Is It Worth Fixing?

Hi - I have a an 08 Swing. Commuted with it a lot and rode the Harley on weekends. Really liked it. Once the job ended, riding time reduced until it sat literally for several years. Covered and in the garage. It starts right up (of course - it's a Honda) but something appears frozen with the rear wheel. I can barely move it and haven't been brave enough to try and take it even down the driveway. If anything happens I'll be unable to push it back even that short distance.

I'm not a skilled mechanic and I know I can't fix it. I'd like to keep it but in your opinion is it worth keeping or is the repair going to be crazy expensive? Like I said - I'll have to take it to a shop. ""Thanks for any info or advice,

Chaajoad,
I have 2007 and have found it not that hard to work on. Do you have service manual? You can also use the search function and see what if anything others have done to help diagnose the problem. It could be the drive belt or variator that are locking up. A broken drive belt could jam up the works. I’d pull the covers off and see what I could do first. It’s not difficult just time consuming. You really need a repair manual!

Have you by any chance left the parking brake on? Don't ask

It will most likely be a simple problem of a frozen brake caliper where the pistons are stuck in the seals, usually a bit of dirt/corrosion in the seal groove causes that. Definitely fixable and the parts would be cheap (as in some seals and maybe pistons too, $80 all up). Plenty of know-how here if you want to DIY.

I'm with the "seized rear brake" hypothesis. 2 simple diagnostic steps.

1) Start with the parking brake lever ... make sure it is released and not binding. If it checks out OK, then you can do a visual check on the rear brake.

2) Check to see if the rear brake pads are touching your disc brake rotor. If they are, then they are likely stuck/seized up a bit.

This year, my 04 Swing in Idaho started holding back a lot more than usual. Eventually it got to a point where I couldn't push it around. After figuring out that the parking brake was sticking, I removed the whole caliper. I didn't have enough time to repair it in Idaho, so I shipped it home. Still need to rebuild it. Will ship it back to Idaho before I go back there.

I would say "YES" It is worth repairing your bike!

Definitely worth fixing. If it's the rear brake pads binding on the disc you could have a look at this:

https://www.silverwing600.com/t9958-brake-bleeding-nightmare?highlight=a+brake+bleeding+nightmare

Bleeding the system can be a PITA but still worth doing.

If it's the parking brake binding on the disc you could try this:

https://www.silverwing600.com/t9725-parking-brake?highlight=parking+brake

It is a bit fiddly on both counts but worth doing. As you will see, these were my own posts on this topic and since overhauling both calipers (main brake and parking brake) I have found it much easier to carry out the occasional checking and maintenance to keep them in good order.

There's a ton of further help on the forum if you decide to give it a go.

My observations with various Honda Scooters and motorcycles---ridden a lot in wet/salty conditions, you need to lube the pins that support pads....and keep them so. Good squirt with garden hose after wet/salty run works, too. Not hard job unless pins are rusted/frozen in.

Thanks for the advice. The parking brake was off. If it's the rear brake sticking I will definitely fix it. I just finished putting thousands into my F150 and so I'm thinking the repair to the Swing would be more than it's worth. I was seriously thinking about selling it for a few bucks or giving it away (yes, I know - I can hear the gasps) but when it started up, I couldn't do it.

The Harley is cool but that Silverwing is fun, fast, easy on gas and an all-around excellent commuter. Long story at another time for how I ended up owning it.

And I think Loosemarbles gave good advice on maintenance over repair. No salt here in the NW but after sitting for quite awhile rust is a real possibility. I'm stopping at a Honda shop next week to get an idea on cost to pick up, repair. I have a trailer but unless I can see what's causing that rear tire to seize up no way can I get it up the ramp. Maybe the fact it moves even just a little is good news and indicates seized brake and a fairly easy fix.

Thanks again. More soon and Happy New Year!

If it's not been subjected to road salt you might get away with just giving the caliper a good skirt of brake cleaner to get it going.
If it's stood for a few years it will need a full but that's not difficult.