NormanW said:
This same question will be asked on an Aprilia board, but on the other side of the coin.
Why should I buy a Suzuki Burgman 650 and not an Aprilia Atlantic 500?
I want to hear from all you salesmen out there. I am really having a tough time deciding.
I will be using the bike as a daily driver and putting about 60 miles a day on it with a 50/50 split in city and highway driving.
Thanks in advance.
Norman,
I can tell you why I ordered the Burgman and not the Atlantic.
First of all because the Burgman looks better and drives super. After two test drives on the Burgman, I did not even bother to test other scooters like the Atlantic or Silverwing. I did make a test drive on the Honda Deauville, a 600 cc touring motorcycle. It could not match the wind and rain protection and the storage space of the Burgman.
Compared to my AN400, driving the AN650 is much more quiet. Rides on the highway with the AN400 are often 'shaky', because of the turbulence from cars and trucks. Not so on the AN650.
Furthermore, the Burgman has a better rear suspension. On the Atlantic, the motor and the suspension are combined into one moving part. The moving mass is relatively large and on short bumps, the rear wheel may loose contact with the road. On the Burgman, the rear suspension is separated from the motor, just like on motorcycles. The moving mass is less and the rear wheel can follow bumpy road surfaces more easily.
Last, but not least the Burgman has more HP than the Atlantic.
The weight and width of the Burgman could be a disadvantage in dense trafic, especially in the city. However, the width of the AN650 is exactly equal to the width of my current AN400 (measured between mirrors). I don't see that lane splitting will be more of a problem with the AN650. The Burgman Executive even has electrical retractable mirrors when space becomes too narrow. When fully equiped touring bikes (BMW, Honda) manage lane splitting, it certainly cannot be a problem on the Burgman.