Judging from the thread "Rider's Age" there are a significant number of geezers riding the Versys. No doubt some have eyeballed a big scoot for comfort, weather protection, and whatever else.

A used Honda Silver Wing scooter came up for sale at a local dealer. For some unknown reason big scoots have always caught my eye. So I went up and took the thing for a test drive.

This one had a Corbin seat with driver and passenger back rest. It was equipped with a maxi windshield that I had to look through. It had satellite radio, and a throttle lock for cruise control. There was a light bar on the front with hid lightening. ABS. Not sure I would say all dressed but close.

The previous owner had traded on a Gold Wing.

Did the pre-flight check. No clutch, cvt tranny,twist and go. Ok, I am clear. Left brake is where the clutch is on the Versys. We do a whirl around the parking lot before we hit the road. Accelerate slowly, on instinct I reach for second gear, and pull in the clutch. Ooooh f##k. Fortunately, the thing had ABS. Back wheel didn't lock, but it stopped real quick. Then I was clear. No clutch....

I expected smooth, quiet and comfortable with a bit of jump.

The thing crawls off the line. I read somewhere it is detuned for slow starts. Once you get past 20kmh things pick up. It's no fireball but will clip along.

The thing that really surprised me were the vibes. It's way more vibey than the V. Vibey on start and vibey on acceleration.

Once you get to cruising speed it settles down, but getting there you feel the vibes in your feet and hands. The sound coming out of the back end is less than pleasing. It is 100% scooter.

The ride was comfortable. The Corbin seat and driver backrest is the definite ticket. The big windshield made helmet buffeting a distant memory. It's a little like bombing around on your vibrating easy chair.

Handling is something you need to get used to. No slamming it into the corner and whaling on the way out. This thing needs to go in easy and and out tamely. It lumbers around the turns. Absolutely no comparison to the V.

All and all, it was a fun ride. Nice to try something different. However, I am not sure I am ready for the Silver Wing just yet. The plodding, vibey nature of the thing really caught me off guard. It was not what I expected.

I can relate to this. My Retreads club has lots of older members, makes me feel young at 54. Several guys ride Burgman 650s, but they are motorcycles with a recliner attached. No automatics here. We move along at a pretty good clip in the twisties, but most of the time, it's all speed limits obeyed. It is good therapy for me, forces me to slow down! Anyway, I have one fellow member that rides the Burg, and apparently he has owned and still owns some of the best sportbikes made. He choses to ride the Burg on club rides, it's apparently that comfortable.

From what I've been reading there is a significant difference between the Silver Wing and the 650 Burgman. I am still not totally done with the scooter thing. If one becomes available, I'll go for a test. The multi mode tranny seems intriguing.

I sold my scooter (It was an Aprilia SR50 Factory). Yeah it was only a 50cc bike, but I had it de-restricted and could reach speeds of 55mph.

It was fun to ride... but at top speeds of over 50mph, it felt really unnerving not having a gas tank in-between the legs. I cant imagine what it would be like at speeds over 70mph.