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Burgman 650 and the twisties

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Liamjs 
#1 · (Edited)
I am one of those riders that keeps his bikes for a long period, unadulterated, preferring to learn and adjust to every nuisance of the ride rather than change bikes or setup.

So I've been riding the 650 for well over six months and although good and quite fast on it, I'm not completely comfortable in fast turns; certainly not like I am on my 400.

On the little burg I have no problems scraping everything that can be scraped, but the big bike leaves me with room to spare. I just can't quite dial it in.

Today a thought hit me and wanted to know if the 650 riders experience the same in fast, twisty riding. The 400s engine is center mass on the bike, right below your bum. The 650s is well ahead of this area, towards the front. Could this be why the rear end seems squirrelly to me? Like its ready to kick out every now and again? At first I chalked this up to the sensitive tranny, but now I'm not so sure.

While certainly low, the CG in the 650 seems well ahead of midpoint on the bike. On the 400 I seem to pivot on CG. On the 650, its more like leading it around a curve, letting the backend trail behind. Are there riding techniques to get it around a curve faster, more sure foot? Interested in all opinions, especially those with track training.
 
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#2 ·
Liam - I think it's psychological. You have a physical mastery over the 400, you can bend it to your will - lean it 'til it scrapes, and right it at the first sign of trouble. Your own body mass is closer to the ground and your seem to be 'in' the bike. The 650 doesn't seem so pliant. It doesn't seem so forgiving due to it's heft, therefore you're more tentative. And you're 'on' the bike - definitely riding taller.

I've never really considered the engines' center mass - I'll have to give that some thought. But if either bike deserves the squirrelly award, it's the 400 due to it's swingarm mounted engine. On an aggressive sweeper, any small bump causes a feeling of weightlessness as the suspension decompresses, making me momentarilly roll off throttle, then roll back on. The 650 stays firmly planted throughout the turn, throttle and speed maintained.

To me, the distinction between the bikes is the 400 is more fun, the 650 more gratifying. That sweeper I described is "yahoo!" on the 400 and on the 650 it's "nailed it."

I'll bet you a beer that, even though it doesn't feel like it, your turns are faster on the 650 than the 400.
 
#3 ·
I'm like Jeff. I find my 400 to be less stable in corners than my 400. That doesn't stop me from scraping parts on either but I would rather do it on the 650 than on the 400.

Maybe there is an issue somewhere in the suspension on your 650. I know that at one point my 650 got to feeling a little squirrelly and I finally traced it to a rear shock that had lost all it's damping ability.
 
#4 ·
#6 ·
I have had uprated Hagon progressive Fork Springs fitted and uprated Hagon re shocks, bike handles everything better and does not scrape/bottom even when being chucked about. Standard susp on the Burg is not top notch so needs upgrading. Bike handles well with rider solo and with pillion


Wm
 
#8 ·
One of the tricks to riding a Burgman hard in the corners is cross bracing. We do not have a tank between out knees so slipping low in the saddle to the inside of the corner does not work as well. So for a right corner put your right foot up as high on the floorboard and push back into the buttrest/backrest. Counter steer by pushing the right bar forward and the bike just tucks in and goes.
 
#9 ·
Yup, already do this. I've got a very sturdy backrest, so I can "lock" myself in position with feet forward and back nestled in the rest.

I am thinking of stiffening the suspension. I keep it pretty soft in the back. What to most of you set it at for twisty runs?
 
#11 · (Edited)
http://goo.gl/maps/SBfwP

Well I played with the suspension today and I must say I did better, felt more confident. As you can see from our route, we had some NICE twisties. Boy the 33 is a little slice of heaven. We broke into two groups, fast and slow. I set the suspension to 3 and was pretty much running in the front of the fast pack all day; number 3 or 4 position with the rest well back.

Who was ahead? An super experienced Honda 919 Hornet rider leading, another sport bike and a very good BMW 650 scoot rider (we swapped positions a few times, but we kept up). Not bad considering there were bmw 1300s and such behind us. So perhaps it was a better day, perhaps I got the suspension dialed in, not sure. But I'll be testing out the other suspension settings in the weeks to come.

Thanks for the input. I'd still like to have opinions on what the optimum OEM suspension setting is for twisty riding.
 
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