[wilder days]

For those of you who had or still ahve a larger bike, say 500cc and up to say..a goldwing. How or what made you decide to get a burgman 650? I'm toying with the idea of trading in my intruder 1400 next summer on a burgie 650. I haven't test ridden a burgie yet. I want to be sure I won't regret the trade in if I do decide to go that route.
Any imput would greatly appreciated.

 

[pauljo]

I would have traded my V-Strom if the dealer had offered me fair value for it. Of course, he did not. So I kept it. I don't ride it nearly as often as the Burgman, but I do enjoy going for a ride on it occasionally. If I only had the AN650, I'd be fine with that.

 

[jacvinson]

I moved to a 650 Burgman after 18 years of riding a 1500 Cavalcade. I was very concerned about giving up "the bike" and moving to a "scooter" so I kept my bike, ..... for about 2 months. After 4-6 weeks of riding the burgman in town and on the highway, I took the "Old Stead" out for a ride and couldn't believe how awkward, heavy, and lumbering it felt. It had more raw "power", but realistically I, in 18 years, only "opened it up" 2-3 times. I've had the Burgman to 110 and knew there was more available, but it demonstrated more than enough power to convince me it was time to shed the past.
get one, ride and enjoy without the workout. I sold the Cade and never looked back. I have much more fun with the burgman, and don't have nearly the work, especially for running errands. The old bike was jut too big and too much trouble to take to the corner or just down the street on small errands.

jac

 

[Burger Bob]

For financial reasons I had to trade my Motorcycle for the Burgman. Although I love my Burgie, I still miss having a bike, although I know that if I had one along with the scooter, I'd hardly ever ride it! Does that make sense?

Cheers,

Bob

 

[pauljo]

I know that if I had one along with the scooter, I'd hardly ever ride it! Does that make sense?

Nope! It absolutely does not make sense. But it is true...

My V-Strom rides better than the scooter, has way more power, and with its Corbin seat, is more comfortable. It also sounds better than the scooter. It gets almost as good gas mileage, and much better tire mileage. Logically, I should ride it the most. But I can't keep off the darn scooter...

Every now and then I have to remind myself that the gas in the Strom will go bad if I don't ride it. So I ride it for a couple of days, enjoy the heck out of it, and remember what a great motorcycle it is. Then I fill it with fresh gas, park it, and resume riding the scooter.

Can't logically explain why - but the scooter is addictive.

 

[Randy]

Bob wrote

although I know that if I had one along with the scooter, I'd hardly ever ride it! Does that make sense?

Sounds like bike withdrawal to me .
Take one ride twice a day on your scooter and don't call me in the morning
:lol:

jac wrote

After 4-6 weeks of riding the burgman in town and on the highway, I took the "Old Stead" out for a ride and couldn't believe how awkward, heavy, and lumbering it felt.

Like you had been reading my mind :!:

 

[Pappy]

For those of you who had or still ahve a larger bike, say 500cc and up to say..a goldwing. How or what made you decide to get a burgman 650? I'm toying with the idea of trading in my intruder 1400 next summer on a burgie 650. I haven't test ridden a burgie yet. I want to be sure I won't regret the trade in if I do decide to go that route.
Any imput would greatly appreciated.

Hi and welcome!
I sold my 1500LC to buy mine along with 2 little 50cc scooters. A demo will make up your mind. I bought mine without even riding one first. For ME, it's this or nothing. It's like nothing I've ever riden and I've ridden since around 1959. I LOVE this change. And for all my Harley type buddies, when they start the snubbing (and they DO), I just smoke em and go from there. Sad how so many "assume" you were never a "rider" or "biker" if you ride a scooter. I now consider myself a rebel WITH a cause....Mike

 

[Edwljoseph]

I agree with Paul and Jacvinson. I sold my Venture and haven't looked back. Although, I enjoy riding my Bandit, I probably put at least three times the miles on the Burgman.

Last night I rode the Burgman to a bike night at a local restaurant. I am constantly amazed as to how easy it is to ride. It just does everything well. It is comfortable fast, slw or in between. On a side road or highway. It s an amazing vehicle.

 

[bwdbrn1]

I've had GoldWings in the past. Riden lots of miles and enjoyed the touring a lot. The last was a '96 Goldwing SE, pearl white, it had been my dream bike. Nice bike, but I got to where I called it the rain maker...everytime I put more than one piece of luggage in it and headed outside the city limits of where I lived, it rained...usually hard...with crosswinds...never saw the thing clean.

Then one day my wife, who hated riding on the back of the wing, by the way, found a used Honda Elite 125 at a yard sale. She liked it, I liked it, and we were hooked on scooters. I had always thought the Helix was kind of neat. Then Honda introduced the Reflex and we got two of them. We've never been rained on while riding them out of town. Now I know the bike has nothing to do with the weather, but you have to kind of wonder...

The Reflex, for me, was a great little bike, but I missed touring, and thought I would like a little more space and power. Along came the SilverWing, Atlantic and the Burgman. After riding all of them, I got the Burgman. The wife has given thought to getting one too.

Get used to people asking you if it will go highway speeds...most are still in the Vespa frame of mind when it comes to scooters...just smile and say, yes it does.

I wonder if that guy who bought my GoldWing got himself a good rainsuit?

Bruce Woodburn
AN650
NSS250
CH125
NU50

 

[dancote]

My decision

I've had a mix of motorcycles and scooters over the years. Until now I've always had a "real bike" to go with the scooters because no other scooter had ever been a true long-distance, two-up ride. Now I've sold the Harley and I'm considering selling my Roadhawk tirke. I'm sold on the Burgman.

Regards,

Dan

 

[Dennis Gross]

03 goldwing gone but not forgotten

Sold my orange 02 wing, bought 650 burgman. I miss the wing I use to spend hours cleaning and just looking at it. They sure are a good looking bike. The burgman dosen't get washed and polished as much because I can't stay off of it long enough. If I walk in the garage and see it I have to take it around the block and that usually ends up being a 100 mile ride. If they made an automatic goldwing it would be a temptation to have another one but with the ease of handling and the fact it cost half the price of the goldwing and does most everything better, I guess I would stay with a burgman. My only gripe is, you need to buy 2 so you have something to ride while you are waiting a month or more for repair parts or tires.

 

[billclemen]

How did you decide?

I tend to keep bikes for a long time and only reluctantly sell one, even when a new one is purchased. Like others on this thread, my experience has been that the Burgman 650 gets ridden a whole lot more than any of my other bikes, perhaps more than all of them combined. I appreciate: the low center of gravity; the smoothness; the underseat storage; and a comfortable (and flexible) position for my legs and feet. Things that I wish were better: a larger gas tank would contribute to greater comfort out here in the West where gas stations can be few and far between; a freeway loud horn; and more wind protection from the windshield. The faults can be corrected by: extra gas in a packable cylinder; and aftermarket windshield and horn. This is a wonderful machine and is deserving of wide ridership.

 

[Monterey10]

Wing

I have a Wing and a Burgie.

The wing is like a Peterbuilt truck. Room for the wife and a ton of
stuff that goes with you on a trip. Basically, you drive it very
carefully down to the Interstate then get on for some long miles.
I would call this bike very specialized for the person who travels.
It is big, comfortable and heavy. It does not feel like a motorcycle
due to the wieght. Economy cars run in terror from you.

The Burgie is much more "Fun" in that it's light, quick, easy to
get on and off, has great storage and is almost effortless to ride.
I do commute 11 miles each way on the Burgie. It does OK.
I don't think I would want to climb high mountain passes with
it, but for local freeways, it does ok.

So, in a nutshell, these two bikes are very different. The Wing
is specialized for traveling with big loads. The Burgie is good for
all other types of riding.

 

[Brian]

Re: Wing

...I don't think I would want to climb high mountain passes with it, but for local freeways, it does ok....

I've climbed some pretty high mountain passes with my 650 -- Snoqualamie Pass, Stevens Pass, Hurricane Ridge. No problems so far.

Just got back from one cross-state trip on Sunday. 16 assorted bikes, only one -- mine -- being a scooter. I had a hard time holding back on some of the high twisties. 8)

 

[pauljo]

Yep. I passed a couple of Goldwings in the Black Hills (rare - but occassionally there was room for a pass). I was having WAY more fun in the tight twisties than they were. However, on the long straight tedious ride to get there & back, a Goldwing would have been just the thing. One of these days we're going to spot a Goldwing pulling a bike trailer with a Burgman 650 on it... :wink: