Honda Silverwing (ex)owners

[Drago]

I've been seriously thinking of getting a Honda Silverwing to go with my 250. I've looked at plenty of reviews
99% of which are very positive about performance, storage and reliability. The only negatives I've frequently
come across is with the mpg and high speed handling.

Now I know that most owners report 45-60mpg, but apparrantly it drops dramatically at high speed, but at what speed is
it when this rapid mpg fall occurs, 70mph? 80mph+?

I don't plan to go bombing around at 100mph, but I plan to do 70mph on the M-ways & dual carriageways. Is the bike
stable at this speed? My SYM GTS get's quite twitchy at this speed and runs out of puff.

Another thing that concerns me has got to be the brakes. They seem a little... small for such a heavy machine. Many lighter 400/500's have bigger brakes all round and also have dual brakes up front. How effective are they?

How easy/accessable is it to do basic servicing - Oil, air filter, spark plugs, coolant? I've looked on ebay and parts seem easy to get hold off and not to badly priced.

Is there any issues with certain years models?

I know 2001-2003 models can be identified by having coloured gloveboxes/pockets. Didn't the 2006?+ models have the injection system? changed or modified to improve mpg slightly?

[Normsthename]

I had a 55 Plate Silverwing and it was a great scoot...........But.......
It was seriously thirsty, especially at Motorway Speeds.
While I owned the scoot, (which was not that long) it only averaged 37mpg
I kept an accurate record on Fuelly.com
I remember one journey in particular where I had to travel from Leicester to Sheffield to view a car.
Before I joined the Motorway I filled the scoot up brim full.
Went upto Sheffield, and when I returned back down the M1 I had to fill it up again at the first services!
That was only about 80 miles in total.
I have been told the later models are much better, so hope that is the case for you.

Andy

[pikey]

At 70 you would be down to 45 mpg 80- 40 mpg any faster down in the thirties .I would think may get better 07 onwards as better injection with exhaust sensor Brakes are linked so left gives you rear 2 pistons plus one piston on front right gives you 2 bigger pistons on front so in effect both together you have 5 brake pistons going .I always found them ok servicing is easy oil filter underneath no panels to remove air filter under panel water behind one dash pocket.Rear caliper collects crap so needs pistons kept clean but easy to get at and do




It rides like a scooter not like the big burger or tmax which ride like a bike so you have to ride as such . Its a good scooter sold mine as wanted to try a tmax before I down sized .

[pikey]

You have to weigh up over all costs you will get an older silverwing cheap so if its just for odd long trip if it costs £10 in fuel more as opposed to paying say £1000/1500 more for a more economic powerfull scooter so 100 trips to break even .

[phantom309]

personally i would go for a 400 burgman...it's better handling/same storage/better braked and much comfier..the wing ok if you don't like to press on,fuel was never a concern for me i just ride them for fun. but the suspention can tie itself in knots on quick bends...way to much weight for basic suspention to cope with..it should have had proper full length forks at least..i know hundreds of wing owners may disagree , but thats my personal view.i was so happy to swap for burgman..even my new 300 gts is so much more confidence on the road...

[Taipan]

I had an earlier one and it was thirstier than my ZX9! Would often get well under 40mpg if ridden enthusiastically! I think Honda must have done something to them to address this as the later ones aren't as bad apparently.

I loved the silverwing out on the open road but hated it around town. Clutch is real grabby at walking speeds, so when I was commuting through central London it really got on my nerves. You might not notice this if you ride on open roads or roads that aren't as heavily congested? My other gripe was the rattling bodywork. Mine was a straight bike and not a damaged repaired one but the bodywork rattled like it had been apart and not put back together properly? i replaced fasteners and put little sticky pads in places but it still did it. Again this was noticeable at slower speeds only but annoying all the same.

I had to attend a workshop in Bristol and rode my Silverwing there and back (360 mile round trip). It was a blast to ride out on the motorways, it really came into its own there. Cracking engine when you get it going and despite the juice guzzling I thoroughly enjoyed that ride on it. I'd have another if I didn't ride in stop/start traffic.

[pikey]

I only took mine flat out once and the engine was just singing agree great engine

[MrGrumpy]

I only took mine flat out once and the engine was just singing agree great engine

Great engine, but dodgy chassis....and astonishingly cramped for so big a bike as well IMHO

[pikey]

There is a fix for leg room turn bum stop into back rest theres how toos on yank Silverwing forums

[pikey]

I dont think its any dodgier than any other scooter just not up to Tmax standards overpowered for chassis is better description