Upgraded to a Silver Wing with ABS

I have just changed from a Ducati Monster to a Silver Wing as I cannot handle the continuous clutch work on the Interstates by my house.  

So far I have ridden within a radius of about 250 miles and am very pleased with the ride comfort and ability to keep up with traffic.  I will lurk and read posts, then maybe upgrade the Scooter. It is a left over 2008 with ABS, 17 miles when I bought it. The dealer put in a new battery (it did not have one in when I bought it), new tires (I wanted Avons but they would only fit OEM hoop tires), and an oil/filer change as part of the deal. I had them add a mount and power for my GIVI topbox.

So far my only complaints are the small range before needing fuel (but I knew that when I bought it), and the feel of the rear whilst changing lanes or when riding through sweepers. I am light weight and 5 ft 4 so not sure why the rear does not track well at adult Interstate speeds. (For those who do not know you would get run over here if riding the I-85/285 North Loop any less than 75 mph).  I have had the shocks checked and set firm for my weight.

I am very impressed at the information and friendly postings on this board/forum.

Best Wishes,
SuzySwing

                     Happy to have you join us.   Your complaint about the "short" range before needing fuel means you are a true rider.

My scooter did not fair well with the Avon Stryker ,severe scalloping, less then 5k kl on it. Now I have Michelin pure sport dual compound ,very durable front tire.

Hi Yo wrote:

Your complaint about the "short" range before needing fuel means you are a true rider.

The majority of the various sized Ducati Monster models over the years have had either a 15 or 16 litre fuel tank which is comparable to the 16 litre tank on the Silver Wing. So it's hardly a complaint, more the OP's initial impression riding a maxi scooter that's probably never used more than a couple of tanks of fuel since new.

Suzy,

Congrats on your new SWing and hope you enjoy it. I would play with the settings of the shock and see if you can dial in the correct setting. I had the 2007 and was able to adjust it with my hand while on the center stand. Another thing you may think about are the Hyperpro front springs. My opinion is that the 1st mod is the windshield (Givi AirFlow) and then the Hyperpro front springs. The springs are about $150 or so and make it handle with a more motorcycle feel.

As for the mpg's, at 75 mph you should be getting high 40's to very low 50's depending on the kind of gas they sell in Atlanta. Here in California they make us buy the "very clean" gas which means we don't get as good of mpg's. But I was getting high 40's going 75 mph on the interstate.

Congrats on the new SWing. I just bought a left-over 2012 model. I only have 200+ miles on it but hope, as I get it broken in, the MPG climbs. I will say that other than a Goldwing I owned many moons ago, the SWing seems, believe-it-or-not, to be the smoothest bike at highway speeds (70-80) I've ever owned. I owned a Yamaha Majesty scooter (400cc) and it was smooth at 70 but not as smooth as the SWing. When I say smooth I mean no vibration, no buzz; just plain silky smooth. Mine seems to track fine on a smooth highway road but feels just a tad squirrely on rain-grooves which, I'm sure is normal.

Hi SuzySwing! I'll second Jeff's recommendation of a Givi Airflow Adjustable windshield. That was the best mod I did to my 2007 SW. Made for a quieter ride, almost totally eliminated any helmet buffeting yet provided more air flow in the face on hot days. With your light weight you might want to set the rear spring at it's lightest setting. If the suspension is set too stiff for the weight on the bike it will be a bit twitchy and rough riding. I don't think the front suspension would need much tweaking, try the rear first. The Hyperpro spring would likely make the bike feel more 'planted' in the twisties than the stock front spring but shouldn't make much difference on the straighter runs. You might experiment a bit with adding some weight in the under seat compartment to see what it does to the handling for you.

Again thanks for all the advice. I checked the settings for the rear shocks and they were on full hard, so I had a person at work move them to full soft. Now I can transition on the Interstates without the twitch. I presume that the dealer was not used to putting Silver Wings to my weight, or possibly he told the mechanic to set it to full hard by mistake. I am liking the OEM tires, nice for full power take-off from traffic lights when taking left hand turns. FYI, I am just getting used to riding on the right hand side of the road. I am finding the left handers very easy, still working on tightening the right handers.

I have now added a Kuryakyn throttle lock, nice for the 90 minutes ride to get into the "mountains" - well they are big hills with trees so not jagged rock-type mountains.

I expect to ride until Daytona Bike Week before I add anything else to the scooter. I have an old Kuryakyn Grantraveller bag plus throw-over soft saddle bags in addition to the underseat storage and Givi topbox so am all set for a nice ride to The Dragon (Carolina/Tennessee) some time early October as my first long pre-ride before Daytona and Key West in March.

Thanks again for all your help.

Suzy

Sorry. I got a Kaoko throttle lock

Suzy,

It's good to hear adjusting the shocks helped out the ride. Have fun on your rides you have planned.

SuzySwing wrote:

Sorry. I got a Kaoko throttle lock

I have a Kaoko lock on my GT scooter and like it better than any of the other throttle locks I've had over the years like the Vista Cruise and its ilk. Definitely like it's toothed rim better than the smooth surface of the throttle meister on my K1100 much easier to use with gloves.

Eventually I'm going to put a Rostra Electronic cruise control on the bike. First I'll install on my K bike since it's been done before and there are excellent pictures and a good write up on the K1100 forum. It really shouldn't be much different on the SW. The cruise control is the thing I most miss from my previous Goldwings.