[Bevan]

Hi there,
my name is Bevan - I am 63 and retired.
I passed my Motorbike license when I was 56 and since then I have had in
1996 - Aprilia Leonardo 125cc
1998 - Honda Foresight 250cc and BMW R1100RT
1999 - Suzuki Burgman 400cc
2000 - BMW R1100RS
2002 - Suzuki Burgman 650cc.

This year I have done 9000km on my Burgman and 7000km on the BMW, mostly in the Swiss Alps or in the Tirolian mountains.
Slowly I am preferring the Burgman to the BMW and as soon as Suzuki comes out with a 1000cc Burgman I will get rid of the BMW.
I have a GPS system which I use on both machines - it's far better than reading maps :lol:
Take care and ride safely

 

[allwalk]

Hi there Bevan and welcome to the site. I sure do envy you for your riding roads in your country. Plus all the other countries relatively close by with excellent roads. I find it interesting that you are starting to favour the Burg over the BMW. Thats quite a comparison . Do you find any problems in the higher altitudes with your bikes?

 

[Bevan]

Hello @ allwalk,
thanks for your welcome.
No I have never had any problems in the Swiss Alps nor the Italian mountains - be it with starting, lack of performance, misfiring etc.

I have a local trip close by that I do from time to time - it's a round trip of exactly 203km - it's almost totaly in the mountains with endless curves and also serpentines. On a specific Monday in May I did the trip on the Burgman - it's really a great route to burn it on.
That evening I was going over the trip when I wondered would I have been any quicker etc., on the BMW. Well the next day same time, same weather conditions I did the trip again. Bearing in mind that I now had the advantage of having the route fresh in my mind.
Well apart from being more exhausted from the stacks of gear changes, braking, continuous fast left, right, left, right, corners and the concentration - I did the trip in exactly the same time as on the Burgman.
My BMW has 96hp compared to the 56 of the Burgman - but for speeds of up to 160km/h the Burgman can hold it's own with a motorbike (let's exclude racers) and the automatic transmission is top notch stuff.

I have a very good friend "Jack" in Odessa who is also the pround owner of a Burgman 650 - we mail each other several times a week.

Take care and ride safely