Maxi-Scooter! Mega-Scooter?

Here's a what-if?

What if Honda came out with an 800cc-850cc, or even 1000cc Mega-scooter? Imagine a somewhat bigger Silver Wing with a water-cooled 4-cylinder engine with greater load-carrying capacity, designed for touring saddle bags and better equipped to pull a trailer - even one of the pop-up camper trailers, but still definitely a scooter in style and operation. It would be smaller and cheaper than a Gold Wing, and would retain all the advantages of owning and riding a scooter.

Would you buy one?

No thanks, I would rather have a mid-size modern version of the Honda CN250 Helix. I certainly don't want any maxi that has 4-cylinders and will be considerably heavier and bulkier than that lardass overweight 650 Burgman I ran for a couple of years.

Me neither. It would be too large for what I use it for.

Nor me... now if Honda would bring the SW-T version to the UK it wouldn't take much to convince me I need a new scooter;)

Gyro wrote:

It would be smaller and cheaper than a Gold Wing, and would retain all the advantages of owning and riding a scooter.

Yes but you hardly know and appreciate all the advantages of owning and riding a maxi scooter. Since you specifically chose one that had been converted to a 4 wheeled trike.

Meldrew wrote:

Gyro wrote:

It would be smaller and cheaper than a Gold Wing, and would retain all the advantages of owning and riding a scooter.

Yes but you hardly know and appreciate all the advantages of owning and riding a maxi scooter. Since you specifically chose one that had been converted to a 4 wheeled trike.

Irrelevant...

And if there were such a thing as a Mega-scooter as I described in my first post, I would want it converted to a trike also.

If I could afford one today, I would ride a Gold wing Trike or a Can-Am Spyder RT reverse trike. I rode recumbent trike HPVs for years before the COPD knocked me on my butt. I just prefer trikes under me nowadays. Each to his own...

If I lived in England with the different traffic conditions and road types, I might very well think differently. If I lived in the denser populated East or West Coasts of the US, I might feel differently also.

So far, no one on my side of the pond has joined in to the conversation. It'll be interesting to read what they have to say.

No. If Honda would re-market Helix, made in Japan, I would buy. Now at about 300,000 maxi scooter miles, having purchased at least 10 new (4 Helix) , and test ridden new BMW and Burgman 650---tanks, I think SilverWing and Burgman 400 are pushing the size limits/tire limits. With about 75,000 miles of pulling trailer---long time motorcycle experience, BSc... safety degree, 40 years with daily 2 wheel safety duties......pulling a trailer with any bike/combo/trike/outfit=ain't a good idea at modern highway speeds! Think lack of braking power, among other things unless trailer has brakes. Need to carry so much junk....you probably need car or truck.

Touring 2 up SilverWing top box/tunnel bag/underseat storage/maybe throw over saddle bags PROVIDED YOU STAY WITHIN DESIGNED IN WEIGHT LIMITS is fine....and that is an awful lot of stuff to bring along.

If think trailer---possibly UNIGO might work ---light weight, single track

Hey Gyro,

Read this link:

http://www.gizmag.com/go/4712/

This is the bike I wished they would have come out with. It was said to be a 900cc engine but probably just cost too much.

This is also a bike I would want I think, if they would have come out with it:

Gyro wrote:

Irrelevant...

And if there were such a thing as a Mega-scooter as I described in my first post, I would want it converted to a trike also.

If I could afford one today, I would ride a Gold wing Trike or a Can-Am Spyder RT reverse trike.

So really your interest in this mega scooter is for nothing more than it's ability to be converted into a trike, and nothing at all to do with all the advantages of owning and riding a maxi scooter that myself and other maxi riders appreciate.

If I wanted a maxi-er scooter than this, I'd turbocharge a Silverwing.
Larger wheels would be nice, but with that usually comes taller seat height.
I'm short.

When I thought about buying my first Silverwing, another choice I was looking at was the Ridley. Their bikes were motorcycle style with CVT trans.
They just didn't have the support network to make it worth while.

Went for the wing and never back except to see the frustrated looks on the riders of the Harley's I pass.

Dan

Meldrew wrote:

Gyro wrote:

Irrelevant...

And if there were such a thing as a Mega-scooter as I described in my first post, I would want it converted to a trike also.

If I could afford one today, I would ride a Gold wing Trike or a Can-Am Spyder RT reverse trike.

So really your interest in this mega scooter is for nothing more than it's ability to be converted into a trike, and nothing at all to do with all the advantages of owning and riding a maxi scooter that myself and other maxi riders appreciate.

Pretty much....but that's just me.
The thread is just an intellectual exercise. It's supposed to be light-hearted and for fun. The Mega-scooter does not exist, although it appears that Honda at least considered it at one point - at least enough to build a concept machine. It's not my intention to change anyone's mind or opinion about what constitutes the ideal ride. Are you sure you are not from Germany?

JeffR_ wrote:

Hey Gyro,

Read this link:

http://www.gizmag.com/go/4712/

This is the bike I wished they would have come out with. It was said to be a 900cc engine but probably just cost too much.

This is also a bike I would want I think, if they would have come out with it:

Those are both awesome, and exactly what I was talking about.

Aprilla made an 850 Scooter for a while...

Aprillia 850

davidparker wrote:

Aprilla made an 850 Scooter for a while...

Aprillia 850

The Aprilia SRV 850 is currently on sale the UK. It's basically a sportier twin headlight version of the Gilera GP 800 which we had too.

davidparker wrote:

Aprilla made an 850 Scooter for a while...

Aprillia 850

WOW, who knew!

If you took off the "tank shelter" and found another place for all the electrics on a GL1000 it would be 1/2 way there, of course it would still weigh about 700lb.

Meldrew wrote:

Are you sure you are not from Germany?

Now that you've mentioned it, Germany has been my favourite country for touring for the last 30 years. It's also a great place to buy motorcycle clothing and equipment, and has a great network of hotels geared to the touring rider on two wheels.

I think gyro wrote that.

For me the Silverwing is the limit regarding size (seat Height) as I'm only 5'7" (on a good day) and I have the slight disadvantage of being only having one leg. So weight of the scooter is a factor. I moved from motorbikes to scooters as scooters have a usable rear brake, my bikes had pretend rear brake which were fairly useless even at slow control. The first scooter I went to look at to buy was a Burgman 650, seat height too high, the next was a Burgman 400 which is now in my garage, lower seat height and more than adequate power, excellent handling as well. Looked at the Silverwing as the 600cc engine gave it a more relaxed performance on the motorway, especially on the continent (Frances motorway speed limit is 80mph (in the dry) where UK is 70mph (even in thick fog and zero visibility (esp. BMW drivers!!).
Looked at others, Aprillia 800, Honda Integra, but seat height is the factor that makes or breaks a deal. At the moment there isn't anything out there that would tempt me away from the Silverwing - with it's hard panniers!

Cheers

I'm still happy with my Silver Wing too, but if I was to downsize for solo touring without Mrs M, I'd seriously consider the SYM GTS 300 or Maxsym 400i., as there's a SYM dealership here in York.

I too am happy with the SWing, I sat on the Aprilia at the bike show but it seemed to have a lot less leg-room than the Honda, perhaps because of the V twin being set front to rear rather than our side by side cylinders.

I've had several scooters, and ridden many more. There is nothing out there I would prefer over the SilverWing, and definitely nothing larger could tempt me. I ride one up, and between the underseat and strapping additional stuff in the pillion seat, I can carry everything I need for a week or more. For longer, I would pack clothes I could rinse out and drip dry in the hotel. I don't want to become a heavier oacker, and I would never want to pull a trailer, because of the stopping issues mentioned above.

If I could have a second scooter, it would be a smaller one, more close to the original Elite 250 I started on. My brother has a Helix, and when I rode that, it reminded me how fun and nimble a smaller scooter can be! I rode the Elite150 in Bermuda many years ago, which started the whole two-wheel thing for me.

I really liked the size and ride of the Yamaha Majesty I had, but it literally blew up on me on a ride. Maybe a fluke, but I think I'll stick to the old Honda reliability, and I even have an excellent dealership (and mechanic) right up the road.

I looked at the PC800, which is not a scooter, but looks a lot like one, and has a nearly cult-like following. It was just not a good fit for my long legs. The Silverwing is. Though I am mulling over the idea of moving the butt rest back as others here have done, for a little more leg room! I guess we always have to be fiddling with things, don't we? For me, though, the issue will never be more displacement or more bulk. This is as big as I would want to go, and I am confident I can continue to control this for a long time to come (and that it will last, too!). I've already had a 20+ year-old Honda scooter, and I'm pretty sure I'll have this one when it's 20+ too.

My thoughts are that the Silver Wing gives us a "touring" vehicle short of the 30K Gold Wing. IMHO the Silver Wing is near perfect for one-up touring while the Gold Wing is the two-up champ. Not that both can't do the two-up thing; but I bought the SWing to do solo touring. As mentioned above, I can fill up the under-seat, my top box and strap a duffel on the pillion seat and am easily good for a week on the road. I have proved this twice on week long tours in the first year of ownership and am already planning the next one!!!

If Honda would let me customize the Silver Wing, I would ask for heavier suspension front and rear and an ambient temperature thermometer ala the Gold Wing...

GHM-PM wrote:

My thoughts are that the Silver Wing gives us a "touring" vehicle short of the 30K Gold Wing. IMHO the Silver Wing is near perfect for one-up touring while the Gold Wing is the two-up champ. Not that both can't do the two-up thing; but I bought the SWing to do solo touring. As mentioned above, I can fill up the under-seat, my top box and strap a duffel on the pillion seat and am easily good for a week on the road. I have proved this twice on week long tours in the first year of ownership and am already planning the next one!!!

If Honda would let me customize the Silver Wing, I would ask for heavier suspension front and rear and an ambient temperature thermometer ala the Gold Wing...

My thinking for starting this thread is that there is quite a gap between the Silver Wing and Gold Wing. That gap is very wide in price, in weight, in power/displacement, and in ease of riding, low speed handling, etc. I still think that there might be a market for a machine that bridges the gap. Is there enough demand for Honda to produce one? Apparently not. Would I buy one if it were available? Maybe, maybe not... It's entertaining to think about, even though I seem to have offended a few of the purists with my heresy. Oh well...

I think it is very difficult (near impossible) to try and compare a two wheeled version, to a three or four wheeled version for anything, scooter, Harley, Goldwing. Chalk and cheese!
Really liked the Cam-An Spyder, even went and spoke to a dealer. Was very tempted to sign of the dotted line there and then. Boy, was I glad I didn't. Owners' complaints not being addressed by dealers as the factory wouldn't do anything. Read of one guy in the States who had his back in the workshop nineteen times in twelve months, and that was from new! He had been able to ride it for about three months since owning it.

Cheers,

tarmacburner2 wrote:

I think it is very difficult (near impossible) to try and compare a two wheeled version, to a three or four wheeled version for anything, scooter, Harley, Goldwing. Chalk and cheese!
Really liked the Cam-An Spyder, even went and spoke to a dealer. Was very tempted to sign of the dotted line there and then. Boy, was I glad I didn't. Owners' complaints not being addressed by dealers as the factory wouldn't do anything. Read of one guy in the States who had his back in the workshop nineteen times in twelve months, and that was from new! He had been able to ride it for about three months since owning it.

Cheers,

Yep. The Can-Am is a different fish. Most Can-Am dealers are primarily motorcycle dealers, and are out of their depth with the Can-Am. It's not just a 3-wheeled motorcycle. Bombardier has had their issues with supporting their dealers as well, but I understand that this situation has improved somewhat.