Scooters Big & Small

SCOOTERS BIG & SMALL

Silver Wing & Metropolitan

Honda doesn’t want you to think of the Silver Wing 600 as a scooter. More of a superbike in skirts, it takes the small-wheel segment to a new level in the U.S., both in terms of performance and price.

Power comes from a 582cc dohc four-stroke parallel-Twin with a pair of balance shafts and Honda’s V-Matic automatic transmission. The fuel-injected, catalyst-equipped powerplant pumps out a titantic (in scooter terms) 48 horsepower and 37 footpounds of torque, good enough, a tester told us on the QT, for a top speed of more than 100 mph. With performance like that, disc brakes front and rear are a good thing!

A more traditional scooter offering comes in the form of the Metropolitan. The retro design cues and funky colors are meant to appeal to younger buyers, while the 49cc four-stroke should appeal to the environmentally conscious miser in all of us. The standard Metro is good for 35 mph, while the Metropolitan II is power-andspeed-limited to comply with moped regulations in most states.

While the Metro comes in at a competitive $1699, one has to wonder if the U.S. is ready for the $7499 Silver Wing, even if it may just be the quickest way yet devised of cutting through cross-town traffic.

Mark Hoyer