Joined
·
239 Posts
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
Well, I meant to keep this brief, so that's it for now. Trust your Burgie and get out there and ride!
Cheers,
Bob