Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128141
(Left) The Silver Wing eas Iy holds two fullface helmets In Its giant under-seat storage compartment. (RIght) From the front, the Silver Wing looks like a sportblke. (Below) Instrumentation Is sweet - analog tach and speedometer accompanied by all the necessary wamlng lights, clock, fuel gauge, etc. Oh, and it is fuel-injected. And it does meet California Air Resources Board 2004 emissions standards. The fuel-injection system utilizes 32mm throttle bodies that are fed via four injector nozzles. The Silver Wing's power gets to the rear wheel via Honda's fairly sophisticated V-Matic belt-drive system. Using a three-stage operation that matches the engine's low-end and midrange power to a wide range of operating conditions, the Silver Wing gets you there in a hurry. Right off the bottom, the ignition is retarded so burnouts and wheelies aren't an option, but get it in the 15- to 20mph range, and hold on tight. You'll be going 50 mph, faster than you can say, "Damn, I'm on a scooter." The Silver Wing does have a different feel to it than your normal motorcycle - mainly due to the fact that the engine sits fairly far back under the operator, giving the scooter a low center of gravity and a different feel than your average sportbike. But different isn't necessarily bad. Actually, it's a pleasant change of pace. Riding becomes a bit more relaxing, and you start to take notice of things that normally pass you buy - like the scenery. The Silver Wing is also exceptionally quiet, giving you the feeling that you're riding along in nature's library. The suspension on the Silver Wing is plush, and easily adjustable in the rear with just a twist on the shock with your hand. Both the fork and the rear shocks provide a balanced 4.7 inches of travel, with the rear shocks sitting way, way back to allow space for a huge storage compartment that's located under the big, two-person seat. (The storage compartment easily holds two full-face helmets.) The brakes are also impressive and very un-scooterlike. Most scooters I've ever ridden require that you plan well in advance for any stops. As for unplanned stops, forget about it. Not so with this baby. Using a threepiston caliper and 256mm front disc and a lightweight, twin-piston 240mm rear disc, the Silver Wing stops like... well, it stops like a motorcycle. The system is Honda's "Combined Brake System," which basically means that when the operator tugs on the rear brake, the dual pistons of the rear brake are activated as well as the center piston of the front brake - via an inline delay that smoothes application of the front caliper. When you grab just the front brake, the lever activates the two outer pistons of the front caliper and there is no braking from the rear. COMFORT CITY The big seat on the Silver Wing features a five-position rider backrest that adjusts over a 2-inch range. Vertically challenged riders like me will find the forward position adequate, but taller riders may want to slide the backrest somewhere in that 2-inch range to give them a bit more legroom. Legroom? Well, that's what it is. Your legs are basically out in front of you, with your feet on the floorboard, either upward or perfectly flat - or one up front, one behind. It's not quite like playing TWister, but close. The passenger also gets his/her own cast-aluminum footrests that fold out from the sides. Instrumentation is solid. There's an analog speedometer and tach, and LCD readouts for odometer, twin tripmeters, fuel, clock and coolant temperatures. Indicator lights tell you if the emergency brake is on (yes, there's an emergency brake - or parking brake, as they call it), or if things like fuel injection, V-Belt, high beam, oil pressure and coolant temperatures are causing you grief. The Silver Wing gets a 4.2-gallon fuel tank, so cruising range is fairly adequate, considering the bike gets in the neighborhood of 40 miles per gallon. Although we didn't get the chance to go over 80 mph, the Silver Wing feels like it could go over 100 mph, and testers claim they've gone 110 mph. Honda says the scooter will be available in April and it will carry a suggested retail price of $7499. Believe it or not, you may have trouble getting your hands on one. Deal- e U e • _ n ers sucked them up quickly, and apparently so have customers. Most are already spoken for, according to Honda. It should be interesting to see if scooters such as the Silver Wing can bring the scooter market back to where it once was. According to Honda's Gary Christopher, in 1987 the scooter market topped out at 157,000 units. Then the decline started, with just 55,000 units sold in 1989. From there it has continued to drop, but the industry now sees resurgence in the scooter market. In 2000, some 22,000 scooters were sold. A year later, that number rose to 24,713. Honda has taken notice. Three years ago, the company started to look at developing new lines, and the Silver Wing is the product of that development. And it's much more than just a scooter. The ultimate scooter? Perhaps. But as Toland said, "Remember, it is a scooter." Trust me - ride it and you'll quickly forget. CN _ _ S • FEBRUARY 13, 2002 29