Blowing out the CVT...

I’ve only been here a short while but I wanted to mention some preventative maintenance I did on my Majesty (and will do on the Swing) about every 1-2000 miles that might apply to the Swing.  Sorry if this is old news.  I find it is easy to pull the CVT cover off (both the Majesty and Swing – the Swing is actually easier) so every so often I pull the CVT cover off and, using my compressed air unit, blow the inside of the CVT off with compressed air and wipe down the variator.  I found this, at least on the Majesty, blows out/removes the majority of the belt dust and whatever else has gotten past the filter.  I blow out the filter also.  This maintenance keeps the dust etc. from building up and getting hard and set in the CVT.  Just thought I’d throw this bit of info out there.  Sorry if it’s old news.  I haven’t been able to read all the tech tips yet (which are really awesome).

Hi dwoodul,

Don't worry if it's old news or not. Old news is a lot better than no news at all. Also, any helpful tips are welcome here. Sometimes it's just as easy to read a new post that happens to fit with what someone is wanting to do than search for it.

Thanks for the tip.

Preventive maintenance is always better than having to do repair work from lack of maintenance. But one thing I've noticed at least on my Silverwing is when I've pulled the CVT cover off I've found it to be cleaner than any of my other scooters. dwoodul when you first pull the CVT cover off your Silverwing let us know how it compares to your Majesty. I think the CTV case has better ventilation allowing most of the dust to leave the case as you ride. I could just be lucky with my Silverwing, but when I pull the CVT cover off my newest Silverwing I'll have a Silverwing to compare it to.

I did mine a few days ago. Everything looks good : 2005 with 15000 km. I was concerned about the age of the belt: not the mileage on it, but it looks pristine. I am ordering one soon, switch it in the winter, and keep the current one as a spare.

I certainly concur with CVT maintenance, but even that sometimes isn't enough  Earlier this summer when returning from a weekend get together in Wyoming, the belt on my 05 S'wing failed just outside "nowhere" Montana.  The scoot had 48,000 km on it at the time and the I was on my second belt having changed the first one at the recommended 26,000 kms.

I had the scoot towed to Great Falls MT to the Honda dealer there (Sport City Cyclery) and once they had a look at the CVT determined that the shredded belt had severely damaged the clutch.  To make a long story short, I had the CVT completely rebuilt in Great Falls and after waiting on parts was able to retrieve the S'wing a month later.  The S'wing runs great now.

Many thanks to a very understanding wife who drove the 500 kms from Calgary to pick me up and get me home.

Moral of the story, do your maintenance!

Good message Billy! Thanks for sharing with us.

BillyJack wrote:

I certainly concur with CVT maintenance, but even that sometimes isn't enough  Earlier this summer when returning from a weekend get together in Wyoming, the belt on my 05 S'wing failed just outside "nowhere" Montana.  The scoot had 48,000 km on it at the time and the I was on my second belt having changed the first one at the recommended 26,000 kms.

I had the scoot towed to Great Falls MT to the Honda dealer there (Sport City Cyclery) and once they had a look at the CVT determined that the shredded belt had severely damaged the clutch.

Yours is about the 6th or 7th en-route belt-shred failure I've heard of. While the odds of a failure happening are extremely rare, never the less I carry an old belt with me along with enough tools to do a roadside repair.

A clutch 'severely damaged' too? I'm skeptical of that claim though --theirs, not yours. Maybe they were just too lazy or inexperienced to clean the shreds out of the Driven Pulley assembly. There's not a whole lot of delicate machinery there to damage.

Glad to hear that you're back rollin'. Tip o'the Hat to your Mrs for coming to your rescue.

Tim

Tim

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

BillyJack wrote:

I certainly concur with CVT maintenance, but even that sometimes isn't enough  Earlier this summer when returning from a weekend get together in Wyoming, the belt on my 05 S'wing failed just outside "nowhere" Montana.  The scoot had 48,000 km on it at the time and the I was on my second belt having changed the first one at the recommended 26,000 kms.

I had the scoot towed to Great Falls MT to the Honda dealer there (Sport City Cyclery) and once they had a look at the CVT determined that the shredded belt had severely damaged the clutch.

Yours is about the 6th or 7th en-route belt-shred failure I've heard of. While the odds of a failure happening are extremely rare, never the less I carry an old belt with me along with enough tools to do a roadside repair.

A clutch 'severely damaged' too? I'm skeptical of that claim though --theirs, not yours. Maybe they were just too lazy or inexperienced to clean the shreds out of the Driven Pulley assembly. There's not a whole lot of delicate machinery there to damage.

Glad to hear that you're back rollin'. Tip o'the Hat to your Mrs for coming to your rescue.

Tim

Yeah, that sounds dubious to me too. That sort of thing is exactly why I do most of my own work on my Silverwing. And if I do take it into a shop, I know what the problem is, but I just don't have the skill set or the tools to do the repair myself. No way I'd get hoodwinked by some unscrupulous repair shop.

Riding to Eureka Springs AR from Michigan with a couple friends, the rider with his Silverwing shredded a belt en route. We just pulled to the side of the road while he changed it. He turned it into an opportunity to show how it's done while on the road. (did some video of the belt change) It was just an inconvenience rather than some calamity that would set back riding time for a month.

With now over 300,000 miles on rubber band drive scooters-----I find taking stuff apart and blowing out rubber dust a waste of time----OEM parts should last the 16,000 mile change interval--just looking at belt is not making it last longer. Current left over 2013 SilverWing, I did change belt at 20,000 miles and now carry old one as spare.

My warranty runs out in 30 days or so-----last belt change dealer did---Reason rear end was opened for oil leak-warranty, and at that time easier and time saving to change.

Note: 3 of the 4 new Helix I bought had rear clutch bearing trouble---warranty took care, my second Burgman 400--rear clutch/belt associated parts destroyed itself at 20,000 miles,Suzuki paid.

Right now, SilverWing, I think 20,000 mile interval=ok. If miles done quickly.

Belt failure for me=once, Helix, shredded in VA---Lucky came off freeway, stopped,could no longer move forward. Had spare belt, so little time wasted.

I view drive belt as weakest link in drive train

john grinsel wrote:

-OEM parts should last the 16,000 mile change interval- ///// - I think 20,000 mile interval=ok.  If miles done quickly.

So does that mean miles get shorter if traveled more rapidly :lol!:

BillyJack did the dealer give you the old clutch and any other parts they replaced? On the rare times I have anything replaced at a shop I tell them to save the old parts for me to at least look at if not take home. Some things can be rebuilt and saved for use next time.

model28a wrote:

BillyJack did the dealer give you the old clutch and any other parts they replaced? On the rare times I have anything replaced at a shop I tell them to save the old parts for me to at least look at if not take home. Some things can be rebuilt and saved for use next time.

Yes, I was able to inspect the parts to determine the extent of the damage before making the decisions to repair/replace.  

bandito2 wrote:

<>Riding to Eureka Springs AR from Michigan with a couple friends, the rider with his Silverwing shredded a belt en route. We just pulled to the side of the road while he changed it. He turned it into an opportunity to show how it's done while on the road. (did some video of the belt change) It was just an inconvenience rather than some calamity that would set back riding time for a month.

I recall stumbling across that YouTube video but could never manage to find it again. If you have a link for that roadside belt change video can you please post it.

It would certainly demystify the belt change procedure for some of the inexperienced members here.

Tim

Thank you Bill for the answer to my post.

Tim this isn't the link you asked for, but it's a link to the video Bigbird
made when he changed my belt and put Dr pulley sliders in.
Silverwing belt change  

That's the video I used when I changed my belt and installed 26 gram Dr. Sliders in my 08 SWing. I also made the pulley tool before starting too. It worked great with the exception of being a "micro" bit short. The long leg was 17" according to the plans I had but 17 1/2" would have been perfect. Oh Well, at least I got it all done and working properly with no problems.

The belt change video that model28 gave the link to is much more usable than the one done of my friend changing his on the side of the expressway. It is really way too noisy with all the traffic going by..

bandito2 wrote:

The belt change video that model28 gave the link to is much more usable than the one done of my friend changing his on the side of the expressway. It is really way too noisy with all the traffic going by..

I agree that BigBird/Roger's belt change video is the best tutorial for changing the belt. Nevertheless I would still like to see the link to that roadside belt change video. That worst case scenario belt change video might be very reassuring to folks here who may be overly anxious about a belt failure during a trip.

Tim

Most probably this one Tim ......

Yes, that's the video Bern. Thanks.

Can you post the YouTube link for that too?

Tim

Ere yer go Tim ......... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40VUru4xJI ....

Thank you Bern that's a good link to put on your smartphone, for those who have a smartphone. You never know when you may need it.

I was there also we were on our way to the Scootin the Ozarks rally in Arkansas. This is one of my reasons for buying one and trading in my Yamaha.

vader1701 wrote:

I was there also we were on our way to the Scootin the Ozarks rally in Arkansas. This is one of my reasons for buying one and trading in my Yamaha.

Why? After seeing someone stranded on the side of the road like that wouldn't be a deciding factor for me to run and buy a silver wing! It would have been a nightmare if they hadn't brought the rolling tool cabinet! Who brings all these tools when riding...a 2' long variator tool....really. I guess it paid off for them though .

If you would have seen how hard it is to change the belt on the Yamaha you would change your mind, you would not do it on the side of the road I can promise you that and this wasn't my only deciding factor as I noted it was was one of my reasons, I spent a lot of time working on the Yamaha, and money, I bought it new in 2008 and 3 months later had to replace the fuel pump not at my expense luckily. I was having problems with the CVT and would have had to deal with that again this riding season, don't get me wrong it was a good scoot but my confidence level was is in the mud for any lengthy travels as time went on. I have to buddies that have these wings and yes they have had their issues but nothing like I did with the Yamaha Majesty. Actually one of them had his wing totally in parts from an accident and he decided to put it back together and in a week was riding it and had been since and he goes on some long travel rides, that's the main thing that sold me and plus it's a Honda, have always liked Honda's particularly their motors, I have a Honda motor in my zero turn and it works flawlessly, got a Honda generator and it sits for years and it will start up like it was new every time...

hotwings wrote:

vader1701 wrote:

I was there also we were on our way to the Scootin the Ozarks rally in Arkansas. This is one of my reasons for buying one and trading in my Yamaha.

___________________________________________________________________________________
Why? After seeing someone stranded on the side of the road like that wouldn't be a deciding factor for me to run and buy a silver wing! It would have been a nightmare if they hadn't brought the rolling tool cabinet! Who brings all these tools when riding...a 2' long variator tool....really. I guess it paid off for them though .

The point was that the Silverwing is easy to work on. And it was just a minor inconvenience instead of a major setback. For many others, they would have just given up at the start of the issue and then called for a tow truck transport to a shop, especially if it were any bike other than a Honda Silverwing scooter. Choosing one bike over another because it is easier to work on, especially for emergency on road repairs makes perfect sense for riders that don't mind doing work themselves on their bikes; no matter where the bike is at the time or why the work needs to be done.

For those that don't, won't or can't do the work on their bikes themselves outside of very basic maintenance tasks, then the choice of bike would likely be less dependent on the ease or difficulty of repair work. But still the cost or time it takes for a repair to get done might be important factors in their choice of bike. For myself, the Honda Silverwing scooter scores high for the ease and relatively low cost for repair & maintenance.

I carry more tools when on long trips and just very basic tools when doing local riding. The variator tool is about 17" long, not 2 feet... Even then, that particular tool is not absolutely necessary to hold the variator when a couple other common tools may be used together instead for the job. But the variator tool is rather easy & cheap to make and is simple and very effective in use. Really, a lot of tools are not absolutely necessary, but it sure is convenient to have options in tools to use when you need them.

BTW, a drive belt change on a Silverwing actually goes a whole lot quicker when one is already familiar with the task and is not distracted by trying to explain what they are doing while in a very noisy environment.