Hello from Coventry UK

Hello, I've just placed my deposit on a new black SW and agreed to trade in my Harley. It all happens in about 3 weeks. This is a huge change in biking direction for me . Has anyone else made the same sort of change to a big scooter? I'm from Coventry in the UK.

Welcome Paul, I think a great number of members have come from bikes to scooters (and a few the other way). We like to poke fun at Harley riders, but most of it is just fun and I feel anyone on two wheels is OK.

Lets see, you may think its cut out at the lights and blipping the throttle will not scare cars out of the way when filtering


PS: Could a kind Admin sort Pauls username out?

Yes please, can I have a normal username. I have tried to change it.

I'll let you know how I get on when my new scooter arrives. I had a go on my friends T Max last week and nearly fell off when I tried to use the clutch that wasn't there, so I know things will be a bit different.

welcome Paul, Ive had a couple of customs, one harley, sleep well at night mate, youve done the right thing,!! did you buy the pre reg black one in crewe honda centre???, the silverwing is a great all rounder, enjoy.

No Marco, I tried to buy a black pre reg from Dunstable Honda but it was gone when I asked for it (mysteriously). They did offer to take my Harley, give me some money back and fit heated grips and delivery to Coventry if I bought a new one. I had been trying to sell my Harley for probably too much money too late in the season so this was a way of making a change now my mind was made up.

Thanks for the encouraging words as well

Welcome Paul from the south coast.

Welcome from the USA

I went from a Harley Road King to a Silverwing 2 years ago. I would not go back. I like my SW

I went from my last bike a BMW K75 RT to a Honda CN250 Helix in 1996, and the Silver Wing is my fifth maxi scooter.

Thanks for the comments and hellos. This seems like a friendly forum.
I'll have more to say when I actually get my hands on the scooter for real. I have bought this scooter based on this forum, YouTube and reviews. Its virtually impossible to get to see one in real life or in a show room unless I am prepared to travel miles, so I'm just going for it.

Just a couple of earth weeks to wait hopefully.

When I ordered my Silver Wing in September 2010 I was assured it would be a 3 week wait, in fact it took 8 weeks and I got it in November.

I too have gone down from big bikes, ST1100 to Deauville to SilverWing. I have ceased to worry about the image thing and I just go out and enjoy the ride on this very capable machine (I did ~350 miles in a day with my local IAM group the other week !). I had to hunt for mine in May last year, it turned out that there were only 6 new ones available in the UK at that time, possibly due to the earthquake disruption. One dealer said there were none available and one said they were to order only so there are not that many out there !

Unless things have changed with Honda UK your dealer should be able to 'order' a demonstrator from Honda's so you can try one 'by appointment'.
I was told this by a man on the Honda stand at the last bike show I attended at Excel in Docklands.

Hello Paul and welcome from Columbus, Ohio.

I have had all manner of on and off the road bikes from the traditional CB750 to my current Shadow 750 that mostly sits now that we have a Reflex and a Silverwing.

Being able to just twist the throttle and go, no choke, no clutch, no gear shift and good fuel economy just drew me in to the scooters. Add the storage capacity, an actual instrument panel with gauges rather than having to depend on a reserve valve on the gas tank, how can you not like scooters.

True you aren't going to intimidate someone when you pull up next to them with a scooter but if that's your cup of tea then you need to stick with motorcycles.

I hope that you enjoy your scooter as much as my wife and I enjoy ours.

Ride safe!

Again, thanks for the helpful comments.

I'm now trying to catch up on everything from screens to cup holders etc but I think I'd better get my hands on the actual scooter before i get too carried away.

I've never had a Harley and don't want one either but I've bought a few t shirts when looking in HD dealerships in the US. It's no different than buying a tour T shirt at a rock concert, or big bellied blokes wearing replica football tops of their favourite teams.

Just don't be surprised if you're blanked waving at any Harley riders when you're out on your Silver Wing, your former bro's are too cool and bada** to bother with the likes of us maxi scooter riders.

HI PAUL WELCOME TO THE FORUM ITS A GOOD PLACE TO BE MATE.
Hope you enjoy your silverwing .
Derekj

Hello again,
Today I rode my Harley Dyna 60 miles down a damp foggy M1 motorway trying to hang on to the handlebars just doing 70mph, delivered the HD as a trade in, and collected my new black SW. I then rode back 60 miles up the A5 to get used to normal riding.

I rode like a big baby at times because of the damp slippy roads and new tyres and a machine that rides completely differently to what I've been used. I soon found myself sitting at 70 - 80 mph and not realising I was doing that speed.

I have got to get used to the way it rides. I have got to lean in more on roundabouts because I keep drifting to the left. This is a lack of confidence on leaning it over I think.

There is a squeal when I pull away which then goes away when riding and I have had the dealer principle come and have a listen to it and record it. Any ideas what it could be? If it was a car I would say a fan belt. Also underneath there is paint damage and that has been pointed out and I will wait and see what the dealer says. I think I will have to do something with the screen because its very noisy in my helmet unless I lean forward closer to the screen.
So thats me sorted then, I am now a Silverwing Owner!! [img][/img]

Hello, Paul.
Yes, the squealing is the belt.
Mine does it in stop-start traffic.
Can't remember the cure - someone will tell you - but it's nothing to worry about.
X9s do it, too!

Thanks Mike, I hope it can be fixed as it sounds like an old car pulling away.

I have posted a picture in the albums section as well.

Pleasure.
IIRC (someone's just encountered the same problem on the X9OC forum with a Burgman 400) it can be cured by holding the brakes on and revving the engine.
Don't overdo it, though!

Yup, as Mike says. Hold the brakes and rev it for a few seconds. Removes the 'glossing' on the belt.

When stationary at lights etc. If poss, open throttle to rev the engine and pull away swiftly, (and safely I must add). Start/stop traffic is the usual culprit for belt squeal as Mike says so a little open throttle whilst riding wont hurt.

Thanks folks, I'll give it a go tomorrow on my way to work.

Hello Paul,

from Harley to Silverwing: half the capacity, double the fun

Enjoy your new ride and give my regards to Lady Godiva...

Greetings from Belgium

Nude women on horses I can see how your mind works Rodenbach!

Thanks for the welcome and I look forward to participating on here - as long as no one expects anything sensible from me.

As an ex-Harley rider, you must be acquainted with Easyriders magazine?

Lady G. was 1000 years earlier with the format 'boobs and rides'

ps:

Quote :

Thanks for the welcome and I look forward to participating on here - as long as no one expects anything sensible from me

Please, can anyone explain the meaning of the word 'sensible' ?
It is a word we never use in Belgium...

rodenbach wrote:

]
Please, can anyone explain the meaning of the word 'sensible' ?
It is a word we never use in Belgium...

Very simple. Sensible people agree with me and idiots don't. As I get older, I seem to meet more and more idiots. :lol!:

paul.delo451 wrote:

Nude women on horses I can see how your mind works Rodenbach!

Thanks for the welcome and I look forward to participating on here - as long as no one expects anything sensible from me.

I think you will fit in real good

Hi Paul- still waiting for mine to be delivered. Today I did 110 miles on my GS, mostly in good old English drizzle - This journey will be so much better when I can do it behind a decent fairing!

I'm hoping for news next week - I'll let you know.

Hi Nowun, I hope yours turns up before the weather gets to bad.

I am finding the change of bike a shock to the system but in a good way. I can't get over just how much stuff I can carry without having to have saddle bags etc. In fact I'm trying to think of things to put in the glove boxes, just to use the space. (I've got it so I'll use it)

As for speed, it soon gets up there without me realising I'm pushing the speed limits.

Its great, I hope you get the same buzz Nowun,

My dealer arranged a demo ride for me. And I spend a couple of hours trying one out. I was impressed with the acceleration and speed. My GS is a semi-sports bike so the riding position is a lot different, and you definitely gotta give the Wing some lean in the bends, but I felt confident from start.

What advice were you given about 'running it in'? Do they do that these days, or is it something us oldies did years ago?

I have also joined another friendly forum for all maxi scoots in general and asked about my mates new Tmax having vibrations through the seat,. It kick started a whole debate about the need to run things in these days and many on that forum were advocating riding the bike quite harshly from the start to seat in valves or something. So with that in mind I collected my bike and just rode it home at a normal pace really only slowing for the slippy roads when necessary.

Then when I got home I looked in the manual and it said avoid full throttle starts and rapid acceleration for the first 300 miles. it was a little too late for the rapid acceleration part but I didn't do any full throttle starts.

Basically I just rode as normal except for being careful of the slippy damp roads on the day. Hope that helps.

Welcome to the nuthouse Paul.
You will feel right at home with all the other err eerr help me here Waspie... Errr oh yeah UK Silverwing600 Forum Clubbers.

welcome paul hello from yorkshre!!

That's not too bad, I can probably restrain myself for 300 miles! Thanks

Hi Paul. Welcome to the group.

I'm fortunate in that I have an H-D Ultra Classic (now bedded down for the winter) and a new Silver Wing (had its 1st service yesterday). Being an automatic & half the weight, the Silver Wing's much much easier to ride when there's a lot of traffic about and the only things I miss are the cruise control on motorways and the CD player - I certainly don't miss all the cleaning & polishing!

However for 1000 miles across Europe at 80mph or cool pose value on sunny days... well, the H-D takes some beating!

Atrick wrote:

However for 1000 miles across Europe at 80mph or cool pose value on sunny days... well, the H-D takes some beating!

The Harley is just another touring bike, but reading your post why would you want to go 1000 miles across Europe at 80mph, that's the distance from some of the Channel Ports to Rome in Italy if you done it in one hit. You'd be constantly on motorways, and having to overtake convoys of arctics and slower vehicles, big powerful German made cars would be sitting on your arse flashing at you to move over, you'd see nothing of the European mainland you were crossing, and there'd be the inevitable mystery motorway hold ups, roadworks, bad weather etc to slow you down from that 80mph.

Plus it would mean you riding at that constant 80mph for a minimum of 12 hours to cover 1000 miles, and that's without regular fuel, food, and comfort stops, which would be a minimum of 5 even if your Harley had a 200 mile tank range, and of course you have to contend with language changes in this lightning cross continent dash. So you'd be riding at least 16 hours, getting knackered and poorer and for what real purpose apart from the bragging rights. You're really getting into Iron Butt endurance riding territory here, and something you might want to inform your insurance company of next time you get the urge.

So you don't really do 1000 miles across Europe at 80 mph do you, feel free to disagree with me, I've been regularly Euro touring for the last 30 years.

paul.delo451 wrote:

Hello, I've just placed my deposit on a new black SW and agreed to trade in my Harley. It all happens in about 3 weeks. This is a huge change in biking direction for me . Has anyone else made the same sort of change to a big scooter? I'm from Coventry in the UK.

Welcome

I'm looking to go up to a Gold Wing next but came from smaller bikes. The only things I don't like about my S-wing are the short range and the lack of a real cruise control.

KB

@Meldrew:
I'd like to see any HD rider cover long distances,
wiithout vibrating his nuts (or bolts) off ...

To be polite I thought I wouldn't mention that, or the HD midlife crisis tendency for dressing up like the biker in the Village People. Plus you can easily cruise at 80mph on a Silver Wing solo or with a passenger and full touring gear.

Meldrew wrote:

To be polite I thought I wouldn't mention that, or the HD midlife crisis tendency for dressing up like the biker in the Village People. Plus you can easily cruise at 80mph on a Silver Wing solo or with a passenger and full touring gear.

I had to endure a lot of stick for owning a HD, mostly from mean minded people who had never owned or ridden one but thought it was fun to join in on the jokes about the bikes and deride the huge numbers of people that get pleasure out of HDs. Yes there are the blingy, cringy types who are scoffed at but the club I belonged to was full of decent hardworking individuals who took great delight in working on and improving their bikes.

Not too dissimilar to the owners of Silverwings I do think.

I would own up to saying that the HD didn't suit me and was totally impractical for me but I still flinch every time someone has an ignorant knock at a make of bikes and their riders just for the sake of it.

For the record, put a screen on a modern Harley and you can ride at 70 - 90mph in 6th gear all day long without a fuss

paul.delo451 wrote:

I would own up to saying that the HD didn't suit me and was totally impractical for me but I still flinch every time someone has an ignorant knock at a make of bikes and their riders just for the sake of it

Then you better get used to flinching now that you have a maxi scooter, because it seems every biker has an opinion about them, the vast majority of whom wouldn't even know how to start one. They're not "proper" bikes, we can neither ride or hack it on a geared motorcycle, they're gutless, girlie, gay, etc. Even some brain dead Trad scooter types on a British forum referred to maxi scooters as "plastic fag chariots".

So to me all bikers are fair game for piss taking in the great scheme of things, and I rode bikes for 22 years. I don't wave at other bikers either, I did all that rubbish for years and nowadays I don't because I'm a miserable bastard and choose not too.

To Quote Meldrew,

"So to me all bikers are fair game for piss taking in the great scheme of things, and I rode bikes for 22 years. I don't wave at other bikers either, I did all that rubbish for years and nowadays I don't because I'm a miserable bastard and choose not too. "


And well noted too Mr GOM, well noted!

When our local scooter club first started,(04-15-2008) one of the members thought anything over 50cc was not a scooter. Now this is on the first page of our web site.
" We are a group of men and women from the St Petersburg area who ride larger displacement scooters, usually 250cc or more. Whether you own a Yamaha, Suzuki. Vespa, Lambretta, Aprilia, Italjet, Kymco or any other scooter, join up and find other scooter riders like you! Our group rides are designed for bikes that can maintain a speed of 45mph unless otherwise noted, unfortunately most 50cc models are unable to meet this requirement."
We have at least six or seven Silverwings and as many 650 Burgmans. We have very few scooters under 400cc. Those of us that have 250cc and under also have bigger scooters we usually ride.

Taking the piss on other makes/types of bikes is as old as the motorbike itself. Owners of Japanese bikes are mocked by Brit / Italian / US bike riders. People that prefer nippy 125cc rides are laughed at by dudes that ride half-ton iron, and of course, scooter folk are an endangered species, because they don't know how to shift.

Fact is, we all enjoy motorbike riding, even grumpy old men such as Meldrew and yours truly...

I'm big enough and more than ugly enough to laugh at myself and I am ridiculed for much more than the bike I ride, just ask my wife. I think the point I was trying to make and I should just stop now, is that I made some great friends in the HD world that apart from them pulling my leg (yanking my chain for the US) they don't care what I ride and they remain friends. To class them as the cliche biker out of the Village people is very far from the reality and did touch a nerve.

Anyways, to quote The Clash - Should I stay or should I go now?

I have friends who ride Harleys , they are not posers and don't dress like the Village People .

They are individuals just like the myriad personalities on this forum

They also don't criticize what I choose to ride.

The important thing is we are all out there on two wheels, doing what we enjoy, not riding around on four wheels locked in a rolling cage.

You'll love the Silverwing and it's smooth deceptive power, especially when
you leave drivers far behind you with just a twist of the throttle pulling away from a stop.

Welcome from Maryland on the other side of the pond

KurtPerthWA wrote:

To Quote Meldrew,

"So to me all bikers are fair game for piss taking in the great scheme of things, and I rode bikes for 22 years. I don't wave at other bikers either, I did all that rubbish for years and nowadays I don't because I'm a miserable bastard and choose not too. "


And well noted too Mr GOM, well noted!

+1

[quote="rodenbach"]Taking the piss on other makes/types of bikes is as old as the motorbike itself. Owners of Japanese bikes are mocked by Brit / Italian / US bike riders. People that prefer nippy 125cc rides are laughed at by dudes that ride half-ton iron, and of course, scooter folk are an endangered species, because they don't know how to shift.

Yep! We Are a Shiftless bunch of old fokes