2012 Silverwing One year Riding Impressions

As a proper greeting from a Swing Rider from Western PA, " How er all Yinz doing?" Translation, Whatzz Up? Lol...I am closing in on a one year ownership of my 2012 Swing (Black) and wanted to give my impressions of this fine machine.

I've ridden a nice variety of bikes over the last 40 years, which include a 1975 Goldwing (Year 1), a Yamaha Vstar 650, a Roadstar 1600, a Kawasaki KLR650, a 1997 Honda 750 Nighthawk, a CBR250r and a 2014 Yamaha FJR1300ES (my last Bike prior to acquiring my Swing).

I think we can all agree, I have ridden a decent variety of Bikes as a comparison to the Swing. I also became a member of the Iron Butt Association, and rode a SaddleSore 1000 (1,000 miles or more in 24 hours or less) on the Yamaha FJR1300 as my first ride.

Let me just say this upfront...I am amazed by the competence and versatility of the Honda Swing! Of all the Bikes I've owned, it is the most comfortable long distant Bike and thats with a stock seat and a Chinese knock off Air Hawk Pad. I had a new Titanium knee installed (sounds like a Body Mod) 2 1/2 years ago, and the step thru design works perfectly for me. I elevated the Backrest (which rests against a Saddlemen Tunnel Bag on Pillion Seat) and offers supreme back Support. I plan on a ride to the "Tail of the Dragon" this Summer, as a warm up ride for my next SaddleSore 1000 Iron Butt ride. As for comfort, the Swing sits at the top of the food chain.

Performance...I love to mod any Bike I own and the Swing is no different. The Yamaha FJR1300 is a flat out Rocketship, which, quite frankly, put my CDL License in jeopardy. With so much torque, you could go from 65 to 140 in seconds. Moving to the Swing was a sigh of relief. BUT, Dr. Pulley Sliders and a Delkevic Exhaust surprised me how fast off the fine this little Bird could fly! I am also pleased of the passing power on the Highway, say from 65 to 80. It's all I need Guys! I also added a Breakaway Cruise Control and riding life is very good.

Handling...okay, I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical of these Dunkin' Donut sized Tires, Lol! I purchaes my Swing with only 330 miles on her, but, the tires were 11 years old. I decided to install a pair of Pirelli Diablo Rosso Tires from Revzilla, to start off with a fresh set of rubber.

Over the past 5 years, I was very fortunate to take Lee Park's Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic three times. I'm a huge believer in a continued development of my Riding skills and I took those clinics on three different bikes. Of all the bikes I've owned, I can outrun just about anyone, through any set of curves, with the stock suspension on the Swing. Chicken Strips? What Chicken Strips? Geez, this Bike is amazing...I mean, I have two Brake levers to Trail Brake with! Conclusion? And it's amazing for me to write this, but the Swing is once again, at the top.

Dependability...I'll have to get back to you on that one, I'll see you in about 150,000 miles, Lol.

My days of shifting a bike may not be over though! I do plan to add a Dual Purpose 250cc Bike to the Man Cave in the near future. It's a blast to ride some off road trails, which, in turn, directly improves your on road riding skills. As a bonus, it's a great workout.

I can only come up with one disappointment with the Silverwing...they stopped making them in 2013. SO LISTEN HONDA, BRING THE FORZA 750 TO THE USA, WILL YOU??? I'll talk to Yinz later. Keep the rubber side down my Swingers!

I pretty much agree with everything you said- I’m really happy with the SWing as well and have done some mods for my needs, some performance oriented and some for comfort. I can take that bike anywhere- I still really like my ST1100s but as I age (and I’m not dead yet!) I wonder how long I can manage a heavier bike (I think I still have at least 15 years in me with bigger bikes)- that said, a scoot is a blast- twist and go- it doesn’t get any easier than that.

I completely agree, Honda missed the mark not bringing the Forza 750 to the US. Maybe they feel it won’t sell well, and who knows, it may not, but I guess they want people to keep buying GoldWings.

Erdoc48, Honda does offer other models with the DCT Transmission, but the biggest selling point to me is the step through design. The Forza 750 would work beautifully for my new style of riding. I work with several Harley Owners, who have taken my Swing for a ride. They all come back stating the ease and comfort of the Swing and are pleasantly surprised by its power. The Swing may not replace a lot of Garage Queen Harleys, but, they wod consider it a perfect second bike.

You say here:

Let me just say this upfront...I am amazed by the competence and versatility of the Honda Swing! Of all the Bikes I've owned, it is the most comfortable long distant Bike and thats with a stock seat and a Chinese knock off Air Hawk Pad. I had a new Titanium knee installed (sounds like a Body Mod) 2 1/2 years ago, and the step thru design works perfectly for me. I elevated the Backrest (which rests against a Saddlemen Tunnel Bag on Pillion Seat) and offers supreme back Support. I plan on a ride to the "Tail of the Dragon" this Summer, as a warm up ride for my next SaddleSore 1000 Iron Butt ride. As for comfort, the Swing sits at the top of the food chain.

Which Saddlemen bag do you find fits your Swing?

Reliability - Check!!!

Even at 21 years old and 50K miles she does all I ask of her.

Comfort is key also , I feel pretty refreshed after my commute on her and after taking one of the other Cello fleet on the same journey she stands out even more. No gearchange to worry about no clutch , great seat and wind protection and superb load carrying ability.

I,ve said it before but give her slightly more torque bit more power, update the front suspension and you would not need another bike!

Hey Cello33! I do hope that Honda USA steps up and brings the Forza 750 to our shores. It's a bike that has everything our Swing has, but in an updated package.
I will be heading out on a 1,200 mile round trip ride in the near future. The Swing should show me if Progressive Fork Springs and upgraded Shocks are a necessary upgrade. I do have to check the current SAG numbers with my bodyweight, as to make sure I'm not using more than 30% of total suspension travel. As a local around town Bike, the Swing is handling well, although the front forks do feel a bit harsh when hitting bumps. I have the rear shocks maxed out at position 5.

Swingbatter wrote:

I do hope that Honda USA steps up and brings the Forza 750 to our shores. It's a bike that has everything our Swing has, but in an updated package.

G'day, while the Forza 750 may have all the electronic knobs and whistles of today’s modern maxi scooters. The downside is it has limited storage, not much weather protection, open chain drive, and a seat height that may be inconvenient for some riders at 31.1”. The Silver Wing's seat height is 27.9”.

I found about about our S'wings through the simple process of looking for a light touring bike, something human-sized vs. the Goldwings, the ST1100/1300s, the Beemers like my buddy's 1200RT. "Wasn't there a miniature Interstate once upon a time? Yeah, the Silverwing." Now 40+ years old, these bikes are few and far between, but Murphy Motors in Ocala Florida fixes them from the ground up and every so often he does an Interstate--fairing, bags, the works.

{look on YouTube for MurphyMotors and you'll find a new video about a restored 1983 Silverwing Interstate}

(I can't embed the link 'cause I'm too new, apparently)

He's just finished one up, and it'll be for sale eventually. But while my search started there, it ended here. My S'wing gets me around just as fast, is more comfortable, doesn't require shifting, and is half as old as the restored (and very nice) bike in the video that dropped today. Once I can afford a top case, fix the wind issue from the stock windshield, and find a duffel bag I can bungie behind me, it'll hold as much stuff as an old school Silverwing and serve as a light tourer just fine.

Meldrew, those are.all excellent points. I don't think I'd ever part with my current Swing, but add the Forza 750 to the Man Cave...I believe it's a beautiful design, and I'm totally sold on automatics. I'll upload some photos of how I setup my Swing for the next Iron Butt Ride.

RedCinema, did I just see photos of a new Honda Twin, 1100cc Touring Bike called the Silverwing for 2024? It very much is designed like the Bike from 40 years ago.

Sorry, what I saw was a concept bike. It looks very well put together.

7 years and 33k later it's almost the perfect bike for me. Many modifications later still could use a little more horsepower, BUT love CVT type trans.

24G Sliders, Ikon shocks, Race Tech fork valves-springs and a few others as well. Race Tech gold valves installed this Spring and made a huge difference in fork compliance but needs a little oil viscosity tweaking or spring-valve adjustment when temps are colder.

I found pushing SW in high-speed corners a bit flexy and thought it was the frame flexing but it's the shocks-springs to soft.

Dunkin sized tires I like that, and they are but can be pushed way over and still grip.

Wow, Race Tech components are top notch! I believe Race Tech can customize the fork springs based on bodyweight if I'm not mistaken. This is my first year with the Swing and I'm trying not to make it, or expect it to be a mini Yamaha FJR1300...I think I'll keep the suspension stock for this riding season, and consider upgrading over the long, cold PA winter. Gives me something to do in the Man Cave!

I did go down the handling rabbit hole on my Swing, with RT springs and Gold Valves, plus Hagon shocks when the originals cried no more. It definitely improved riding comfort and bump compliance but I was never able to get the amount of rebound damping out of the forks that it needed. 90% of the time that was no issue but I did have a couple of undies-soiling moments when I hit a decent hollow leaned over in a fast bend, and the bike went into a weaving wiggle towards the outside of the curve. I did replace the piston rings in the damper rods but wasn't able to cure this to my satisfaction. YMMV. I sold the Swing and moved on. This was on fully rebuilt forks (steering bearings, fork bushings and wheel bearings, new tyres) so the issue was definitely just damping.

I did really like the Swing brakes, and the engine and ride position were excellent too.

For reference I also ride other Hondas and have had a great result from RT parts in the forks of my ST1300 and VFR800.

I too am amazed at the Silver Wing! I bought mine new in 2012, loved it then and still do... I have ridden tons of bikes since 1969 and my SWing is probably my favorite. I can putt around town and take off on a week long trip with no problems! Very comfortable machine and easy to work on as well. And of course; Honda reliable!

Hey GHM-PM! I would be the last guy I would ever have thought to buy a Super Duper Scooter! At this point in my Riding life, I couldn't give two hoots what anyone thinks...I can't really describe how much fun the riding experience is! I will buy additional bikes in the future for different purposes (some off road, dual sport), maybe even make a drag Bike when I retire, but for day to day scooting, the Swing is it!