Seeking scooter purchase guidance

Hi all,
I am new to the forum. I have joined as I am seeking information and guidance on what to buy for two up riding. I have limited funds of up to $4,500 for my purchase.
I have over 50 years of riding experience. My previous ride was a 2007 Harley Davidson Heritage Softtail. This was eight years ago. I have reached the age (74) where reality has hit that for the safety of all, my Harley days are over. My big bike days may be a thing of the past...but both my wife and my desire to be cruising down the backroads are still with us.
I have a question I am hoping that someone can answer. First off, what is the recommended weight hauling limit of the scooter? Would it safely carry my overweight toosh and my wife on two up day rides... combined weight of 380 pounds?
Please advise. Thank you.

Welcome aboard the board Two Up.  First, your budget is more than adequate to pick up a really nice used Silver Wing.  No issues there.  The Silver Wing's maximum weight rating is 375 lbs. So you're right at the limit with just the two of you.  If you add cargo in the underseat 55L cargo area or add a top case etc., then you are just adding to the overage for the max. weight rating.  

Can the machine handle it ... well yes ... to a point.  Will it affect the quality of the ride you experience ... heck yes.  Would I do it ... likely no on a regular basis.  Just my opinion and other's experiences and opinions may differ.

You may want to look at the Burgman 650 or the BMW scoot.  I do not know their specs but they may offer a little more capacity.  Also, the Honda CTX700 DCT ABS bike might be worth a look.  It's also an automatic bike but you have to swing your leg over the seat/frame if that's doable.

Click on the link below as it shows a former member who just picked up a BMW scoot.

https://www.silverwing600.com/t11869-back-in-scooterville#121150

Until Mrs M decided to hang up her helmet, she rode and toured with me on my Silver Wing and performance, handling, and storage were never a problem. In fact she preferred the overalll comfort of the Silver Wing to the overweight and over complicated lardass Burgman 650 that we had previously.

I preferred the lighter by 66lbs Silver Wing too, two years ownership of the big Burgman was long enough for me.

I'm constantly amused reading forum posts from prospective and new buyers of both the Silver Wing and Burgman 650. They were the big two touring scooters for many years and those were the prime years to buy and ride them.

Both are are now long discontinued but they continue to fixed in the mind of new riders wanting a larger capacity maxi scooter, possibly because they aren’t aware of alternative choices.

Meldrew wrote:

snipped ... I'm constantly amused reading forum posts from prospective and new buyers of both the Silver Wing and Burgman 650. They were the big two touring scooters for many years and those were the prime years to buy and ride them.

Just because these models are older and now discontinued, that doesn't make them totally obsolete and useless.  Otherwise this website would serve little purpose.  I, for one, am happy I recently sold my "older" '05 for a newer '09 with 4,900 km on the clock.  My new one certainly doesn't look or feel "out of prime" to me.

Meldrew wrote:

... snipped ... Both are are now long discontinued but they continue to fixed in the mind of new riders wanting a larger capacity maxi scooter, possibly because they aren’t aware of alternative choices.

Then perhaps you could be of use and recommend some alternatives to the gentleman as he requested.

My wife and I ride two up in the mountains (combined weight 360 plug touring gear) no problem. I have an 04 SW and still going strong, The rear shocks are adjustable. I love the lighter bike with good wind protection. Your budget is more than adequate to find a newer silverwing. My wife said it is the most comfortable bike we have ever owned (were old). Over 50 years of riding.

Either a used Silverwing or a Burgman would be my recommendation.   But here is another thought.  You could also look at a used Can Am Spyder.  It's probably a bit more than your price range, but the older ones can be had for reasonable money and with 3 wheels, you probably wont have to worry about dropping it.  Lots of em come with semi automatic trannys too and plenty of storage space.  I have one in addition to a new scoot and it is the only bike my bride will ride on.  

sonuvabug wrote:

Meldrew wrote:

... snipped ... Both are are now long discontinued but they continue to fixed in the mind of new riders wanting a larger capacity maxi scooter, possibly because they aren’t aware of alternative choices.

Then perhaps you could be of use and recommend some alternatives to the gentleman as he requested.

Well mate, Firstly I can honestly say I've never written '... snipped... ' in any of my posts. So why are you doing it?

The gentleman in question says he's 74 years old and personally I'd say a bit old to be considering an overweight lardass lump like the Burgman 650 as a first maxi scooter, especially if he's going to use it for two up riding. You really need your feet planted firmly on the ground and arms braced when the lady wife clambers onto one to get onto that over wide passenger seat.

Secondly, the guy obviously has the Internet at his fingertips to research everything he wants to know about various maxi scooter brands, plus what dealers have on sale in Florida, Georgia, or further afield, plus Craigslist, eBay etc. There's also YouTube, online maxi scooter reviews, it's pretty easy these days to do research on anything you want to purchase.

Then of course it's simple enough to actually visit some motorcycle dealerships to see what used models are on sale, look them over, sit on them for fit, put his wife on the pillion seat, haul them off and back on to their main stands, and even in Covid world ask for a demo ride if he's never ridden a twist n' go maxi before.

As for recommending alternative choices, North America has a pretty poor choice of new and used maxi scooters generally, compared with what's available to buy in the UK and Europe.


But as usual I digress, one brand I would look at though if I was over the Pond is Kymco. There will be plenty of used X-Citing 500's about, including the later X-Citing 500 Ri ABS models. Kymco also brought out the MyRoad 700 as an alternative to the aging Silver Wing and big Burgman. It was around for a few years and then discontinued.

Of course there's already plenty of posts on here from prospective buyers asking about the Silver Wing, this is just another  There's also plenty from new owners disappointed because their expecting their first maxi scooter to behave exactly like the motorcycles they've ridden for years.

That's when they're usually told to fit HyperPro fork springs and other unnecessary nonsense, instead of go ride your new Silver Wing for a few hundred miles and get to know it properly.

I want to thank each of you that has taken the time to help guide me in my quest for the perfect scooter for my situation. Your educated replies are a valuable tool for me. I live in an area where I most likely will have to travel for 50 or more miles to check out scooters that are for sale. Your insight is greatly appreciated!
Thanks again. Stay Safe!

Meldrew wrote:

... snipped ... Well mate, Firstly I can honestly say I've never written '...  snipped... ' in any of my posts. So why are you doing it?

... snipped ... or "snipped" is a commonly used technique on many websites used when a responder doesn't want to ... or ... there is no need to quote and repeat an entire post that digresses into ... er ... non-relevant stuff.  

It is used to isolate one point made from another poster and then allows the responder to address that specific point without all of the other verbiage.  

Meldrew wrote:

... snipped ... But as usual I digress

For example ^^^

My next ride will be a Trike for sure. When ride two up in the mountains, having a twin cylinder motor is best and safest way to go. Sorry just my two cents worth.

I bought a 2007 Swing with 6424 miles on it, this August for $2900.00. I got it from a Honda Dealer in Pueblo Colorado. It was the best money I have spent for awhile. It runs like a watch and is a lot fun to ride in my area where elevations run 5000 ft. to around 12,000 ft. in the mountains. I love not having to worry about what the jetting I need. A great scooter that I’m doing minor changes to make more comfortable for me but that I plan to keep.
Buy one you won’t regret it!

My wife hasn't ridden her MotoTriked Silverwing and is actually thinking of selling it. No reverse and she's sick of pushing it out of parking spaces. We might go and test ride a Can Am Ryker.

$4,500 offer...if you are in Florida

Dang, distance between us. I think we're gonna consignment it thru the dealer that did the conversion. Get it serviced first so the new buyer doesn't have to sweat anything. I think wife would be happy at $4000 lowest. We have yet to test ride a Ryker (got a flat tire on the car before leaving!) before the dealer closed on Saturday so maybe next weekend. Garage kept.

I did the fork seals and fresh oil on the forks. Honda spec.
Fresh transmission before conversion.
Corbin seat with rider backrest.
Givi trunk with passenger pad. 32 liter I think.
Clearview light tint windscreen with vent. Have stock one also.
Should have paper service manual.
Owners manual and tool kit under the seat.
2?,000 miles.  Its in the back of the garage right now.
New front Bridgestone tire.
New front brake pads.

Again, distance between us is a bummer.

Where are you located?

Norfolk, VA. Have to ask the wife if she's even 100% sure she wants to part with it but I'm pretty sure she would. She hates pushing it outta parking spots and she's short, so she still has a bit of reach to the bars. Before she had the Silverwing converted she had a 2012 Can Am Spyder. Her commute to work was 75 miles each way. Before that she had a Genuine Buddy 125 with a Tow Pac kit. She rode the wheels off that Buddy! The Tow Pac kit was questionable quality to put it nicely.

Why did she sell the spyder? Gas mileage? That's their main drawback from my perspective, but if it's only used for pleasure, it's not that big a deal.

I haven't ridden the Ryker yet, only sat on a couple. Seemed very small to me, but that is coming from the RT. Very little storage on it unless you add it on. Front end is much more rudimentary than the spyders, not sure how reliable the first year was, and can am aren't the most reliable bikes In the first place. But it was built for a price point and they have sold a bunch.

2012 RT-SE5 if I recall. Reasons she traded it:
Couldn't do a round trip to work without stopping for fuel.
Heat from radiator. Even with aftermarket heat management.
Semi-auto found her always lugging the motor.
Reverse constantly not engaging.
Useless frunk.
Tiny rear storage. Carried her stuff in a duffel bag on seat.
Didn't trust side boxes. Had one pop open on the interstate!
Expen$ive services! I did all the service work eventually.
Air ride kept leaking. Replaced all hoses then compressor died! I rebuilt it!
Bit to big overall for her to get completely comfortable.
Found metal shavings in oil. From lugging motor I think.
Screen would randomly black out.
Parking brake got stuck. Looong story but that was the final straw.
I enjoyed riding it but always had the Nanny kick in and end the fun. But it fit me o.k. and I rode it a good amount. I actually kinda enjoyed it. I'm a one man army in stripping the panels! Always hated removing the mirrors though. Ryker should be much more simple. Will be a toy to bump around town on. Wife's retired now.

I can see a lot of that. I opened a few holes in the plastic so the heat from the radiator had someplace else to go besides your right foot. And adding the scoops also helped. I found some shavings on the first oil change but none since, it still runs fine. I always do the maintenance, I don't know that I would trust all out to do it or do it quickly. Last winter I replaced plugs and wires and I had to take the whole frunk off along with most of the tupperware in order to get the air box off to get to the front plug. But at least it runs good now for all the effort.

Gas mileage sucks with the v twin, but it is a rev happy motor and you just have to get used to it running over 4k. If anything, my latches tend to stick on the side cases.

I keep it because it's the only bike my wife will ride on, and it will carry groceries if needed. Even though it was a first model year, I think most of the bugs have been worked out. I would still be a little leary of the Ryker since it was built to be a cheap bike. There are lots of discussion on the spyderlovers site with people who own them, so that is a place to ask questions if you want.

Bob

What I liked about the Spyder most is when we took longer trips I would hop on the back and rest! I could actually nap on the passenger seat if needed, and when awake remind her to spin the motor-not lug it. Good story. I went to a small concert in Richmond one winter night and got stuck taking the Spyder. I was not missing Venom! When I finally got kicked outta the venue/bar at 2:30am it was MUCH colder outside, as in 28 degrees! The heated grips and seat did their job but my dumb butt wore slip-on Vans! My feet got so cold until I discovered I could stick my feet under the bottom of the Spyder near the exhaust. I avoided frost bite that night for sure! That was still a long ride home.