Curious about Silver Wing vibration.

I was on another Motorcycle/ scooter forum yesterday and mentioned that I was more than likely to buy a new 2013/ 14 Silver Wing shortly and I was told by a few past owner's that the scoot vibrated badly on the highway.

Currently, I have a 2005 Burgman 650, a 2013 Kymco 500 and a 2012 Goldwing.

My past scooters have been: a Yamaha Zuma 50cc, 2 stroke, two Yamaha Zuma 125's, a Honda 250 Reflex ABS, an Aprilia Atlantic 500, a 2003 and a 2007 Burgman 650 and a 2009 Yamaha T-max 500 and actually, none of them vibrated enough to even notice.

The reason that I am asking is that I haven't ridden a 600 Silver Wing nor even sat on one in a couple of years and the chances of riding one before the purchase is unlikely since it's as cold as a Witch's TEAT right now in Missouri :lol!:

So, what say you????

Sam

Sam,

I had mine for 7 years and mine was very smooth on the interstate.  I usually went 70-80 mph and it was very smooth.  I know some on the Burgman site don't like the SWing at all, and maybe some of them did have an older SWing that vibrated, but mine was very smooth.  Sometimes the clutch needs de-glazing and you can do this by holding in the front brake and revving the engine up to about 4,000 rpms for 4-5 seconds and that fixes that.  Usually it is because of slow stop and go traffic that may cause this.  But if you take off a bit faster from stop signs than this will fix it too.

But I was very happy with my SWing but just decided after 7 years I wanted to try something different.  It seems people that had some of the older Swing may have experienced this as well but most were very happy with their Swing.  Good luck.

My 2012 is as smooth at highway speeds as anything I've ridden. It would be great if you had a chance to ride one before buying, but you won't be disappointed.

My 11' is very smooth at 75 mph freeway speed. This is about 5900 rpm so the hamster is awake. Mirror image is clear but not crisp. Hand grip vibration is very very slight. I am impressed at the minimal vibes and max comfort on a swing. I live about 900 feet down a dirt road which is occasionally graded. I notice some front end clunkiness, audible but not worrisome. Assuming u buy one well maintained you will be satisfied.

On second new SilverWing-----very smooth at highway speeds-----current one has slight belt slap at exact 40 mph---both with original belt and replacement OEM belt----fix don't go exactly 40mph if it bothers you. Have no fear of new SilverWing (warrantly) used==take your chances is my take.

I second the above, I have owned many bikes over the years and the Silver Wing is SO nice to ride. Very smooth and powerful. In fact the smoothest of all UNTIL I got the Goldwing, natch. But both are so good that I rotate use. Silver Wing one trip and Goldwing next trip! Fair eh?

Vibration? It's all relative to what you are comparing. I've owned several bikes from single cylinder models to as many as six cylinders. All I can say is that it is surprisingly smooth for a twin. Compared to a Harley, it's smooth. Compared to a Gold Wing, not so much.

Thanks folks for the opinions, I appreciate it very much.

Sam:)

I like my "foolproof" Silverwing but I have one thing against it.  When you get below about 40 MPH, if, and I say "IF" you let go of the handle bars, it will start to shimmy.  I have tried all kinds of things to keep this from happening and none of them work.  Guess that is just the "nature" of the beast.  Just keep your hands on the handle bars, like you should, and you will never notice this.

That is forever and whatever that is worth. . .

Anyone ever remedy this problem?

Were your wheels balanced when you had tires changed?

I've got Puncture Safe (Rideon in the US?) in both front and rear tires - no shimmying, but then again I tend not to take my hands off the bars if the scoot is moving!

I've had a 2010 and now a 2012 and both were very smooth. And though I hesitate to say this but since I've gotten my throttle lock I've ridden over 20 miles on a straight road in excess of 90 MPH with no hands. At the mid point there is a slight curve and I managed that also with no hands.

County road 471 from Hwy 98 to Hwy 50 in Florida.

As far as I am aware that low speed shimmy is due to the front tire cupping.

I've used Ride On on all my tires for many years now and still experience tire cupping and shimmying though not as much as prior to using Ride On in the front tire.

The shimmy is only when you "take your hands off" the handlebars below about 40 or so. As I understand it, this is just a "trait" of the Silverwing. I keep the tires inflated properly and also balanced etc. . All of the Silverwings will do it. It seems to be a part of the way they are built. Other than that, if you keep your hands on the handlebars, they are smooth at all speeds.

It's not just Silver Wings my Gold Wings had the same trait. Trick is not to take both hands of off the bars, Dave

I've only had it happen one time and as soon as I replaced the front tire it went away. I have only had the front tire cup one time(same tire that had the low speed shimmy)and it was on the scooter when I bought it so I don't know the tires maintenance history. I have not had it happen with any tire that I've mounted and balanced myself. I think keeping the tire pressure proper helps avoid cupping.

Getting a front wheel wable ,when decelerating below 40 mph is a sign that the steering bearing is loss. Support the front wheel off the ground,if the stearing swing's to the left ? your bearing is to loose. Tightening the bearing nut, should stop front wheel wable.

Apparently Vibration is a problem although minor. I've read through ton's of posts on the subject on this forum.

Belt slap is what I don't like as It seemed to afflict the new Aprilia Atlantic 500 I bought years ago. It didn't really cause any problems but it was annoying.

I just wondered if a brand new Silver Wing had any inherent vibration that I should be aware of. Tire noise and clutch glazing chatter I can understand but hopefully that isn't an issue on a new SW.

If a 'vibration,' induces NUMB HANDS then the SW isn't for me.

Sam:)

Vibration to the hand are not much of a problem with my 09 swing. grip puppies is a cheap way to remove vibration to the hans , but in most cases there is no vibrations to the hands.

My 04 Goldwing had a "hands off the bar" front shimmy. I knew a couple other Goldwing riders that had same flaw. Keep one hand on and it is no problem. I guess I havent taken hands off the Silverwing to find out.

I"ve found over the years that when the front tire on most bikes get worn they will sometimes shimmy when hands off handlebars. The shimmy has always disappeared when I installed a new tire Might also check the fork stem bearing to insure the are properly tighten.

I had two Silverwings and both were very smooth for a two jugger. The 35-40 mph wobble is pretty common, four of the different Goldwings would develop the wobble if you took you hands off the bars. It only took a finger or two on a grip to damp it out or prevent the wobble. The normal cure was a new tire which would cure it until the tire became a bit cupped and the wobble slowly returned with tire wear. Pretty normal on a lot of bikes. I haven't been able to get my K1100LT to do the slow speed wobble at all but maybe as the front tire wears it will appear. I never noticed it on my SWs but that might have been because I didn't have a throttle holder so didn't let go of the bars. My SW was a good bit quieter on acceleration than my BMW 650GT but both models are smooth as was the Burgman 650 I had.
Other than needing a better windshield which for the SW a Givi Airflow adjustable screen was the perfect cure the Silverwing is a great scooter and one of the more bullet proof machines. I don't know if my BMW scooter will hold up as well since they've only been on the market for a bit more than three years so far.

Thanks for the input. The Silverwing is a great machine, and except for that one flaw of the hands off wobble at slower speeds, you can't beat it. Honda made a almost perfect all around vehicle on two wheels.
If you can fix the problem like the wind shield being too far away from the rider, and you can do a pretty good job of that with the Givi 214A it's a piece of cake. Not perfect, but almost! Thank you Honda!

Hi all,
I once tried turning loose of my handlebars in the 40 mph range because I'd heard about the wobble/vibration thing a long time ago. Personally, I didn't notice anything untoward (stayed pretty smooth on our bumpy asphalt road) but maybe should have let it go a bit longer(?) except I'm a "wuss" doing things like that. Really, I just didn't feel any problem at all. Am I the odd man out here?? Will try it again when the weather turns warmer. We're down in the 20's with 11 being the expected high for tomorrow.

whew dicko, that's cold.................... One thing I remember about Kansas, wind usually is blowing . That should make for some interesting wind chill brrrrrrrrrrrrr

If anyone really knows how to fix the hands off "wobble" I would like to know.

The two most likely culprits are head bearings and a cupped front tire. The best way to handle the head bearings is to get a Silverwing Shop manual from Helm Inc. if you don't have one. It's the best $64 or so you can spend on your scooter.
http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.asp?Style=helm&Mfg=AHC&Make=AHC&Model=SCOO&Year=2010&Category=&Keyword=&Module=&selected%5Fmedia=