First Impressions of a Honda Silverwing I've had quite a bit of offline interest on impressions with the Silverwing Scooter so here goes. So far, so good, I really enjoy it and so do others I've let ride it. They all come back with a disbelieving grin then ride it some more. The good news: It's a 600 cc, eight-valve, fuel injected twin. It is a tad 'buzzy' upon hard acceleration, but once up to cruising speed, any speed, it is silky smooth...really. It's the smoothest twin I've ever mounted, bikewise ;-> It seems completely comfortable sustaining 70 to 90 MPH on the super slabs, and has plenty of kick to get around slower moving vehicles with authority. 5,500 RPM works out to be about 75 MPH with the redline marked at 8,500. It's interesting to start from a stop, put the throttle at 4,000 RPM and watch the speedo climb past the numbers with the tach remaining on 4,000. That CVT transmission is really incredible. There is no noticeable or audible slippage once underway. It even has considerable deceleration when backing off the throttle. The automatic enrichener and fuel injection ensure immediate starts at all temps. There are NO foot pedals or pegs. You just advance the throttle. As the tach approaches 2,000 RPM it starts moving forward smoothly. If you whack it from a standstill, two things happen. It begins to move forward with conviction, then as the advance kicks in it really accelerates, still smoothly. It's acceleration is deceptive. There are no 'surges' as with the ST going through the gears. It gets to 60 in about 4.5 seconds. And when accelerating it sounds like you're being chased by an Evinrude outboard pulling a water skier. With 600 miles I've only had one confusion with the left lever not being a clutch. I usually used to downshift the ST when coming into the driveway. I grabbed the left lever and was quickly reminded that it's now a brake. It's only been that once. It wasn't a bad transition at all. The advance doesn't make an appearance until about 10 to 14 MPH is reached, then it comes on like gangbusters, like turning on another engine. Honda says this is to keep the front end down for beginning riders...I can believe it. I've heard some are experimenting with a super-chip to bypass this function. One Euro claims to have successfully bypassed this feature and says it's like grabbing onto a passing freight train. Sounds like a Wiley Coyote episode. It has 55 liters of storage space under the saddle, and will hold two full-face helmets with room left over. Many of them are equipped with the Givi E52 trunks. The brakes are most impressive as is the ABS. The left lever engages the two pistons on the rear rotor and a couple milliseconds later (through a delay mechanism), one piston of the front rotor. The right lever engages all three pistons on the front rotor. I like the 35 amp alternator. The two trip odometers are nice, but I'd rather have had the thermometer and voltmeter like the Aprilia Atlantic 500 has. The night lighting seems adequate. It has separate high and low 55 W lamps. The low lamp remains lit when the high comes on. The overall effect is that it illuminates more of the roadway and shoulders than the OEM ST does, especially when leaned over. I do miss the ST's adjusting knob, I haven't really needed it, but would just like to know it's there. The extensive foot boards are nice. In the feet-forward position the feet are completely flat on the inclined footboard. They and the lowers remain completely dry from tire spray and rain as long as underway. In the rearmost position you can stand up, sorta, for speed bump management, etc. I took it on a very twisty ride Saturday and it readily dives into turns. The tires, while smaller in diameter, have about the same cross-sectional area as the ST's. I'm told by other SW'ers that it will drag things and remain sure footed. During hard cornering the front end didn't feel as 'planted' as the ST, but as I get used to it, (I've been riding ST's for the last nine years) it isn't much different than any ~500/600 pound bike. (my ABS version weighs 496 pounds) An emerging age-related back problem has prevented me from intentionally taking it over to drag-city...something about a yellow streak... I'm also told it will go over 100 MPH, but I've only had it to about 90+ during break in, but it had reserve left. As you would expect, it is light-years easier in the creep-speed maneuvering, being 250 pounds lighter, and that weight being proportionately lower. Also easier to paddle around the garage and back it up inclines. The center stand positioning is a piece of cake. I'm not particularly strong, but can still 'bounce' the rear end sideways an inch or two at a time if necessary. It has a secluded parking brake to be used when on the side stand and inclined surface. No direct gears/compression, remember? I just changed the oil for the first time and the 600 mile check, the electric hoist and platform setup works well. I used the Honda GN4 10W-40 for this first time. The Honda people are saying that while the Mobile 1 is fine oil, it is almost 'too' slick for new engines. Seems the GN4 will still allow the parts to 'wear in' and 'play well' together during break-in. They have no problems with going to Mobile 1 from then on, next change is due at 8,000 miles. It takes 2.3 quarts with filter change. The oil filter seems to be the same as that of the ST except it is 3/8" shorter. I did buy the Honda filter, at an MSRP $11.99, just for a comparo with the ST filters. The aftermarket makers consider them the same and interchangeable. That's good, I still have nine ST/Emgo filters left. The not-so-good news: The OEM mirrors don't extend out far enough. You can't see directly behind you, up close. A $14 pair of tinted Dennis Kirk Emgo mirrors took care of that, along with my salvaged wedge-type convex mirrors. A couple riders have replaced the OEM's with 'fairing mount' mirrors, a la ST. There is a flat on both sides of the instrument cluster/dash that will accept this mounting. I'd be concerned that a drop, or even a passing bump, would damage more than just the mirrors with this fixed mounting, but it adds considerably to the looks as well as visibility. I may have to look into the break away fasteners the ST used to insure this feature. Maybe even 3M's super velcro-like stuff with a tether. The key insertion into the two locks isn't very smooth. I smoothed the sharp edges on the key with emery cloth, which helped, but still rougher than it should be. A little LPS greaseless lube helped some more, but still not like the ST or like it should be. The lock's weather cover disk can be accidentally rotated without the key being completely in the keyway. This can be a real problem for those that don't recognize what is happening and how to get it corrected. This seems consistent with other Silverwinger's reports. Just a screwed up lock mechanism. There is a Silverwing remailer that just got to 500 members with quite a few gals. Not bad considering the limited production and 2003 is only the second year it's been out over here. I started a Colorado SW remailer, seven of us signed-up so far in the first week. Some owners are having problems with the OEM saddle comfort. So far I'm OK with it, but then my longest continuous ride has only been 200 miles. Russell and Mayer are already making option$. Some of the riders are having local upholstery shops work them over. It's not for lack of reaching the ground as a knees-bent, flatfooted stop is easy even with 30" inseams. Backrests are common on the SW's. An outfit is selling a Utopia backrest. I'm thinking a cage's headrest might be a candidate for consideration. One of my favorite Silverwing pics is from U.K. and shows a grey-bearded rider leaned way the hell over, damned near dragging. He's slouched back against the backrest, legs crossed, and sipping on a teacup of something, with pinky extended...I love it, and hope he survived the turn. There is quite a bit of air coming over the windshield. It's not a buffeting wind just constant flow, ear plugs are most welcome on sustained high speed runs. The windshield is just too short. It needs to be about two inches higher for most riders. Givi and another outfit are making aftermarket windshields. Craig, at Clearview, is to have windshields for the SW in the next week or so. I've seen his prototypes and they look good. I expect to get one when available. The dash/cowl doesn't leave a lot of opportunities for farkling in switches, V-1 modules, GPS mounts, etc. While I've installed a Kisan modulating headlight and garage door opener, all the ABS plumbing and modulators take up most of the room up front. I still have about six other things to add. There are a couple of louvered-looking vents on either side of the instrument cluster that I think have possibilities for renovation and reassignment. I do wish the tank was larger than 4.23 gallons. So far I've been averaging 52 MPG, but would like another gallon or two available, the ST spoils you. They claim having a 'reserve'. Their idea of a 'reserve' is to have the last segment on the LCD gauge to begin blinking, this indicates .95 US gallons left and seems accurate. Instrumentation consists of an analog readout tach and speedo. An LCD panel complements the right side of the instrument cluster with a fuel gauge, clock, engine temp, oil pressure, coolant temp and any of three selectable odometer readings. There's also the turn signal indicators and five idiot lights monitoring Hi Beam, V-matic indication (this monitors several tolerances in the CVT transmission), PGM-FI (fuel injection system), parking brake indicator, and ABS system indicator. There is a pretty extensive diagnostic readout system for the ABS and Fuel Injection parameters all contained in the service manual from Helm Inc. Overall the Scoot is really fun. I'm particularly enjoying the Harley encounters. Very few would ever challenge the ST's. But most of them try to beat the Scoot...they won't anymore...they give up after second or third gear. Whit Brown April 29, 2003