[Burger Bob]

On Sunday evening I returned from my trip to CA and back and have posted some pics that I took along the way. I'm not going to bore you all with the details, but I feel it important to mention that I covered over 5200 miles, bringing my total mileage up to over 11,000 miles, all smooth and trouble free. I know that this is no great feat and any vehicle should do this and way, way more before giving any trouble, but, I have ridden this bike hard from day one, almost abusing the transmission at times and have ridden at high speeds continuously for hours on end with no sign of protest from the bike. In fact, my gas mileage has improved and the engine seems more responsive now. I mention this in light of the fact that there seems to be concerns out there about the reliability of the 650 Burgman. I for one have complete confidence in my Burgie and would head out again tomorrow if I could without any concerns. In fact, the main reason I returned when I did was because of a worn out back tire! My gas mileage averaged between 40 and 65 miles per gallon depending on speed and wind direction. I averaged around 500 miles per day, with the longest being 600 miles from Ogallala NE to my home in MN on Monday. My "must haves" for a trip like this are a throttle rocker and a throttle lock (I use an NEP) and ear plugs. My Garmin Street Pilot makes sure I don't get lost. The only change I would make is to cut my stock windscreen down. Riding accross the desert areas can get kinda hot and the windscreen prevents air from getting into my suit vents. I don't know how you guys can stand using those big Clearview and Givi screens in the summer! Of course, the answer is a fully adjustable shield, something I hope Suzuki is working on. I found a duffle bag strapped to the passenger seat and a hump bag quite ample for my stuff. I used the storage under the seat for carrying spare gloves, jackets and tools. I deliberately left my J C Whitney special tail trunk at home as I knew that it would contribute to the cross wind problem one inevitably faces on the open highway. Other than that, no special preparations were needed. Oh, yes, I changed my engine oil to Castrol Syntec before I left.
Well, I meant to keep this brief, so that's it for now. Trust your Burgie and get out there and ride!

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Randy]

Sounds like you had a great time and I for one wish you would " bore" me with the details.

 

[Jim]

Sounds like a great trip. We ate where you were parked, across from Alice's resturant. In mid may, we were there to plan a wedding (daughter) next May. How did you like the road going up there, nice and twisty.

 

[pauljo]

Hey Bob,

Welcome back! Too bad we couldn't have hooked up on your run through Nebraska, but it sounds like you were on a mission to get home.

Just curious what grade of gas you used on the trip (regular, mid-grade). It would take one heck of a tailwind for me to get 65 mpg - 51.9 is my record so far. And I did drop to 40.0 on my recent trip when cruising at 85 mph through South Dakota.

I was also thinking on my return trip that maybe a throttle rocker AND a throttle lock would be nice. Interesting that you have gone that route.

I did the Black Hills trip with the short stock windscreen. Temps were getting up around 90 during the day - and humid. My helmet vents and perforated jacket worked well. I put the XXL Clearview on for 1 day when I got home. No air - helmet totally lost its ventilation. I currently have the short stock screens on both my V-Strom & Burgman for the Summer. So I totally agree with you on that point.

Glad you had a safe, trouble free trip.

Nice pics too!

 

[Burger Bob]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm not the best writer so I tried to keep things short, however, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. As far as what grade gas I used Paul, 87 almost always. I was amazed at the time I got 65mpg too! However, it was during a long straight stretch of road with a strong tail wind (for a change) and the bike fairly sailed along. I got close to 60mpg a few times and that's never happened to me before! However, on one stretch, when riding hard and into a head wind, I got about 38mpg, so the speed and wind do make a big difference. Also, these are only estimates, as it's difficult to always guage how much gas you're putting in, especially in CA where they have those stupid collapsing plastic tubes on the nozzles! Drove me nuts trying to get gas in without getting it all over myself! BTW, I'm definately going to cut my windsceen down and possibly add an adjustable lip if needed.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Burger Bob]

Oh, yes, Jim, those were great twisty roads, alright. What got me though, was how busy they were with everything from motorcycles, cars and even cyclists in bunches at almost every corner! And this along narrow,bumpy forested roads where almost every corner is blind and 180 degree hairpin bend! "You get used to it", was all my son said when I brought it up.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Brian]

especially in CA where they have those stupid collapsing plastic tubes on the nozzles! Drove me nuts trying to get gas in without getting it all over myself!

We have those in Washington, too -- at least in the Puget Sound Metro Area. They have a vacuum that picks up evaporated gasses and returns them to the tanks rather than polluting the air. Also helps prevent explosions from stupid drivers who smoke, leave engines running , etc. at the fuel islands.

The trick with a short filler tube like the Burgman's is to retract the sheath a few inches with one hand while holding the nozzle grip with the other. Once you've done it a few times it doesn't seem to be as much of a hassle as you might at first think it would be.

To get consistant mileage readings, always put the nozzle in until it touches the stop bar in the filler tube, leave it there the entire time fuel is being dispensed, and stop pumping as soon as the auto-stop clicks in the first time. No extra clicks to "round off" at the next whole gallon or what-ever.

 

[pauljo]

To get consistant mileage readings, always put the nozzle in until it touches the stop bar in the filler tube, leave it there the entire time fuel is being dispensed, and stop pumping as soon as the auto-stop clicks in the first time. No extra clicks to "round off" at the next whole gallon or what-ever.

The only thing I'd add to this is that I always put the scooter on the centerstand to get the gas tank level. But if you consistently filled it on the sidestand your readings would also be consistent. I suspect that there would be a slight difference in readings between using the two stands. I found that if you go for that 2nd click it can add approximately .3 gallon to the fillup. I also avoid doing that when tracking mileage.

I carried a small calculator in the front left outer pocket of the hump bag on my recent trip. Very easy to retrieve it to calculate mileage after a fillup.

 

[Brian]

I carried a small calculator in the front left outer pocket of the hump bag on my recent trip. Very easy to retrieve it to calculate mileage after a fillup.

On my two road trips (so far :wink: ) I saved all my receipts and wrote my mileage on the receipt before I left the pump.

When I got home I entered all the data in Excel and set up the spreadsheet to calculate my "per leg" and "average" mileage.

I need to get a small calculator. I can't do even simple arithmetic very well.

 

[pauljo]

Fotunately, small calculators are cheap. I can add, subtract, and multiply pretty well in my head, but I am division challenged... Lets see... 137.6 miles divided by 2.97 gallons... calculator time.

 

[Brian]

Fotunately, small calculators are cheap. I can add, subtract, and multiply pretty well in my head, but I am division challenged... Lets see... 137.6 miles divided by 2.97 gallons... calculator time.

I remember my first calculator; a Texas Instruments SR-something. The "SR" stood for Slide Rule, because they were marketed as electronic slide rules. Nowadays most people don't even know what a slide rule is, and those that do probably don't know how to use one. Hundreds of years of "technology" wiped out in a single generation by the transistor.

My old TI would go through a set of 6 AA batteries in about an hour. Just enough for me to get through a chemistry test or whatever. Now you can get ones that run for weeks on a little camera battery or run on solar cells. Amazing! (To me, anyway.)

My friend Tony, a math whiz who retired from Microsoft, has a calculator that has built in graphing, engineering applications, statistical applications, and astronomy/navigation applications. If one of the built in applications isn't what he needs he can program a new one. $500, fits in a (large) pocket, and runs on batteries; yet more powerful than the first ENIAC computer (Electronic Numerator And Calculator) that filled a room and cost millions of dollars. I'm constantly amazed.

Now I hear there's even a scooter that uses a computer to control it's transmission. Cool! 8)

 

[pauljo]

Ha! I knew you were building up to some punch line....

But you could have started with the abacus - those sliding beads on wires within a rectangular wooden frame. Predated the slide rule. I actually had a good slide rule - but I never had a abacus...

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/ ... =761564446

Um... the article says that the abacus is still used in China and Japan...

No. Forget it... I'm sure we have a REAL computer controlling our transmissions...

 

[Brian]

I actually had a good slide rule - but I never had a abacus...

I have a slide rule, don't remember how to use it really. Have slide rule-type tool for flying (E6B) and several for boating, but gradually replacing them with electronics.

Still have an abacus -- small brass one mounted to a jade base. Just for decoration, can't work it fast enough to be useful. I have a friend who was an exchange student in Japan, who actually went to a soban academy (abacus school) and watching him use one is amazing. He uses all sorts of mental and physical short-cuts that I can't follow, but usually gets his answers faster than I can using a modern calculator.

...the abacus - those sliding beads on wires within a...frame.

Hmmm. That does sound suspiciously like a CVT in miniature, doesn't it?

 

[billmeek]

Um... the article says that the abacus is still used in China and Japan...

No. Forget it... I'm sure we have a REAL computer controlling our transmissions...

Thank goodness they produced a computer. Imagine trying to read the Burgman forums on an abacus.

 

[Brian]

Thank goodness they produced a computer. Imagine trying to read the Burgman forums on an abacus.

:sign5: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Harold]

Hey, I still have a slide rule and know how to use it! My son wasn't allowed to use a calculator in math class in high school so I taught him how to use the slide rule. He thought the teacher was going to have a fit when he pulled it out and started doing complex calculations on it. The other kids just wanted to know where the batteries went in.