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.

Today I removed the rear tire. Cleaned/polished the wheel. Tried to install a t-valve stem to be used with my TPM System. Tested the wheel with the connector installed. It was too tall and would strike the transmission on every revolution. Need to get the 90° valve stem tomorrow and finish changing the tire. I will be installing the recommended IRC tire. I got 15k miles on the original IRCs. The front has maybe 5k more miles.

Yeah, where do those fasteners go to? Every time I look over the SW I find a missing, rusted or broken screw or fastener. I keep a stock in the garage now!

While we're in this particular forum subject, I am trying to fit hand protectors at the moment but I can't get the old handlebar end-stop 'inserts' to budge. How on earth do you pull them out?

Today, I installed my IRC rear tire with same. Tried to find the balance before airing the tire. After many attempts moving the tire on the wheel, I came to the conclusion that the wheel is perfectly balanced, but the tire was not. No matter where the tire was on the wheel, it had the same heavy spot. Since it was not that off balance, I just aired it up. After checking for leaks, I let the air out and put in 8ozs of Ride-On. Ran the bike for 7 miles on the center stand while putting away my tools. Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow and I can ride some, scrubbing the new tire.

I also replaced the lower left plastic. I scratched it badly trying to go around a speed bump. Ended up bouncing off the curb. Thought that there was more space between the curb and the speed bump.

Pulled the front wheel and forks on Monday. Mounted new tire and changed fork oil on Tuesday put it back together today. Pirelli Diablo and Torco 15wt oil. Mounted rear tire a week ago new tires ride and steer so much better. Weather should be okay tomorrow go for a nice ride and enjoy.

Yesterday I checked the air pressure in my tires. They were only about 2 Lbs low so I topped them off. Then I cleaned and oiled the chain on my trike and checked the play in it. It's still the same amount as when I got it but then it's only been one season with it. This starts the second season. I'll take it for a run today, if it doesn't rain, and get oil and filter for it.

Bought it and cleaned it! New to this site and having a hard time figuring out how to start a new topic or ask questions! Help please! Thanks, Kenny.

Just below the top toolbar there are two tabs, "New Topic" and "Post Reply". Click on New Topic and the decide which Forum heading best fits your topic. Click on that and have at it. HTH

A good place to start is Introduction.

Tim

Went for a ride to the north shore to scrub my new rear tire. Stopped in Haleiwa for shrimp scampi. Went across the street to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. My new SHORAI battery went dead when trying to leave McDonald's. Was a good thing I carry a portable battery. I was able to start my Swing. Cancelled the remainder of my ride and went home. Got about 45 miles.

My battery died due to paracitic draw on my battery mainly by my SCORPIO alarm system. I always place my SHORAI charger on "storage". This reduces the battery voltage, and being disconnected for two days even more dropped the total voltage. After finishing the installation of the new tire, I should have placed the SHORAI charger in "charge" and not "storage".
.
After getting home, I connected the charger in "charge" mode which has the added benefit of balancing all the cells.

Took a nice ride mostly Pa. back roads down into Amish country. Across the big river Susquehanna to York and up the west side back to Harrisburg . 234 miles.

I'm loving new Pirelli tires so much better than last set of Michelins. SW tracks so much better on road grooves and such. Fork oil change much better new oil not as stiff. Had Bel-Ray 15W and tried Torco 15W . Fork absorbs bumps without harsh hit of stiffer oil. A good day.

Averaged 53 MPG with Booster Plug this time.

Darn near put it down on a particularly steep ( both directions )  single lane poorly maintained gravel road. Pucker factor of 12 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Proud of myself. Installed new belt, rollers and changed the final drive oil.
Defiantly needed a belt and rollers both were pretty worn.

Good Work Eugene! It's not all that hard to do once you have instructions. I know the first time I did it I was a bit worried but with JeffR's pdfs it was no problem. I got it done and the SWing still worked. YIIPEEE!

Looked at pictures of my new to me wing on ebay, pick it up on Sat the weather forecast is for rain of biblical  proportions and strong winds should be a fun 100 mile ride home ....

Last night I got around to installing a new brake light/starter interrupter switch.  Shortly after I picked it up it left me sitting…  Then I ordered it from the slowest dealer on eBay….. Also in the down time I noticed the battery was original from 2013 and decided to replace it also due to age….  Now on to the next problem when it stops raining out… It seems like the rear brake starts dragging after ridden but never after sitting…

Dan

Finished up my work on my new to me SW to today. Got my top case installed and some nice new grips.

Today I fitted my new Givi 214 Airflow screen, pretty straight forward in the fitting of it, really pleased with it but still playing around with height's to get best position. When on a run, I stuck my head to the left and right............WoW nearly took my head back, so it works great.

Well my first ever rides on my newly purchased Silverwing over the weekend,first one 70 miles from Halifax to Liverpool during so called Hurricane Hannah !! which to be fair was more about self preservation than enjoyment.Second ride a nice 100 mile loop with the good lady her approval for blowing more money on another bike...here are my first impressions, I can see what the fuss is about engine wise very smooth on the motorway at 80mph two up,wind blast with standard screen not so great,fuel consumption is a bit harsh after a burgman 400 but to be expected,comfort is decent but I can't stretch my legs out fully I'm 5 11",my only concern is low speed handling it seems very heavy, head bearings seem ok just not giving me confidence in the front, any suggestions welcome thanks?

Easyrider wrote:

Went for a ride to the north shore to scrub my new rear tire. Stopped in Haleiwa for shrimp scampi. Went across the street to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. My new SHORAI battery went dead when trying to leave McDonald's. Was a good thing I carry a portable battery. I was able to start my Swing. Cancelled the remainder of my ride and went home. Got about 45 miles.

My battery died due to paracitic draw on my battery mainly by my SCORPIO alarm system.  I always place my SHORAI charger on "storage". This reduces the battery voltage, and being disconnected for two days even more dropped the total voltage. After finishing the installation of the new tire, I should have placed the SHORAI charger in "charge"  and not "storage".
.
After getting home, I connected the charger in "charge" mode which has the added benefit of balancing all the cells.

* * * UPDATE * * *
After returning home, I tested my charging system. I got 13.1 volts at idle and 13.5 at 3500 rpm. Schedule an appointment with Honda Service. Meanwhile I was able to bench charge the battery using the SHORAI charger/tender. The battery showed 13.96 volts at the end of the charge cycle and after sitting on the bench for a week, the voltage had dropped to 13.4 volts.
Took the bike in and they determined it was the rectifier and stator that needs replacing. Parts on order. Thank goodness it is still covered under the extended warranty.

Not today, but in the past few days; new HiFlo air filter, new OEM drive belt, 26 DrPulley sliders, new Shinko rear tire. And a wash. I noted the seep of oil from the stator wire grommet. I will degrease and try a patch with some silicone, but I suspect a new gasket and grommet will be required shortly..

Jay.

The triked Swing had the battery die, so I stole the battery from the junker Swing. It died also! So, got a new Duracell Platinum from Batteries + for hers, and kept her weak cranking amps battery for the junker. Otherwise, been riding the trike to work making sure all is good before she takes it out for its maiden voyage.

Sidco10. The only reason I can think of for low speed handling problems is tyre pressures. When I first test road my SW I had to heave it over to turn, especially at low speed. I thought the bike had a serious problem but then realised that the front tyre was almost flat. With both tyres at recommended pressures I find low speed handling very easy, especially using the back brake in combo with the throttle, the bike will turn on a sixpence.

Other than that, maybe it's just a matter of familiarisation and practice.

Tyres: front 29psi. Rear 33psi solo, 36psi pillion.

Took mine in for its annual MOT, that's a UK thing for all of you living in the colonies :-)
And of course it passed, did we expect anything else?

Oil change today with new OEM filter and O-ring. Pro Honda GN4 10W40. It was 4,500 miles since my last oil change (without a filter change) and I was surprised how dark the old oil was. I am going to keep this interval in the future and change the filter each time. I also may start removing that annoying metal protective plate that gets in the way of the oil draining.

(LATER THAT SAME DAY ....)

Put in a new HiFlo air filter and NGK spark plugs.

Flipped a coin. SW lost. Fired up Yamaha FJR and put 180 miles on that. Nice day for once sun was shining and 70 ish depending on hills.

Anybody in central eastern PA. go ride RT 125 Pine Grove to Shamokin you won't regret it.
Four mountains and steep hills, switchbacks and not much traffic. Road conditions vary watch for loose stones at times.

Yup, Mech, you know those PA roads. A hilly, curvy state, and much fun almost any part you choose for a ride. Go for a hundred+ mile ride and you'll come back with a big smile. Not as much fun for an old bicycle rider, but the motor bike eats up the hills and mountains.

Yesterday, Saturday 5-19, I took my front tire off my SWing and ran it over to Larson Cycle in Cambridge, MN to get it a new tire put on. It was getting pretty worn so I wanted to be safe while riding. I should get it back in a few days. It's scheduled to rain here along with being chilly so I won't be riding it anyway. Good time to have it done when the weather is bad. I also ordered another bottle of Ride-On to put in it once I get it back.

Topped off gas tank and cleaned the bugs. Went for a good ride yesterday 275 miles. Perfect weather and nice PA. back roads. Allentown to Jersey Shore PA. Why it got that name I'll never know not near NJ. and no beach-ocean there. Very nice day. 9:45 --4:30 a long ride in hills.

I should mention the coolant change that I did 2 days ago. Went for a longer ride today, 3 hours, mixed driving. No change in level, so, must have done it right. Iridium plugs ordered late last week. Local mech was asking $46.00 for two NGK. I found 4 Iridium NGK's for that price. Could sell two back to him for his price !!


Jay

NGK are the best plugs. Iridium will last a long time. Was that for plugs and labor or just plugs?
Installed a set at 6k now 16K no problems won't change until 30K if all goes well.

US. site Rock Auto has great prices on all kinds of auto parts and such. Mostly auto but can search there for plugs and they have them.

Just the plugs. I couldn't believe it.

Jay.

Rode mine into a ditch on Saturday.
Both the bike and I survived, scooter with scratches and a couple of cracks in panels and me with a few aches to add to the usual ones.

Happy Days!

Easyrider wrote:

Easyrider wrote:

Went for a ride to the north shore to scrub my new rear tire. Stopped in Haleiwa for shrimp scampi. Went across the street to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. My new SHORAI battery went dead when trying to leave McDonald's. Was a good thing I carry a portable battery. I was able to start my Swing. Cancelled the remainder of my ride and went home. Got about 45 miles.

My battery died due to paracitic draw on my battery mainly by my SCORPIO alarm system.  I always place my SHORAI charger on "storage". This reduces the battery voltage, and being disconnected for two days even more dropped the total voltage. After finishing the installation of the new tire, I should have placed the SHORAI charger in "charge"  and not "storage".
.
After getting home, I connected the charger in "charge" mode which has the added benefit of balancing all the cells.

* * * UPDATE * * *
After returning home, I tested my charging system. I got 13.1 volts at idle and 13.5 at 3500 rpm. Schedule an appointment with Honda Service. Meanwhile I was able to bench charge the battery using the SHORAI charger/tender. The battery showed 13.96 volts at the end of the charge cycle and after sitting on the bench for a week, the voltage had dropped to 13.4 volts.
Took the bike in and they determined it was the rectifier and stator that needs replacing. Parts on order. Thank goodness it is still covered under the extended warranty.

Final update:
Got my bike back this past Saturday. Thank goodness the repair was done under my extended warranty. The cost to me would have been $1,000. They recommended an oil change that was not part of the warranty. I didn't do the oil change at the dealership. Instead they put the old oil in and I drove the bike home (13 miles) then changed the oil and filter. I also changed the rear end oil, which looked clean as compared to the engine oil.
Had to remove and correctly re-install the muffler. The repair person installed it with the bracket on the outside of the mounting point.

WOW! That sucks! Glad you are OK MikeO. I've noticed that the older I get the aches and pains take longer to go away.

Thanks, Dale. I was lucky overall; had I crashed on to the road it might have ended up an 'Air Ambulance' job. As it was, the ground on the sides of the ditch were very wet so soft and it was grass-lined.
You're so right about the aches, though.
I have very regular trips to my osteopath so I'll get the once-over next week.

SW was to clean decided to add some bugs on a long ride. Perfect weather and a long ride to help with the stress. Found some new roads to ride it gets harder to do one day trips.

322 miles mostly back roads in PA.

115 miles of twisties in the sun with my son, lunch and riding a good day indeed.

Added part #86150-KPG-901 small OEM HONDA emblem where the GIVI was.  Looks sharp!  Bought from Partzilla.  May take a few days to get but worth it. Doesn’t need glue but clean surface before with 91% rubbing alcohol before pressing on.  A Tip to place it center is to keep old GIVI label on then place Honda emblem below or above to keep it centered Then peel GIVI off.  Twist and Shout!

In my case it's a Forza so zilch.It's a Bank Holiday Monday here and the roads are predictably very busy in and around York as lockdown restrictions have been eased. So I suggested Mrs M join me for a cycle ride to a very nice and hospitable village pub, and we had beer and loaded fries for lunch outside in the sunshine.

Also added 2 53104-KY6-010 WEIGHT HANDLE (HONDA) as the originals were worn down to bare metal.  Picked up the 93700-06035-0G SCREW, OVAL (6X35) (Honda) as well.  

I rode it!

140 miles in company with Steve and another friend (on his SH300) all over the Pennines in County Durham and the southern part of Northumberland.
It was another brilliant ride in brilliant weather.

I'll write in greater detail later - I'm completely creamed now but thanks to Steve once again.

Road it also.

Is this summer in US.? Saturday and Sunday were miserable in North East 50F and rain.  Today much better 70's after a cool start.  About 130 miles 4 hours and lunch mostly back roads not my usual ride.
Traffic was lite for this holiday weekend but I'm not complaining.  650 miles on new belt working great.

Almost all of our Covid restrictions have been lifted but that's a personal choice right now. To mask or not to I chose the latter. Had it.

Rode 150 miles to get lunch a nice pulled pork sandwich so good but then it was another 170 miles to get home. Weather was so nice about time! 9:20 to 4:30 a lot of seat time in the woodlands of PA. Covid crap is over here and tired of it. 1k on new belt and sliders working perfect.

decided to take the new swing for a longish ride today, although not long by american standards! anyways, left carmarthen at 7am and stopped in aberystwyth for breakfast. weather was gloomy but better along the coast so headed up to aberdyfi via towyn. this shot is looking across the water to barmouth and the soon to be underwater village of fairbourne



then up to dolgellau and back down south into the rain

i have to say this is one of the best machines i've ever had, as it is effortless to ride without the aches and pains i get on my trusty firestorm/superhawk. just over 200 miles and enjoyed every minute. also, other bikers wave at me on this machine!

hondapete wrote:

i have to say this is one of the best machines i've ever had, as it is effortless to ride without the aches and pains i get on my trusty firestorm/superhawk.  just over 200 miles and enjoyed every minute.  also, other bikers wave at me on this machine!

I agree with you. Have ridden 2-wheelers since 1969 on-road and off-road bikes and my Silver Wing is probably my favorite ride. I commuted on a CB750 for years and have ridden V-twins and Gold-wings and still the SWing is my favorite. Easy to ride and work on and at my age I enjoy the shiftless tranny. And yes people seem less threatened by the big scooter and come up and talk to me about it whereas with a big V-twin they tend to shy away. I am also enjoying the Forza but still prefer the 600.

Ride to Rykas South of London to meet a few friends. Currently awaiting for biblical rain to stop in the name of safety.

Ok to be honest it was not today but a few weeks ago, but It may be helpful.  I finally installed a power outlet in the glove compartment, I had to take off the upper and lower front cover and the right skirt.  There were a couple screw clips that trinkled down to the the driveway when I took off the front cover and had to construction glue them back on (joy).

Anyway I used the pre installed plug in the glove compartment and put the wiring through there and followed along side the gas tank and frame to come back up by the corner of the seat.  The wire wasn't long enough so had to twist some additional wire and cap/tape it to make it along the side, I had to do this with the Oxford handle bar heater along the other side as well as SWING is such a beast.

Now I plug in my Garmin with one short wire rather have one come across to under the front seat and I used to trip over it when I got off the bike and forgot there was a wire there and the garmin would go flying.  This power outlet was a long time coming.

I forgot the name of the product I purchased for the power outlet but it has one usb and one cigarette lighter with a on off switch for the whole assembly, I thought it was appropriate for size and usefulness with the glove box space.  Can still fit stuff underneath/behind power outlet.

Kevin

Again, not actually today but this is the first opportunity to mention it... I dumped the Silver Bus on a massive cow clack and smashed a lot of plastic. Not only did I slip on it but I fell into it and had to be hosed down before I removed my gear. To top it all, the seat popped and my indoor clothes were thrown into it.

Recently fitted two-piece Givi screen smashed and bars bent too.

Well, for today I repaired a broken connector for my Admore top box LED array. Had some problem communicating with Admore support as to which connector I needed. Although I had sent them a picture of the connector, they sent me the wrong one. After exchanging emails they said that they do not have a replacement connector. I asked for a refund and decided to remove the need for a connector and just solder the wires together.
A shout out to Admore support for they refunded me the cost for the wrong connector, AND sent me several connectors at no cost. Thank you Admore! Great cuztomer support!
Anyway my LED array for my GIVI top box works great!

Also had to repair my SENA SMH10 communications headset. For some reason the helmet mount cracked. After repairing the mount with JB Weld, I noticed that the contacts for the headset mount were recessed too deep and that the pins of the headset control couldn't reach the headset mount contacts. I thought that all was lost, until I remembered that I had another used headset mount and was able to adapt it to my helmet. The only thing I dislike about the used headset mount is that the mic is on a boom, whereas the original one had a velcro attachment mic which I liked very much. Now I have to move the mic boom when putting on/off my helmet. I may still contact SENA and get my mount replaced.

Besides going to the grocery store or my favorite watering hole to get a beer, I commute to work weekdays mostly freeway, one hour round trip. 2003 Candy Glory Red. It turns heads (better than being invisible) and people always notice it and ask me questions. I still get excited every time I walk up to it.