[ChrisLucey]

Hi, everyone. My name is Christine (but everyone calls me Chris) and I live in Tannersville, New York. That's in the Catskill Mountains, about 175 miles north of New York City.

My husband Mike and I are just falling into "scootering." On rather a whim, we bought a Honda Elite 80 last year and we simply had a ball tooling around on it all summer and autumn. Now we're thinking it's time to put aside the training wheels and get something truly road-worthy. The Burgman 400 fits our mental picture pretty well, but we have plenty of questions, and are delighted to have found this web site. Have already gotten a lot of great info from it.

Look forward to corresponding with you experienced Burgman/maxi-scooter folks.

 

[MikeLucey]

And by the way, on the Autostrada in Italy last summer, we were summarily dusted off by a couple of locals on a 400 - and I don't drive slow.

 

[allwalk]

Greetings and welcome to the board Mike and CHris!
I've read other posts by you folks and think the 400 would make a geat step for the both of you. Nothing like sharing a nice ride with a loved one. I bet you have some wonderful roads in your area suitable to fantastic riding. Good luck with your quest for you next machine.

 

[PBeaudoin]

Welcome to the site. I have also used this site to determine whether or not to buy a scooter or bike. I am from the Saratoga/ Lk. George area of New York. I built houses in your neck of the woods. I could have purchased anything I wanted too, and I choose the Suzuki Burgman 650. Most other bikes (not all) are just ego pushers. If I can suggest a scooter it would be this one. You will need it riding 2 up through the mountains. It is VERY easy to ride, almost drives its self. Riding through the mountains is going to be awesome!, I loved riding through them in my truck. Well good luck and happy scootering!

 

[jb4278a]

Choices, Choices

Hi Mike/Chris....I would agree with PB regarding the 650.....if you can, find a dealer that just might let you take both of them for a ride....make an informative comarison between the 400 & 650...my wife and I go two-up on the 650...definintely nice power & comfort. I have since added the top box....though I'm considering pulling off the pre-formed rather hard-rubber back rest that is currently affixed to the top-box....I'm considering simply velcroing a more comfortable pillow-type backrest right onto the topbox....my brother is an upholsterer by trade...he should be able to help....in fact, I may even pull off the seat and change the padding and the color....head-sets to be added in the Spring!! And possibly a bike trailer. By the way, should anyone need certain aspects of the 650 explained in detail, I picked up the service manual....I could just fax any info to you....no, I don't have a workable scanner...yet.....gotta go the fax route!! Again, good luck in your choice....simply look at the overall design, weight, where your feet will rest when touring on the bike(because there was a distinct difference between the Aprilia 500 and the Burgman 650. Also, if you're going two-up, and your rider is 5'2"or smaller, you'll have to do what I'm going to do.....somehow affix two risers on the back footrests.....for my wife, that means building up a height to around 4-5 inches....that way, she'll be comfortable....just things to keep in mind.
Take care

 

[no1shoetack]

Welcome Mike/Chris,I thank the 650 would be a good bet if you are going to be rideing two-up.Need the added power for those mountains.

 

[seatec]

Hi all, Does anyone use the shift buttons on the 650? sat on a 650, found the seat to be hard, is the seat on the 4oo just as hard, can the seat be upholstered to make it more comfortable, may go and look at 400 today, but i keep telling my self im too old at 58, but heck I sim race with young guys Wayne

 

[mick6502003]

The seat may seem hard at first "sit", but Ive done three different runs of 500+ miles in a day. The seat is actually quite sittable for that distance and time. At 58, myself, it's interesting how well it handles when riding with the younger, corner bashing set.

****

 

[Kenny]

Wayne,

I just did a 248 mile ride this weekend. My butt's fine, but my back's not. :lol:

The shift button is something I've used to try it out, but it jerks too much when shifting. Really no need for it. I'm sure most on here would agree that if it wasn't there it wouldn't be missed at all.

Kenny

 

[pauljo]

It's funny - the manual shift option is one of the main things that got me interested in the 650. But in 3800 miles of riding I have rarely used it. The transmission works way better in automatic mode that I had anticipated. So, when I want to shift gears I ride my V-Strom... I guess I am used to shifting with my foot - the thumb thing doesn't do it for me.