help! with rough ride scooter?

my bike is perfect.. except on rougher roads.she beats me up..she has only 2000 mi.on her because of this. I also have a Harley bagger BUT that bike is getting a little hard to handle around town.SO is there any tricks to a softer ride on the sw:( im pushing 70 and a light weight.. and don't sniker.tnx:evil:

I know what your saying about the poor ride on a rough road. I think its due to the small diameter wheels. I think some guys here have switched out the shocks to help with the ride. Just do a shock search in the search bar. As for me, and the mrs. we will avoid the known rough roads. Every now and then a bump will take us by surprise! Not that big of an issue for us to spend the moola on!

I am 12 stone soaking wet and have my shockers on 4, i found that to be my most comfortable setting

I don't know how many pounds equal a stone, but I weigh 175 lb. and have my shocks set at 3, which gives me the best ride on rough roads. Although we have fairly decent roads here in Az. Ride Safe.

1 stone = 14 lbs

Not helping but stone weight is awesome.

my SW was set at 1 when I got it with an attached trike kit.
When I took the kit off I did not change the settings.
It felt a bit odd not sure if it was soft or just me. Need more riding time before I can have a true idea.

I moved it to 3 for my last ride which was some country twisty road and bunch of freeway.
I am about 195 pounds (13.93 stones, can you use decimal in stone measurements?) the bike seemed to handle fine.

I hit a couple of pot holes and they did not feel all that great.

The SW handles small bumps smoother than my Zuma scooter but I wouldn't want to go down gravel or ugly roads any longer than I had to.

Not sure if that helps any...

Mike <><

Mods,
Has my post on this thread been deleted?

Cheers,

Not by me.
Yesterday I typed a long post and inadvertantly forgot to press the 'SEND' button then wondered why it wasn't in the thread.
Have you done the same perhaps?

Mike,
As far as I remember I saw the thread after I posted it and I thought I hit the 'Stop watching this topic'. (It was a comment about making an introductory post).

Cheers,

I'm with you on the Introductory Post thing, it seems to be too much of an effort to do when you're joined the forum just to flog something or to get a quick fix for a problem and then disappear. And if anyone thinks it's just me being a miserable old git, have a quick look through the Members List.  

just you being a miserable old git, hee hee

silverwing rides well----adjusting shocks only changes preload on rear springs. SilverWing has solid mount engine (so does Burgman 650 and new BMW scooter.)
Feet forward position does not allow you to "post" to let your legs take some of the bump. Depends if you are highway peg/cup holder rider or rider who is active part of riding dynamics who uses feet and legs to take some of the shock of bumps/poor roads. However putting feet forward, pressing forward, adds to comfort and control......And if you do not ride a lot (25-50,000 miles a year) is your body in shape to take the bumps?

As John said, the shock settings only change the preload.

Preload determines the ride height of the rear of the scooter. The shock springs are going to find equillibrium at some height, ideally in the center of the shock travel. If the shock is in the center of it's travel then it has range to compress for bumps and extend for potholes while maintaining tire contact with the road.

If you are a heavier rider or ride two up, the spring compresses more and the rear of the scooter would be lower. You can increase the spring preload to compensate for the increased weight and restore the ride height to the center of it's travel.

There are probably some better aftermarket shocks out there that would improve the ride some. They would likely have compression and rebound adjustments to them as well as preload. I am sure that they are not cheap.

As with every component on the scooter, Honda has to balance the cost of the shocks against shock performance. They did that with the seat, windshield, lighting and tires.

I would put the shocks in the "just OK" category.

I believe that the bigger problem is a lot of unsprung weight. The more weight that moves up and down with the rear tire, the worse the handling and the rougher the ride.

Fortunately, the Silverwing engine is frame mounted unlike smaller scooters where the engine moves/pivots with the back tire. That cuts down on unsprung weight. Unfortunately, there is still the clutch assembly, gearbox and a pretty massive swingarm assembly that pivots with the rear tire. The Silverwing is better than most scooters but not as good as a motorcycle.

hi Name is Gadget live in U K Bedfordshire Just did a 500 mile week end to Wales on 600 wing
we felt every pot hole , shocks were on max:5, the book states max weight 392lb we added up our
total me 15 and wife 11 stone with kit on. So with 55lt top box and cloths we were almost on the
the limit, so had a word with Hagon shocks. they made me a pair up to suit us, they came next day.
now on bike. this has transformed the ride ready to try French back roads for a 8 day tour.
when I road solo no 5 on Honda shocks were perfect for me, but two up it was scary when i had to
stop at the many round abouts and junctions I could not hold the front wheel strait in line.
we just did a 2 hr trip into the Fens where the roads are dire due to subsidence, we survived these
so bring on France and there D roads.

gadget wrote:

so bring on France and there D roads.

Be careful what you wish for; Big brother IS listening!

gadget wrote:

hi Name is Gadget live in U K Bedfordshire  Just did a 500 mile week end to Wales on 600 wing
we felt every pot hole , shocks were on max:5, the book states max weight 392lb we added up our
total me 15 and wife 11 stone with kit on. So with 55lt top box and cloths we were almost on the
the limit, so had a word with Hagon shocks. they made me a pair up to suit us, they came next day.
now on bike. this has transformed the ride ready to try French back roads for a 8 day tour.
when I road solo no 5 on Honda shocks were perfect for me, but two up it was scary when i had to
stop at the many round abouts and junctions I could not hold the front wheel  strait in line.
we just did a 2 hr trip into the Fens where the roads are dire due to subsidence, we survived these
so bring on France and there D roads.

Gadget, could you provide us with a little more information on the Hagon shocks please? Price, international shipping?

Thanks