Hello from Kentucky

Hello from Ky.
We live in mountains of southeastern Ky, just seconds away from the famous Cumberland Gap, where Daniel Boone ventured into Ky and opened up the trails to the “west”.
I have always had a two wheeled “something” since my teen years. I currently ride an anniversary edition 2015 Honda goldwing. I am blessed that my wife loves to ride with me. She has never rode by herself. I just bought her a Honda metro, and she outgrew it in a couple hours. Just last night I bought her a 2002 silverwing. I rode it last night, and I have to say I am impressed with the handling, and the speed and power. It may take her a bit to grow into it, but she has the basics down. I may have to borrow it from her from time to time... haha.
I do some minor maintenance on my goldwing, and wish to service the silverwing myself, as we do not know the service history. There is a lot of info here, and I really appreciate the data.

Hello John. Welcome to the forum.

Tim

"and wish to service the silverwing myself"

Start with a Honda factory service manual. Here's a 2001-2002 for $5.99 ...

https://www.ebay.com/i/273725841282?chn=ps

I'm never been described as mechanically-inclined, but with the service manual, YouTube videos, tutorials, posts and some very smart, helpful riders on this forum, I've changed the engine and gear oils, brake fluid, coolant, spark plugs, battery, seat, drive belt, variator weights and guides, brake pads and windscreen. Saved over $2,000 in dealer costs by my estimation, including parts and tools. It's an easy bike to work on.

Enjoy!

Welcome from o-HI-o John.

Thanks tim and old wing...
and Delray, I just ordered from eBay, thanks for the link...the bike has 22k miles on it , and I am just reading about belts and weights.....I really don’t want it to go any faster, but smoother would be nice, ( not that is is not smooth, but some posts have said if u do this or that it may be better) I may just do everything stock for now and then as I learn, I may experiment with aftermarket or improved mods..... with 22k miles l and not knowing the service history, I should probably do everything u said u have done to your bike.
Thanks again
-John

"not knowing the service history, I should probably do everything"

That just makes all kinds of sense to me, especially if your dearly beloved is riding it.

I bought a 2012 last year with 1,600 miles, which meant the bike had been sitting idle most of the time. I felt better going through it and updating everything.

I had new tires put on (at the dealer; I don't do tires). They had plenty of tread but the date stamp showed them to be seven years old. Also went through a can of Brakleen cleaning the calipers and rotors. I used paper plates as a backstop to keep the fluid focused, then followed with mild detergent and lots of water.

You may have heard the lamentations of Wing owners who burned out their batteries by not latching the seat tightly -- which means the trunk light stays on. You can, a) be careful to always close the seat tightly; b) take the bulb out so it can't burn down the battery, or, c) install a Honda trunk light with On/Off switch. I did that because I like having a trunk light. It's a $30 part and 10-minute install.

Delray, I need new back tire and the front is about half but dry rotted, so I need both...can u suggest a brand? Didn’t know about a date stamp...where is it, and is it a “code” or pretty obvious?
Didn’t know about the trunk light ...I’ll keep a check on that...did u order your trunk light from Honda , partzilla, etc?
I stayed up half the night reading posts and watching vids....haha tooooo much info to consume at once. But I’m gonna love it...and I’m sure the wife will too!
Thanks...sorry for so many questions so early.
-John
P.s.
The wife wants a “trunk” with a backrest pad (I don’t know why, I just comply) I think u call it a top case? Can u suggest one?
Jb

I installed Metzelers because I read a lot of good comments on this site. Same with Pirellis. I believe they are manufactured at the same factory. Lots of threads and opinions about tires on this site.

The date stamp is on the sidewall. It's a rectangular box with two numbers and a forward slash between them, like 32/17. The first number is the week of the year the tire was made (in my example, the 32nd week). The second number is the year (2017).

I found the Honda trunk light online at a dealership in Massachusetts. My usual sources (bikebandit, partzilla) didn't have it. Honda part # is 34260-SH3-004. There is a thread here titled "Installing New Trunk Light" that has my "how to" for installation.

For top cases, GIVI has a wide selection with and without back rests. Monolock cases are cheaper and smaller. Monokey are bigger and better. GIVI sells a rack made for the Wing that attaches to the silver deck behind the seat. The deck has pre-set drill marks inside the bottom cover and GIVI built the rack to fit them. GIVI model #'s are SR19 and SR19M (Monokey and Monolock). Rack and top case need to be the same (Monolock or Monokey) or they won't fit together. Google "Honda Silver Wing top case" and you will find your choices. Great installation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrU7ZQInSbc

No worries about too many questions. Glad to help. I've gotten lots of great advice from folks here and I'm just doing my best to pay it forward ;o).

Hi John and welcome to the Best SWing site on the net. There's lots of info here for doing your own work on your SWing. I've been through KY a couple of times and it is some very nice country down there.

Welcome from Norfolk, VA!

Delray , many thanks bro. I promise I won’t keep asking you a bunch of questions. There is so much info on here it is hard to sort it all out. I look for a thread, and see something else and read forever , and then think, that’s not what I was searching for, haha!
Thanks for the welcome dale! If u are ever in south eastern Ky, give me a shout! We have a lot of two lane curvy , less traveled roads here ( twisties) and I cant wait to try them out on the silverwing!
Hi scooter!

"I look for a thread, and see something else and read forever"

I hear ya, man. I have spent many, many hours reading posts and articles and watching YouTube vids about the Wing. Keep everybody posted on your maintenance progress. It's always interesting to hear another's experience.

I live in south eastern ky and bought the bike in Louisburg, n.c.
Just Friday, me and a friend of mine, josh, drove, ( well he drove, he is a lot younger than I am) there , leaving ky at 5 am, and not returning till 11pm that night. What a trip. It was , is , a very clean bike , and reasonable miles, and a reasonable price. A bit older , 2002, but I think it will be a great bike for the wife..... after I ride it a bit and work out all the bugs, haha . I will try to post a picture of the bike but I am not very tech savvy! Love the site already!

Nice looking machine. Looks to be in good shape, and great that you have a GIVI screen on it already. The OEM screen is pretty much useless. That saves you $100 right there.

That it's a very nice looking SWing Skynight. I'll bet you get fantastic mileage riding it on that trailer tho! Sorry Skynight, I couldn't help myself...

Hi dale: I really wanted to “ride” it home, not on the trailer but my buddy said no...I was kidding! Tooo long of a trip and tooo new to me! I had to take the picture at a pit stop and send it to the wife, haha. Hey...what kind of mileage do u think I will get? Do the older ones not do as well as the new ones?
Delray : I didn’t realize the wind screen was not stock! One less thing to buy! It is really clean. One or two scratches on the rear where the key opens the seat....and a small nick or two here and there. I have been polishing and cleaning it all weekend. Going to look for tires and other toys tomorrow at lunch on the internet!

It's probably best to do what you did by trailering it. When I got mine home and running I rode it around my small town for an hour or so to get the feel of it before taking it on the highway. I've ridden cycles most of my life but this was a different animal. After you've been here a while you'll get used to my weird sense of humor. It's a nice looking SWing and I'm sure you'll like it as much as the rest of us like ours. I had mine turned into a trike two winters ago and have no regrets. As far as mileage goes, you should get close to the 50s with it. But if your like me I really don't care much because it gets better mileage than my pickup and it funner to ride if it's not raining.