Trading my KLR for a Burgman 400....another talk me out of it thread

Man saying shit like "And the berg may make u have to pass the local motorcycle roadhouse in shame and park across the street." freaking amazes me. I guess I'm lucky, I don't actually give a damn what other people think about me when I'm riding a scooter. I'm not getting into a pissing match with you or anyone else about "manliness" but it's going to be a cold day in hell when I let other people dictate to me what to ride. I know exactly what the OP is trying to deal with, he's realized there are better ways for him to enjoy riding and he's going for it, ego be damned. If you feel the need to park your scoot in the dark I'd say it's time for you to sell out, go buy a do-rag and buddy up to the assholes who're dictating to you how to live. What a pity.

LL75

I went from motorcycles to scooters and have never looked back. I was tired of the need for a backpack and the weight of the motorcycle's I have owned. In 2010 after returning from a trip to Germany ( what an eye opener! scooters everywhere) I sold my Nissan 350Z and purchased a new Honda Elite 110. It was a gas to ride and 4500 miles later I reluctantly let her go for a Honda 250 Reflex as I needed a little more speed. I put 7500 enjoyable miles on her before trading her in for a 2010 ABS Silver wing. My mission at that time was the need to travel interstate to help my daughter at times with our granddaughter. My daughter and son in law are both military and have been subject to sudden deployments. My Silver wing has ample storage, speed (triple digit) and is comfortable to ride. At six feet with a 30 inch inseam I can change my riding position as needed, feet forward, back, one forward one back even cross legged. I really like the Burgman 400 and have taken short rides on a friends with no complaints. I'm just a Honda guy.

I'd say go for a scooter, Burgy 400 or otherwise. I've ridden one and they're a lot of fun, versatile, all of the things you seem to like. What you'll find if you buy a scooter is you'll go to just as many places as you did before and probably others, mostly because the scooter will be more fun and you'll enjoy it more.

From the sound of it there are a lot of scoots out there that will satisfy your needs and there are some really great buys to be had in the used market. I've bought both new and used with success both ways and I know others who have as well so don't be afraid to save a few thousand if you can. Whatever you do try not to let the bullshit artists who know everything there is to know get in your way, all scooters are fun regardless of make, just be sure to choose one that's big enough for your needs. Then get back out there and enjoy.

LL75

PS - My MP3-500 ain't no Burgy but I have a lot of fun on it. http://reddogscooter.blogspot.com/

My $0.002
Background: I previously owned (& thoroughly enjoyed) an '09 Piaggio MP3 400, '09 Yamaha TMax & '07 Honda Reflex ABS, plus a few smaller scoots, in addition to sharing a '10 Honda VFR1200 DCT with my brother. (Seriously - don't buy a VFR unless you are an expert class rider and really need to hot dog, that damn bike is so fast its frightening!)

My current ride is a '12 Silverwing & I'm looking at a '13 Yamaha XT250 for the farm roads and sedate trails. While an old ankle injury makes shifting a bit unpleasant after a few hours riding, the XT might be doable for my planned riding environment. I'm a happy camper, ride only for pleasure (62 yr. old retired bum) and avoid most roads with heavy cager traffic (Bambi gives me enough trouble & I've become an ABS only rider). I'm basically a back road rider, even on long trips and rarely venture into congested environments unless absolutely necessary.

Burgmans, either one - are outstanding scooters. I'd have bought a 400 a few years ago but it just didn't fit me and the 650 is out of my weight comfort range around the garage (same problem with the VFR). I've ridden both Burgmans several times for about 10 days each (swapped rides with friends).

The 400 was fine on the slab, the 650 just demonstrated that it owns the road, period. Its one of the the ultimate long distance tourers, with no disrespect to the 400. Both were pleasant on the back roads with a preference to the 400 due to its more flickable size/weight.

My Silverwing is perfect for me, ergonomics are best in class (for me), workable around the garage at 550 lbs., great on the slab if I need to and a pleasure on the back roads. I would recommend anyone considering the upper end of touring scooters to give it a very, very close look.

I've developed a preference for the TMax (500cc) and above size scooters for all around riding. I'd have kept the TMax but you can't get one with ABS in the US. Its the sport bike of scooters. The 500cc & up size is just my personal druthers. Piaggio's MP3 500 has a lot of fans and there is a best in class MP3 rider community site under the Modern Vespa forum if you're interested.

There obviously are other maxi scooter choices but I can't give any advice on them. Personally, I prefer to stay with the Japanese brands but thats just me. BMW has two versions of a 600+cc super scooter coming in the near future (if not already available) and Honda may import their new Integra sometime next year but don't hold your breath. Also, bring lots of money in both cases.

I don't think you can make a bad choice, just buy the maxi that fits YOU and your intended use. Best of luck.

Many times I have had big rig riders including Harley guys come up to me to ask me about my bike. The only putdowns I've gotten are from other scooter riders who can't comprehend that there are vast differences in handling between a Burgman and a big wheel middleweight. Their loss.

The deal with the 400 Burgman's is that they are touchy about tire pressure. Keep the tires up to spec faithfully and set your rear preload at the max and your Burgman will corner like nobodies business. It won't even seem like the same bike.

Don't do it. Add 3 givi E45s to you klr and you have more storage than the Burgman, you also have a bike that's easy to work on, reliable and can be ridden everywhere. Oh and it's fun to ride.

Just do it. You can always go back to the KLR later if the Burg doesn't work out. Ain't a big deal that needs to be analyzed to the tenth degree.

OK, I wrote earlier an earnest critique of a maxi scooter and a KLR. But if its going to be HTML code (my version): KLR/is what is/Maxi/is what is/KLR/Maxi mission compare=sucks/nice

Cornering was never the problem with the Burgman Highway and mountains it was a good ride though the seat wasn't all I would wish for long rides. It simply isn't the bike for me. I have never been happier to trade in a scoot than I was the Burgman 400 for the BV 500. Though my favorite is the Aprilia Scarabeo 500. If the Burgmans either 400 or 650 work for you, great, I'm glad to hear it but I've never made any bones about not caring for its ergonomics and its slow speed handling/moving it around the garage are not what I would wish. Sure I could do it once I figured out its balance points but it wasn't "fun" and if it isn't fun I might as well drive a truck. So I traded it for something that is fun for me.

How can a scoot compete with a KLR in regards to an ability to carry gear? I've never seen side bags on any Burgman? I agree with the poster, you can spend $1000 to outfit a KLR but once it ready, it can carry much more gear can't it?

I owned a KLR. I currently have a DL650. I to want a Burgman but outfitting it to compete with my Vee would be my biggest issue. Maybe I carry too much on long trips but I refuse to use motels. I prefer camping on my adventure rides.

Actually my ride of choice is a bigwheel SYM Citycom 300i for similar reasons. I'm hooked on the responsive handling and performance of my middleweight. If somebody offered me a new Citycom or a new Burgman I would take the Citycom without hesitation if I could only have one. It's way more fun for most of the riding I currently do in my commute and in the weekend mountain twisties.

But if I needed a replacement for my 02 V-Strom 1000 beastie to go backroad camping touring with; the Burgman with its huge internal storage would be very handy. It would be a much better cruiser than the Intruder 1400's I have owned and put many miles on. At six four and a half I don't fit comfortably on most scoots but I do on those two bikes.

And as was mentioned above if you have trepidations about what people "think" about your scooter, I say too bad! I went to a "Bike Night" event at Cycle Gear the other night (Surprise, AZ) and there was a spot open in FRONT next to a crotch rocket and a big Harley. I should have gone around the corner and parked but didn't !

No problems and I talked to a bunch of guys on sport bikes and they looked at my Wing and no negative comments. Different strokes you know. I am getting old and COMFORT is important to me. I had a Harley guy say to me "those are pretty fast aren't they?" Just smiled and said yes...

I can ride the Silverwing, and can get my feet on the ground, because the floorboards on it stop before they get back to the point where you would put your feet down. This is not the case with all maxi scooters. I also could not flatfoot the KLR, but it was so light and narrow I would find myself sitting at a stop light rocking it back and forth from the right side to the left, with no fear of dropping it. It just didn't have the bulky feel of the maxi scooters.

As far as going off road with a scooter, there is not a single scooter I would even consider riding on gravel roads. And I have a Zuma 125. But it is not a dirt bike, and has virtually no suspension. Riding it off road would beat both you and it up in no time. As far as riding a 600 pound maxi scooter with little tiny wheels off road, I don't think so. I have an XT225 for off road/dirt road use, and it performs beautifully in that regard.

Having both a Goldwing, a 125cc scooter, and a small displacement dual sport, plus a Kawasaki Vulcan 750, gives me a bike for everything. All of these bikes have their purpose, one thing that they are really good at. But none of them are much good at anything else. All can be used for touring, depending on speed and distance. But only the XT is off road capable.

I would love to have a Burgman 650 Executive, or maybe a BMW, and will in the distant future. As far as harassment from my buddies, I would tell them, you coudn't handle a scooter! I would enjoy the farce!

I've owned several scooters, a KLR, and quite a few other bikes. There are seven in the stable just now. Running a KLR on pavement for daily commuting in the city/suburbs makes little sense. If you have rough pavement, gravel, and moderately rough trails, the KLR shines. It is not a trails bike. It is not a road bike. It's a rough-road all-rounder.

A good scoot is a joy carving up suburban pavement. The work load is low, and they just eat up traffic. They are truly fun to ride, and the storage and slop protection speak for themselves.

However, on anything but good pavement, the roles reverse. Here, I was getting beaten up by my scooter (Aprilia Scarabeo 500ie). Our roads are crap. I actually find the KLR a very comfortable commuting machine for this area. In other parts of the country, with different road conditions, it wouldn't be true. If you don't need off-road capability, why have it?

The KLR is actually the perfect road bike for around here, we have the worst roads on earth. Big bumps and potholes everywhere. To bad it is such an uncomfortable bike. Most of that is the seat. My last KLR was an '01 model, maybe the seat on the '08 and up has improved. I haven't tried it. But this is not the best place for a large scooter with small wheels. It's hard to see just where those wheels are going, and you will KNOW it when you hit a pothole/bomb crater. With my small scooters I can weave my way around between most of the worst stuff. The interstates are still in pretty decent shape, they still get federal money to keep those maintained.

I actually wonder why maxi scooters even exist. If the main attraction is the automatic transmission, why not build a motorcycle with an automatic transmission? I know it has been tried and it failed, but times are different. Seems to me a nice comfortable automatic motorcycle with shaft drive, full size wheels, and storage capacity would be better than a maxi scooter. Such a motorcycle would of course have to be priced no higher than the scooters. Honda's DN-01 for example was an expensive joke.

I've seen side cases on a Burg before but only one and it was on the net not in person. Its the underseat storage that makes it so appealing. You ever looked in one? Fold the person in half and you could stuff a dead body in there.
The 10 day trip I did this summer, I had 2 dry bags strapped to the rear rack and that was to much stuff. Yes you could replicate that storage on the KLR but it would take 2 large side cases and probably still a top box. In a quick google search says 400 burgs have 62 liters. But it's better shaped than most side cases. Side cases are tall and skinny. Under the seat I can put 2 full faces and have room so stuff more junk around it. But I don't need the helmet storage....I could have put all my stuff for that trip under the seat. Stops, I wouldn't have felt like I had to sit by the window all the time blah blah blah. Not to mention in just everyday use, groceries, hardware store etc. Not to mention all the cubbies up front for stuff. A few poeple have mentioned a Burg won't offroad or even gravel road but that's not what I'm looking for. I don't offroad my KLR. I suppose I'm strictly comparing the touring and daily riding capabilites of each machine on road.

I agree with you on the KLR as a rough-road mile eater. A Seat Concepts seat kit eliminates the problems with the seat for a reasonable price.

I haven't ridden a small-wheel scooter for about 25 years, so I can't comment on the modern breed. Both of mine had large wheels.

The CVT transmission on most modern scooters is actually a very trick piece of gear. It came to us from the snowmobile world, and is now being used on small automobiles. It is virtually maintenance-free (changing belts and variator weights around 15k miles is necessary, but there is no day to day attention required.) Unlike the dual-clutched electronic transmissions offered by several manufacturers, notably Aprilia and Honda, there are very few parts and very little complexity. And CVT means that the ratios are continuously variable. They can be tuned for optimal performance or optimal economy. They hit either the most efficient or most powerful part of the power band and sit there. Unlike shaft-drives (I currently own 4 shaft-driven bikes) there is no torque reaction when power is applied. Further, they are significantly lighter weight than a gear/shaft set up.

It's an ideal set-up in urban traffic, where constant stopping and starting is necessary. There is simply no comparison between the two in ease of hill-starting, particularly with a passenger. The scooter wins hands-down.

Most scooters have a lower center of gravity than a comparable motorcycle, which also cuts the work load. They also have more storage off the shelf than almost all motorcycles. I had no problem fitting a week's groceries on mine.

Inmate Barbsironbutt took the Scarabeo 500 out to Wyoming from Vermont with her daughter on pillion this summer, riding a total of over 5050 miles and carrying gear for both of them. She'd tried several other bikes in preparation for the trip. The combination of low CG and low work load made her feel much more secure. This wasn't a milk run. She did several days over 600 miles, and was in temperatures up to 105 degrees on major highways. She was consistently running at speeds of 70 or above. The Scarabeo has a top speed of around 105 mph, which made it more than competent on the interstates.

The scooter, a single, used very little oil (significantly less than a KLR would have!), and the only mechanical issue was a heat shield coming loose on the muffler.

Scooters and motorcycles are similar, but not the same. The decision which to choose comes down to the nature of your riding. I wouldn't take my KDX200 on an extended pavement ride. I also wouldn't take a scooter in the woods. However, I would argue that each has a proper place, and that a maxi-scooter is no less competent a tourer than a motorcycle of comparable displacement.

Besides, scoots are darn fun to ride!