but tomorrow I'm going to fit Honda wind deflectors. (Just bought them from Jolly Bodger.

I've got no instructions but that's OK. I've done a test fit and it's going to be interesting. I can't find any pictorials or videos on this so I'll take pics. At times like this I wish I had 3 pairs of hands, I'm going to need a hairdryer to warm the plastic and the glue and a careful eye to ensure symmetry. This is the last job before some serious riding this year! Oh...apart from a belt change in a couple of thousand miles....

I've got a copy of the instructions bud, message me your postal details & I'll send them to you no prob's

Replaced the rear tire Pirelli Diablo Rosso, changed the oil and wired up a volt meter.
Rear tire was at wear bars but still rideable. Mich Pure Power didn't last that long but was worn evenly.
Will need a front tire soon same Mich. BUT don't like it .... Evil head shake if hands off bars at most speeds. Not buying Mich tires again.

Hopefully tomorrow will be nice and go for a good ride.

I fitted the wind deflectors today, quite easy and they look great.

I took some pictures of the fitting process but they didn't turn out too well because of the bright sunshine beaming into the garage.

All I would say is: prepare carefully. It's a case of offering up the deflector into the position it will need to be and then making small movements to make sure the contours will align to the fairing and the popper holes are in a suitable position before you drill. I used a hairdryer to soften the plastic and the glue before actually pushing them into place.

Below is a picture of the finished item but if you would like to see the pictures I took whilst fitting, PM me and I'll send them.

Brilliant, well done
my deflectors (which are probably the worlds most expensive piece of plastic per square inch) are sat on top of a unit waiting to be fixed for the last year or so.

Mostly likely end up selling before I get around to fitting

Scootypuff Snr wrote:

Brilliant, well done
my deflectors (which are probably the worlds most expensive piece of plastic per square inch) are sat on top of a unit waiting to be fixed for the last year or so.

Mostly likely end up selling before I get around to fitting

Your killing me…  I cannot even find a set anywhere in the US for sale…. At least you can still buy them.... And you may not even install them….   Shame shame on you..

Dan

There's plenty of older posts on here about buying a set of Silver Wing lower leg wind deflectors from the UK, including Honda motorcycle dealerships that stocked them and would post to the States.

Hardly anyone from the US bought a set simply because they weren't prepared to pay the price we pay for a set, plus extra postage to the States.

Wind deflectors are a rare thing to find now. Ebay UK site has a listing LAST ONE so it says.
I want them too but cost and shipping is the issue. Enjoy them .

Very nice ride today 220 miles new rear tire is scuffed and works well.

Mech 1 twa wrote:

Wind deflectors are a rare thing to find now.  Ebay UK site has a listing LAST ONE so it says.
I want them too but cost and shipping is the issue. Enjoy them .

Out of interest I looked out my bill (my eBay shows no listings) and at today's market price they'll cost $142 + shipping costs.

Listing was there last week. US Ebay but from a UK dealer. It's gone now sold I'd assume.
Don't remember the price but it was higher than $142.

Charged the battery on the G3 Triked Silverwing and actually rode it! Had fun on it and it makes my Liberty 150 feel so slow! Now to get the wife some seat time on it!

I had my SWing trike out for a bit today too. Not too long of a ride seeing as it wasn't very warm here yet. But I did have it out. YIIPEEE!
Now for it to really warm up. I'm waiting.

Not today but....
In January this year I had to replace my original battery with a SHORAI. I tried to get one with a higher amp(14) and/or higher CCA(210). I have an alarm system that is active all the time. The SHORAI support person did not feel that I needed the more powerful battery. As it turns out I did need the more powerful battery. Within three days, the new battery drained so low that my clock, and trip meters were reset. Had to order the SHORAI battery charger/maintainer. I now have to place the maintainer on storage when done riding for the day.

Maybe not in the spirit of the thread, but yesterday, April 14th, I checked and added air to the tires, installed the battery after a long winter and then took the Silverwing for a short - first ride of the season. It was a great day !!

Mike

Put on Oxford Heated Grips & wired into the ignition, so if I forget to turn off, they won't drain the battery. Was a useful exercise to see how things are and go under the plastic. Also took the screen off to see how easy it was in preparation for when the Givi AF214 Screen arrives.

Insured the SW today so guess it stays for another year,though I've said that many many times before

Sounds like we're all hotting up for the better weather.....

I told myself that fitting the wind deflectors last week would be the last job before the spring/summer. I'm already thinking of fitting running lights and hand grip protectors before we ride to Antwerp to see The Eagles live on May 26.

I'd better get started!

Loosebearing wrote:

Sounds like we're all hotting up for the better weather.....

I told myself that fitting the wind deflectors last week would be the last job before the spring/summer. I'm already thinking of fitting running lights and hand grip protectors before we ride to Antwerp to see The Eagles live on May 26.

I'd better get started!

Sounds like a really fun plan, loosebearing. Should be a great show ... hope you have a wonderful time.

Mike

Hey, Mike, good to see you got your first one in this season. Mine is still snoozing, haven't even got the battery in. I keep looking at the long range weather and it hasn't given me much hope for a pre-May ride yet. Besides, with the brutal winter the roads are covered in thick layers of sand and grit. April rain hasn't washed any of it off yet. Temps have been in the single digits still and I prefer at least 10 so the windchill doesn't feel as bad.
The season must be just around the corner, except this year the corners keep multiplying ! Still waiting to get together with you: we are probably the closest members of the forum in terms of actual distance.

Jay.

Loosebearing wrote:

Sounds like we're all hotting up for the better weather.....

I told myself that fitting the wind deflectors last week would be the last job before the spring/summer. I'm already thinking of fitting running lights and hand grip protectors before we ride to Antwerp to see The Eagles live on May 26.

I'd better get started!

Hmmm... The Eagles. The late Glenn Frey replaced by new members country music legend Vince Gill and Glenn Frey's son Deacon. Maybe founding member Bernie Leadon will be back in the line up for a few gigs. It's sad that Don Henley still won't have Don Felder back to guitar duel with Joe Walsh.

Sadly time is running out for all these old Seventies bands we still listen to.

The Moody Blues came to Halifax a few years ago and we had tickets for the show. Graeme Edge, (now 78, must have been at least 74 or 75 then), wowed the crowd with his drumming skills. It was rather neat to see a legend in action, in person. That's one show I won't forget.

A younger bunch that I hope to see some day is STOMP. Look up their YouTube videos for something entertaining ... if you enjoy precision drumming. I find it fascinating,... especially groups like the Norweigan King's Guard and other military precision groups. Rifle tossers (as I call them) and precision drummers...

Mike

There's no getting away from the fact a lot of our favourite rock bands are now way past their best and should bow out gracefully and not become a parody of what they once were. Wrinkly old men in wigs or heavy on the hair dye with failing voices, squeezed into tight pants and strutting about still thinking they're cock rockers when they're way into their seventies.

cotetoi wrote:

Hey, Mike, good to see you got your first one in this season. Mine is still snoozing, haven't even got the battery in. I keep looking at the long range weather and it hasn't given me much hope for a pre-May ride yet. Besides, with the brutal winter the roads are covered in thick layers of sand and grit. April rain hasn't washed any of it off yet. Temps have been in the single digits still and I prefer at least 10 so the windchill doesn't feel as bad.
The season must be just around the corner, except this year the corners keep multiplying ! Still waiting to get together with you: we are probably the closest members of the forum in terms of actual distance.

Jay.

Hi there Jay ! Good to see you survived that winter. You had all the snow this year. NS saw the moister side of the storms that left NB with the crystalline precipitation. We saw lots of the non- crystalline percip. That snow storm a week ago was the closest to calling anything a snow storm here this year. About 6", only. But I think it missed NB, However, it was a cold winter. If not for those thick layers of you mention, there would be nothing but pot holes.

I was hoping to leave the battery in the Silverwing but as you say the weather isn't co-operating with that wish. Maybe should bring it in for a few more nights. Don't need that freezing!

Like you, I prefer at least 10°C before heading out -- even if for for a short ride. Sunday here reached 18°C. Many happy bikers on the roads here and all were quick to wave.

Some day we will venture into each other's territory; and when that happens we must plan to meet for a coffee or the like.

Take care,
Mike

Maybe we need a music topic here? Why not? If I had been going to see the Eagles in a car I wouldn't even mention it....the point is, we're going on the SW. The Eagles are a bonus to an excuse for a ride with my new additions to the bike.

Put in new NGK Iridium Spark Plugs & 2 Blue Lead's for the running lights.

Chasing and removing bogus wiring and replacing lost and rusted fasteners