[Rustydust]

Right after I bought my 2007 650 Burgman I started reading this forum. Been reading this forum for about three weeks now and really enjoying it. Have learned a few things already and I do appreciate that.

One thing I am not sure of yet are the dreaded spline failures or belt breakage that some of the 650's have had. I have read that from 2007 on that this issue has been corrected, but has it really been corrected or is it just going to happen at later mileage than before?

One reason I got my Burgman is to try and keep the miles down somewhat on my Goldwing (53,000 miles in the last two years) but I am going to be somewhat hesitant to put a lot of miles on the Burg if I know that I am eventually going to have to park it due to some sort of inevitable drivetrain issues.

Any and all replies and advice is much appreciated!

 

[Buffalo]

That is a hotly contested issue. Some contend that it is a problem waiting to happen and others say it's a maybe. There is not enough data to give a conclusive answer to the question.

Updates seem to have corrected the spline failures that occurred in the 03-04 models. It should not be an issue on your 07.

The belt will eventually wear out. The one in my 07 let go at around 80,000 miles. I replaced it and am still riding the bike with a total of 99,354 miles currently on it. I did the work myself so I was only out the cost of the belt and some seals, around $300. Cost is much higher if you pay someone to do it.

There have been others that have had failures that were not related to the splines or belt. Most of these seemed to be bearing related. Again the extent of those in relation to the total population of 650s out there is an unknown. I definitely put it in the class of something that could happen not something that will. There is one 650 out there that we know of that is approaching 200,000 miles with only the belt having been replaced.

 

[osbornk]

Minor issues get blown out of proportion on forums. I tend to join forums for whatever I own.

When I got my new 04 F-150, I joined several forums relating to them. The forums made me think I had made a horrible mistake. According to posters, the spark plugs could never be removed from the 5.4 engine and it would cost thousands to remove the head when they broke. The cam phasers were sure to fail and cost me a bunch of money. The differential was going to go bad, etc. After a while, the mention of the issues went away and they have not been mentioned in years (nothing has happened to mine).

On the BMW motorcycle forum, the posters assured everyone that our final drives were going to fail and cost over $1,000. The ABS was sure to fail and cost over $2,400 for the part alone unless the brake fluid was changed every year and it was still prone to failure. Etc. None of these "sure" disasters happened and the mentions have disappeared.

According to the forums, my panoramic sunroof on my Kia Optima should have exploded long ago.

I think the issues with the 650 are the same. You can take a very few failures and once it makes the rounds on forums, it looks like every bike is going to have a failure.

 

[westnash]

Do you have name and contact info for the owner of the 650 Burgman with 200,000 miles?

 

[westnash]

I think it might be hard to find any scooter or motorcycle that can be operated w/ less cost to maintain than a Goldwing. I don't think a 650 Burgman will cost you less to maintain.

 

[Buffalo]

Do you have name and contact info for the owner of the 650 Burgman with 200,000 miles?

I don't know him personally and he is not a member of this board. Other members on the board run into him from time to time and post about. This is the latest thread about him and the bike which he no longer owns. He sold it to a friend who is still riding it. http://burgmanusa.com/forums/12-general-discussion/61561-todays-ride.html

 

[LeDude]

I would not waste too much time worrying about it as you have no control over it by performing any king of maintenance or up keep tasks.

the 03/04 models are more prone to suffering a major CVT failure because of some poor design choices and lousy hardware parts, mainly the primary pulley bearing.

the 05+ models have a much better chance of going the distance, with the primary pulley bolt redesign, and not needing a new belt or suffering the dreaded step wear on the primary pulley which is caused by the primary pulley failing.

All bikes have issues, chain driven ones require regular chain/sprocket replacement, shaft driven bikes can suffer spline failure as they age.

I personally don't consider a belt failure as a major flaw in the 650, it is a wearable item and somewhat reasonable at $300.00 and not that difficult to replace.

Anybody can do the repairs on the CVT if they are so inclined with a minimum metric tool set.

ride the scoot, enjoy it and deal with the failure if and when it happens.

To date I have had to rebuild the clutch, CVT and water pump on my 04 std 650 and replace the PPS, it has been a learning experience with this bike and at times I have had trepidations about its reliability for long distance adventures, but it is such a comfortable platform that I am probably going to replace it once this one falls apart or suffers anothr major failure. Thankfully there are plenty of 2nd ones out there.

I am nearing the 60k miles mark on my st 04 with the rebuild CVT and it feels as good as when I purchased it with 5k miles on it. I am hoping it will go the distance and hit 100k miles before needing another major repair. I may take the CVT out at 75k miles and check the bearing and replace it as a precaution.

one basically has to weigh the cost of new parts vs that of a new or second hand 650. At this point I feel pretty comfortable with the 650 as I have gotten to know rather well and can pretty much tackle most repair jobs on it.

and you have the added advantage of having a great forum behind you should the need ever arise.

 

[Jim]

Doom and Gloomers are everywhere on any item. While it could happen, I would not agonize over it.

Will I die, yes.
Will it be tomorrow, or next month, or year. I don't know. I don't worry about.

Life is to short.

 

[Rustydust]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

The Burgman will not be my primary ride anyway, but it sure is nice around town and the less than 200 mile rides that I have taken with it so far. I enjoy riding one of my KLR 650's quite a bit, and right now I am having my local MC mechanic do some much needed and long put off work on my PC800. Nothing serious- had and oil leak or two and a gasket in the exhaust which I suppose is no big deal after almost 90,000 miles and over 18 years of riding. Once the "new" has worn off the Burgman, not to mention riding season drawing to a close (dang! again?) it will be parked more and ridden less. It's just that I would like to put 10K a year or so on it for the next 10 years without it costing me too much to keep going. Sounds like it's possible anyway.

So thanks for the input. Peace of mind is a nice thing.