Nice Smaller / lighter bike restored - 1983 650 SilverWing

[vanavyman]

Saw this really nice looking bike on one of the Goldwing sites. If you are looking for a smaller or lighter bike this one sure looks nice.  He shows pictures of it setup as a Solo rider and Two up.  I'm not the seller.  Just posting because I thought it looked nice and someone might be looking for something nice and smaller.

https://www.gl1800riders.com/threads/restored-vintage-1983-honda-gl650i-silver-wing-intersate.481908/



Not a Gold Wing, but a vintage Silver Wing!

I’m selling one of the two 1983 GL650Is I’m restoring. Going to keep one to ride.

This was the last year of production and the only year it was a 650. The 1981 and 1982 models were both 500s. V-twin, water-cooled, shaft drive bike, and convertible seating. Has the exact same fairing as the GL1100 Gold Wings. In my opinion, and the opinion of many, one of the best mid-sized touring bikes Honda ever built.

This one is Nimbus Gray and was a 1-owner bike when I bought it to restore just about a year ago. I have a copy of the original owner’s title and his original bill of sale from the dealer! I also have many of the original owner’s service records. Rare to find a 40-year-old 1-owner bike!

Current mileage: 31,029 miles. Bike rides and handles great. Engine and transmission function perfectly. Riding season is already here in the south! It’s ready to ride!
New Dunlop D404 tires. New Yuasa AGM battery. New stock Honda handlebar grips. New Vista Cruise throttle lock. New air filter. Engine oil and filter changed. Gear oil changed. Lubricated rear drive gears with moly 60 paste. Lubricated pinion gear at zerk fitting with lithium grease. Coolant system flushed and refilled. Replacement Honda front disc brake calipers completely rebuilt with BrakeCrafters rebuild kits including new pistons. New EBC brake pads. New Galfer stainless steel brake lines installed. Front brake master cylinder rebuilt with BrakeCrafters rebuild kit and new fluid reservoir and cap. Rear drum brake removed, inspected, and cleaned. Brake pads measure 4mm. Right side front wheel bearing was clicking so I replaced both front wheel bearings. Installed new carb drain hoses and gas tank petcock drain hose. Installed new turn signal flasher relay. Replaced one bad side cover with a better one from eBay. About $700 worth of new parts and restoration supplies.

Carbs were rebuilt just before I got it. Gas tank had been previously repaired (properly welded) at bottom rear left edge. That small area is currently primed and will need the decal painted back on. (Shown in pictures.) Gas tank is sealed and has no leaks. Oil filter cover and clutch cover were badly pitted. Vapor honed both, then polished and resealed with clearcoat. Spent many hours at general clean up and detailing. Exhaust is near perfect except for one spot where some battery acid leaked onto the mufflers and discolored it a bit. (Shown in pictures.) About 90 hours of labor recorded in my daily restoration workbook.

Converts from a 2-seater to a 1-seater! Includes passenger seat, trunk relocation mounting rack, tool kit, and owner’s manual. All luggage and locks work.

I have a set of original Honda speakers that are not yet mounted, plus a set of original fairing panel meters for a Honda Type I stereo. (This is the type without an intercom.) These items go with the bike only IF you want them.

I also have a color matching 1983 Gold Wing trunk and mounting kit I made for it almost assembled. I will sell that separately IF you want it. (I paid $300 for the parts for that.) This allows you to lock up two helmets.

Selling for what I’ve got into it: $3,250.00. (Bike is located near Greenville, SC.)

40 more pictures available in my Google Photos album
Any questions, just drop me a PM.

[cookiedough]

3200 is pushing it IMO even if all ready to go.  I like the 1 to 2 up conversion though never seen it always seen silverwing's as 2-up normal cycles.

[scooperhsd]

I had a friend in college who bought one of the GL500 Interstate. The bike was not that bad, and it was small enough for her to handle it with ease.

[vanavyman]

I've read where some guys change to lighter bikes as they age to try and keep from going to Trikes.  Honda makes some nice newer lighter bikes.  Something like this is cheaper than newer bikes and like a Valkyrie a Classic like this would attract attention.  My brother and I both had 1983 Standard Goldwings and loved them back in the day.  Never have ridden a Silverings.

[3fan4life]

I've read where some guys change to lighter bikes as they age to try and keep from going to Trikes.  Honda makes some nice newer lighter bikes.  Something like this is cheaper than newer bikes and like a Valkyrie a Classic like this would attract attention.  My brother and I both had 1983 Standard Goldwings and loved them back in the day.  Never have ridden a Silverings.

Had a buddy that bought a Silverwing when I was stationed at Ft. Lewis Washington. He gave me a key to it and told me that I could ride it anytime that I wanted to.

He was a helicopter mechanic and rarely had a day off to ride.

In the year that I was there, I put more miles on his bike than he did.

It was an easy bike to ride, his was the 500cc version and was a little low on power.

It had enough get up and go, it just wasn't a powerhouse.

[vanagon40]

I have an '82 500 (but I have not started it in several years--I believe it needs head bearings). Rides OK and sufficient power to ride comfortably on the Interstate at 70+ mph. I picked it up in Illinois and thought the seat might kill me on the 300 mile trip home. I put a modified Valkyrie Standard seat on it which made a HUGE differrence.

I have not kept up with prices and availabilty, but I believe $3,200 would a collector's price, not a  daily rider. There is a very active forum for transverse twin owners.

I said the SilverWing compared to the Valkyrie was like an old VW Beetle compared to a new Dodge Charger. Both are fun in their unique way, but the Valkyrie outperformed the SilverWing in EVERY category (with one exception: my SilverWing is an Interstate and my Valkyrie is a Standard, so the SilverWing was my grocery getter).

[cookiedough]

IMO if going for 3200 or even 3K,  there are some very nice low mileage say newer honda ctx700's that would be more reliable and same power and lighter weight going for around that 3500 mark used.

I like the classics, but getting into the 1980's bikes can be a costly expense in terms of upkeep IMO.   

[f6john]

The guy saved a 40 +/- year old bike, bought it, worked on it, threw money at it and it will sell or not. Imagine what it will be like in another10 to 15 years of use and some abuse or neglect of our beloved Valkyries. There will always be newer better more efficient bikes to spend our money on but I see this bike as a possible niche bike for those who like to be different. If it was/is a great performer it would be great. I know they made a turbo model back in the day, sure would like to ride one of those.

Turning 70, I went from a heavy bike to a heavier bike. No telling what my next move might be. For a vintage bike I would love to have an early CB 750 and they’re going for more than the asking on this bike.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Turning 70, I went from a heavy bike to a heavier bike.

They are. But the GW feels lighter on its feet. (IMHO)

[98valk]

https://www.bikermetric.com/500cc-pushrod-land-speed-record-holding-motorcycle/

not in this article but in others.
since its a pushrod motor it put to shame the harley teams in the class and which basically quit the class.

[f6john]

Turning 70, I went from a heavy bike to a heavier bike.

They are. But the GW feels lighter on its feet. (IMHO)

Much like the Valkyrie, their bulk goes away when the wheels start turning! For me, the Wing can be more difficult on uneven ground when doing slow speed maneuvers and coming to a stop on softer ground, gravel and the like. Much of this is due to my lack of experience on the bike which I continue to mitigate with trips coming up like the Spring Fling.

[98valk]

[/quote]They are. But the GW feels lighter on its feet. (IMHO)
[/quote]

that is correct due to the lower center of gravity from the fuel tank being under the seat, and the decreased Trail number compared to the Valkyrie. Goldwing 1500 trail is in the fours and the valkyrie is almost six.

[Jack B]

I had 6 different CX500 they are are fun bikes they have enough power and get 50 mpg. I still have one in the garage.
I also had 2 Cx500 Turbos they are fast once the turbo kicks in.
Here’s a Turbo up for auction.
https://auctions.yodersold.com/auctions/8151/lot/10618-motorcycle-1982-honda-cx500-turbo.
Here’s a barn find that I put on EBay 2 years ago and it sold for over $800 it didn’t run it was like a brick.
free upload pictures

[Jess from VA]

Here's the early 80s CM250 Honda twin I trained my wife to ride on.

A surprisingly utilitarian motorcycle (though taller reach to ground than later beginner 250s like the Rebel)

Bought it with 12K miles for $800, and sold it 18 months later for $800 (all cleaned up, which was a lot of work)

If I had the space, I should have kept it.  

The Honda CM250 is a 234 cc parallel twin cylinder air-cooled OHC four-stroke cruiser motorcycle produced by the Honda corporation from 1981–1983 with a top speed of 85 mph and delivering 70mpg.

Ours never looked this good.  I never had it at 85, but that probably took about 4 minutes of WOT.  


 

[cookiedough]

Here's the early 80s CM250 Honda twin I trained my wife to ride on.

A surprisingly utilitarian motorcycle (though taller reach to ground than later beginner 250s like the Rebel)

Bought it with 12K miles for $800, and sold it 18 months later for $800 (all cleaned up, which was a lot of work)

If I had the space, I should have kept it.  

The Honda CM250 is a 234 cc parallel twin cylinder air-cooled OHC four-stroke cruiser motorcycle produced by the Honda corporation from 1981–1983 with a top speed of 85 mph and delivering 70mpg.

Ours never looked this good.  I never had it at 85, but that probably took about 4 minutes of WOT.  


 

85 mph for a 250 is pretty fast.   My single cylinder 249cc scooter only goes 78 mph, which is flying on that thing do not like to go much above 70 mph since the engine gets buzzy much past that.  something about those early to mid 1980's honda's I really really loved back in the day growing up.  bought in 1988 a used 1984 honda magna 698cc for 1500 nicely equipped and sold in 1998 for 1500.  I shoulda kept it as well probably still be driving around today, although with a much more paint faded and rusted am sure.

[DIGGER]

Around 1982.....pre cellphones.....I had a 1971 BMW R75 and my buddy had a goldwing.   We were planning a trip from Houston to Colorado, Wyoming,and Montana.   We were on a construction site working and a guy about 45 yrs old was working with us.  His name was Bud Cook.   Bud had two sons 20 and 22 yrs old.   Bud owned 75 acres in Sommerville Tx and an oil company had recently drilled a successful oil well on it.  He got interested in our trip and with one of his royalty checks he bought 3 new 500 CX's and we organised a plan.   Bud and sons, who had never riden motorcycles left for California on the CX's.   Another friend on his bike and hus wife headed from Houston to Canada.  The next weekend me and my buddy rode our bikes to Denver and went to the airport and picked up our wives.    On a Tuesday we were to all meet at a crossroad intersection in Wyoming at 2:00 in the afternoon.  Everyone showed up within an hr.  We then toured together for 5 days and headed home.....great trip

The 3 CX's perform just great with no problems

[..]

I rode a CX500 for about 30,000 miles as a messenger bike. Easy to work on, big plush saddle. I put 4 English pennies on the top of the fork springs to stiffen up the front.

[Kiwitex]

I had a good friend with one of the Silver Wing 650's, it was a great bike to ride, really good MPG and much fun was had.
He sold it for nearly double what he paid for it after only 2 years. With a little elbow grease, it looked nearly new again. He still wishes he had kept it!

[f6john]

Well as a good friend used to say, there’s an ass for every seat! Somebody’s ass found a seat, the bike has Sold!