Why oh why... Dishonest sellers.

So a mate of mine rode my battered and well worn 2001 Wing and decided he wanted one. I have just bought another so offered him mine but 2He didn't want a blue one". OK...
So he spent £500 more than I offered the bike to him on another one, same year... Now my one has been stripped to the bones, every panel has been off, the chassis is waxoyled, the brakes are new, the thing has new tyres, new head bearings, ok the body is a bit battered but it's reliable, goes like the clappers...

And his? Well the seller says it has a "Genuine 16,000 miles on it". MOT checks seemed to prove this, so off he went, bought it. And yes it's nice but this guy also told him it was very well maintained.

So why can't he get one screw to undo? Because they are all rusted solid that's why... You can't exactly use an impact driver to remove the panels you need to get off to do an oil change can you? So it probably has it's original first service oil filter on it...

Ah well. Buyer Beware as they say. So I've pointed him at a set of drills and a new set of screws and speed clips before he starts trying to get panels off... Might as well do them now.

You don't need to remove any panels to do an oil change. You do have to remove the right side panel to replace the air filter. The left side covers for the belt, clutch, and variator.

The first time I did an oil change placed an old mirror tile on the garage floor so I could look at it and  familiarise myself with the lay out underneath. After that I didn't need to, and the most important thing to remember doing an oil change is using a 6 point socket to remove that nasty soft alloy sump plug.

By the way a bit of news over this side of the Pond from a honest seller, the artist formerly known as Old Limey has decided to sell his black 2014 Silver Wing.

As anyone who's followed his posts on here will know he's fastidious about servicing and maintenance and doesn’t trust dealer mechanics. It will have had regular belt changes and tyre changes since he bought it.

He's also had a SYM Cruisym 300 from new which is now ticking all the boxes for him that the Silver Wing once did.

Anyway he's now clocked up a trouble free 42000 miles on the Silver Wing mainly doing his regular leisure rides, and he's willing to sell it for £2500.

Good price as it's well maintained

The easiest way to remove those 'delicate' screws is to drill them out. I've had to do this several times on my 2001 model. I then replaced the screws and anchor clips with new ones and it can be a real pain but worth it.

Routine maintenance doesn't always require the tupperware to be removed so it's natural that the screws and bolts will corrode. I found some anchor clips have 'welded' themselves to the plastic so some careful 'prising' is required. Patience and determination are the key when dealing with old machinery.

Am I the exception here, in my eight years of Silver Wing ownership the only Tupperware I removed were the windscreen garnish to remove or replace screens, or bulbs.  I also removed that little plastic panel to change and fit Iridium spark plugs. I probably loosened a panel or two for access and that's it.

I really can't understand all this unnecessary faffing about and poking around under panels for whatever reason. Regular washing after riding on dirty or salted roads meant and the occasional squirt of anti-corrosion spray meant I never had any rust or corroding alloy. It also passed every annual MOT Test without any advisories.

It's a 2001. How old is that? 18+ years. Depends on storage conditions and cleaning, things rust.
Just because it passed an inspection every year doesn't mean it was well maintained other than brakes, tires and lights.

Lucky for me I live on the West Coast of the US where corrosion isn't as bad as some places. I haven't really run into many corroded bolts that won't come out on any bike I've worked on. An impact driver has always taken care of stuck bolts and screws. Sometimes a bit of heat from a soldering iron on the head of a stuck fastener will help break it loose. Especially one that's not in plastic so you can heat it pretty hot and then douse it with cold water to shock it. That often will do a good job of getting corrosion. Heat alone will help with a bolt on which someone used red Loctite.

Yes our annual MOT is basically the roadworthy condition of your vehicle when you present it for inspection that day, but it's probably a lot more stringent than anything you have in the US.

No one over this side of the Pond turns up hoping to get through the MOT with a Yakimoto square shouldered car tyre on the rear wheel,  a horn that plays 'Sweet Home Alabama', or what was that thing in a recent post a 'radar deflecting shield'  

Although I still read the occasional forum post from maxi riders who feel the need to tell everyone their scooter has just passed it's annual MOT, or seem pleased it got through with one or two advisories.

Which translates to me as chancers trying to get it through the test with faults they obviously knew about and hoped they wouldn't be noticed.

meldrew wrote:

I really can't understand all this unnecessary faffing about and poking around under panels for whatever reason

I wouldn't call it unnecessary faffing about when I need to remove the tupperware in order to replace my rear shocks or get clear access to my front forks for removal. Taking the lower side panels off (an easy task) can give you access to all kinds of wonders. Besides, my SW is getting on a bit now and it's good to have a look in all those nooks and crannies to make sure nothing is corroding badly or is about to fall off. 'Know your bike'.

Most states in the US don't have an equivalent to your MOT. In fact most don't have any inspections at all. Most states that do check the condition only want to see that the lights, horns and brakes work more or less properly. They might check tire condition. But that's not all states. In the case of the states I've lived in they only care if you cough up the cash to pay the licensing fee.

Personally I like it that way, I don't want a nanny telling me whether my vehicle is safe or not. That's my problem. I think it's safe to say that most of us on this side of the Atlantic prefer it that way too.

exavid, I agre with you 100%. But you have to realize Socialistic governments need to get money for all their give away programs.

It's 45 minutes out of my day once a year, and I usually go and have a coffee somewhere while it's being done. Apart from doing the basic stuff I have no real interest in the dirt under the fingernails stuff, but I've never had a car, motorcycle, or maxi scooter fail it's annual MOT or been given any advisory notices.

Plus if I was looking at some old Silver Wing that was for sale, it's nice to have all the previous owners MOT Certificates to look at. Apart from learning about it's general mechanical condition you can see from the certificate the yearly mileage between inspections.

Aldusfran I for one would love a more socialistic government over here, in fact anything than the lunatic we have at the moment lol.

Right enough of that political rubbish and back to bikes ...

Ahem. If anyone over here had posted, “...lunatic we have at the moment”, I’m afraid that I’d be obligated to step in and yield the “no politics on this forum” truncheon. So I guess that the same applies to you folks as well. Enough said.

Tim

Oh S***! talking of MOTs, mine ran out on 2nd Oct.

The guy who does my SW MOT showed me how to remove the front fork oil seals without dismantling the forks and it works, I've done it twice. He's usually quite lenient when it comes to snags or 'iffy' items which he finds but he always gives me a 'pass'. I guess he knows I'm serious about keeping my bike in order and he's confident that I'll 'get it fixed', whatever the snag might be.

I'd better call him and get it booked in....quick!

If you've never taken the bike apart, you aren't going to know the fasteners are rusted. To some people well maintained means they've taken the bike apart every week and cleaned it with a toothbrush, to others, they changed the oil when they should have, more or less. It's like reliable. Some people think that if it hasn't broken down in the three thousand miles they rode it since new, it's the most reliable machine ever made, because they own it.
One thing I've learned to do is keep an assortment of stainless steel screws in the commonly used sizes on hand, and replace the stock ones whenever I need to remove one. It eliminates the repeat offenders and problems later.

Loosemarbles, you said the fork seals can be replaced without "dismantling" front forks. Yeah you can remove fork seals without removing forks but you still have to remove forks to install new fork seals. If not please explain what the procedure is ,cause I'm baffled.

Hi Aldusfran. I was making the point that, yes, the forks have to be removed from the bike but you do not need to dismantle the forks themselves, (i.e separate the fork halves) in order to change the fork seals. Hope this clears things up.