Hi, Bob. As I said earlier, the ergos on the Burgman 400 are, to me, superior to the Silverwing...but man, do they ever want a pile of money for the new B400 or the new SWing these days. I'd look for a nice used B400, 2007 or newer (major engine redo in 2007, decreasing frequency of valve clearance checks), but a nice used SWing like mine is nothing to sneeze at either, if it fits you. The SWing is a good fit for me, the B400 is just better... Here's a photo of the SWing taken on the same route east of Foresthill at China Wall in the late spring 2011: Thank you, Klaviator...I like to take the camera along. You're right, it is a beautiful area to ride. I think several of us are heading for the Feather River Canyon if things cool down a bit, maybe mid-August or so...another good place for photos.
Stopped in at the local Suzuki dealer today , they had an 08 650 Burgman on the floor, 43k miles !! wanted $5700.00 for it ,YIKES !! Sat on a 2012 dark gray , liked how it sat , a lot ! Sticker was around $9800.00 !! Have been e mailing with a guy who has an 08 650 with 3800 miles , but i am not sure if it has the electric wind screen, when did they start coming with that ??
I think the electric windscreen is on the B650 Executive, but the plain old B650 does not have it. I'd be very careful about buying a used B650. As I and others have noted elsewhere, the B650's transmission is an electronically controlled CVT which is very complex and which has a belt embedded deeply inside the case. The belt is supposed to last the life of the bike, but some, REPEAT, some B650 owners have experienced belt failure at 30-60K miles. Replacement of the belt requires a tear down of the bike, removal of the engine/transmission, repair and replacement...it's a major piece of work and costs $2000-3000...in some cases, as much or more than the bike is worth. I love the B650's size, comfort and ergos, but I really don't trust that transmission. The owners themselves are the ones reporting it...here's a link to the Burgman website-I recommend that you go over there and do some poking around...don't take my word for it, as I don't own a B650: http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=dbd1828dd374a39135c850cb65dbf55b Good luck with your search...there are a lot of good choices out there, each with their plusses and minusses...
Thanks gumshoe4 After reading the horror stories on the belt/CVT /bearing failures it's enough to make one wonder why the machine is so popular Sounds a lot like the BMW final drive failures, or the broken spoke issues reported by the new Triumph Bonneville guys . Never had either issue on any of my BMW's or my 05 Bonneville T100. Yes those things do happen , but overall I think they are in the minority. My quest to find the right maxi continues ! I may hold off until the BMW C650GT does get here and then do a comparison with the SWing, the Burgman and the BMW. I think the BMW will be more expensive than the others , but it will have more content ; eg: cruise control, heated grips/seats. From what I read the final drive will be totally different also All though the 2012 Burgman in dark gray sure is pretty.
gumshoe4? very nice written with a ton of information,, you should be writting for a major motorcycle magazine!,,,,,,, but as I was reading it I kinda felt sorry for you cause you never was on a Tmax. I had past experience riding the Silver Wing and the Burgman and both doesn't even come close as great (to me) as the Tmax... my experiences with the SW is its very unstable at high speeds above 60 mph to the point at almost feeling dangerous, the Burgman feels good and stable at high speeds but it has a very heavy feel like riding a giant cruiser bike and the tight curve handling is terrible. I admit before I bought the Tmax I wanted the Burgman, but the Suzuki dealer expected me to kiss his ass for it so I was forced to buy the Tmax instead,,, but I NEVER even considered the Silver Wing cause I believe its far worse than the Burgman. don't get mad at me,, just giving you my honest thoughts. ,,,,,but you're compairing the BV against one of the worst scooters out there and IF you like the SW better,,,, then in my book the BV must be really, really bad!
Good morning. Can't say that I've had that experience with my SWing, Tacoma. As with every motorcycle, including, I'm sure, the TMax, there are good parts and not so good parts. The SWing has been an excellent bike...very reliable, fairly easy to do routine maintenance on, good power, handles well, lots of cargo space, etc. I don't think I said anywhere that the BV was better than the SWing-in fact, I made a point of noting that the SWing had done sterling service for me and that they were different bikes for different uses. I also did not say that the Burgman 650 was a bad bike...in fact, I specifically stated that both Burgs had superior ergos to the SWing. I pointed out only that there was a body of information out there...submitted by the owners themselves...that the B650's transmission was sometimes not reliable and very expensive to repair. I have not ridden a TMax, so I'll leave commentary on that machine to you...although I see you've made similar commentary regarding that machine on other threads. Nothing wrong with being loyal to your machine, but I generally base my views on my machines on my uses of them and I try to be pretty objective about it and back up what I'm saying with some factual information. Appreciate the comments. Hope you've gained something useful out of this writeup...if not, I'll try to do better but remain true to the goal of being factual and objective...at least as much as possible...
Gumshoe, you have done an excellent and objective job in your writeup here. Tacoma on the other hand, is a complete troll. I would not pay any attention to anything he posts and responding to his posts is a complete waste of time.
I'll second klaviator on how well gumshoe has written things up. I hae ridden the t-max and its ergos were not ones I cared for at all. The hump is far too high for one thing. I've been on motorcycles that had a lower clearance or at least easier to mount swing over than the t-max but to each their own. As for how much faith to put into an individual's posts check other threads they are involved with to make your own opinio of how much weight to give them. Check mine and you will find that I'm biased in favor of the upright traditional scooter ergonomics and dislike for ME the maxiscoot foot forward position not just from test rides but from having owned a Burgman 400 for approx 18 months. That doesm't mean the Burgmans or other maxis are bad scoots. The biggest complaint I've heard about the Swing s that it is top heavy. I really prefer the weight low which to me wold give the advantage to a Burgman over the the Swing and t-max. There are pros to the burgman even to me such s their large storage capacity, how well the faring handles steady crosswinds of the 30-40 mph type and dealer availability. For some people they are the absolute best choice, just not for me. If I'm going to ride something that big or wanted to deal with the higher mounting requirments many of them like the t-max have I'd buy an Aorillia Mana, something I"m still considering off and on. :) For large displacement scooter my order of preference is the Apriillia Scaraeo followed by the BV. While both share the same engine and seating position the erogonomics, primraily of the seat and suspension are a bit different. I prefer the Scarabeo version but I've taken 3,500+ rides on both and found nyself less fatigued and less butt soreness than a 1,200 mile trip on the Burgman. Granted on the BV it required an Airhawk which I did not have on the Burgman but no such aid was needed on the Scarabeo,
Its fustrating where I get called names when I offer my opinion, I have ridden 10 times more bike models than most everybody else! The only scooters I did ride was the SW and the Burgman, I was the guy that bought a new bike every year cause I was too picky, never could find the right bike that pleased and excited me. I strongly feel thru my years of experience that my opinion is right on the money. I consider myself the top 10% of the best riders out there, I can take a big Harley and ride it better than the guy that has ridden that same bike for 10 years. I was guilty in the past of reading the opinions and reviews how wonderfull a bike or a scooter was and rushing out to buy that model then finding out they lied, that bike is a POS,,,,,,, thats why I bought the Tmax, at the time I purchaced it there were no reviews, nobody talking about it, I took a chance buying it and I believe I won! so,,, I found out to ignore all the great and wonderfull things people say about the bike or scooter they own cause they don't want to look like a failure cause they own the worst one out there,, instead I read the bad things people say about their bikes and I respect that, I feel they are being honest. The SW is old school design thats cheaply made with smaller tires that doesn't feel balanced and I can feel the cheap quality riding it at higher speeds,, The Burgman is better, but it has a delayed throttle responce and the engine makes strange noises like loose parts are rattling around inside the engine, thats my honest opionion!
OK, thanks for your opinion and I have no doubt that you think you are a superlative rider. I make no such claim...just an ordinary guy expressing some thoughts about his bikes so other ordinary folks can join in. You don't need to convince me about your excellent qualities and abilities to judge...you're entitled to your opinion and you've expressed it, albeit in a somewhat confrontational way. My opinion differs from yours and you evidently don't care much about it. That's fine...I'm not asking you to accept what I think. You disagree, you've expressed that disagreement and you've presented your opinion. Thank you for your participation. May we please now carry on with a congenial discussion and avoid flame wars? I think if we continue down this road, we will have effectively stopped the original purpose of this thread and I'd kind of like to keep it going and hear from other folks as well. Thanks...
Tacoma; Please be careful when you say things like you are in the top 10% of the riders out there. I am sure you think you are and i will bet in your mind you are. The reality is, unless you have proven yourself on the race track ( the only place that how good you think you are really matters) you are probably not. I say this from some experience at the track as a rider and watching many so called hot shoes fall off their pedestal quickly when they come up against real talent. Not just boasting bravado. Just because you chose to spend your money to buy the next hottest/fastest/slickest/quickest model only proves you have more disposable income than most of us. Good for you on that point , I wish i were in that position. Let's all try and keep these discussions civil with some respect. Thank you , Doug
Just put the Givi windscreen on the BV...really looks good. Need to ride some more to put more miles on the bike and to see how well the windscreen works, but it's been really hot here lately...104 degrees F today...and I'm tied up tomorrow...so maybe next week it'll cool down a bit...
Wow !! That looks sharp. Please pardon an old mans ignorance , what's a BV again ?? I like the looks of that a lot
That is a Piaggio BV500. Piaggio is one of the biggest makers of two wheels in the world. They are the manufacturers of Piaggio, Vespa, Moto Guzzi, Aprila, etc. I have a 200cc version of this bike. Just turned 21,000 miles the other day. Great scooters. Bob
Thank you....it is a very sharp looking machine and I think the Givi windshield does not detract from it. Once I get the bike out on the road again, I'll let you know how the windshield performs...