Suzuki Burgman(s)

[Mogan David]

At the Motorcycle show in Cleveland, I checked out the Suzuki Burgman 400 and 650.
Both have better space than the Atlantic to place one's feet on the sloping front running board area. Both have more front storage compartment capacity and have handles to easily open and close them. Both might have somewhat worse eronomics for tall people than the A500.
The 400 seems to come with a chrome luggage rack. It also has motocross style hand shields, which may be available as an accessory for the 650. But, I didn't see any significant advantages of it over the Aprilia A500.
The 650 has an adjustable driver's seat rump rest -- adjustable front-to-back, not up and down. It has a power adjustable windshield and a "power" button to alter the performance of the CVT. It has ample foot space, on the running board, for the passenger, instead of our little flip out foot rests. The under seat storage space appears to be a little larger than the A500.
Despite these nice features of the 650, I can't see $1,800 more value than the A500. I do see it as superior to the Silver Wing for the same price.8o

[sammyboy78]

After reading about the Burgman 650, I am considering purchasing it in addition to the Atlantic 500 I already have. My wife owns a Scarabeo 150, and although it is a really beautiful bike, it lacks the power needed for commuting on the freeways. She ends up taking my Atlantic whenever going on the freeway. Today we are taking a short trip south on the freeway...hopefully she will change her mind and we can trade in the scarabeo for a burgman 650!!!

The only downsides I can see about the 650 are the inability to mount a GPS on the handle (I did this with the Atlantic on the mirror), no speaker placement dummy panels that I can see from the pictures, and there is no top rear case, except the one made by Givi.

Overall, I love the Atlantic features... but I think I would enjoy the acceleration and power of the Burgman. I thought the Silverwing was superior to the Atlantic, but when seeing it up close and riding it I found I was much more comfortable on the Atlantic. Sure there is more power, but the style, console, and features were more convincing with the Atlantic. The Burgman has 15" front and 14" rear tires... another advantage over the Silverwing that has only 14" front/13"rear.

Safe Riding!!:cool:

[ScudaMax]

The Bergman looks promising. I really think the ability to downshift is going to be very helpful on downhills. Is it possible that the tire sizes in the previous post are wrong. I think the Silverwing tires are 14 front - 13 rear. Atlantic is 15/14, and if I remember correctly the Bergman is too. I expect the Scarabeo 500 is the only one to have 16" tires.
Max

[LCoop]

Recently the Yahoo Burgman Group has been discussing a possible premature corrosion issue with the bikes - ??

autos.groups.yahoo.com/gr...i_Burgman/ (http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Suzuki_Burgman/)

[sammyboy78]

Scudamax you are right. I corrected the sizes. Thanks<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":\">

[bigbob313]

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Mogan David: Can you tell if the seat bolster/rump rest can be removed for extra space? One of the first things I felt needed fixin' on my A 500 was the seat. Modifications cost $300.00. At least now my seating position feels good. The trade off is: I probably sit 2" higher then the stock seat. I'd rather be 2" lower.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Months ago, I was told we'd see the Burgman at dealers in April. Anybody hear differently? :rollin:

[Mogan David]

BigBob, I think the adjustable seat bolster of the Burgman 650 could be removed entirely. I released the latch for it, under the seat, and slid it to and fro. did not attempt to slide it far enough forward to get it all the way out of the track. Perhaps it can be modified to be higher, as some SilverWing owners have done.

[timbo]

In the tests I have read of the Big Burger, the testers have found that the 'manual' change facility is very hard to get the hang of, and gives you no more performance than the 'power' mode of the box - except as one tester said, riders sometimes get it wrong, but the Auto never does!
Its a fun idea, but it doesn't seem to work that well. BTW, I have read that Motor Guzzi have developed that sounds very similar for a bike..

[sammyboy78]

Anyone know when the Burgmans are going to be available in the US?

[Roller]

There was a Picture of Guys with their Burgmanns on the Yahoo Link.Since the Scoots are not yet available here,I wondered how they got theirs.
Barneys sez they will be available here in April.
In Europe they get a two year Warranty on any Scoot,another Case of us getting the short End??

[Clocky]

My first thought when I saw the 650? It is HUGE... certainly very much longer than I imagine. At that point we're <em>seriously</em> heading into Goldwing territory there!

[terash]

You are wrong on several points. The Burgman 650 does not have an electrically adjustable windshield. Also, it not only has a little more space than the A500, it has a lot more. You really can't compare these two scooters. They are not in the same league. The Suzuki is far superior.

[Pauls 500 NYC]

So go buy one and knock yourself out ! :lol:

[bigbob313]

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp I checked out the 650 yesterday at the local dealers. I believe I posted it under "Honda vs Aprilia" ?
I'm too tall for the 650. We removed the seat bolster; and I still didn't fit. And I can't modify their seat as I did on the Atlantic. :rollin:

[terash]

I did buy one and I love it. I now have about 800 miles on it. I also have a 2002 Honda Silver Wing FSC600. I like the Silver Wing, but the Suzuki is much smoother and better handling. It is also much quieter at speed, though not at idle because of the clutch noise on the Suzuki. Sounds like a diesel at idle.

The most noticeable difference between the two scooters is the difference in the way the clutch engages at take off. The Suzuki engages very smoothly compared to the vibration in the Silver Wing.

[timbo]

I have just read a long term report about the Burger 650 in Twist & Go - the tester has come to the conclusion that the manual change option is a complete and utter waste of time and effort, and provides no benefits whatsoever!

[seekerhiker]

I find that the manual change option makes it easier to keep the engine at proper RPM on hills during break-in, as opposed to letting the engine rev too high. Other than that, automatic is the way to go.

[ScudaMax]

I would expect the manual change would be very helpful controlling speed going downhill on mountain roads. Maybe it is only me that is a little uncomfortable free-wheel coasting down a twisting 15% grade, with no engine brake assist.

[sammyboy78]

Hey guys, haven't yet had too much experience with the manual, but someone did mention that it would be helpful to go downhill (other than you Scudamax). It would be logical to think that it would help, and it does, but when I went under 15 mph (I think...it could be slower), the clutch disengaged and the engine braking was no longer an option. The only way to engage it again was to throttle a little, but it kind of defeated the purpose. It's too bad there is no option to manually disengage the clutch, but considering there is no actual gearbox, it wouldn't be possible.

Sammy

[Mogan David]

below 15-20 mph there is not much strain on the brakes. If there is compression braking above that, in the manual mode, I suppose there would be less wear and tear on the brakes when one needs to decelerate or avoid picking up too much speed while decending a steep grade.

Yuck! what a rambling sentence