Burgman as a Luxury Touring Rig?

Some people don't let engine size stand in their way . . . . but, as stated, one should be practical as to just how much to attach:


But, as decided . . . . 650cc and 54hp gives one a good reserve of power. A well-designed hitch connected to a well-matched trailer and "you're laughing" . . . . (Ossie slang term for "satisfied")

iv toured on burgman 650's since 2008. i went to 10 states on my 2007 and 2006 standard models. right now i have a 2012 executive. iv had 12 bikes since 2008. iv since sold them all and kept this new burgman. its the perfect mid size touring machine. tons of storage space plus i have a top box. tons of wind protection. the windscreen is electric. its a pleasure to ride.

in 2011 suzuki made a change to the cvt primary housing. it supposed to fix a rare problem that few burgman owners had of the cvt stopper bolt shearing off. i personally never knew of any one having that problem. i never had a minutes trouble from any of my burgmans .

only negative is it goes thru rear tires fast. probably not gonna get much more than 7k out of one.

Thanks much for your input, Los gringo. I needed to hear that, since I'll probably be switching from my Gold Wing to a Burgman Executive in a year or two. I sure hope Suzuki stays in business, and avoids total bankruptcy, but as you probably know, they are having difficulties.

yeah they will be in business. they are cutting some dealers to give other dealers larger markets. sucks for customers to have to drive further though.

With the exception of Harley this seems to be a trend, although I've seen a few new BMW dealers in the last year.

That setup is awesome!

I saw this thread and read it all with interst. I wound up totaling my Victory Vision last year and have nerve damage in my left foot and leg. I now can not raise my toes to shift anymore. I also have trouble raising my legs to get over a standard motorcycle seat. I have been thinking of a mega-scooter. I have owned many bikes in the past and currently own a Piaggio MP3 250cc for around town. I can ride the Piaggio even with my foot/leg problem. My brother and I would do at least 1 long ride per year plus some nice all day rides. I am really going to look into these as a possible ride!

+1

Wonder if anyone's tried THIS with a Burgman? More mass so the floats would need to be larger (more buoyancy), but maybe one could get up to higher speeds?

YouTube- Amphibious Scooter

We're near St. Louis.
Two years ago, we were out wandering around Montana... and ran into a fella on a 650 Burgman, with a Florida license plate. He was visiting some relatives.

Two weeks later, we see that same fella at a local gas station (Washington, Missouri) .... he's wanting some directions and is on his way back to Florida.

74 year old man. He said that he was having the time of his life.

That's funny, 2 years ago this June I was in Montana, on a 650 Burgman, with California plates Later that summer, I went to Florida. "It's a small world...."

My two weeks out of the salt mines, last September...I was down in the Four Corners area of Colorado.

There's only one downside on a Burgman 650 - unless, of course, you want to posture. The young girls won't be impressed; but you'll still be feeling good hours into the day. The other is: Fuel economy is nowhere near what I'd expect. High forties...it's okay...but I'd hoped to do better. That is about average for a 650.

The tupperware does do a reasonable job of keeping a driving rain out - just a makeshift rain suit kept me completely dry. There is the capacity for a lot of gear; and handling doesn't suffer - except at slow-slow speeds, and maybe parking. Sidestand makes you worry; centerstand too much to lift up on.

I'm averaging 52 +/- mpg following the instructions from a long time 650 Burgman owner: at 55 mph or above manually shift into 6th; at less than 55 just leave it in auto.

When I was young the girls all wanted a ride and I happily obliged. I rode a bike for several reasons and they were one of them. Now? Not so much.

I've been riding mine in a similar manner for a while now and find the mileage gets better when you use the manual shift. I shift about the same as you are doing. Mileage has gone up from 45-47 to 48-50. I can get over 50 whenever I can find ethanol-free gas. One station near me has started advertising ethanol-free gas in their mid-grade. They don't have premium.

For anyone that dislikes their 650's compression braking they can put the transmission in manual and let the electronics shift into first as they come to a stop. It'll do this automatically but doesn't shift as aggressively as it does in auto or performance modes. It takes about 60% of the compression braking away. For me I like the compression braking - and it saves on brake pads. I 'feather' the brake a bit when there is traffic behind me so the brake lights come on - this warns them that I am stopping. Assuming they are actually paying attention isn't an option for me. I always stop the bike so I'll shoot past the car in front of me should I get 'punted' from behind. It may look a bit odd to be lined up to the left of the car in front of me but I'll take my chances vs getting crushed between two cars thank you. There's my safety tip for the day. Ride safe!

plus's
-what it tries to be, its a great idea.
-it mostly does what it should.
-it has a great forum.
-they are pretty cheap if you go used. My 2005 cost me $4,000 with 800 miles in 2012.

Minus's
-fuel limited range
-not a big cockpit. 5'10 is about the max size person who can really fit. I am 6 feet and just ordered a Corbin Tall seat for $500.
-suspension really is pretty bad. figure say 500-1500 depending on if you do it yourself and what you buy
-windshield not really functional. Figure $3 to $300 to fix. I am happy with my $3 cure.

So the downers are readily fixed except for range. It needs more tank. All this is detailed out in fine detail on burgman USA

The real question for me, is my almost sorted Burgman as good as my well sorted Wee-Strom? Happy to keep trying to figure that out. Ultimately, the Strom is better for more active riding, the Burgman for when you just want to twist and go and or haul groceries.

You gain about an inch in legroom if you go with the Isuzu headrest-backrest that one member sells over at BurgmanUSA.

When I bought my 650, it was a tight fit. The previous owner was bigger and older; and he had a Utopia backrest. It felt...okay...on the test ride; and I knew from my trips through all the cycles I've bought and sold that nothing except the BMW was going to fit a long-legged SOB like myself. So I bought; and the more I sat, the more I disliked.

And then I tried that headrest-backrest. PERFECT-O! Only problem is, there's a big gash in my seat where the Utopia hardware bolted to the saddle base. But...I can live with that...

I use my Burgman 650 for 2 up or interstste touring. In manual ode on the transmission 6th gear is an overdrive. At 5500 rpm in 6th I am running 95 mph. In auto mode 5500 is 85 mph and it will run that all day long. I may not get to the 1/4 mile as fast as most of the big touring bikes but I,ll stay right with them on the interstate. And after a 1000 miles in 1 day its just like sitting in my lounge chair.

I am age 71, and anticipate going with a new Burgman Executive or Honda Silver Wing within two years, maybe less. I love my present Gold Wing, but am longing for something smaller, but still capable of touring.

Yesterday, while getting a new tire on my Wing, I spoke with the Honda shop owner. He attended a dealer meeting a couple of months ago, and said that the Honda Reps had insinuated that a new 700cc Silver Wing replacement would debut in February. If so, then I'm hoping it is as good as the Burgman, or even better. My preferance would be Honda, since they have a better dealer netwok than Suzuki, plus I'm troubled by Suzuki's present problems in the U.S.

When you ask Burgman 650 owners (former GL1800 riders) what they miss about the Wing, most say "reverse". I rarely use reverse, maybe 3 times in the years I've owned the Wing.

Hopefully it will be the Integra, but the updated silverwing wouldn't be bad either.

http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/scooters/#!/integra/

In my book, if it has a chain drive, it's not a scooter.