Hi from Vienna (Austria).

Hi there everybody!
I'm an English guy living in Vienna and I've just bought my first Silver Wing 400. I have my bike test next week in order to get my license to ride this wonderful machine!
What a great site you have here; so friendly and helpful to each other! I've already ordered the Givi Airflow 214 screen based on all the posts I read here and it arrived from Germany in just 2 days!
Anyway, I have a quick question about my SW which I hope you guys can advise me on ........
I bought my SW with just 2700km on the clock even though it's a 2007 model which means that it has been mostly sitting around in the previous owners garage for 4 years. It hasn't had an oil change since it's first 1000km service in 2008. Should I change the oil??? The brake fluid has been changed this year but I have no idea if oil degrades over time even with such low milage (kilomatage?!) Any advice?

Hey, welcome from Boise, Idaho. I visited your area in 2004 on a motorcycle trip around Central Europe. Neat riding there.
If it were mine, yes I would do an oil and filter change.

Bob

Hello and welcome from an Englishman living in Belgium.
You've stumbled across the very best Silverwing forum in the World!

I'm no techy but I'd change the oil soon* if for no other reason than you have a starting-point for future reference.

+ wot Bob says.

I'll add my welcome to the forum and agree with Mikes comments about the oil, won't hurt that's for sure. May be worth while having a mooch round the site, there is loads of useful gen on all topics, (inc. oil changing!!.)

Thanks for the speedy reply Bob! ................ Hey and everybody else who has responded whilst I started writing this!

My instinct was to go ahead and change the oil. I think I'll take it to my local dealer and get them to check the air filter at the same time when I ask them to rig up Honda's own heated hand grips.

Ahhhhhh, heated grips, my favourite mod.

As most have said, I'd change the oil for my own peace of mind.

Thank you all once again for your comments and advice. It really does add to the confirmation that I made the right decision in choosing to go for the Silver Wing, having found such a wonderful community of riders here!

It seems that most of you on this site have the 600 model, and I was just wondering if I can expect a significantly better fuel efficiency with my 400? Any data or experience out there? Soon as I start riding I will of course report back to base!

SteVe

I'm happy to welcome you aboard too! From your comments you sure sound like you'll be a fine addition to the membership.

Not having a 400 Swing to compare to I can't say for sure, but according to this listing, the 600 gets an average of 40 mpg and the 400 an average of 49 mpg. As always, your results may vary.

http://hallicino.hubpages.com/hub/MPG-Guide-The-Fuel-Economy-Of-250-Top-Selling-Scooters

Hello from sunny Lancashire.

Totally agree with the other posters about changing your oil and filter. You have a reference point for maintenance mileages for the future.

Cheers,

Welcome Stever... It is good you decided to change the oil. Nothing bad would probably happen if you didn't, but as others suggested, good place to start a maintenance cycle. Also, look at the tutorial for changing the air filter. It is not something you really need a professional to do for you. If you can change the oil and filter, you can access and change the air filter.

https://www.silverwing600.com/t56-air-filter-pictorial

Again, welcome to the family.

I had not even heard of a 400 Silverwing. Not even on the used market. I like my 400 bergman Suzuki for its manuverability with power. A 400 Silverwing must be great. Post a picture of it if you can

Seems that they are only available in Europe ..........

They look identical to the 600, just a little less omph and better mpg I guess

How do I insert pictures into messages? And what about an avatar to attach to my posts?

Click on the 6th button from the left above the message box, the row that has the Smilie icon in.
It says 'Host an image'.
That's a start!

For the avatar:

Click on Profile in the row of buttons which starts with Forum & Calendar above these messages then look for Avatar, again near the top of your profile page.
Click on it and do what it says.

Thank you MikeO!!

I love the clarity with which you guys explain everything. A great help!

Can I ask you which Heated grips you have and did you install them yourself?

SteVe

I have learned from the patience of others, Steve - computer whizz I am not!

I have Honda's own heated grips but the controller looks remarkably like the one that comes with the Oxford Heated Grips.

I'm sure they are as good as each other but if you can get hold of the other Oxford ones with a knob rather than buttons I'd settle for them.

hi Austria! (padding my post count!)

I too have the Honda heated grips. A real boon in the autumnal weather. Although saying that before you commit, read some of the articles on here regards grips vs heated gloves.

In hindsight I just may have gone down the glove route. The fact that grips only heat the palms and gloves heat all round deserves some consideration.

Food for thought.

Honda heated grips on my Silverwing. Mine are controlled by button rather than a knob. A wide range of heat settings to choose from. They came with the scoot so I cannot comment on fitting sorry.

Cheers,

tarmacburner2 wrote:

Honda heated grips on my Silverwing. Mine are controlled by button rather than a knob. A wide range of heat settings to choose from. They came with the scoot so I cannot comment on fitting sorry.

Cheers,

Same as mine. I did have an interesting problem a wee while back. I was getting less top end sped than I was used to so when the 'Wing' went in for its 8k service I mentioned the matter.

Transpired the heated grip had lost its grip!!! As a result, as I was twisting the throttle it wasn't as responsive as the glue had come unstuck due to the heat. Something to be aware of. May not be noticeable if you keep your bike within legal speed limits!!!!

Cannot complain about the heat generated, the five button settings cover the range I need from extreme cold to that too cold for summer gloves too hot for winter gloves scenario.

Thanks again everybody for your advice and comments! Having done further research (mainly on this wonderful forum!), I have decided to buy a set of Oxford Hot Grips (Honda's heated grips are way out of my budget!). I have also decided to try and fit them myself. However, not being mechanically or electronically minded, I am rather baffled as to the "issue" of wiring them up to the ignition in order that they turn off with the bike. The advice I have read suggests that this is a bad idea and that they must be wired directly to the battery. I have heard talk of a relay to overcome this problem, but I'm embarrassed to say that I don't really know what a relay is or how to instal one Any advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

SteVe

DO NOT WIRE THEM DIRECTLY TO THE BATTERY. Sorry to shout but not a good idea. Picture this scenario. Riding scoot, heated grips on, park up and forget to turn grips off, come back to scoot, try to start but battery very low or dead. Only way you could wire directly from the battery is if you were to use a relay that was powered only when the ignition was switched on, that way the grips wouldn't be drawing power when the ignition was switched off.
Cheers,

Thank you for your warning tarmacburner2, and this is exactly why I am putting this question out there to the community. How should I wire the hand grips in order to ensure that they can never be left on when the engine is turned off? And if this involves a relay, what are they, how much do they cost, and more importantly how do I wire one up??

SteVe

Steve,
Relays are cheap - two or three quid at the most.

Should have four spade connections which will be marked with numbers. Think of them as two pairs. First pair are for earth and from the live source when ignition is on. Second pair are for the direct connection from the battery to the grips power wire. When I can find the numbers I'll post them, but Google should come up with the answer. As well as the relay make sure you use at least one in-line fuse, preferably two. One between battery and the relay and the other between the relay and the grips.

30 - Battery
87 - Grips

85 - Ignition
86 - Earth

Cheers,

Wow! Thanks for that tarmacburner2. I get the feeling that almost anything is possible with the help on this site!

SteVe

steveonfarm wrote:

Wow! Thanks for that tarmacburner2. I get the feeling that almost anything is possible with the help on this site!

SteVe

Believe it.

Such a knowledgeable bunch of riders - all on one site.