Bad suspension or Bad riding

Since I bought my silverwing I have made two experience.
First, the suspension seems to be worse than on a motorbike .
Second, if you ride a scooter as a motorbike, the suspension feels a lot better.

What I mean is, if you move away from the backrest and ride as on "rodeo", you separate the scooter from the body and a bumpy road feels a lot better.


Interesting to hear other thoughts

Kenth

Your observations are correct Kenth... not the best suspension for a motorcycle.  

First, there is a rear pre-load adjustment at the base of the shock towers.  Adjusting this may help a little. Instructions in your Owner's Manual ... I assume you have one?

Second, the SWings are known to have rather poor suspension characteristics. One group will tell you "what did you expect from a scooter .. it is what it is". A second group will offer suggestions for suspension upgrades and refinements ranging from changing the weight of the front fork oil to spending some big bucks on new mechanical pieces.  

Third, and perhaps this should have been first, the "search" function on this website will be your best friend (it will not criticize, ridicule or embarrass you).  At worse, it will provide no feedback.  Try searching on "HyperPro", "Hagon", "suspension upgrades" etc.  That should keep you reading for a while.

I hope this helps. ~ BugJr ~

I agree. Riding more upright with feet planted on the floorboards does lessen strain on the spine.

That said, I can’t imagine riding without the support of my backrest.

I have the dreaded YSS rear shocks and I find that feet forward and push back against the bumstop raises me a little off the seat and all but the worst bumps are ridable. I tried your rodeo stance but I felt I was unbalanced and not properly in control. Speaking of rodeo, the weather here is nice and the traffic light at the moment so I think it's time to take my old rigid BSA (Bloody Sore Arse) out for a blast.

The SW forks are woefully inadequate for this bike but that said its the only real fault I can identify ...ok the 13 inch rear wheel is another oversight but thats about it , great bike and 20K miles later would not sell mine.

Lucky enough to own a 00 Tmax 500 and with similar miles on them both the Tmax is in a different league with the suspension , the brakes are better and it handles like a sports scooter , not sure I would want to do the miles I have done on the SWing but I aint selling the Tmax either......great bikes both of em!

Cellos stop it. I keep lusting after a tmax enough anyway, but the toybox is full
It serves as a good example to show what handles, what doesn't and why.
The tmax has proper motorcycle style triple clamps, a much more rigid frame and a near 50/50 weight distribution.
The silverwing on the other hand has mountain bike type forks, a frame that flexes when pushed and a rearward weight bias more akin to a cruiser.
That's the result of different design briefs, the tmax to upset sportsbikes & the silverwing to tour. Both achieve their design briefs quite nicely.
All that logic doesn't stop the lust though

I don't know why people buy sports bikes at all these days, apart from their performance aspect they're a one trick pony. Stupid riding position, even more ridiculous for the unfortunate passenger sitting upright on a seat that’s not much bigger than my iPad mini, and the carrying capacity of a pair of cargo shorts.

Adventure bikes like the BMW GS do it all so much better, they seem to have taken over from land barge like touring bikes as the definitive tourer these days, and they're certainly no slouch on either motorways or demanding roads.

Even the way the average adventure bike rider dresses looks better, the Round The World Adventurer style seems more fit for purpose than the mid life crisis sports bike guy bursting out of his set of brightly coloured one piece leathers going from one fried breakfast venue to another.

BMW was excellent suspension (ive had several) but to achieve that they sit high. The SW is an old style technology and was built to be powerful (for a scooter) with a low center of gravity. In looking at the design of the SW was to be a good all around commuter or interstate hog. I love my raised back rest and for long trips use a gel pad.

Honda called the Silver Wing a "touring scooter". I would agree with that completely, it is one of the smoothest machines I have ridden (and that is a lot). I have made several 2000 mile trips on mine and love it. That said it is NOT the best handling bike either. Does OK but not the best for twisties (my Goldwing 1800) was better. Actually my 2015 Forza handles and brakes more nimble than the bigger Silver Wing. But I doubt if I will be taking any 2000 mile trips on the Forza, just a bit cramped for that kind of malarkey.

I'd also agree that the Silver Wing made an excellent maxi scooter for solo touring or carrying a passenger in comfort. Handling wise I had no complaints, Until a couple of years ago I used to regularly go on touring holidays in the Harz Mountains in Germany, Apart from the Silver Wing, I've been there on a Honda CN250 Helix, 400 Burgman, and 650 Burgman, and without a doubt the Silver Wing handled the popular bikers roads better than any of the others. That’s riding in a variety of differing weather conditions, and I've ridden the 350 miles plus from my usual hotel base there back to the ferry ports in the rain a few times in complete confidence.

So if my bog standard Silver Wing was such a slouch in the handling department, I certainly wouldn't be spending money on expensive ferry crossings, hotel accommodation, meals, and fuel etc.

I have to say if I visited the Harz again on my Forza 300, it would likely take the Silver Wings crown. The long high speed autobahns would be no problem, and once in the Harz, the lighter Pirelli Scorpion shod Forza would be an absolute hoot to ride.

After 2 new SilverWings and over 90,000 miles with them----I found really nothing wrong with the suspension---found good adjustment on rear shocks and left it, never overloaded the bike,front ok for maybe scooter. Engine mounted rigid=fine.

Other than belt changes never monkeyed with drive train. Performance=fine

Best improvements are: Givi Adjustable windshield, Givi Rack and Box, maybe NEP cruise control

See Meldrew comments above, adding I am not fat and do not wear white tennis shoes, always carry proper rain gear.

Currently at 81, on11th new maxiscooter since 1990, present scooter 2019 Kymco XTown 300i ABS, finding it easier to work on than Suzuki/Honda/Yamaha....and maybe just as reliable or more than they are at 11,000 miles---dealer network in US thinner than the Japanese, but way better than Vespa!! Price really right---out the door, about half of a Vespa GTS 300!!

SilverWing now old/out of production---but taken care of in stock condition should run for a few more years---my only real dislike of SilverWing=heavy/can be really top heavy loaded for tour/or shopping.

In US WalMart house brand 10-40 oil worked fine. I used oil filters from WalMart,too.