Anyone own a Burgman 650?

Howdy all,
Someone asked last week if others of the group own Goldwings.... I am curious if others own the Burgman 650? Once I pay off NanCy, I was thinking of a more touring based biked. I have heard the Burgs are great for this, especially at a third of the price. Any thoughts, suggestions, etc...?

I have owned a Burgman 650, but sold it to a friend. I sold a Burgman to a customer who was 83 years old. He was going to ride the Burgman form Texas to Cal., but his kids, who were in their 60's and 50's, threw a fit. They made this fellow promise not to ride the bike all the way to Cal. to see his daughter nor out of the state of Texas. So, he promised he would not ride it to Cal. or out of Texas. He road the Burgman 650 completely around the state of Texas, and took a picture of every state welcome sign. Over 3000 miles, and he made the front page of the local news paper. The next year his kids were happy to let him go to Cal.

Just sold one last month. Had it for several years and about 30K.

It's an OK tourer, but be aware that the suspension is no where near that of the Honda, along with limited fork travel. Also, with those 14/15 inch tires, you feel every little bump or crease in the road. Mainenance can be a *****, as everything is covered in plastic. Try the BurgmanUSA website for tons of info.

I never owned a Burgman but I did own the Honda equivalent, a Silverwing FJS 600. The Burgman is bigger but otherwise there is little between them. Big Scoots are brilliant. Some testers in a UK mag took a GL1800 and a Silverwing from the UK to Southern France and back in 2002/3, when they were both launched. The smaller bike was only lacking in top speed. I put 55,000 miles on mine over a six year period riding it on a 40 mile round trip commute in all weathers, during that time. I also took it camping one weekend for a bit of fun and to have something different. Shot enclosed. There was almost as much equipment under the seat as there was above it ( with the exception of the directors chair ). I lacked for nothing that weekend and my biking mates were seriously impressed with the amount of equipment I brought

!

The only issues came after about 40,000 miles when it needed new pulleys and its second belt. A crank seal was replaced also. It was a lot of fun to ride as it was very nimble in traffic and was ridden on Motorways daily when it was well capable of cruising at 80MPH+. The protection from the weather is unequalled and that is one reason why I had it. The seat was almost as comfortable as that on a Wing. If ridden hard the fuel consumption (EFI) was high 40's and mid 50's if ridden economically. It was replaced with the NC as I recently retired and no longer had the need of its protection on freezing winter mornings.

As suggested above, big scoots are not ideal on bumpy roads. However I have used it on graded dirt roads on a couple of occasions and it was ok at low speeds. It also has ABS. A good friend now owns it so it is not too far away.

I just purchased a Suzuki 650 Burgman two months ago and I'm truly hooked on this scooter. I'm a dual sport rider at heart and have a 2011 Kawasaki KLR 650 and just sold my 2007 BMW 1200 GSA. The scooter is no BMW for sure, but you talk about fun to ride, it is. I haven't missed the BMW at all as this scooter really scoots, you will be at 75-80mph before you know it. The engine is very smooth, the RV mirrors will not have any vibration in them, and you will never feel the transmission shift. For me at age 68 and 230 lbs. it is very comfortable and I can ride it all day with no problems. These Burgman weigh 650 lbs. and the weight is very easy to handle at slow speeds and tight parking is no problem. When it comes to the twisties, if you can ride, you can hang in there with other riders of equal riding skills and the three possession transmission shifting will give you added fun and power. I would checkout this forum,
Suzuki Burgman Forum as it is probably the foremost forum on the Burgman's. Remember that some scooter riders are new to the two wheel riding world and they have some different thoughts on scooters in general, so you have to put your experiences to work here. Many come from the Goldwing's and everything else.

John

i had a 650 burgman and agree because of the small wheels it tends to tramline on grooves in the road also did not handle bends to well, i have the Honda integra which has 17" wheels and basically is the nc700 with scooter fairing and protection i have fitted panniers and top box giving me 100lt storage great for touring and economical.

i didn't own it,but my friend let me borrow it,when i was in florida



imo most comfortable ride for 1 cylinder. it's an old 2008 ,but i like it a lot.pretty good on gas too. note that it have big givi windscreen and some extra deflectors on the sides.

I have never driven the Honda Integra, but I would tend to agree that the 17" tires would be a nice feature.