I've had my Burgman 650 since March of this year, but June 5th was
the first sunday where the weather and schedule agreed to let me
ride down there. I'd gotten my 600 mile service the thursday
before, so felt the 650 would be up to the ride. I'm in Manhattan,
KS, about 80 miles north of Cassoday on KS 177. The trip was
delightful. My wife rode on back and it was our first chance to try
out the Motocomm AudioBoss AB-1 intercom system. With the exception
of a 9 mile 4-lane 70mph stretch from Manhattan to I-70, the route
is 60mph posted 2-lane smooth asphalt and a Kansas Scenic Highway
through Kansas' flint hills. The intercom let us talk easily with
each other along the way, and could be easily understood except at
70mph or greater with strong crosswinds. In that case we would duck
a little to get into the wind bubble and then could talk easily.
There were many cycles on the road. We left Manhattan about 7:45am
and could see a group of 5 or 6 Harleys up ahead. With three or
four stoplights before leaving town, we caught up to them. I
decided not to ride with them, mainly because of how noisy they
were. The 650 wanted to run faster, anyway, so we moved ahead. All
along the way we passed groups of riders gathered along the highway,
waiting for more of their members. Everyone waved. It appeared
everyone was heading to Cassoday. We slowed to go through Council
Grove, KS, and found all the quick-stops and such busy with bikers.
The ride continues south to Strong City where we found a dozen or so
riders waiting for a train to pass. We ended up falling in line
with them since there were too many to pass at once. That group was
an informal bunch with Goldwings, Harleys, a couple of sport bikes,
and my one Burgman 650. Everyone seemed to know to ride staggered
down the highway. It wasn't fun, mainly because the speed everyone
ran at kept varying. I finally shed most of them when they stopped
to join another group waiting. Cassody is about 45 miles south of
Council Grove, and I-177 cuts right through it. The whole town is
maybe 10 square blocks. There appeared to be a couple thousand
bikers there, and more arriving every minute.
We parked in an alleyway just off the highway. The second I pulled
off my helmet there was someone who'd seen me ride up and wanted to
ask about the 650. We chatted for 10 minutes or so, then went to
look for some breakfast. There was a tent selling breakfast
Burritos with coffee, so we bought a couple of those and sat down at
one of the many folding tables set up nearby. We chatted with a
rather large gentleman who sat down with a heaping plate of bacon,
eggs, sausage, rolls, and more. He'd bought the All-You-Can-Eat
buffet from the little cafe, and it looked like it was a good
investment for him.
I mainly just walked around looking for other Burgmans. I found a
silver 650 parked at the other end of the same alley I parked on.
There was a black 650 parked on a side street. As with me, no one
stayed with their bikes, so I had no way of knowing who in the crowd
belonged to these. Next month I think any Burgman riders going
should agree to park in the same place (like corner of Lincoln and
Main) and meet there at a certain time.
Some company had a portable dyno set up, and had a line of riders
waiting to get their bikes dynoed. There were several vendors along
the streets, mainly leather sellers and buyers, one Cassody
collectables tent and a few belt-buckles and jewelry places.
I bumped into another "scooter" rider that teaches with me at KSU.
He's a Vespa rider, but had brought his new-to-him but old BMW cycle
down there.
The ride back was nice too. Very good road, with long runs through
the flint hills. One high scenic overlook between Cassody and
Cottonwood Falls gives you a broad view of the valley below, with
maybe 15-20 miles visibility. There's another scenic outlook between
Manhattan and I-70. My only complaint was getting saddle weary.
The stock burgman seat seemed good for about an hour before my butt
got sore. My wife agrees, and had to shift her weight around
periodically. My back also needed more support, as the riding
position has my 6'1" slumped over a bit.
I doubt I'll go more than twice or three times a year. It's nice to
be able to say I've been there, but it's not something I need to go
back to every month. Everyone within reach should do that ride at
least once, though. Good roads. Good people. Good food. Good fun.
Dave B.
I posted some photos in the Gallery at:
http://burgmanusa.com/gallery/album74