First Ride On My "New" 08 Wing

A couple of days ago, April 8th, I had my Wing hooked up with jumper cables from my pickup just to check out all the lights and dash indicators while waiting for my new battery to be delivered. Everything worked and just for the heck of it I got on and hit the starter. It turned over about 3 times and popped right off.    I was surprised seeing as the gas in it was about two years old but then I don't think FL uses oxygenated gas much.

It didn't smoke or cough or say, "I don't wanna run! I don't wanna run!" It just purred like a kitten. That made me feel more like a kid waiting to open presents on Christmas day   and I was more anxious for the battery to get here.

The battery arrived around 3pm on the 10th and I got right to work putting it in. When that was done I dumped about 1/4 can of Seafoam in the tank just in case then went to the gas station and filled her up. I rode it around town for a while to get the feel of it then went on the highway and put about 40 miles on it. I found out that I don't have to squeeze very hard on the brake handles to get it to stop. They are very sensitive! Another thing I have to get use to is that I don't have foot pegs anymore but floorboards. The no shifting part was the easiest to get used to. Just crank it open and go.

The main thing that surprised me about the Silver Wing is how snappy it is. She gets up to 80 mph in no time. I have to watch it real close because I found myself going over the speed limit quite often. It doesn't seem like I'm going as fast as I am and I got to wondering if the speedometer was off. I guess I'll have to hook up my GPS and see how fast that says I'm going. That way I will know how close the speedo is to actual speed.

In conclusion all I can say is it sure felt great to be back on two wheels in the open air. Now if MN will ever warm up and start summer life will once again be good. It's either the Silver Wing or my 99 Chevy Silverado (See, I do like Silver). I'm willing to bet the Wing will get a few more miles to a gallon than the pickup tho.

Great your chewing up some miles!
My 80 is 73 GPS .Its not as far off going slower.

Mudnman wrote:

Great your chewing up some miles!
My 80 is 73 GPS .Its not as far off going slower.

Yup. It surprised me how nicely it started and ran. I think I'll like it once it warms up a bit. Thirty years ago the chilly/cold didn't bother me much. Now that I'm almost 68 it's a bit harder to take.

I'll have to see what my GPS says with mine.

My GPS confirms my speedo is very accurate. Only off about 1 MPH.

[quote="Dale N."][quote="Mudnman"]Great your chewing up some miles!
My 80 is 73 GPS .Its not as far off going slower.[/quote]

Yup. It surprised me how nicely it started and ran. I think I'll like it once it warms up a bit. Thirty years ago the chilly/cold didn't bother me much. Now that I'm almost 68 it's a bit harder to take.

I'll have to see what my GPS says with mine.[/quote]

I always felt that age minus 25 was the lowest temp in Fahrenheit that I could take comfortably.    

Jon  :flower: 

What is seafoam? Thanks for answering.

http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-21417.html

About 8 yrs ago Sea Foam contents were published courtesy of the mfgr. Said that it was originally designed to help OMC with their outboards in the northern USA climates. Said it had oil, Naptha, and Alcohol. Oil for the 2 cycle lube, alcohol to support fuel conditioning, and Naptha to burn off the crud.

Greysilver wrote:

What is seafoam? Thanks for answering.

I have no idea of what it's made of other than what Mudnman said. I just know I use it in all my gas cans up here in MN. We have oxygenated gas up here. "They" say it's to cut down on air pollution.

Anyway, I use it and it keeps my yard equipment running and starting great. It keeps my gas good until I have to refill the can which sometimes lasts 2-3 years. It's a 6 gallon can but I usually only put about 5 gallons into it along with about 1/2 can of Seafoam. It's gotten more expensive over the years. I paid $ten something for the can I bought when I dumped some in the Wing tank. I use it all the time but some use Sta-Bil which is another gas additive. I like Seafoam. There's probably nothing wrong with the other brands but some people like Chevys and some like Fords.

Google sea foam and look for a thread on iboat.Theres a home made recipe.You can make a gallon of it for $6. If you use a lot of it,just saying.Found it
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-21417.html

If bike is running and you have run old gas thru, and filled with new gas several times, why bother with Sea Foam?? Look for local stations that sell "real gas" But I don't think it really matters if you ride a lot.

I was using "real gas" in all of my vehicles. Right now "real gas" costs $1.09 a gallon more than regular grade with ethanol. I still use "real gas" in my car and the scooters I don't ride often but I ride the Silverwing every day. I get a little better mileage with "real gas" but not enough to warrant $1.09 a gallon.

Well I got out on the Wing for more than a few miles today. I met Wingmann in Cambridge, MN at Larson Cycle. We talked a bit there and looked over each others Wings then went and had some health food at McDonald's, well I had the health food. We shot the bull for about an hour or more then went our separate ways.

The weather was around 70ish with a clear sky. Nice day for riding.

He has a nice Wing!

Mine rode nice with no hiccups or problems, which I'm grateful for. The gas gauge reading just under 1/2 tank of gas on my first fill. I will burn off the rest so I can get all fresh gas in it. I'm not sure of my mileage yet but I feel I'll have to go through 2 or 3 tanks before everything cleans out and it starts settling into normal. It's been sitting for two years and I'm surprised it started and ran as good as it did/does. The previous owner who sold it to my sister changed the belt and rollers at 17,700 miles and it now has 18,305 on it. The belt looks great so I think I should get some miles out of it before I have to worry. I did order a new belt and rollers for it so I will at least have them when the need comes.

I took the Wing out again to burn up some gas. It was windy as heck but she handled it pretty good. The wind was coming at me from the front right as I was going west then from the rear left as I came back. The wind was in the low 20 mph range with gusts higher. While not too bad it did make me concentrate on my riding a bit more.

I also got to fill her up for the second time with just over 3 gallons and am getting 47.6 mpg on this first fill up. I don't feel that's too bad. It's a lot more than my 99 Silverado pickup. I feel the mileage might go up a couple more mpg after all this old gas is burned out if it. But I'm happy with 47.6.

I also got my new helmet today and wore that for the first time also. Maybe it's this helmet but I sure heard a lot of sounds that I hadn't heard before. It was probably the wind bouncing around my ears but I kept wondering what it was. It almost sounded like the Wing was having some sort of clicking problems but it was worse when the wind was faster and not so much in the protected areas of trees etc. It was the first time I'd worn this helmet and the first time I noticed these sounds, so... That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  

I guess I'll have to start putting my riding stories in a different category from now on seeing as this isn't my "first" ride anymore. Maybe I'll have to start a "2nd" "3rd" "4th" etc. ride category. NAW.

Dale,
Maybe it was the chin strap from your helmet? My Bell helmet has a magnet to keep the strap from flapping all over the place. Good luck on you rides. Ride safe.

That could very possibly be WingMan02. Seeing as I hadn't heard that noise before I do relate it to the helmet.

It's good to be back on 2 wheels again.

What helmet did you get ?

I use Seafoam in the winter when the bike doesn't get that many miles here. I noticed that my mileage goes south when I use Seafoam, but I will continue to use it as over the years, it has kept my fuel systems fresh.

John is right about fuel consumption. When one is running fresh fuel through often, fuel additive is not necessary. I get better mileage and the bike runs better when I find the non alcohol blend, but not many stations here offer it. I get mine at a marine station down by the docks.

I would rather run the non ethanol blend and do put it in my car and the scooters I don't ride often. The non ethanol blend is $4.65 a gallon and regular with ethanol is $3.55 a gallon, the scooters I ride often are getting regular with ethanol. So until ethanol free comes back down or regular with ethanol rises up closer to ethanol free I'll use gas with ethanol.

I just filled up with non ethanol at the BP for 3.99 a gallon here in Minnesota .

I got this open face helmet. I kind of think the noise I heard yesterday was the plastic visor on the helmet. It was held on with 3 snaps but it did move around some. I took it off and will see what happens on my next ride. The chin strap slack I had tucked in under the strap itself so I don't think that was causing the noise I heard. Time will tell.

Here's an update, sort of, I guess.

The noise I heard that I told about was coming from the visor on the helmet. I took it off and haven't heard the noise again. The visor didn't do anything anyway. I think it's there for looks more than anything else.

I went for a ride yesterday, May 18th, for about 220 miles round trip. It was about 70 degrees with not too much wind, but then at 70 mph it's always windy. I went North from my home in Princeton, MN up to Hill City, MN. I filled up in Hill City and then again when I got back home. My average mpg was 52.4 mpg which I am happy with.

The road is 4 lane up to Mille Lacs Lake and after that it turns into 2 lane. I kept up with traffic on the 4 lane portion of the ride which was about 75 or so mph. Once on the 2 lane portion, after going around part of the lake traffic died down quite a bit and I kept it at around 60 mph. I guess most people were going to Mille Lacs Lake resorts for fishing etc.

I stopped for lunch at McDonald's in Aitkin, MN on the way up and at Garrison, MN on the way back for a cup of coffee and to sit and look at the lake and watch traffic a bit.

All in All it was a fun trip with nice weather and no problems.

Dale,

Nice report and you are getting good mpg's too. One thing though...we don't eat at McDonalds here but insist on 5 star French Restaurants. I got to go on a 210 mile ride finally with my new bike and it was fun. But it doesn't have the weather protection or the storage of the SWing. Those are great features on these big scoots. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Dale,
I glad to see you folks up north are finally able to get out.
I also eat at the upper class restaurants, LeMcDonalds..  

@JeffR: WHAT! Are you telling me McDonald's isn't high class? What a let down. I do think they have at least 1/2 star, don't they? LOL

willajabir: It is nice to finally get some decent warm weather.

Dale,

Since I work for the phone company I'm independently wealthy so my filthy rich friends will make fun of me if I get caught there. lol I like their coffee better than anyone elses. I guess I still have the Marine taste buds for bad coffee.   

Good series of commentary.
I had TOP out "to burn some gas" last night. I did a swell job of it and put on about 90 miles. I followed a brisk running HD for 30 miles and saw him later at a gas station. A "Loner" in colors. He was a nice guy, a miner headed to work. He works about 60 miles from home and commutes on his 2013 Street Glide ( I think ). he said he  had modified the heads, cams and exhaust to "screaming eagle" specs and was putting out about 118 HP. Probably true. Remember this, to each his own but ....he filled up, I didn't   tee hee. But still it was a nice night, 2 coyotes on the road right at 70 degrees F and very little wind.
New with my ride is I touched 90 on one acceleration. I'm, just shaking it out. The Swing did accelerate briskly right through the range (65 to 90). Each ride I am more impressed with scootering.