Going to look at my first scooter tomorrow

Hi everyone. Been riding various motorcycles all my life.
But tomorrow I am likely going to look at 2009 Silverwing.
It has 13,000KM on the OD.

Are there any problems I should be looking for?

How long do the tires last?.

Thanks in advance.
Reg.

I've had two Silverwings and purchased two others for friends. The main thing I look for is cosmetics. The plastic parts are expensive so if they show much wear or damage I'd go elsewhere. Look at the underside of the scooter to see if it has a lot of oily dirt which might mean an oil leak. It should start up and idle smoothly. Take a look at the temperature gauge before stating up. It's preferable to check an engine when it hasn't been previously warmed up. That can hide a hard to start or fuel injection problems. Other than that find out how many miles the CVT belt has on it. If it's over 9000 miles or so I'd want a $100 drop in price. You an install a new belt yourself if you have any tools. Lots of info on that job. There's a couple of videos on YouTube that show one how step by step. For the most part if a SW looks good, clean and no major scrapes from being dropped, no leaks and starts stops and rides well it probably will be fine. Like most Hondas.

In my experience the tires last about half as long as they do on a Goldwing motorcycle, but they cost less than half as much. I don't remember how many miles I had on my '04 SW but my BMW C650GT got about 6000 miles on the rear. I changed the front tire at the same time but it could have gone a bit longer. I know the 650GT and SW are different but not all that much.

Ask for maintenance records, no records ask who took care of the work. NEVER go by pictures of a bike as a friend learned those minor scrapes were really major. Take it for a ride checking to see how smooth it is.

I got about 10,000 miles on my tires but it kind of depends on the kind of tires but also the roads they were on. There isn't much that has gone wrong with the SWing so if it seems to run good and looks well taken care of then it will probably turn out to be a very good bike. IMO>

Thanks guys.

I will check out this CVT belt. That is something new to me.
The bike has 13,000KM (8,000 miles) I am hoping it will pass a safety test.
Tires being the main concern.

The best I could get for price is 3700 canadian. That would be about 2900 USD.
He describes it as mint condition on the phone. It is 1 1/2 hours drive away. So we agreed on price
based on his description on the phone. I did not want to haul my trailer there just to find out we could not come to terms on the price.

With any luck I will be the proud new owner of a 2009 Silverwing.

Hi Reg,
I find that my rear tyres last around 12,000 miles (19,000 km) and the front about double that. Some people report considerably less though so it's worth having a good look at the rear tyre as it could be getting near the end of its life or maybe has already been changed.
Bear in mind that the tyres are 7 years old and some tyre manufacturers are now saying that tyres should be replaced after 5 years or so whatever the mileage - a lot of people ignore this. There should be date codes on the walls of the tyres somewhere so you can see if they are originals or not.

The belt change interval is given by Honda as 16,000 miles (25 - 26,000 km). Many people go a few thousand longer than that without apparent problems. So, you should be ok for a while on the belt.

See if you can peer in and check the brake pad thicknesses. Mine are just coming up to being due a change after 25,000 miles (40,000 km) but I am pretty light on the brakes and some people have reported having to change them considerably earlier.
Also it's worth asking if the brake fluid has been changed as it should really have been by now. Have a look in the little windows in the reservoirs and see if it looks clear or dark in colour.

These aren't deal breakers as the jobs are pretty easy to do but it will give an indication of how well it's been looked after.

Don't forget to check the coolant level. You don't need to take anything off to do this but you do have to get your head down by the floor and look up inside the fairing on the right hand (non brake) side. Look up between the front forks and the fairing and you should see the reservoir. Give the bike a wiggle to make the water move and it's easier to see where the level is. It's just another indication of whether the bike has been neglected or not.

Ask whether the battery is original or not - I doubt a 7 year old battery would have a lot of sparkle left in it.

At that mileage there shouldn't be any problems but, since checks cost nothing, it's worth doing them.

Good luck and I hope it goes well and you are soon the new owner of a great machine.

Thanks so much. You guys are the greatest. I am heading for Ottawa in a few minutes.
Going to print this list to have as a guide.

Sounds like a good deal! At 8K Honda wants the spark plugs replaced... See if that has been done. Not a big deal and I feel that the interval is premature. I did change mine simply because I had the extended warranty and did not want an excuse to void that. Easy job to replace them so no worries. Unless tires have been changed, I would definitely consider changing them. This is a safety issue even with only 8K on them, the SW can do freeway speeds so you do not want to get in trouble with tires. Good luck and post pix if you get this scoot!

Have you bought it then?
Or do I have wait for tomorrows exciting installment :-)

I got it. Everything was as the seller said. It is mint condition. The seller was a super nice guy.
85 years old. He gave me a load of extras. A high visibility jacket with padding in the right places. riding boots (fit perfect) helmet, gloves, bike cover,manuals,service records.
Everything looks brand new.
He had just done a service that included spark plugs and a new Yusa battery. Also a Yusa battery tender. He had changed the mirrors to something larger and installed high vis leds lights.

I had it out for an hour this evening. Seemed a bit weird at first. Definitely a scooter feel.
But I am getting adjusted and I like it. Big change from my Honda 1800vtx. But very similar color.

Going to try and post pics.

Awesome! Congrats!

Reg,

Good news and congrats. It looks really nice. It is more powerful than many think a scooter can be. It also cruises very nice on the interstate as well.

Matching colors, nice! Now you just need to get a decent windshield on it. Givi Adjustable, makes a whole 'nother bike out of it.

Guru,. You read my mind. The stock windshield top edge is right in my sight line.
I find myself sitting tall to see over or crouching to look thru. I prefer to look over.

If you have the time, could you post a pic or yours with the Givi.

Very nice scoot, congrats! Looks like you got a smoking deal on that one.

Reg,

You might want to look thru the picture albums that users have posted on this site for some examples of what is possible with your wing. And givi has a mount specifically for the Swing that will give you top box storage comparable to your current bike.

Dan

I will do that. Right now is my first full day of onwership and I am going for a 200km scoot.

But first I need to check in the garage and make sure the VTX and the Swing got along alright last night. I think the VTX is a boy and the Swing is a girl. So should be fine. Just hope I don't have a bunch of pocket bikes running around in there.

Here's a couple of pictures on one of my previous SWs with the Givi Adjustable. In the pics the windshield is at it's highest setting

I found I could move the back rest back a bit. Now I just see over the windshield the way I like.
Thanks for the pics.

There looks to be some kind of access panel in front of the seat and behind the gas filler. Does that serve a purpose?

Nice scooter. Sounds like you got a very good deal with everything tossed in.

I am not sure what the panel is, so will leave that answer to the more knowledgeable. I am like you - new to the Silverwing.

I just put a Cee Bailey windshield on mine. Ran about $140 delivered. Not sure how much that price changes shipping it to Canada. Keep that in mind for comparisons with the Givi, if that time comes. Got a tall windshield since I sit high.

Reg,

That is where the spark plugs are.  I have done many Pictorials and if you go to the "Pictorial" section (maintenance) you will see my Pictorial on how to access this panel to check your spark plugs.

https://www.silverwing600.com/t22-spark-plug-removal-and-replacement-pictorial

Very tasty!

Methinks those are Suzuki Burgman400 mirrors - a straight swap.

I'm tempted.

Thanks Jeff. I just knew that something was under there. Might even find a motor.

I will for sure check the pictorial section.

Mike. Yep the old guy changed the motors. He would have done it at the Honda dealer.
All his work was done there.

Today I got to rearrange my garage.It is just a single. But now contains a car,motorcycle and the Silverwing. There has to be a way to make all three accessible without having to switch them
around all the time.

It's been 30 - 33c here everyday. No rain.
This morning is a bit cloudy. So good chance to do it.

I notice a few of you gents are from the UK. Started out there myself.
The scooters must be popular there.

The Maxiscooter scene is alive and kicking here in the UK.
In fact, we're spoilt for choice both with machines and scooter forums.
I started with a Piaggio X9250 and have ended up with the Silverwing and on this forum, and very happy I am, too.

Congrats Reg on what sure looks like a great deal and your Silverwing! Late to this thread but checking the tires for age would have been my top suggestion. The tire wear on mine wasn't bad but upon a closer look I found old rubber cracks and looking at the date code I found they were 10 years old !!!

Both bikes look wonderful .... ride carefully and get all the enjoyment the Silverwing has to offer -- it has lots to offer!

Mike

All I have to say is:



Be careful when you twist that throttle. The "little girl" has some get up and go.

MikeO wrote:

... snipped ... Methinks those are Suzuki Burgman400 mirrors - a straight swap

You are correct MikeO. Did the same with my SW. They provide so much better rear and side visibility.

Congrats Reg and welcome to the maxi-scooter community.

MikeO wrote:

Very tasty!

Methinks those are Suzuki Burgman400 mirrors - a straight swap.

I'm tempted.

You were exactly right. Met a guy today with an 05 400 Burgman.
My mirrors are identical.

My view on scooters is that they have come down on price to being darn reasonable. I recently picked up this 2004 shown about for slightly less than 2k. I'd have a hard time shelling out 3k or more for one, due to the fact once you get into that kind of money it doesn't cost much more and you get into the good used Goldwing category and such. I think the SilverWing is a versatile, handy bike at the price point mentioned above.