Making change from Kymco DT300 to Silverwing

Howdy All. The name is Russell, 55 of Fort Worth Texas. New to scooterin' (1 yr) and two-wheeled mobility in general. Borrowed a scooter from a couple at a campsite in east Tex last year cuz my car wouldnt start and have been hooked ever since. Only sorry it took so long before I discovered the joy of two-wheelin. Unfortunately age and a body beat down by 35 years of labor has left the scooter the only viable option for me as I cant throw my leg over the seat of a mc.

When it came time to buy a scooter Honda was my first choice but since I was very new to two wheelin I went the Kymco DT300 route because it is about 200 pounds lighter and I felt like I really needed practice before getting on a Silverwing. Started with a 1985 Honda Elite 150 for about a month before jumping on a really great deal on Craigslist for a new (231 miles) 2013 Kymco DT300. Because he really needed to sell that weekend I saved about $1700 over new and just had to buy it.

In less than a year I have piled about 11,000 miles on the Kymco and knock on wood not a single problem. In fact it averages about 72 mpg and has no problem keeping up with 70-80 mph traffic. I have but 2 small complaints about the DT...but you can find a thing or two about any scooter for that matter.

1. Seat needs to be further back for better legroom comfort
2. Brighter headlight would be ideal

Other than that, I love it. So you ask "well Russell, whats the problem?"

I weigh about 140 soaking wet, my bike is an added 357. So that's about 500 lbs and the one thing I noticed more than anything is that the wind plays hell with me. I am hoping now that I am ready to move up to the Silverwing (or, forgive me) a Yamaha Majesty. The Suzuki Burgs are out. Dont like the looks of it and never have.

My main reason for being here is this....I have found that there is not an aftermarket hard saddle bags available for scoots. Since I am by trade a metalsmith, I bought a couple of small Yamaha saddle bags for the FJR and modified my Kymco ( by designing and building mounts) to accept saddle bags.

Sorry its taken me too long to get to the point. My wife is right....I am a hot air bag.

Here's my point...finally...lol....I must have saddle bags for my future Wing so I am going to design and fab up a set as soon as I obtain my Wing. Would the Silverwing world be a fertile place for me to design and even market saddle bags? Is there a need or demand for them? Since I am semi retired and bored stiff, I am thinking of opening up my shop again and fabbing up saddle bag mounts for not only the Kymcos, but the Yamaha's, Suzuki's and Honda's.

My apologies for such a long winded introduction. If it helps any I have been reading this forum for months so even though I am green to the Wing, I am not to the forum. Any input or suggestions that might be items worth building and marketing would be appreciated.

Thank you
Russell

Welcome from Seattle!

Put me on your list for a set of mounts once you have perfected yours.  I have a set of throw overs that I put across but under the seat that work fine, but I like to look of hard sided bags.  

A trailer hitch and a cooler rack on the back would add extra cargo space.  

Thank you lalee for your response. I hope all the horror stories about it always raining in Seattle is just that. It would be nice if Texas got half of your rainfall and we'll give you half of our hot weather. Seems like a fair trade for us both! And you're first on the list!

mopar/wing58 wrote:

Thank you lalee for your response. I hope all the horror stories about it always raining in Seattle is just that. It would be nice if Texas got half of your rainfall and we'll give you half of our hot weather. Seems like a fair trade for us both! And you're first on the list!

Don't tell everyone, but we get a fair amount of good weather here. It rains quite a bit in the winter, but we usually have fabulous summer and fall.

I am heading south to Phoenix in a few weeks to get some of their sunshine and scooter riding.

Saddle Bag mounts for SilverWing---Fehling from Germany---mount Givi stuff. Twisted Throttle is US source.


Better ride the SilverWing a few miles before you put things on you may not need----Givi rack/top box. the standard underseat storage, "hump"bag, a couple of rubber bags = you have plenty of storage/junk space....without making the bike wider or maybe screwing up handling, with saddle bags.

mopar,

Welcome to the site. I have had the Reflex, Majesty, and the SWing and like the SWing best of all. But the Majesty was very smooth and comfortable and it will take you anywhere you want to go as well. It's just that the SWing is a bit smoother and more powerful, and I like the fact that the engine is mounted to the frame. As John said, Frehling (Germany) makes sidecases, or at least the frame to mount them to, for the SWing. You will probably need to replace the windshield with an aftermarket one but it seems everyone has to do this. The Airflow is the best and I have had a few of them. Again, welcome.

The only mounts I have found are designed only for the right hand side of the bike.  If someone has a posting of a SW with these bags on their bike, I would be interested in discussing it.

Thank you Jeff. Will look into the Fehling product. From what I understand is that it needed to be designed to leave access to the seat lock. And of course price and availability will factor into it. Since I built the ones for my Kymco, cases, hardware and all for under $100 ( my labor not and overhead not included) I will probably opt for a similar set-up for my new Wing. BTW, I found a 2009 Silverwing in East Dallas with only 496 miles on it. He wants $3600 for it, seems like an awesome deal to me. Anyway I am deciding between it and a 2004 with 5600 miles for 3000. I prefer the burgandy color of the 04 to black, which seems to be the prevailing colors. This I dont understand. Why the boring black or silver from these scooter makers? Shouldnt they be available in bright colors so that drivers can see us? That was a major point I love about my Kymco...its white!

mopar/wing58 wrote:

Thank you Jeff. Will look into the Fehling product. From what I understand is that it needed to be designed to leave access to the seat lock. And of course price and availability will factor into it. Since I built the ones for my Kymco, cases, hardware and all for under $100 ( my labor not and overhead not included) I will probably opt for a similar set-up for my new Wing. BTW, I found a 2009 Silverwing in East Dallas with only 496 miles on it. He wants $3600 for it, seems like an awesome deal to me. Anyway I am deciding between it and a 2004 with 5600 miles for 3000. I prefer the burgandy color of the 04 to black, which seems to be the prevailing colors. This I dont understand. Why the boring black or silver from these scooter makers? Shouldnt they be available in bright colors so that drivers can see us? That was a major point I love about my Kymco...its white!

Russel,

If the seat lock was a problem on the left side, I would immediately pull the bracket off of my seat and leave it unlocked for a set of saddlebag brackets.

Good idea lalee. I will keep that in mind during the design process. Thanks. I hear what you're saying John about riding it for awhile. But as I am prone to take 2-3 day weekend camping trips I kinda need the boxes. And as sad as it is to say, my heart wants the "Wing" but my brain and body tells me I need the Majesty as I might not be able to pull the Wing up on it's center stand. I never thought to do that when I was sitting on them. I need to do that tomorrow.

Hi Russell.
I have GIVI saddle bags on my Swing, model T-427. They have been discontinued but GIVI makes other models that will fit. My bags connect under the seat, using a large velcro strap and 2 other mechanical straps that connect under the seat rails. They are very secure.
I can hold lots in them, but they do catch the wind out on the highway. At high speeds they add a lot to wind drag and will decrease fuel consumption. My main storage, like most here, is a GIVI top box, model V-46. I also have a tank bag that is removable and doesn't interfere with leg room. So, with all that storage I have no problem with wind buffeting or handling. But I do have 60 pounds on you.
So, to answer your question, don't spend too much time and money trying to re-invent a wheel that already exists. There are lots of good storage solutions for the Silverwing available now.
Terry

mopar/wing58 wrote:

Good idea lalee. I will keep that in mind during the design process. Thanks. I hear what you're saying John about riding it for awhile. But as I am prone to take 2-3 day weekend camping trips I kinda need the boxes. And as sad as it is to say, my heart wants the "Wing" but my brain and body tells me I need the Majesty as I might not be able to pull the Wing up on it's center stand. I never thought to do that when I was sitting on them. I need to do that tomorrow.

Also, You could pull a small cargo trailer with your Silverwing. I have a hitch on mine and it does pull my trailer fine when I pull it occasionally. I did have a Goldwing, so when I was going long distance, it was the bike that got the work.

Now I have an 800cc Drifter and it gets the majority of the trailer work.



You might ask what the graphics are on the side, so I will post a up close picture of the graphics:

mopar/wing58 wrote:

BTW, I found a 2009 Silverwing in East Dallas with only 496 miles on it. He wants $3600 for it, seems like an awesome deal to me. Anyway I am deciding between it and a 2004 with 5600 miles for 3000. !

My suggestion, run, don't walk, and grab that '09. That's a great price. The '09 has the O2 sensor and better emission control that the '04. It will run better. The '04, even with low mileage, may require new tires and drive belt from rubber rot. The '04 is also a candidate for fuel pressure regulator failure. Just make sure the '09 starts, runs, rolls, and stops to your satisfaction. It could have been in a collision, or mistreated, or had no maintenance.

bigbird wrote:

Hi Russell.
I have GIVI saddle bags on my Swing, model T-427. They have been discontinued but GIVI makes other models that will fit. My bags connect under the seat, using a large velcro strap and 2 other mechanical straps that connect under the seat rails. They are very secure.
I can hold lots in them, but they do catch the wind out on the highway. At high speeds they add a lot to wind drag and will decrease fuel consumption. My main storage, like most here, is a GIVI top box, model V-46. I also have a tank bag that is removable and doesn't interfere with leg room. So, with all that storage I have no problem with wind buffeting or handling. But I do have 60 pounds on you.
So, to answer your question, don't spend too much time and money trying to re-invent a wheel that already exists. There are lots of good storage solutions for the Silverwing available now.
Terry

Terry,

I would love to see a picture of your setup or a link to it. Last year, I was looking pretty hard for something like you describe. There was a guy that modified a setup from another bike that had Givi mounts.

lalee wrote:

Terry,

I would love to see a picture of your setup or a link to it.   

After your being responsible for getting me banned from this forum, are you kidding?

If anyone else has a link or a photo of a Givi setup on their bike and wishes to share it, I would really appreciate it. I have searched this forum and it always comes up with the same old information with broken links and information regarding a Givi setup that only mounts on the right hand side.

Thanks bigbird. I need to research every available option before going further with my "plan".

mopar/wing58 wrote:

Thanks bigbird. I need to research every available option before going further with my "plan".

If you find something that works, let me know. I would like to see what you come up with.

You should also note that the 2009 bike has a completely different (better) upper panel and compartment locking system.

Before 2007 they were painted dashboards. After they switched to a padded dash with raised covers for the compartments.

Welcome Mopar! And to clarify the above, the SW is not that hard to put on center stand. I nearly always leave mine on the center stand. Just a matter of technique and leverage, lots of info on here that will help. I even put the QE2 (Goldwing) on the center stand (nearly always) as well and I am not in that great shape LOL.

Thanks Glenn. I will keep that in mind. Technique is everything!

Welcome! I think the problem of riding in the wind is just one of technique. A Goldwing has a lot of sail area and a lot of new GW riders complain about cross winds. I've owned all models of Goldwing over the past few years, GL1000, GL1100, GL1200, GL1500 and the GL1800 and found all of them to be easy to deal with in strong winds. It's mostly a matter of not fighting the bike and allowing it to find it's way with a bit of direction from the rider. Much the same as sailing in rough seas or flying in turbulence. Don't hang on like grim death is only a matter of seconds away but relax, hold the bars with relaxed arms and let the bike do most of the work. It will. Mostly a bike will lean into the wind gusts but hold a pretty straight line if you don't fight it.
I don't think I'd like saddlebags on a scooter. On a bike like a big HD or Goldwing the fairing is as wide as the bags which prevents buffeting, bags on a scooter would be wider than the fairing which would add drag and buffeting at times. I'd recommend putting a top box (aka trunk) on the scooter. I put a Coocase on the back of my 2007 SW. That added a lot of additional carrying space. I believe the underseat storage and trunk gave my SW as much carrying space as my GW. The Givi trunk and mount is pricey but excellent and easy to install. One other thing already mentioned is to get a different windshield on the bike. The Givi Adjustable windscreen is excellent. I was very pleased with the one I put on my Silverwing, it really reduces helmet buffeting, noise and the ability to adjust its height to fit the weather is very valuable.
One thing for sure, the Silverwing is a true Honda, nearly bulletproof reliable.